Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the e-arc to this book. I enjoyed the storyline and definitely felt the connection to "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder". Because I didn't get a chance to pick this up before the release date, I was also able to listen to the audio. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives, but wish their would have been a voice change between the two characters. Even within the novel, it was hard to distinguish which character perspective we were in. Overall, I enjoyed the read. 3.5 stars

August 1999- High school students gather in a clearing in the woods for a midsummer bonfire party. Everyone who is everyone is there, led by the King and Queen of Oreville, Washington, Brad Bennett and Clarissa Campbell. Everyone can agree that Brad and Clarissa had an argument. Everyone can agree that Clarissa stormed off in tears. No one can agree on what happened next. Clarissa Campell left that party and was never seen again. Twenty years later Clarissa's case remains unsolved. The town tacitly agrees that her boyfriend, Brad, has somehow gotten away with murder, but the police department is unwilling or unable to produce enough evidence to press any charges.

Enter high school juniors, Cam Munoz and Blair Johnson. When faced with the prospect of a semester-long journalism project, Cam convinces Blair they should tackle the cold case. Clarissa's case has taken on the status of an urban legend, the ultimate warning against what can happen in the dark, and Cam thinks that the fame that could come from busting the case wide open will get the girls into any college they wish to attend. What she didn't count on was how real the case would begin to feel after conducting interviews. How many lives the disappearance still touched in their small town, and the lengths to which some people are willing to go to keep some secrets buried.

For me, as an adult reader, "Missing Clarissa" was a four-star book. For its intended young adult audience? "Missing Clarissa" will be the thriller of the year. Ripley Jones takes every single mystery trope that young adult and middle grades readers LOVE and executes it flawlessly. We have a cold case, we have a dynamic and super different duo investigating, we have a small town hiding secrets, we have a podcast-style narrative with interviews of suspects and witnesses, we have a big twist, and we have protagonists who are still finding themselves and growing in their own skin. Fans of "Sadie," "The Agathas," and "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" are sure to fall in love with Cam and Blair, I know I did. Special thanks to NetGalley and to St. Martin's Press for providing an Advanced Reader's Copy of "Missing Clarissa" in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is my opinion, but I had a very hard time getting into this book. I'm not sure if the writing is just jarring at the beginning, the speaking to the audience immediately and without any lead in. Typically, these kinds of books are my favorite, but I simply couldn't connect with the characters or the story. Thank you for giving me a chance to read!

these types of books, the young adult true crimey multimedia presentations are more hit or miss for me than i would prefer. i liked a good girl's guide to murder, i didn't like sadie. i would say missing clarissa falls in the middle of those two

Its always a tragedy when someone goes missing, but what happens when the news moves on and the town tries to forget? Blair and Cameron decide to try and solve the case because they need to pass journalism class. Cam off the bat grated my nerves and I was never really given a chance to see her as a whole character. She had opportunities to that could have added to her depth and character arch. Blair was a shadow of a person and sewed together by stereotypes. Even the mystery wasn't fully developed and the killer was obvious where it could have been a deep look into criminal justice.

"Missing Clarissa: A Novel" by Ripley Jones is a gripping mystery that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very end. The story follows the disappearance of Clarissa, a successful businesswoman who vanishes without a trace, leaving her family and friends desperate for answers.

Jones's writing is atmospheric and evocative, capturing the small town setting and the tight-knit community that is rocked by Clarissa's disappearance. The characters are well-drawn and complex, each with their own secrets and motivations that keep the plot moving forward.

What sets this book apart is the way in which Jones masterfully weaves together multiple perspectives and timelines, creating a puzzle that readers will be eager to solve. The pacing is excellent, with just the right amount of tension and suspense to keep readers engaged.

While the resolution may not satisfy everyone, it is a fitting conclusion to a complex and nuanced mystery. Overall, "Missing Clarissa" is a well-crafted and engaging novel that will appeal to fans of suspense and mystery fiction. I give it a solid 4-star rating.

I really wanted to like this one...I heard it was recommended for fans of A Good Girls Guide To Murder, but unfortunately this one didn't work for me as that series did. I found Cam and Blair to be incredibly immature and reckless (I know they're teens - but they were truly disrespectful.) I felt disconnected to the story and was disappointed I didn't enjoy it. I did like the narrators.

What initially drew me to this book was the podcast angle. I have a weakness for true crime podcasts and books that have that as a plot point are some of my favorites. It’s interesting that this podcast was developed by teenagers doing a school project. Because of that, I was curious if the author would make the girls act like adults or if they would be portrayed as the imperfect teenagers they should be.

I found out quickly that Cam is a perfect example of an impetuous teenager. She handles this entire podcast with mania and impulsivity which leads to some crazy moments. Thank goodness for Blair who has a level-head and is much better at reading people and knowing how to talk to them. Blair’s flaw is her doubt in herself.

