3.5⭐️ This book was a YA mystery novel with a murder podcast. The idea behind the story was so interesting and I was super excited to read about it. The story is about two friends Cam and Blair who decide to create a podcast about a girl named Clarissa who went missing 20 years ago. The story was fun, but I felt like the ending was predictable in my opinion and I knew what was going to happen really early on. But overall, it was still a fun read.

This was such a cute Nancy Drew meets modern age. Two best friends Cam & Blair are assigned a school project and they decide to solve a mystery?... podcast style?!! Clarissa went missing many years ago and the police failed to find her. Now both Cam & Blair are hoping to solve the mystery not just for an A on the project but because they realize Clarissa left many loved ones still wondering where she is.

Thank you to St Martins Press for sending me an early copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

A great story of two high schoolers who decide to start a podcast for a journalism class. The goal is to solve the disappearance of Clarissa: a popular cheerleader who went missing without a trace 20 years earlier.

Everyone in their small town knows the story, and as the girls soon learn, most of the adults in their life even knew Clarissa personally. The girls are repeatedly warned that digging up old secrets can be dangerous, but they just keep digging and finding more dirt than the local police ever seemed to find.

The book also deals with coming to terms with who you truly are and the ups and downs of true friendship and the power of observation!

This was a great read and I highly recommend!

This is more of an YA story, the premise being that two young girls are given a journalism assignment, and they decide to do a podcast on a teenage girl named Clarrisa who has been missing from their hometown for 20 years. No one knows for sure if she is alive or dead. At the beginning of the story, I was about to mark this book down because it seemed to be very racist to me. There were a lot of comments about how "everyone loves a dead white girl", how that person was Mexican, another was gay, another homophobic, etc. It wasn't so much the descriptions as the tone. As time goes on and the girls dig further into the mystery, they start to understand that this really isn't a joke...that a lot of people were involved and are still in considerable pain. The story also discusses the fact that as short awhile ago as twenty years, if a woman was accosted or abused, they were not believed or they were told that they deserved whatever it was they got. Several were too ashamed to even come forward with what happened to them. We like to think that things have changed for the better, but that stigma still remains. And hopefully someone reading this may have the guts to reveal their own problems and they will be taken care of the way they should be.

Wow. I loved this more than I thought I would. The writing style took me some time to get used to (about 25%) but once I got over that I flew through it. I honestly hope that this becomes a series because I’m obsessed with both FMCs and their friendship.

This was tough to rate because, though the first 1/3 - 1/2 was messy as Hell, it managed a really nice turn around at some undefined point. Also, I enjoyed the dialogue between the two girls, even where it was often strained when any other character was involved and the interviews were downright cringey.

Missing Clarissa is an easy, fast, and fun read. There is nothing too complicated about the story and it does have some funny moments. I didn’t really connect and there was one issue that grated against me to enjoy the story fully, but this is a fun read for those looking for a fast YA story to pass the time.
Part ghost story, part young YA high school drama, the story focuses on friends trying to find out what happened to a missing girl from their town. They are using the mystery for their podcast and for their collage applications.

The story is simple, straight forward, and easy to follow. It didn’t really have any outstanding secrets or spooky moments. It read to me like so many other YA ghost/mysteries that have been before. The characters fell a bit flat and there was a lot of young decision making (even for a YA story). I didn’t really care for any of the characters but that didn’t really matter because the story was so fast paced and easy that the pages were just few anyway. I will say I was dissatisfied with the ending and the solution to the disappearance of Clarissa. It was too… I don’t know, too dull and colorless. It just didn’t pay off.

The number one issue and it grated on me, was the overuse of the word, like. Like, it was added into a lot of the sentences, like, just thrown in randomly, like in the 90’s. It bugged me then; it bugs me now. But, like, that is purely a personal preference.

Overall, the story was a nice diversion from life for a few hours and one that was fun, but ultimately a bit lackluster.

I received an ARC via NetGalley and Wednesday Books and I am leaving an honest review.

Thank you for this book in exchange for my honest review.

Missing Clarissa was very well written — I found myself completely in the main character’s (Blair and Cameron) shoes. In addition, I loved the nostalgia of 1999 (the timeframe for the book) and the fact that the two main characters created a podcast to solve Clarissa’s case really enthralled me (I love podcasts)! This book is a MUST READ!

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from St. Martin's Press and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

WOW. I didn't want to put this one down, so I didn't. talk about keeping you interested and guessing.

This book was great and very different from other books of this genre. I loved the concept of the book being about two girls creating a true crime podcast. Besides reading, podcasts are my favorite thing to do in my free time. This felt like a great way to combine the two things I enjoy most. This was done so well and kept me guessing the whole time. I kept thinking I had finally figured it out, and then there was another piece of information brought to light that left me clueless and wanting to read more. If there were anything I would change, it would be slightly shorter and more spaced-out chapters to make for better stopping points. That's just personal preference though, and it in no way takes away from how wonderful I thought this book was. Such a good read!!

The decisions Cam made frustrated me so, so much throughout this book. There was a big point made about the fact that she nearly ruined everything by completely ignoring journalistic efforts, but also I kind of feel like the moral of the story was "it's not that big a deal that she was constantly ignoring what other people wanted and also being unethical because she caught the bad guys in the end"? I think this would be best for a young teen who is just getting into mysteries and isn't going to think to much about the hows/whys of Cam's behaviors, but I also worry about the book sending teens a bad message.

** A copy of Missing Clarissa was provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review **

Jones’ debut is the story of best friends, Cam and Blair, creating a podcast to solve the cold case of Clarissa’s disappearance. The premise is intriguing but I didn’t love this as much as I thought I would. I found Cam irritating at points - she just jumped into things without any forethought or concern. Missing Clarissa is readable and will find its audience. It just wasn’t for me.

