4.5 stars

Julia is a local detective who has been assigned to case of a missing young woman. Due to some secrets of her own, Julia finds herself crossing professional lines. Told through multiple POVs, this story unfolds in an unexpected way.

Gillian McAllister is one of those authors who really sees the long game. Although this story takes a little to settle into, the necessary foundation and setup pays off in the end. She is meticulous with her details and leaves bread crumbs along the way that you may only notice in hindsight. It was fun to make guesses and predictions along the way, though Gillian definitely got me a few times!

I found Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister to be a propulsive and thrilling read. In this novel , Julia is a detective assigned to a missing persons case. While investigating the case, Julia is blackmailed and a secret from her past is threatened to be revealed. How far will she go to protect herself and her child? I really enjoyed the structure of the novel where each chapter is told from one of three perspectives, all parents whose children are tied together in this missing persons case. This novel ponders the age old question, how far would you go to protect your child? All parents trying to do the right thing for their children even if it was morally or ethically flawed. Definitely full of twists I didn’t see coming but that seem plausible and not out of left field. I quite enjoyed it and it had me turning pages to figure out what would happen next. Apparently I like my thrillers served with a side of moral dilemna.

I had the pleasure of being introduced to McAllister’s writing last year when the bookclub I read with picked Wrong Place Wrong Time one month. And I loved that book! Such a unique mystery and I love me a time loop story. I knew then that this would be an author I follow.

Just Another Missing Person was a fantastic read and asks the question of how far would you morally stray from your values to protect someone you love. I put my detective hat on and committed to absorbing every clue to solve this mystery (mostly because I’m annoying and thrive on solving a whodunit before the big reveal). I even took notes, lol! Well it was all pointless as heck because McAllister took a lot of twist and turns and totally surprised me. In a very good way. And they weren’t stupid, over the top plot twists either. It took me a while to get completely onboard, due to some extensive plot/character setup, and I definitely spent the first couple chapters incredibly confused, but once I hit the halfway point I literally couldn’t put it down.

I will admit that there was something disconnecting me from the plot at first, I felt like the writing was overly descriptive. I couldn’t remember if I felt that way before with McAllister but I think that’s just her writing style. However, the devil is in the details and it did pay off.

If you’re a patient reader who loves a layered mystery with multiple POVs and some good ol plot twists, you’ll enjoy this one! I think that this would be a much better read than listen due to the construction of the narrative, might be hard to follow via audiobook.

I don’t know if I am off or not in the mood for this genre, but I really struggled with this book - which was such a bummer because I’ve only heard great things about this author! Here’s what I loved: the twists. Definitely didn’t predict half of them, so I thought those were great. Here’s what fell flat: the POVs and the writing style? Some of the cliffhangers were great, but there would be such a long gap until it came back to that person’s POV, I would have to jog my memory. There were points where I felt confused and had to go back a little or wait for clarity upcoming.

Just One Missing Person is my second Gillian McCallister book, and there's something special about her stories. What I liked the most was her focus on parent-child relationships. In this novel, a parent will do anything (even super crazy things) for their child.
Julia, a cop and mother, is on another missing person's case. But as she starts the investigation, she is blackmailed into planting evidence at the scene. But not blackmailed with money or death, but with a secret she has kept the last year.
This book was a wild ride. It was intense, and the twists were epic! Like throw-your-book-against-the-wall, I can't believe that just happened. I loved seeing this story unfold.
My main criticism is that I got confused a bit in the beginning. Some writing just felt awkward. I found myself having to reread sections a bit. And I felt like some decisions that parents made were a bit too off-the-wall, but maybe that was the writer's point. People do crazy things to protect those that they love.
I also loved the multiple points of view in this story. We get 3, all parents to 3 key figures in the story. As a mother myself, I love seeing stories with parent/child relationships at its heart. We don't get this very often in thrillers.

Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister is about Olivia, a 22-year-old without a history of running away who disappears entering a dead end alley, never to be seen coming out. DCI Julia is tasked with recovering Olivia, but early on in the investigation is blackmailed into making sure that someone is framed for Olivia's disappearance. Nothing more should really be said about this book in terms of the synopsis, knowing less is more!

Gillian really shows how to write an understated suspense novel with this one and the twist makes the reader want to go back and look at the clues they missed along the way. I am so glad I had the ebook copy of this rather than an audiobook so I could do just that! Under the surface, the story of this one is quite simple but intricately plotted so everything lines up beautifully yet without being super obvious.