The mystery of Clarissa’s disappearance, investigated through the girl’s interviews, is interesting. It took a little time for the girls to put the pieces together, but I was able to figure out the culprit the first time he/she was mentioned. I loved how the author developed the story and dropped hints all along including a big red herring.

One of the other things I loved about this book was the character development with Cam and Blair. They learned more about themselves as the book progressed. They dealt with some big life things that were holding each of them back.

I definitely want to read more from this author. The narration of this book was great as well. All of the different narrators brought characters to life. The audio during the podcast part really made it seem like I was listening to a podcast. Really well done!

YA, Suspense/Mystery/Thriller
I really liked this book so I feel like it is for YA and Adults
Cold Case: a young cheerlead's disappearance - not sure if she ran away, was taken or maybe even killed, no body was found
So many questions, so many secrets.... what is going on in this small town all those years ago

Fast-paced- def keeps your attention
great character and storyline
The main characters are Blair and Cameron, best friends and working on a school project aka the podcast
Their goal is to crack this case

Heads up for YA readers this book contains LGBTQ+ and some race identity themes

I was able to read this book as an ARC and I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley. The review above is my own honest and voluntary.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was a great premise to follow the true crime podcast. The pace was great and I would definitely pick up another book by this author.

Thank you Wednesday Books for sending me an eARC via NetGalley to read and review.

CWs: student/teacher relationship, death, violence

This was an interesting story, but I struggled a little bit with the writing style. I found it very simplistic at times, and it just didn’t seem to flow like it felt that it should. I also was not a fan of Cam, one of the main characters. I found her selfish, rude, ignorant, and judgemental. I didn’t think she had any character growth, and I was really frustrated with her actions. I didn’t like the way she treated Blair, her best friend, and I didn’t like how she always thought she was right and wouldn’t consider the impact of her actions. I couldn’t root for Cam because I just did not like her.
I didn’t mind Blair, but she constantly reminded readers that she was nothing special. It got a bit repetitive and annoying. I did like when she finally started standing up for herself in the end, but I think she should’ve done it way earlier.
The mystery of Clarissa was intriguing. I had suspicions early on, and I ended up being right about who had killed her and other things. I still enjoyed reading about them trying to find some answers, but I felt like the ending was really intense and the rest of the story didn’t have that same level. It seemed a bit disconnected.
I thought the podcast aspect was interesting, but it felt more like it was added because that’s what’s been popular lately. I feel like the story would’ve been pretty similar if the podcast had been taken out and it was just their school project.
I think younger readers of YA mysteries could really enjoy this one and get sucked into the decades old mystery of Clarissa Campbell.

A party in the woods, plenty of small-town secrets, and a girl who's never seen again...
In the summer of '99, Clarissa Campbell disappeared from a party in the woods and was never seen again. The police questioned everyone who knew her. Clarissa was a beautiful cheerleader whose disappeareance caught the attention of the nation. With no leads, the case soon grew cold and despite the efforts of internet sleuths and true-crime enthusiasts, Clarissa was never found. Now, over twenty years later, high school besties, Blair and Cam decide to dive into the mysterious, unsolved case for their class project. Upon launching their true crime podcast, they uncover small-town secrets, the truth about Clarissa’s high school relationship, and a reason that one of Clarissa’s teachers would want her dead. What really happened to Clarissa and can they discover the truth while keeping themselves safe from the same fate?
This was a fun and interesting read; Overall, I enjoyed it. I loved that Blair and Cam's podcast episodes were created within the audiobook and that the quality of them was not only realistic, but matched how others described them in the story. I was a little bummed to find that my prediction of who and why was accurate, as I love being hit with a twist I would've never seen coming! The ending also felt pretty rushed, it would have been nice for the events towards the end to play out a bit longer. The audiobook's full cast did a wonderful job voicing the characters and bringing this story to life. If you're into YA thrillers, you might like this!
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and Edelweiss+. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Amateur Podcasters Solve Small-Town Mystery is a genre very much my jam. Unfortunately, the two MCs in this one were dumb as rocks.

Inspired by the 1999 disappearance of a cheerleader from their school, two girls team up on a Journalism project: they’ll launch a podcast, Missing Clarissa, in the hopes of uncovering new clues as to what happened all those years ago.

Maybe don’t immediately accuse every person you interview of being a killer. All these suspects from 20 years ago were real quick to reveal their dark secrets of that night.

I was most confused by the sudden personality change of Cam. She was introduced as a genius — described as such multiple times — and then halfway through the book she became an entirely different person. I feel as though she had been meant to be written as neurodivergent?? She bulldozes through conversations and can’t pick up on social cues, has a hard time understanding others’ meanings and feelings. She’s also very literal: a character mentioned putting on a poker face and Cam became distraught because they weren’t playing poker.

