Member Reviews
The girls who disappeared will suck you into the story from the very first page. While it does begin to lag a bit in the middle it was still captivating and I appreciated the twist. I would recommend it as a light snack, thriller palate cleanser.
Thank you Claire Douglas for another book I couldn't put down. This story centers around a journalist turned podcaster, Jenna, who is is trying to find the truth of what happened to three girls who vanished after a car accident twenty years early. The book is told from three point of views: Jenna, Olivia, the sole victim of the crash who didn't disappear, and a mystery character whose perspective is told from a totally different setting/timeline. Though just a small portion of the book, the third perspective was actually my favorite.
Douglas does such a great job of describing the characters' thoughts and emotions. Strong character development (over primarily thill and action) is actually my preference, but I think it did make the story seem a bit slow at times. Nonetheless, I was invested, a little creeped out, and not so patiently waiting to figure out what happened to the girls! I didn't find the twist all that jaw-dropping, but I appreciate that it wasn't completely out of the blue and that it brought all the storylines together.
This was my second Douglas novel and I have to say, I am quite a fan! Be sure to grab this one on January 10th when it is released.
Thank you Harper Paperbacks and Netgally for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
A setting called The Devil's Corridor? A murder mystery among the moors? Sign me up. Absolutely loved the setting of this novel, and the slightly supernatural ambiance. The character development occasionally fell a bit flat, but the twist more than made up for it. I usually don't like a romance subplot in my thrillers, but it really worked in this one and felt genuine rather than tacked on.
This was my first Claire Douglas book and there were so many twists and turns. It started out like two different stories but as the story goes on, we see the two stories are interlinked.
Overall this was a good read with short chapters which made you read 'just one more chapter' each time.
I will definitely read more from this author.
The Girls Who Disappeared is an enthralling murder mystery with the modern twist of a podcast host doing the informal investigating. As an avid true crime podcast listener, the story of a journalist in the field researching for a podcast is very interesting. Claire Douglas does an excellent job keeping the reader guessing throughout the story, while infusing hope for a happy ending.
This is my second book by Claire Douglas, and I absolutely love her writing! This book was so unique. She used dual timelines but did not give you a date or introductions to the characters in the alternate timeline. This kept me guessing as to how those characters are related to the main story. I can’t wait to read more by her!
Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy. This was just a middle of the road read for me. Positives- I enjoyed the Dylan timelines.
#TheGirlsWhoDisappeared #NetGalley
Creepy thriller.
Here's a little description about it.
A journalist’s life is threatened when she investigates the truth about a mysterious car crash that happened twenty years earlier in this gripping thriller from the internationally bestselling author of The Couple at Number 9 and Just Like the Other Girls.
A car accident. Three missing girls. A twenty-year mystery.A woman on the verge of discovering the truth . . .In a rural Wilshire town lies the Devil’s Corridor—a haunted road which has witnessed eerie happenings, from unexplained deaths to the sounds of a child crying in the night.vIn this bucolic stretch of Southwest England famous for its otherworldly sites, nothing is more puzzling than the Olivia Rutherford case. Four girls were driving home. After their car crashed only one—Olivia—was found.
What happened to the girls who disappeared? On the twentieth anniversary of the tragedy, journalist Jenna Halliday has arrived in Wiltshire to cover the case. The locals aren’t happy with this outsider determined to dig into the past. Least of all Olivia. Soon, Jenna starts receiving menacing notes. The locals have made it clear she’s not welcome. But someone is going to make her leave one way or another. Jenna’s been warned: she must get out of this town before she suffers a dark fate .and becomes another mystery attached to this place.
This is my fifth book from this author and she never failed to impress me with her writing style.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for giving me an advance copy.
Douglas does it again!
The Girls Who Disappeared by Claire Douglas was riveting, excting and I cannot give it enough stars.
This is one of those that "hook you from the first chapter" type of read.
This chilling psychological thriller has everything you need to keep you reading long into the night... Draws the reader in with every carefully chosen word and keeps you guessing til the last page.
