This one reminds me a little of Good Girls Guide to Murder but it just didn't have the same appeal. Blair and Cam, two friends choose a journalism assignment that involves investigating an old cold missing persons case. They create a podcast revealing their finds along the way as they delve into the history of the case. This of course causes unrest in the community and opens up old wounds and not all of the interest in the podcast is positive.

It was ok and it did have some twists that kept me reading. I am not the target audience for this YA read and as an adult some of the plot didn't fit for me, but for YA readers they may relate to the characters and storyline where I didn't.

Thanks to netgalley for my e-copy in exchange for my review.

I couldn’t put it down! I absolutely loved Cam and Blair. They were well-written and great contrasts to each other. I found myself desperate to find out who they were interviewing next. I was guessing until the very end. Definitely recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the idea of this book- the true crime vibes, the teenagers making a podcast for a project that turns into something more. But... A lot of the writing was just... off. Not worded well, strange sentence structure, and weird vocabulary. It just didn't flow very well. Also, there was some sort of racial obsession in the character descriptions. That was very strange and out of place. I think this idea was poorly executed for both a young adult and adult audience. It was missing something.

In 1999, Clarissa Campbell disappeared from Oreville, Washington without a trace. Twenty years later, high school students Cam and Blair choose Clarissa's cold case as the topic of their school journalism project, resolving to research and create a podcast that will bring her disappearance back into focus, possibly rustle up some new evidence, and ideally finally lead to some answers and some justice. MISSING CLARISSA charts the course of the girls' investigation, as they weather typical adolescent trials and tribulations while also learning that even in a small, boring town like Oreville, secrecy and suspicion runs rampant - and with Clarissa's case, they might just be in over their heads.

I really enjoyed reading this, though I don't think I could go so far as to say that it's an objectively good, well-written book. It was compulsively unputdownable, the sort of surface-level YA mystery that you can fall into and be carried along by, and before you know it four hours have passed and you forgot to eat anything for lunch, but also you couldn't necessarily explain to anyone who asks what was happening in the story because you're just not on that level with it. I think a lot of this comes down to the fact that Ripley Jones writes with such a strong, engaging, almost personable narrative voice, which almost tricks you into overlooking some of the more obvious flaws in plotting and characterisation.

What brought this book down for me, honestly, was how a lot of it seemed to lack a sense of completeness. It tackled a lot of different angles and side plots, but with almost no follow-through, and most of the resolution to various things was relayed in exposition at the very end of the book. For minimally-plot-spoiler-y example, Blair's relationship with James: that man was a supreme shithead of the highest order, the potential for all-out conflict was bubbling away every time he appeared on the page, plus I feel like there were some pretty obvious connections and connotations being drawn between this coupling and Clarissa's own romance with Brad that were practically begging to be explored and addressed. But when Blair finally ended things with him, as we all probably guessed she would, it happened... off-screen? We don't even know if she called him out on half of the shit he deserved to be called out on. What was the point? Why invest energy in the relationship at all, if that was how it was always going to end? Not to mention, this takes away from any sense of positive evolution for Blair's character, as we can't conclusively say whether she broke up with him because she finally realised her own worth or because she was just pissed off in a single split second.

The police corruption angle could have been so wide-reaching and pivotal, especially in the context of the rest of the book's social consciousness and awareness, but really, it was the topic of a single chapter and then dropped. Cam's disregard of journalistic ethics, not to mention the total lack of consequences that she suffers for her actions, bothered me to no end. And holy podcast, Batman: I almost forgot there was one, I almost forgot the girls were doing a project for school and not just investigating this cold case in their own spare time. (Although, to be fair, I've never listened to any podcasts created by teenagers, but I suppose this is how I imagine them treating it, thinking it's so simple and easy, that you can record something on your phone, post it with the right hashtags, and achieve popularity overnight.) Which brings us to the conclusion of the actual mystery, of Clarissa's disappearance, which was so lackluster and devoid of dramatic tension.

All of that being said, I do think YA audiences will gobble this up. It has enough of the right components to be a knockout. For more discerning readers... there are better true crime podcast novels.