While I do appreciate the author’s passion for justice and race discussions, there were moments where it felt very heavy-handed: a seemingly out of nowhere monologue about totem poles and stolen native land.

I wanted to love this one but Missing Clarissa was very bottom-of-the-barrel as far as YA novels in this genre go.

Late 90s/early 00s is an auto-read for me, as I long for the time period of my childhood before everything got complicated. Rural and in a time period of just barely on the brink of technology makes for a an engaging story of a missing character. Then, we're brought to the present, 20 years later. This has everything for us true-crime reading, podcast-listening millennials.

In 1999, a beautiful blonde cheerleader, Clarissa Campbell, went missing from a party in the woods near her small town of Oreville, Washington. The case drew national attention, but it was never solved.

Now, high school junior Cameron has a project to do for her journalism class, and she decides to create a podcast about the case. She gets her best friend, Blair, to be her partner. One would think two students couldn’t do anything the police didn’t achieve two decades before. But they start talking to people involved — Clarissa’s boyfriend, her mom, a man who helped the family — and gather a surprising amount of information. Not only are they getting enough details to make a good true crime podcast, but they may actually be able to solve the case.

But digging up dirt always leads to trouble, and as the two unearth some nasty secrets, they find themselves facing legal issues and even danger.

Missing Clarissa is a compelling crime story. But I just kept thinking that the main character was doing some really stupid, dangerous things. That was part of the story, but at those moments it felt a bit more like a teen horror flick rather than what someone may do for real. Who really would do such brazen, risky things? (OK, well, maybe a teenager…) In addition to dealing with the topic of “respected” adults preying sexually on teens, the book also touches on issues of appropriation of Indigenous people’s land and cultures, as well as prison abolition. But these latter ones were thrown in via a somewhat minor character and felt unrelated, unnecessary, a way for the author to do a little grandstanding on subjects she’s passionate about.

This young adult book isn’t extraordinary, but it’s a satisfactory addition to the genre.

This book gives me major a good girls guide to murder vibes. It's a great book! Such good character development and background.

Blair and Cam are best friends taking a journalism class in high school. They decide to do a podcast on a local girl who disappeared without a trace over 20 years ago for the big class project. Cam is all for just going full tilt at it and letting the pieces fall where they may while Blair is more cautious and tries to keep Cam in check. What starts off as just a whim project soon becomes a twisty web of half-truths and suspicious activity that convinces both girls that there's more to Clarissa than what all the press and gossip presented when she disappeared. And that's when things really start to get going as genius but impulsive Cam and unsure but supportive Blair find out that asking questions may get you answers you weren't expecting.
I did not anticipate this one to go as hard at the actual case as it did. The focus is on Blair and Cam and we get to see them dealing with typical high school situations such as fighting with a boyfriend or realizing that the girl you're obsessed with likes you back, but Cam's dogged determination to find out what really happened to Clarissa takes them to dark and dangerous places that I was not expecting in a YA. That said, I applaud Jones for not sugarcoating the darker side of the things the girls discover during their investigation and how well they handled saying things without getting explicit on the page.
It really pulled me in and kept me guessing right up to the final reveal, a thing not many mysteries can pull off.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the engrossing read!

I read MISSING CLARISSA immediately after reading TELL ME WHAT REALLY HAPPENED (due to Instagram-Synchronicity), and now I think this is the way the two books ought to be read, not a duology but sort of two different perspectives on similar situations and individuals. The eponymous long-vanished Clarissa is an earlier-era version in many ways of the elusive Maylee in TELL ME WHAT REALLY HAPPENED (a good two decades earlier, nearly an entire generation, with the immense changes the 21st century's first two decades have wrung). Then too, there's strong and sensitive LGBT rep here, and also there's inclusion of perspectives of marginalized societies and individuals. Without spoilering, there's also a thread which has very much in common, I believe, with the novel MY DARK VANESSA.

MISSING CLARISSA is a YA Horror/Thriller/Psychological Thriller that amazingly becomes deeper and more engrossing as the novel progresses, to the point where I became fearful not only for Clarissa, back in 1999, but for the intrepid contemporary co-protagonists, two sixteen-year-old high school junior girls, in a small insular Pacific Northwest community, uncovering ugly secrets and entrenched corruption. Remember, if the secrets are deep enough, somebody's going to be willing to kill to protect those secrets...and themselves.

Release March 7 2023

Thank you Wednesday books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. I really enjoy true crime podcast murder mystery fiction. This book was definitely really intriguing. It was interesting to try and figure out where Clarissa is and if or if not, she has been murdered. I realize while reading this, I’m not a huge high school drama person, but it really picked up towards the end of the book and the action really got it going. The ending tied everything up perfectly in a bow and for a quick read it was very enjoyable.

I loved this book! Blair and Cameron were easy to love and entertaining to read about. The podcast was interesting and the story was engaging.

I will be looking for more from this author for sure!!