This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. This book is a teenage thriller with secrets…missing teen…lies…red herrings…guessing…friendship…the story moves slowly…I did not get into it totally…the two main characters were distracting with their making a podcast and their sleuthing…no real linear story.

Totally A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder vibes with the main character trying to figure out where Clarissa is while also making a podcast about it. This book touches on some social issues which adds to the storyline in my opinion. At first I didn’t understand Cam and the way she reacted to certain characters but you soon find out. However, she is very spontaneous and sometimes it was too much and didn’t always think her plans through!

I couldn’t put this one down. I love a good mystery and this book had several twists.

Clarissa Campbell vanished without a trace in 1999. She was last seen at a party in the woods in rural Washington state. Clarissa was a beautiful and popular cheerleader and her disappearance made national news.

Blair and Cameron are high school students who decide to do a podcast looking into Clarissas disappearance for their journalism class twenty years later. They decide to question the police and her friends and teachers to get a look at her life.

They will discover that people in their small town are keeping secrets. Someone doesn’t want the truth about Clarissa to come out and will go to great lengths to keep their secrets hidden.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fun mystery that was a pretty realistic representation of being a teenager! I enjoyed both main characters and think that my students will enjoy this too.

Missing Clarissa by Ripley Jones was easy-to-read and engaging. The podcast storyline was deftly crafted into a fun mystery with some refreshing twists. The heroes of the book are teenage girls dealing with relationships, school assignments, and a decades old unsolved murder. Their activities to create an A+ journalism assignment are simultaneously fun, scary, and heartbreaking to follow as the villains in the story are revealed. An entertaining read!

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this intriguing ARC.

I am a true crime podcast lover through and through so when I saw the description of this book I was all in. Two best friends who have a podcast unknowingly helping a killer…sign me up!

Clarissa is a popular, beautiful cheerleader living her best life. However her life takes a tragic turn when she disappears during a party. Despite best efforts to solve the mystery, she is never found and no valid leads come up and the case goes cold. Fast forward 20+ years later when 2 best friends bring the case on their podcast. However, it turns into much more than they bargained for. They center their focus on a teacher at the high school. Is he the killer or are they helping the real killer escape without consequence?

This story had such promise but for me, it didn’t live up to my expectations. The narrative was hard to follow at times and the plot was pretty predictable. Character development was shallow at best and I was unable to feel connected with any of them. Based on the reviews, many people did enjoy this, so if it sounds intriguing to you it might be worth a try.

Thank you to NetGalley + Wednesday Books for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"Almost everybody loves a dead pretty white girl."

Clarissa has been gone for years, but nobody knows for sure what happened to her. Cam and Blair decide to create an investigative podcast for their journalism class analyzing the case, but then there's a problem: they become invested. At what lengths will people go to keep them quiet?

This gave strong "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" vibes, but even with that connection, I really enjoyed it! Cam and Blair are realistic main characters who aren't perfect but you end up rooting for. Worth a read!

CW: death, murder, gun violence, missing person, sexual assault/grooming

I received a free copy of, Missing Clarissa, by Ripley Jones, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. In the summer of August 1999, high school student Clarissa is murdered. Twenty years later two of her classmates start a podcast about her murder. Can and Blair think they are doing the right thing, but are they. A great read, kept me on the edge of my seat.

"A gripping novel about two best friends start a true crime podcast—only to realize they may have helped a killer in the process."

Definitely similar vibes to AGGGTM which I absolutely loved. The plot was super predictable but I enjoyed the book nonetheless. I enjoyed the focus on white women syndrome, the complicated ethics of true crime podcasts and the rampant epidemic of predator teachers. I struggled with some of the writing as there was a lot of run on sentences and I felt the plot was a knock off of Holly Jackson's.

Thank you to NetGalley & Wednesday Books for the ARC.

In August 1999, cheerleader Clarissa Campbell disappears during a party and is never seen again, The police were unable to find any leads after interviewing everyone, so the case goes cold.

20 years later, high school friends Blair and Cam, start a podcast for a school project. They are determined to find out once and for all what happened to Clarissa.

This was a great story and I definitely didn't see the end coming. This story is not only about solving a crime, but also a great lesson on friendship.

A fast-paced thriller I couldn’t put down! I finished this in one sitting. 👌

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an early readers copy for an honest review.

A good YA true crime story that at least delves into the obsession with true crime, missing white girl syndrome and more importantly that there are real lives and people at stake in these stories. The ending was a bit rushed and I wish we spent more time with Blair and her sense of discovery. And I liked that Cam was a good life cheerleader even if she was smart but people dumb.

First, thanks to St. Martin Press and NetGalley for the chance to read this YA mystery book.

Guilty secret here: I do love to read YA books, although I am far from that age group. This one features two high school juniors who decide to make a podcast about a twenty- year- old unsolved murder of a young woman from their town for a school project. They learn more about their town, their parents, and themselves, in this mostly engaging murder mystery.