<i>Everybody loves a dead girl.</i> That's a statement that a perusal of the mystery selections of almost any demographic will show you - there's a literary fascination to the young, dead, pretty, and white. But <i>why</i> is that true? While Ripley Jones doesn't fully answer the question in the novel, they certainly come close, and the answer is both chilling and familiar: because a dead girl can no longer speak for herself.

The lesson (along with several others that are very apt in our true crime obsessed world) isn't hammered in, but rather hinted at and eventually shown as protagonists Cam and Blair take their town's legendary Dead Girl and make her the subject of a journalism class project. When they start, they're both thinking that this will just be an easy way to get a good grade, but as they did deeper into Clarissa's disappearance in 1999, they begin to understand grimmer and darker truths about her story than they were looking for. There's a certain amount of the old "but it was a different time!" excuse thrown at them, and Cam in particular is looking to fight back against that as a viable excuse.

While the identity of the killer is relatively easy to piece together, the story is still fascinating. Both Blair and Cam are interesting characters, and the way Cam is written lets us know that she's neurodivergent without the author actually <i>saying</i> it. If you enjoyed <i>Sadie</i> by Courtney Summers, you'll definitely want to check this out. Dead girls deserve voices, and, the story tells us, maybe it's time to start paying attention to them while they're alive - as <i>people</i> rather than "girls."

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

This was my first read from Ripley Jones and I can’t believe I haven’t read any of their work before!

Missing Clarissa was an excellent read as a YA Thriller! It had me guessing all the way until the end!
Missing Clarissa reminded me of the new TV show on Hulu “Only Murders in the Building” because of the podcast aspect and the mystery of Who-done-it! Definitely giving a 5 out of 5 stars on this one!!
#netgalley #missingclarissa #ripleyjones

3.5 stars soley due to the switching POV without story breaks. Maybe its just the literature nerd in me, but it really messed with my enjoyment of the story.

Overall plot was engaging. Teenage girls acting like teenagers can get annoying yet its true to life. Acknowledgement of journalistic integrity, ethics, and white girl privilege raised it up slightly.

Going to tell my actual YA niece to check this out when its released at her library.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

I thought about giving up on this book a few times but kept reading because I needed to know who did it. I was pleasantly surprised that the ending was not as predictable as I expected it to be.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars.

Spoilers ahead. I will not reveal anything big - most of the review vaguely alludes to plot, structure, and characters.

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Okay, so I think this is a pretty average story - a missing white girl, other girls trying to solve her disappearance years later. We have seen it before and will see it again. The suspects were predictable, though that isn't necessarily a bad thing - after all, true crime fans know that the friends/boyfriend/person who inserts themself are always looked at first. I felt that the characters were frustratingly one-dimensional and underdeveloped - so much of their individual development came from unnecessary romance subplots, which made them define themselves through others. The justice "lessons" were very heavy-handed and felt very forced, no matter how true and accurate they are. I really liked the journalism teacher, and wish he had been utilized more as a guide or mentor type figure. And I will say that I did like that there were actual, real stakes for the main character's needlessly selfish and reckless behavior. Overall it's...fine. There's nothing glaringly wrong with the prose, and it's a fast read that many will like. It just wasn't for me.

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Again, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As an avid listener of podcasts, particularly true crime podcasts, I thought this novel would be a fun read. It ended up being a book I didn't want to put down, even after I was pretty sure I knew who the 'bad guy' was in the investigation. Not only do we learn about Clarissa throughout the investigation into her disappearance but watching Cam and Blair grow into themselves will speak to a lot of YA readers.
If I could change one thing it might be that sometimes it was unclear if when another character was narrating if that was something included in the podcast or just being told to the reader, which is a small detail but one that kept taking me out of the story momentarily. As a whole I found the book to work really well and tell a story that manages to highlight the issues with reporting on true crimes and remembering that you are talking about real people alongside dealing with high school romance and friendships. One thing that was in the book that didn't always seem to fit the store that was being told, while also being super important to our world today, was the information about native populations. I learned from what was included and it was important things, but seemed out of place just popping up in the book without connection to the investigation itself or the two main characters directly. I would love to see another book by the author that deals with those issues in a way that is more connected to the main story. Neither of these things take away from the fact that I really enjoyed the book and will recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book. I enjoyed this quick read to unravel the mystery of a long-missing girl. The author did a good job of capturing the teenage voice in the writing. It got a wee bogged down in descriptions of their life challenges outside their podcast, but overall it kept me motivated to keep going.

