Wow. Thank you NetGalley, Ripley Jones & Wednesday Books for allowing me to read this book early for an honest review.

The book was long but I didn’t want to put it down. If you enjoyed A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson then I highly recommend this book.

Can and Blair. I’m glad Cam came out to her true self and Blair proved she does have a backbone. I don’t want to speak too much and give anything away. But please read this book!

Two unlikely childhood friends, Blair and Cam, decide to start a podcast for their high school journalism class about the disappearance of a cheerleader from their own hometown two decades ago. True crime is all the rage right? Clarissa Campbell disappeared without a trace from a party in the woods - never found, no one has ever been arrested. Will Blair and Cam be able to solve this cold case? As they begin asking questions in their small town of Oreville, Washington they realize that Clarissa was not what she seemed and that their town is hiding many secrets. With many suspects and growing suspicions, the teens find themselves entwined in a dangerous hunt for a killer.

Suspenseful and believable, Jones has crafted an amazing YA murder mystery. I absolutely adored the character of Cam and found myself laughing out loud at her antics. Blair was a little harder for me - I understood what Jones was trying to do (highlight the insecurities of teenage girls) but it felt like she was trying a little too hard. Overall, well done and very enjoyable - impossible to put down!

Missing Clarissa by Ripley Jones is an interesting take on a mystery story. Clarissa is a teenager that vanished in 1999 from a party. The story made national news and there are many theories on what happened to Clarissa. Blair and Cameron live in Oreville, the town where Clarissa disappeared. When their journalism class gives them a project, they decide to investigate the disappearance and turn it into a podcast. Blair and Cameron find themselves in danger after they start digging up information. They also start to realize truths about themselves as well.
This story reads as a typical YA mystery with the twist of the podcast. There is teenage drama and friendship issues. I liked the character development and the comparisons between the Blair's life and Clarissa's life.
I enjoyed reading this but it was easily forgotten after I finished. I think anyone who likes YA mysteries will enjoy reading Missing Clarissa.
Thanks to Netgalley, Wednesday Books, and St Martin's Press for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

Could not put it down! I don’t know what I was more enthralled with, the mystery or the hard hitting, honest and authentic portrayals of the lead characters. Was able to explore issues of racism, LGBTQ, exceptionalities and self esteem without feel cliche.

I throughly enjoyed this novel. In fact, it’s one of the few lately that has held my attention throughout the entire story. While I could see a few things coming, I never felt like rushing though it. I would definitely recommend it to friends.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for sending “Missing Clarissa” for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Besties Cameron and Blair decide to do their high school journalism project about a 20-year-old missing persons case in their small town. Clarissa had disappeared from a party in the woods a month after she graduated from high school. As Cam and Blair navigate their own complicated lives, they realize their project has the power to hurt…or heal those Clarissa left behind.

I love a fast-paced mystery and “Missing Clarissa” definitely fills the bill. I had a hard time putting it down. The dialog is snappy, rarely getting bogged down in either Clarissa’s disappearance or Cam and Blair’s life outside of the journalism project. Characters are quirky and flawed, but so very likable. Forays into questions about the meaning of justice, lack of confidence in young women, and the challenges of growing up in a small town shine a light on tough topics and draw connections between Cam and Blair and those who came before them.

This is a great book for mystery lovers of all ages, those who like strong and reflective female characters, those who like stories set in small towns where everybody knows who you are. I’ll be getting a hard copy of this book for my classroom library.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this ebook to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

Missing Clarissa is a fun, quick read that fans of ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ will like. I’ll be honest, I was just a tad apprehensive going into this because there are SO many books that use true crime podcasts as a plot to their novels. However I do think this one was really well done for not making the podcast the main way of telling the story and giving facts to the reader. I think it was done in the perfect minimal amount.