I did appreciate the author tidied up the loose ends and gave us an answer to the question of what happened to Clarissa, the murdered young woman, by the end of the novel. I had figured out the murderer as soon as the character was introduced, only because this has been done many times before in the multitude of mysteries I have read, but perhaps YA readers, with less experience reading this type of book, will not hone in on the character immediately. There are red herrings, some humor, relatable characters and a clear story line although the author did the one thing I hate when reading fiction and that is throwing in political statements and preachy types of dialogue to hammer a point of view of the author, but not necessarily something a high school junior would talk about.

I rate this novel 3/5.

Missing Clarissa by Ridley Jones was a really fun and enjoyable read despite the darkness of the crimes being investigated. There are been many "podcast" books lately, but this one is definitely at the head of the pack. I loved the friendship between Cam and Blah, and how they explored their own issues as much as the mystery of Clarissa's disappearance. Highly recommend!!

To be honest, this book took me a bit to fully get into. But once I did, it was such a great rest. I love the characters and thought they were really well written. I personally love YA, so I jumped at the chance to read this. Love a good mystery and this definitely didn’t disappoint!

Missing Clarissa is a YA novel about two badass teenagers who start a podcast to solve what happened to a missing girl, who disappeared in 1999.

I really enjoyed this story as it gave me Nancy Drew vibes, except the characters were way more badass. Riley Jones wrote a very diverse cast of characters which is refreshing!

If you like true crime podcasts, unsolved cases, and murder mysteries you will love this book.

This book comes out on March 7th 2023. I was given an electronic ARC to review thanks to #netgally and @stmartinspress

Overall, I would rate this book 4.25/5 ⭐️ and definitely encourage you to preorder it! #bookstagram #booktok #book #bookreview #missingclarissa #ripleyjones #stmartinspress #booksbooksbooks #august

I really liked this book! I was unsure if I would because it is YA, but I thought the story flowed well. The author captured what seemed to be (for me as an adult, anyway) a realistic teenage voice and mindset. The main characters were well developed and the backstories of the older characters helped support the story. While I was able to guess the murderer early on, I still enjoyed the plot.

CW/ grooming, SA
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It does seem a little silly that these two girls could quickly solve a 20 year old cold case for a school project, but I really enjoyed my time reading this one. The writing was maybe a bit too fast paced, but it was addictive. I was quickly invested in the mystery of Clarissa’s disappearance.
I really enjoyed the podcast element, and I liked these characters— they were flawed, a little messy and chaotic, sometimes selfish. They felt like real teens, making reckless teenage decisions. I wanted to shake Cam at times.
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3.75 stars, MISSING CLARISSA by Ripley Jones is available March 7! Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the chance to review an eARC.

I feel like I flew through this book. There was a lot more to this than just a YA murder mystery. There was a lot of commentary on how pretty white girls who go missing get more media coverage than women of color, there was talk about the broken system of the American prison, about how predators get away with their behavior. The whodunnit part of the book wasn’t necessarily a shock, but it was done very well. I thought the author really did a good job of leaning one way to really make you second guess what happened. Character wise, I enjoyed the balance of Cam and Blair. I loved their friendship. I related to Blair so much. I do wish there would have been more of a conflict with her and James to really make a point with that type of relationship. Cam certainly frustrated me at times, but I thought her determination and intelligence was written so well. As far as the pacing goes, I felt like it was pretty steady. The book had my interest the entire time. I felt like the ending was pretty satisfying for the most part. Overall, I enjoyed this book!


Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

"That summer, our summer. The last free summer before adulthood closes in. And then Clarissa Campbell disappeared."

Popular cheerleader, Clarissa Campbell, goes missing from a party the Summer of 1999 leaving the town with a million unanswered questions. How did the perfect cheerleader vanish without a trace? Is she still alive? Is she dead?

Over twenty years later, the small town of Oreville, Washington still wonders what happened to Clarissa that fateful night. Best friends Cam and Blair make it their mission to uncover what really happened to Clarissa by starting their own true crime podcast called 'Missing Clarissa''. Their podcast has them interviewing members of Clarissa's family, old boyfriends and even old friends. But the more information they dig up the more dangerous their mission becomes. It seems like someone wants to leave things in the past but with Cam and Blair resurfacing long forgotten information those secrets are about to surface. But with the truth in their reach a little bit of danger won't stop them. Or will it?

Overall, the idea of the book was interesting. I thought this was a fun twist on the traditional YA thriller. This book sheds light on the "white-woman syndrome" and other important topics.
But, I also felt like the story got a little too predictable. The POVs got a little confusing from time-to-time just because it bounces back between Cam and Blair so often.

If you love true-crime podcasts and the classic missing girl trope, you won't want to miss out on this one!