I wasn’t a huge fan of this one. I read it all in one sitting, and felt like I didn’t care much about the characters or what was happening. I wish it read like “Good Girls Guide to murder,” instead it fell a little flat for me, and kept wanting more.

This ended up being such a big letdown. It is marketed toward fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, but it is nothing like that. Our main characters, Cam and Blaire, decide for their journalism class to start a podcast about the disappearance of a high-school cheerleader, Clarissa, that happened 20 years ago.

I did not like either of our main characters. Cam is very brash and harsh, which is fine when it is tempered. However, she acts without caring what her actions might do to others. She is quick to judge people and even gets upset with people who are nothing but kind to her. Blaire was a little bit better, but she was bland. She kept talking about how ordinary and dull she is, which is fine in moderation, but it was her only personality trait. She would forgive Cam in an instant, even though Cam crossed some pretty big boundaries.

The writing was not great. It read like what an adult thinks teenagers talk like, in an awkward stilted way. The POV would switch from paragraph to paragraph, which was even more confusing. Also, the interviews that Cam and Blaire had with people involved in Clarrisa's case were odd. The adults were incredibly open in talking to them and would share all this information, even though Blaire and Cam were asking terrible questions. It made it hard to enjoy the mystery aspect of the book.

This book had potential, but it just did not deliver.

first, i want to thank netgalley and wednesday books/st martin's press for allowing me to read an ARC of missing clarissa. unfortunately, i was disappointed with the book and how the story played out. i didn't like either of the main characters for different reasons. i found blair to be annoying and very "woe is me, i suck at everything" which to an extent, i understand a teenage girl thinking that, but she was like that the entire book which was exhausting. i liked cam more, but her actions towards the end made me feel like she never learned her lesson. i also thought the writing was confusing and trying to figure out who was talking when which made for some disorienting dialogue. i think the premise of this book was a good one, but the follow through was a miss. the ending seemed predictable and it's not any better than other mystery books out there. lastly, the chapters dragged on for way too long in my opinion, but i also just don't do well with long chapters to begin with. unfortunately, i wouldn't recommend this book to my friends when it gets released in 2023.

A few weeks ago, I was invited to read an ARC version of Ripley Jones's upcoming novel "Missing Clarissa" via her publishing/marketing team as well as through NetGalley. Thank fuck, I finally found time to read it (before it expired from my account and I lost this amazing opportunity--as well as a fantastic mystery).
["In August of 1999, dazzlingly popular cheerleader Clarissa Campbell disappears from a party in the woods outside the rural town of Oreville, Washington and is never seen again. The police question her friends, teachers, and the adults who knew her—who all have something to hide. And thanks to Clarissa’s beauty, the mystery captures the attention of the nation. But with no leads and no body, the case soon grows cold. Despite the efforts of internet sleuths and true-crime aficionados, Clarissa is never found—dead or alive.


Over twenty years later, Oreville high-school juniors and best friends Blair and Cameron start a true crime podcast, determined to unravel the story of what—or who—happened to this rural urban legend. In the process they uncover a nest of dirty small-town secrets, the sordid truth of Clarissa’s relationship with her charismatic boyfriend, and a high school art teacher turned small-town figurehead who had a very good reason for wanting Clarissa dead. Such a good reason, in fact, that they might have to make him the highlight of their next episode…

But does an ugly history with a missing girl make him guilty of murder? Or are two teenage girls about to destroy the life of an innocent man—and help the true killer walk free?"]
Everyone loves a dead girl.

It's a direct quote said multiple times throughout the novel (as well as on the cover itself), but it's so damn true. The coverage a missing white girl gets, let alone a popular and pretty one? Insane. Then the hype that is true crime and podcasts over the last decade? Crazy. Add to it the wave of published novels within the ya mystery/thriller genre over the last five years? W O W.