Brilliant writing from Claire Douglas!
I was quickly captivated by the story and could not stop reading.
"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
Harper Paperbacks,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!
Really enjoyed this read!! I couldn’t put it down! The writing truly makes you feel like you’re in the story.
Twenty years ago, four girls were involved in a car crash on The Devil’s Corridor in a small Wilshire town. Only Olivia Rutherford was ever found. However, the crash changed her life forever, leaving her unable to care for herself. Twenty years later, this case has long gone cold when journalist Jenna Halliday decides to create a podcast about the unsolved mystery. Jenna visits the small town in order to interview witnesses and gain content for her podcast. But someone is leaving her threatening notes and wants her to leave. What happened to Olivia’s friends that night? Is The Devil’s Corridor really haunted?
I have read and enjoyed many of Claire Douglas’s thrillers, but this is my least favorite so far. I had a difficult time connecting with this book because I found Olivia exhausting and really tired of her “Woe is me” attitude. Jenna Halliday is a more intriguing protagonist, but the reader only gets a small glimpse into her life. Douglas manages to shed doubt on many characters’ alibis and introduces convincing red herrings, but the plot is very over the top and the reveal was a let down.
Overall, this is not my favorite book by this author, but I still plan to read her upcoming offerings!
3/5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the ARC of The Girls Who Disappeared in exchange for an honest review.
It was just ok for me. Started off very captivating but slowed down towards the middle and I did not like the twist. A solid 3 stars because the beginning was very good!
I was happy to get the audiobook in addition to the digital ARC of this newest title from Claire Douglas! I think of her books as one of my favorite guilty pleasures; they are easy to read, moody, twisty novels that I tend to fly through.
The story felt like it drug on for too long, it took too long for the author to get to the connection between Olivia’s mom and John-Paul. It caused more confusion than mystery. The mystery of the girls going missing was a good story line but it doesn’t pull you in. The book was difficult to finish. I
"The Girls Who Disappeared" is about podcaster Jenna who travels to a small town to cover a 20 year old mystery of what happened to a group of four girls who got into a car accident one night resulting in three of the girls vanishing. Olivia, the only found after the accident, still lives in this small town as do most of the other people tied to this mystery including the missing girls parents and the peculiar man who found and saved Olivia all those years ago.
I really enjoyed Claire Douglas' "The Couple at No. 9" so I know I would likely enjoy "The Girls Who Disappeared". Claire Douglas is excellent in creating detailed webs which we the reader get to enjoy while the protagonist untangle them. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the characters of Jenna and Olivia; cementing Claire Douglas as a must read author for me in the future.
Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this wonderful book in exchange for my review.
“Don’t trust anyone. That’s what the cards are warning you, Jenna. Everyone is lying.”
Thank you Claire Douglas, Harper Perennial, and NetGalley for this arc in exchange fore my honest review. Publication Day for “The Girls Who Disappeared” is 1/10/23.
In a rural Wiltshire town lies the Devil’s corridor- a haunted road which has witnessed eerie happenings, from unexplained deaths to sounds of a child crying at night. In this bucolic stretch of Southwest England famous for its otherworldly sites, nothing is more puzzling than the Olivia Rutherford case. Four girls were driving home. After their car crashed only one- Olivia- was found. What happened to the girls who disappeared? On the twentieth anniversary of the trudged year, journalist Jenna Halliday has arrived in Wiltshire to cover the case. The locals aren’t happy with this outsider determined to dig into the past. Least of all Olivia. Soon, Jenna starts receiving menacing notes. The locals have made it clear she isn’t welcome. But someone is going to make her leave on way of another. Jenna’s been warned: she must leave the town be free she suffers a dark fate…and becomes another mystery attached to the town.
