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*

This was an interesting book about two high school students trying to solve one of their town's greatest mysteries....an unexplained missing person.
There was so many characters that could have done it.

I loved the twists and turns in the book as the two ladies navigate the whys and what happened.

Its a great mystery/thriller book that I believe a lot of people would enjoy.
I especially loved the ending and how they solved the case.

Missing Clarissa by Ripley Jones is a solid YA thriller. I am not the biggest “thriller” reader, but this one kept me semi- interested from beginning to end. Though I have to say , the big reveal wasn’t too revealing for me. I guessed the killer about half-way through. But the premise was interesting enough- two teens start a podcast for a school project focused on an unsolved mystery in their small town. The case had been national news when it happened, and yet never solved. Cue up Cam and Blair, best friends bent on solving the case. I could see the basis of their friendship, but Cam grated on my nerves from the beginning. And Blair was not the confident heroine the story needed. I do love a multi-POV so that kept me going, and the “juicy” details from the past. BUT I couldn’t really believe the fact that Cam’s mom was involved in the case, but no one recognized it? Nor did I understand the sheriff’s role. Jones did get the voice right for the girls, and the “this is the end of the world” drama that comes with teens, and I could see this becoming a popular book on my classroom shelf. But, for me, it was just kind of “meh”. I wasn’t surprised by the reveal, I wasn’t totally convinced by the motives, and I wasn’t fully invested in the two main characters. Random rating- 3.5/5 Recommend for teens if they into mild thrillers. Thank you to @NetGalley and @StMartinsPress for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

As a huge fan of true crime podcasts, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Blair and Cameron are two believable teenage girls whose actions ring true throughout. The plot and subplots develop organically; nothing is forced. The girls uncover other crimes while investigating Missing Clarissa. However, nothing they do is too extraordinary for teenagers. Ripley Jones keeps them very believable. They get scared, they are awkward and they get in serious trouble for their actions. I hate books or movies where the teens have a set of super skills or extra knowledge that the normal teen wouldn't have. The description of the audio for their podcast made me laugh as I've listened to many podcasts that suffer from the "underwater" sound in their early days. This book is a good mystery and a good YA drama. Thank you to Net Galley, Ripley Jones and St. Martin's Press for the arc.

Missing Clarissa is an excellent YA story about a couple of teens who start a podcast about an unsolved mystery in their town. The girl who disappeared, Clarissa Campbell, was popular and well-liked, so it seems odd that nobody ever figured out what exactly happened to her. As the teens start poking around they find several people with motives and sketchy pasts. I loved the writing style, it really worked for me. The main characters are well-written and it was cool to see how Cam grew throughout the story, even though she screws up big time. And it was nice to see Blair starting to believe in herself and speak up. The setting was great and open enough to let your own ideas of what happened rattle around in your head. While I was not entirely surprised with the ending, I was certain another character was the culprit for a while. It is really a great story I look forward to reading more by this author.

3.5 Stars

Missing Clarissa is about two quirky juniors, Cameron and Blair who decide to tackle the town’s unsolved mystery as a project for journalism class. I loved both of their characters. Cam is incredibly brilliant, but lacks so social skills. She also struggling with the fact that she thinks she’s attracted to girls and she doesn’t know how to come out to her friends and family. Blair is the athlete. She’s also very pretty. She’s dating one of the varsity basketball stars, James. I enjoyed watching the characters learned throughout the story. The setting for the story was also beautiful.

There was just one sticking point throughout the whole book that made me mental….there was just too much liberal perspective being thrown in. Race and class were often pointed out and it was used to describe how characters looked instead of just telling the characters what they looked like.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Ripley Jones for providing me with an ARC.

Sorry had to DNF this... I love the podcast true crime aspect but I just could not get into the book.....

Was super excited about the plot and I did enjoy this book a lot. interesting characters but I had trouble with the plot. The story was all over the place but I did like the twists and enjoyed the story as a whole. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

I originally picked up (requested) this book because the premise sounded so good, like AGGGTM good. While I enjoyed the book for what it was - two teens who start a podcast about a Clarissa, a girl who went missing in 1999 - it wasn’t my most favorite book this year. It was fun and a little twisty, and I loved the podcast parts of it. However, the main characters, while quirky and the epitome of teenage girls, I couldn’t really find myself interested in them or caring about what happened to them. They were sort-of naive and wishy-washy and I didn’t really form a connection from the beginning. Also, something that rubbed me wrong was how, every time a new person was introduced, the author had to describe them by using their race. No descriptive features like hair or eye color, just race. Ex: “martlemickey are two pimply white boys who play video games.” Or “Irene’s Mexican-American, Cam’s dad was white.”

A missing girl, two friends who decide to look into the case for their journalism project and create a podcast, and the deadly consequences. In 1999 a popular cheerleader Clarissa Campbell disappears from a party in the woods outside the rural town of Oreville, Washington. Everyone from her friends, teaches, to adults who knew her were questioned but they all have something to hide.... and the case goes unsolved. Twenty years later, Oreville highschool juniors and best friends Blair and Cam start a true crime podcast for their class and are determined to unravel the story and possible solve the case. Yet the more the dig into the small town secrets and the truth behind who Clarissa was and what her relationship to her boyfriend and art teacher were.... things begin to get deadly. Cam is relentless in her journey to solve the mystery, even if it means she could die. This one is formatted between different POVs and podcast snippets, the story unfolds. This one just felt meh for me, I felt like the mystery wasn’t as interesting and the two protagonists weren’t as engaging or fun. I found myself not invested in the mystery or the characters. It felt kind of bland to be honest and unfortunately it just missed for me. Definitely give it a go if you are interested in podcast themed true crime mysteries.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Missing Clarissa involves young adults present and past facing much the same temptations. However, with the improvements in technology news travels more extensively and more quickly. But, then solutions to bad decisions are still critical and murder is this relevant. Cam and Blair's investigation is superb making for a winning novel.

Missing Clarissa tells the story of two best friends who set out to make a podcast about a twenty year old cold case that happened in their small town.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Cam and Blair were both interesting characters who I found compelling. The story didn't follow a straight line and I liked all the twists and turns. Was some of it a little far fetched? Sure. But it was still a fun read.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC.