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!

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

Missing Clarissa was a fun mystery to jump into. Maybe it's the whole Nancy Drew vibes or the podcast adventure. Either way, I was completely hooked in trying to solve the mystery. Unfortunately, I'll be sticking to my day job because I was so bad at picking who the prime suspect was. Though, I did narrow it down to at least two people. Just jumped to the wrong conclusion until the big reveal came my way.

In this, you will meet Blair and Cam. I honestly adored their friendship because it was just so much fun to watch. They always had each other's backs and somehow had this vibe of knowing what the other one meant with just one look. So, when they decided to do a podcast over their town's very famous closed mystery, well I was totally here for it all. The only thing I didn't like was how quickly a certain someone jumped to certain conclusions without any backup.

Other than that, solving the mystery was a lot of fun. I'm glad that Blair and Cam did so well, and their lives are forever changed for the better. Also, super happy that two people are getting what they need because of karma. Definitely happy that I got the chance to jump into this book and can't wait for Ripley's next book!

Wow! This story is so well written. It catches your interest from the very beginning and keeps you on the edge of your seat right to the end.
The story of a girl gone missing in 1999 catches the attention of two high school journalism students who decide to use it as the basis of their class project. They plan to investigate her disappearance with the hope of finding out what really happened to Clarissa. They will use a podcast to report their findings as they pursue their investigation.
It doesn't take them long to consider the possibility that they bit off more than they can chew with this project, but they are determined to see it through. It will be a test of their friendship, and strain their other relationships. Will they find the answers they are looking for? What they learn about themselves along the way gave the reader a connection to the girls.

This is a must read!

this book was really good but not my fav thriller. the characters were amazing and i loved them more than anything. I LOVED SOPHIE AND CAM’S RELATIONSHIP SM and blair and cams friendship>>. i knew the plot twist and who killed clarissa tho. the writing was good but it was a bit slow at times.

I really enjoy a good YA mystery with a podcast! At first, I had a hard time with the alternating perspectives
between Cam and Blair within each chapter, but once I got the flow of that writing structure, I really enjoyed the book. The plot moved at a quick pace, the characters were likeable, and I enjoyed the ride to the end. I would recommend this to people who liked A Good Girls Guide to Murder because it does give similar vibes. Overall, it's a great standalone book and I love the social commentary that is woven in.

I love books that have podcast within the story it makes the story in it self seem real in a way but any ways.
The first 30% of this book was really hard to get into ,Cam was really hard to like in the beginning but then she really started to grow on me ,Blair is the one that i related to the most in a way.
This story gave me a lot of "Pretty Little Liars" vibes

If you liked/loved the good girls guide to murder or the pretty little liars you will like/love this as well.

I liked the concept of this book, the two main characters, and the mystery. But it just didn't live up to my expectations.

There were minimal podcast elements, and more just talking about the podcast. It would've been much more fun to read if a good portion of the very long chapters were podcast interviews with the characters. Also, I don't know what everyone else thought, but the cover gives the whole murder away. I immediately knew who the killer was because of the cover.

Blair and Cam were great characters and very likable (even when they weren't. I'm looking at you, Cam). Although, the narration was very choppy, constantly switching between both girls, making it slightly confusing. Of course, Blair and Cam had a conflict, but I felt that resolving it was way too rushed at the beginning.

The whole ending of the story was very rushed and was packed with too much drama. Don't get me wrong, I love drama, but when it takes away from the story, it becomes too much. With this being a book about murder, I was expecting that to be something huge, but it was barely even talked about once all was said and done. I also thought the motive for the murder was super weak and lazy. There were much more interesting characters that could have committed the crime.

But did book was very interesting to read, especially as someone who has a love for journalism and podcasts. I recommend it to fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and anyone who likes true crime. I wish Sophie and Cam's relationship was more prominent too! A romance subplot would have really added to the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an arc!

Even though im "older" i do enjoy a YA mystery from time to time. I read the "good girls" series and enjoyed it however this one fell a little flat for me. The mystery felt predictable and once I put it down i wasnt really motivated to pick it back up.

If you liked A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, you will like this book. There are a lot of similarities between the two basic plots, but otherwise a lot different as well. It is a dual POV storyline, with obvious character growth. They say in a small town, you know everyone’s secrets. Well, in Cam’s town people have buried their secrets for a long time.

Cam is impulsive, smart and speaks the truth, no matter what. Blair is her best friend, who tends to rein in the chaos that Cam can cause. They need a project for their Journalism class and decide to do a podcast covering the local tragedy that happened a couple decades ago in their small town. It blew up and got national coverage, but the case was never solved. As they investigate, their podcast starts reaching more and more listeners. Will anyone believe two teenage girls? Will they survive stirring up secrets that have been buried for so long?

This was a solid read! I think that the characterization of the different girls was one of the highlights of the book, with the way they were each given unique personalities but didn’t fall into any easy stereotypes. The heart of this story was absolutely the relationships between the characters, and while the mystery was interesting it was was the characters that made this book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC!

I love a crime podcast almost as much as I love YA mystery so I thought this was going to be a fast 5 stars. It came closer to 3.5 but was still very enjoyable!

I find when it’s stated that a character is “a chaotic mess” upwards of 20 times the character probably isn’t actually causing enough pages to justify this within the plot itself,

That being said it was layered and thoughtful in its approach to sensitive topics. I couldn’t put it down!

Thank you to MacMillan books and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.

I really liked this book. I want to state that from the jump. However, there were a couple things that I didn’t really like and it really brought down the story for me.
I’ll start with the pros:

1: I really liked the discussion around the imbalance between CIS, hetero, white women and indigenous, black and women of colour, trans women and LGBTQ women and femme presenting individuals. I don’t think this is spoken about enough but the truth behind how sensationalized murder/abduction/SA towards pretty, straight women are vs. those of marginalized groups was an important discussion. And the conversation didn’t just happen once. It happened at different points to drive home the message.

2: The character development of Cameron in terms of her obsession with Clarissa was eye opening. It again perpetuated how easy it is to fall into the media and how much people sensationalize the downfall of society-pleasing princesses over marginalized groups. When Cam opens her eyes to this, she starts to come out of her own self-induced Clarissa Coma and see the media for what it is.

Now for the cons:

1: While the development of Cam was the prominent piece of the story, Brooke’s was overlooked. Brooke was similar to Clarissa in a sense where she didn’t feel like she’s’ anything special - they both had boyfriends who didn’t appreciate them and they both had close best friends who were lesbians and who sometimes, cared too much. But Brooke had her own moment of getting away from her emotionally stunted and abusive boyfriend and it was completely glossed over with a blanket statement of “I broke up with him.” It would have been beneficial to SEE her backbone fully form and see her stand up for herself, but this didn’t happen.

2: I find it very hard to swallow that, with discussions as important as the ones I listed above, that there were NO black or indigenous people of colour within this book as MC’s. The one doing the educating for these matters is a 17-year-old white, beautiful, churchgoing, closeted lesbian. Cam, who I believe is part hispanic, is the only MC who is not from white suburbia and that doesn’t sit well. It makes it feel like these discussions are easier to swallow if they come from a white person rather than someone who is actually affected by this narrative. The “woke white woman,” thing has been done to death.

3: The self-deprecating that Brooke does is easily relatable and identifiable at first. However, when she’s still doing it 70% into the book, it gets to be a bit much. Again, as I said earlier, Brooke’s character growth was severely looked over and it’s a shame.

Overall, a middle of the road read. Enjoyable plot, a bit predictable but the “aha!” moment was great. I loved the banter between the girls and I loved the realness of the podcast creation. I just wish I loved the book and I didn’t.