Cam is such a fun character! Brilliant, confident, headstrong, eccentric.. I could go on. I love her character. I think she’s well developed and easy to root for. Blair on the other hand.. I had a hard time with her. She’s so insecure - to an annoying extent- and for what reason? She’s an athlete she has the most popular boy in school as her boyfriend, she gets good (but not perfect) grades..I get it - teenagers have insecurities but I feel like there just wasn’t enough given about Blair to show us who she is..her POV with her thoughts that she was insecure but none of her actions really showed this and honestly there wasn’t much character development throughout. It seemed like the author maybe started with cam with all the time in the world, wrote a good character, got to Blair and realized they ran out of time and just quickly gave her a story.

I didn’t see the ending coming at first, it took me a little while although I think it was pretty transparent to make Blair a perfect shooter in the beginning of the novel..I was just waiting for the moment she’d pick up a gun again and save the day.

3.5 stars rounded up. It is a YA novel and a quick read.

Perfect for fans of Good Girls Guide to Murder. A super quick fast paced Murder mystery set in podcast form. I read this in 2 hours of one sitting. Really enjoyed this quick mystery.

Missing Clarissa, by Ripley Jones
3.5-4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TRIGGER WARNINGS-
.
.
.

Murder, death, sexual assault, kidnapping

I'd give this book a 3.5-4/5 stars

Twenty years ago a high school senior was out in the woods at a party with nearly 100 other people and vanished without a trace. No one knew where she went or what might have have happened to her, no one could find her at all. Now 20 years later two high school journalist students are set on figuring out what happened to her. So they decide to do a podcast about her disappearance as their journalist class project.

I read this book in one sitting. I found this book to be very thought provoking and intriguing, it pulls you right in. I love that it had progressive characters who had very valid points about the way the justice system and jail operates. It also made you think about various cultures and it had gay characters and different racial characters. It's nice to see that many teens now-a-days are getting to see themselves represented in books.


Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press/ Wednesday Books for giving me an E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this a lot- pacing was quick, characters were well developed and it kept me guessing. I enjoyed the podcast concept and think it could easily be a series.

4.5 stars

This was a stunning book that was not only entertaining and engaging but dealt with different injustices (along with the mystery) in such a compelling way. They weren't overblown or included just because, but they popped up naturally throughout the investigation and the discussion over the ethics of true crime reporting. I liked that the problematic elements of true crime were explored and that Cameron's and Blair's perspectives and ideas of what this project meant to them evolved as they conducted their interviews. There were some convenient moments/elements, but as this is a YA mystery, I expected them to be there, and it didn't bother me.

Even though this was 3rd person POV (which I generally stay away from) and even though the characters were young (16), I found myself relating to Blair, Cameron and Sophie. Their insecurities, struggles and passion for seeing justice done (and defining what that means to them) felt real and resonated with me. There are some political talking points present (ACAB, abolition, Indigenous land rights), and this just made the book more compelling for me and didn't take away from the story. However, if you don't like politics in fiction books, then this might not be for you. There were also a lot of diverse characters which I loved, and they weren't there to be tokens; the diversity was presented in a quiet, almost understated way. The writing was engaging, and there were some funny moments and pretty, flowery language, but it wasn't over the top or trying to make the prose into something it's not.

I thought that the podcast idea was great but that there could've been a bit more of the process/interviews included. I also thought that some elements/characters didn't take away from the story but also didn't really add anything. And finally, the ending was rushed and convenient, but it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the book.

Overall, I found that this book had a quiet profoundness to it. On the surface, it's a story about two girls doing a true crime podcast for a school project. But as you dig deeper, it becomes so much more.

This book kept my attention right from the beginning and I was very intrigued by it. While the premise of it reminded me a lot of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder it still holds up on it's own despite the similarities. I guessed "who did it" as soon as that character was introduced but this did not take away my from enjoyment of this book.

I recommend this one if you are a fan of young adult thrillers.

I love the resurgence of the YA thriller! For a while, the market was flooded with dystopian novels that I soon tired of, so it's refreshing to see this genre gain some traction.

True crime podcasts are becoming a staple in many thriller books, and its presence here moved the story along very well. In 1999 popular cheerleader Clarissa Campbell goes missing without a trace and is never seen again. All efforts to locate her stall, and her case grows cold.