“The Girls Who Disappeared” is fast paced with multiple POVs and a dual timeline. I found this book to be just okay as far as thrillers go. While I did like the book, I felt like it was missing something. Once some minor details were revealed it was pretty easy to guess what happened. I didn’t find the book keeping me on my toes as the mystery unfolded like I do with other thrillers. I rated “The Girls Who Disappeared” 3.5 ⭐️’s.
I’ve always been a sucker for any stories pertaining to the missing - missing girls, missing children, missing spouses, etc. I was immediately sucked in to the plot of The Girls Who Disappeared before even receiving my copy of it. I couldn’t wait to dig in to see what happened to the 3 missing girls from Wiltshire who disappeared twenty years ago.
Having read a couple books by Claire Douglas before, I wasn’t surprised at all that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. I read some negative reviews about a couple characters and also the varying point of views between 1st person and 3rd person being annoying, but I didn’t find it annoying at all. I thought it was a fresh take on the typical alternating pov writing style and it didn’t bother me in the slightest.
The character development was great and I also enjoyed the creepy atmosphere of Wiltshire. This book kept me up quite a bit, as I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to Katie, Sally, and Tamzin. It truly did not disappoint! While I kind of started suspecting some things in the end, it wasn’t completely predictable and I really thought it was very well done.
I truly enjoyed this book and highly recommend, as it was one of the best I’ve read in a while! Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and to Claire Douglas for gifting me a copy in exchange for my honest review! I truly loved it!!
The Girls Who Disappeared by Claire Douglas. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4
Olivia and her 3 friends were in a car accident, but only Olivia was found. 20 years later journalist Jenna is investigating the disappearance for her podcast. As Jenna digs into the mystery more and more secrets are uncovered and it is made clear that she is not entirely welcome. What happened to the 3 girls?
I enjoyed this book for the most part. It is written in a style that I enjoy most for thrillers: short chapters, alternating viewpoints, and not overly descriptive. The author does a great job at setting up a creepy atmosphere. I was captivated by the story until the end. The reveal/twist fell a little flat for me-maybe I was expecting something different but it seemed overly complicated with too many layers.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars
This book started out great. The middle slowed down, but picked back up again by the end ending strong. Definitely could have been about 50 pages shorter. Overall, it was a good thriller with plenty of twists. I loved the dual time-line and multiple POV.
20 years ago, Olivia and her friends were in a terrible accident. Olivia serves when seeing a man in the middle of the road and hit a tree. When she wakes up she is the only one left in the car and her friends are missing. Now, 20 Yeats later, Jenna, a journalist making a podcast about the accident is in town. The locals are not happy about her arrival and she starts receiving threatening messages to leave things alone. Someone is trying to make sure the past stays buried. But can Jenna figure out what happened to Olivia's friends as she digs deeper down the rabbit hole?
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC
"A car accident. Three missing girls. A twenty-year mystery.
A woman on the verge of discovering the truth .
In a rural Wilshire town lies the Devil’s Corridor—a haunted road which has witnessed eerie happenings, from unexplained deaths to the sounds of a child crying in the night.
In this bucolic stretch of Southwest England famous for its otherworldly sites, nothing is more puzzling than the Olivia Rutherford case. Four girls were driving home. After their car crashed only one—Olivia—was found."
We follow Jenna, who arrives in Wiltshire to gather information for a podcast on the disappearances, Olivia, the sole survivor of the accident, and Stace, who is enjoying a vacation in Thailand with friends. As Jenna begins peeling the layers of mystery surrounding the accident she finds herself increasingly in danger. Someone is hiding something, but who can she trust?
This is another book that grabbed my attention from page one and kept me turning the page. There were several twist and turns and I honestly had no idea where the story was going. I didn't love the ending and felt like it fell a little flat in relation to the rest of the story, which had me on the edge of my seat at times. I enjoyed Jenna and Olivia's sections of the book the most; Stace's storyline often left me little confused. As the story unfolds it all comes together, but I do think that Stace's sections could have been minimized. With that said, I thought the overall story was fantastic, it kept me engaged and was very well written.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for this ARC.
Schedule Release Date: January 10, 2023.