It was really good! I thought I knew things, I thought I had hunches, I thought some pretty twisted and convoluted theories...I was wrong. I was so wrong. I mean, like, holy. shit.

This book was really good! There were slow parts, and parts that seemed irrelevant at the time or just redundant, but it was glorious.

I, personally, really liked how the POV switched mid-chapter between Cam and Blair, without any subheaders. I've written like that before, but my professors in grad school didn't find it "refined" and "clear" enough. But like I said, I liked it.

The personal drama between the two and their lives were just all very...juvenile. But, it was a young adult novel, and it's been a loooong while since I read one, so I think it was just that. Double But, there was character growth and a whole arc development between them. They grew as individuals and learned about themselves. They fell into and out of love. It was beautiful.

Check this book out when it debuts on 7 March 2023!

Book: Missing Clarissa
Author: Ripley Jones
Rating: 2 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Wednesday Books, for sending me an ARC.

Clarissa Campbell is the girl who has it all. It comes as no surprise that her disappearance has not only rocked her hometown but the nation. No one knows what happened the night of that part. Most people believe that she is dead, but some still hold onto the hope that she is still alive. Fast forward twenty years, two high students start a podcast for a school assignment. Cam and Blair have decided to look into what happened and see if they can uncover the truth. As they dig, they start to find out that some things are not what they seem. Are these secrets worthy of murder?

This set-up sounded great to me. I love the idea of a small town with a secret and an unsolved murder. I normally get right into this book. However, I felt like this one was missing something. I felt like we were just going through the motions of telling a story without really adding any substance. I kept waiting for there to be a reason for me to be connected to and care about what was going on. The stakes in the book are very high. After all, the Golden Girl has disappeared and no one knows what has happened. Everyone wants answers. Yet, it didn’t feel like it. The only reason we knew this was because we were told. While there are some exciting times, something was missing. The characters were okay. Again, I felt like there was nothing for me to connect to. Cam and Blair have an amazing friendship, but, again, the only reason we know this is because we are told. I would have liked to have been given to care about them and what happens to them. We were going through the motions again of getting the story and friendship. I would have liked to have some more depth to them. Why should we can about what is going on with them? Why are we supposed to care about them?


Not only does not having a connection play a role in this but there is also the matter that this is the same story that we’ve been told again and again. Again, normally, this does not bother me. However, I felt that there was nothing new here. It was predictable and overall flat. I would have liked to have had something more.

Overall, this was just a miss for me.

This book comes out on March 23, 2023.

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books/St Martin's Press for inviting and allowing me to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Missing Clarissa is about two teens who start a podcast to find out if Clarissa, a girl who vanished twenty years ago and shook the small town of Oreville, is alive.

While I love podcast thrillers Missing Clarissa falls flat. I really liked the opening chapter and I was very excited for what was to come but when we meet Blair and Cam the writing becomes juvenile. I had a hard time connecting with both girls and the podcast parts were not written well. I know they were just starting the podcast but it felt like the story, and the podcast, never improved.

I think the main problem I had with Missing Clarissa is the writing. It's written in third person and it's not done well. Each time Jones switches between Blair and Cam it's very jarring and there's no indication of the switch. I didn’t enjoy the podcast and the characters didn't have enough depth.

As much as I wanted to like the book I couldn't get into it.

1.5 or 2 stars

“Everyone loves a dead girl”

A fun read after reading some heavy adult true crime. I really enjoyed the storyline of a class assignment turning into so much more!

Only complaint is the slow start, I think for a YA I expected more of quick pace in the beginning to help keep younger readers captivated. I would still recommend to my high schooler.

I was given the opportunity to read an e-ARC of this book by NetGalley and St. Martin”s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Two teens solve a decades-long mystery, uncovering corruption, toxic masculinity, and lots of regrets during the course of their investigation for their very rough and ready podcast. I like the emphasis on ethical journalism and the need for communicating with your writing/podcasting partners, but the writing is a bit uneven, especially in terms of character behavior and development.

This was an extremely quick read, and a nice surprise! This book is easy to follow, and the twists and turns it takes are truly engrossing. Overall I enjoyed Missing Clarissa, if you like YA Mystery books then I think you will enjoy this one.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.