Twenty years later, high school juniors Blair and Cameron start a true crime podcast focusing on Clarissa's disappearance, bringing up all the old suspects--primarily her boyfriend and her art teacher, who had a very good reason for wanting her dead. But will this modern-day witch hunt bring a killer to justice or destroy an innocent man?

This was a fast-paced, twisty thriller that was the perfect read for spooky season. Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for my early copy. MISSING CLARISSA will publish March 7, 2023.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to review via eARC.

This definitely feels like a “spin off” of A Good Girls Guide to Murder. If you’re into true crime, podcasts, and murder mysteries this is a pretty good read.

It is pretty slow building and does feel a little predictable as for me the killer was easily guessed.

I would recommend this for any teen looking for a mystery! It hooked me and sucked me in. I honestly wish I had more stories like this when I was a teen. Will recommend to those looking for something like Truly Devious or A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.

Missing Clarissa is essentially a riff on A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. They are super similar in set up and execution. Like SUPER similar. Readers who enjoyed the latter and are in the mood for a read-alike will most likely be satisfied with this one.

The story was propulsive, and kept me up into the wee hours of the morning to find out the ending, but the flat characters and uneven action dampened my experience.

A quick and fun YA popcorn thriller.

Before I get into the review, I want to say a quick thank you to the publishers over at Wednesday books as well as NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Missing Clarissa is a Mystery/Thriller novel that follows Blair and Cameron who choose to do a podcast about the 1999 missing person case from their town for their Journalism class project. But things go awry when they start interviewing the people who knew the missing girl and they start picking at scabs best left alone. Missing Clarissa goes comes out on March 7th and is available for preorder now.

I want to start my review by saying that my star rating has less to do with the quality of the book and more to do with the inability to really dive into the themes and messages of the novel. It’s more of a novella (sitting at just 256 pages in print) which means that all of these thoughts, opinions, themes don’t get the breathing room they need to really explore them. Such as thoughts about systematic racism, the prison industrial complex, settler appropriated land and imagery, the long standing issues in true crime and those who enjoy it--which include true crime’s love for dead white women, polishing a dead person’s image and not seeing them for who they truly are, as well as the issues with armchair sleuths. These are all heavy topics and topics I’m really interested in seeing in novels moving forward. But we never got to the heart of these issues. Everything was brought up in passing which doesn’t do enough.

As for the mystery itself? I knew who it was pretty early on, but I will say that the author did a good job opening up other possibilities. I never settled on this person 100% which I think does say a decent amount for the writing. I found the characters to be relatable and funny. The main characters and two side characters are the most well developed in the story, but even the other side characters found was to catch my attention. The setting was well done for me. I could picture everything really well. It’s obvious that the author has spent time in the area she’s describing.

Overall, I enjoyed the novel and I would read more from this author in the future. I hope that anything they come out with after this has a little more polish. But defenitely an author worth reading again.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this arc. Okay so this book to me was to similar to a Good Girls Guide to murder like if spin-offs were a thing in books this to me is a spin-off of that book/ series. It had to podcast element it had the high school student with a school project that she used to solve a murder that happened in her town like it really was similar and that bothered me a lot because to me it wasn't similar it was the same it was like the author read those books and was like this idea is dope let me change it a little. I might have liked it more if it wasn't so similar. I also did not enjoy the pov switching in this book it was tough to follow. I did like the lgbtq+ representation I feel like the diversity was a little forced for a small town in Washington state but that is just my opinion. I also didn't enjoy how Blair was made out to be extremely week minded and as this is a young adult but I just didn't like that message but again this book could have been really good if I did not previously read another book that was extremely similar and other than the way Blair was portrayed it could be a good ya book for middle to high school range and they would enjoy it.

- Nothing really happened in this book till like 70% in… so it was disappointing. I think it tried too hard to be like AGGGTM with the whole podcasting thing but it just didn’t have relatability to it. Cam’s character was very annoying to me and just very hard to like overall. I didn’t have a favorite character to root for so it took me a long time to get through it. The ending seemed so rushed like they just magically realized who the killer was. It was very lacking to me. I wish I liked it more :( *Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martins Press for sending me this arc in exchange for an honest review*