Everyone loves a dead girl. Or at least that is what Blair and Cameron think. Blair and Cameron are two high school juniors in a small town in Washington. A town that is known for the mystery of a girl, Clarissa, who vanished in 1999. No one knows what happened to her, and the mystery still haunts the town 20 years later. Blair and Cam think starting a podcast about her disappearance will guarantee an A in their journalism class. But little did they know that some things are better left alone. They uncover secrets, get more invested in the truth, and encounter danger through this fast paced read. Will the girls be able to find out what really happened to Clarissa?

What I enjoyed:
- the friendship between Cam and Blair. I mean I loved how much these girls valued each other. Their friendship was a really awesome thing to see in this book. I loved both girls! I thought they balanced each other great.
- LGBTQI+ snd multi cultural representation. Multiple LGBTQI+ characters. Plus quite few different cultures represented. Loved seeing that!
- Great pacing! I started this bool before bed and stayed up till 5 am to finish it. I couldn’t put it down. I had to know the truth.

There was quite a bit more that I enjoyed. But I don’t want to spoil anything. Quite often with YA thrillers they can be hit or miss. This one was definitely a hit. This is perfect for fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. I went on a wild ride during this read and enjoyed every bit. I am looking forward to reading more in the future by this author. 4 stars out of 5. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Missing Clarissa was a quick read. Both main characters were very interesting in their own way. I wish Blair had more confidence in herself from the beginning. I’m glad she found it in the end. Cam was an awesome, all over the place mess. I mean that in a good way. I felt like I kept waiting to hear what came out of her mouth the most. I feel like the story has so much promise and it’s trying to say so much all at once in some parts. Overall, the book was quick and what YA murder/mystery readers want to read.

This book was very readable and I finished it in one sitting. I wasn't particularly interested in the high school romance aspect and could have done without it, but I can see it being appealing to a younger demographic.

Kindly received an ARC from St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books and NetGalley.

This is a good read! It’s the story of Blair and Cam, high school students to decide to look into a 20 year missing person case to make a podcast. It’s a good story and I love the characters!

Thank you so much to St Martins Press for sending me an early copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a sucker for a good YA mystery and this was just that, we follow Blair and Cam who are best friends as they investigate the disappearance of Clarissa Campbell who had become somewhat of a local ghost story in their town, this story had everything you need from a YA novel, mystery, romance etc however when it came to revealing what really happened to Clarissa. I felt kind of let down because it was so lack luster. However I still had a really great time reading this and will reccomend it to anyone who wants a mystery.

Missing Clarissa is a fast-paced young adult whodunit mystery. For a high school journalism assignment, two friends, Cameron and Blair, decide to create a podcast about a girl that went missing 20 years before. Things get tense as people recall the events that took place. The characters are easy to relate to and likeable. The story is well-written with a tidy ending. I look forward to reading more books from Ripley Jones.

missing clarissa definitely falls into the category of books that just screams me. missing girl? ✅ teenage sleuths? ✅ solving an old mystery that the police failed to solve? ✅ true crime podcasts? ✅✅✅

i won’t lie, the book started out great and then towards the middle i sort of started losing interest. the last “episode” 100% saved any negative thoughts i was having though.

🔍: our main protagonists are cam & blair; two best friends who decide (well mostly cam if i’m being honest) to do a podcast of the disappearance of clarissa campbell for their journalism class. the two have completely different voices, and i found myself favoring one character over the other for the majority of the book. both girls are great, but i just connected to cam more. cam was focus mainly on the podcast and the mystery while blair pov consisted of pitying herself & life, and questioning what the hell is she thinking doing a podcast and why does she always listen to cam. it was pretty aggravating i won’t lie, but she did grow on me towards the end of the book when she started realizing her worth isn’t determined by others. i won’t call her annoying, she’s a teenage girl. we all be there before, i’m still there.

📰: the mystery itself was great, if only a tad predictable. it’s a version of a story that’s been told many times and it never fails to sickens me. i won’t speak much on this part because i want to leave this review spoiler free, but one thing i will say is, i absolutely, positively, hate men. that’s all.

i did thoroughly enjoy reading this. the characters were hilarious and that kept me going, and there was a bit of a surprise there with one of our characters that i absolutely loved. i love rep in books like these, there not many around unfortunately. the side characters were also fascinating and great. i would totally read a story from all the 90s kids pov, but especially irene (who’s the best character, love her).

🎙 i debated giving this either 5 stars or 4 because i did enjoy reading it, but again some parts fell flat for me and i’m sticking to being honest. overall though, i absolutely would recommend this to all the readers out there who love some true crime podcast mysteries. & i definitely wouldn’t mind reading more about these girls in the future, doing something completely crazy because cam had an idea.🎙

3.5 stars
☆☆☆/☆☆☆☆☆

thank you netgalley & st martin’s press/wednesday books for approving me of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Clarissa Campbell was a beautiful cheerleader who went missing 20 years ago and has never been found. The story made national news and despite an investigation no one was ever charged in her disappearance.
Twenty years later two high school students from the same town decide to start a podcast into the mystery for a school project. Cameron and Blair know nothing about podcasting but that doesn't stop them. They interview several of those closest to Clarissa and they think they have figured out who might have hurt her.
This book had a great story but the main characters were lacking for me. Despite the author telling us how smart Cameron was, she acted very naive and clueless at times. I enjoyed the podcast aspect and my favorite character was Cameron's mom Irene.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of this book for review.