The characters are well-written and you really feel for each character that is undergoing their own personal struggle, from a dad of a was never found, to a teenage girl in the wrong place at the wrong time and is haunted by her own actions, each character has a reason for keeping secrets and reacting in their own way to the tragedies in this novel. The ending was also uplifting and satisfying in a way only Gillian seems able to do in a thriller.

I don't want to say too much more as it might accidentally give away plot details but I have been talking this one up to my fellow thriller readers. I can't wait to read her next novel!

Thank you William Morrow for my Netgalley copy of JUST ANOTHER MISSING PERSON by Gillian McAllister, out 8/1/2023.

The twists in this book are insane! This book follows a detective named Julia who comes across a missing person case and she soon realizes this case could bring up her deepest, darkest secret. I was a little bored in the beginning, but then I quickly got sucked into Julia’s impossible moral choice she has to make. The first twist had me guffawed! Then, I kept reading and THAT LAST CHAPTER. WOW. It had me hollering, ngl.

I liked this book MUCH more than her other novel, WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME, and I’ll definitely pick up something next from her. Sometimes I get confused with references and slang from the United Kingdom, but I just keep trucking along. I’m going to seek out McAllister’s backlist next as I love how she writes about parenthood and fleshes out such deep characters, especially for the thriller genre. This book followed three parents forced to make different choices to protect the ones they love and it was done exceptionally well.

Gillian McAllister is not afraid to write morally grey and flawed characters full of so much love. Definitely check out her writing if you’re looking for a twisty thriller with a dose of lengths a person will go to to protect their child. The acknowledgements at the end were beautifully written as well as McAllister is about to become a first-time mother. I never would have guessed based on how well she writes motherhood.

Gillian McAllister is my new favorite thriller author and should be yours too. Wrong Place Wrong Time was a five star read for me and I was so excited to read her new release Just Another Missing Person. I had high expectations and WOW were they met. The twistiest detective story following Julia who is investigating missing women while covering up a crime her own daughter committed in the past year. This book makes you think about how far you would go for your child.

I received an ARC of this book from William Morrow via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. In one word, WOW. I loved this book and Gillian McAllister has just been added to my "always read" list.

As a voracious reader of thrillers, any time there is a new concept, any time I am surprised, any time the twists are genuinely twisty, I am impressed. This book met all 3 criteria, in addition to having well-developed characters and intelligent writing. The first twist truly makes you sit up and pay attention (and want to start the book again to look for clues).

I also think Ms. McAllister very skillfully handled concepts including of motherhood, corruption, social media, and the court of public opinion.

Here's to hoping Julia Day becomes a repeat character!

WOWZA! I would give anything to see the planning process that went into this. There were several different narratives with overlapping timelines and SO much going on. BUT, don't let that scare you away. While it was slightly confusing in the beginning and maybe a tad intimidating, it was TOTALLY worth it!
The build-up was slow-going at first but once one shoe dropped it didn't stop till the very end. The twists and jaw-dropping shockers kept me reading well past my bedtime.
Julia's struggle to balance home and work identities is oh so relatable. It was easy to connect with her right away. Along with the other characters, parents and kids alike. It's easy to judge from the outside, but once you step into their shoes your whole perspective changes. And your morals become compromised.
McAllister did a fantastic job building and presenting this story. There are plots within plots, within plots.
Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Just Another Missing Person, is a great thriller novel that will leave you guessing until the last page.

Olivia has been missing for one day, she was last seen on CCTV footage entering an alley, and never coming out.

Julia, is the lead detective on her case. She has been a cop for several years and know what will happen next. She will interview suspects, deal with a desperate family, and is working under a ticking clock. But this case is different. One night while leaving work, she gets in her car and finds she is not alone. There is a man, a man who knows her dark secret. In order to keep it, Julia must not find out what happened to Olivia - she must frame someone else instead. Julia is torn, does she let her secret come to life and risk losing her family or does she frame someone else and go against everything she believes in.

This thriller while it has great twists and turns, was hard for me to follow. Each chapter was told by one of the 4 main characters. With the narrator of the chapter changing so frequently, I sometimes forgot whose storyline I was reading. Even though things got a little confusing for me, I did enjoy the end and thought it all came together, Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC!

This was a slowwwww start for me and took a while for me to get into. The whole novel I just wanted to shake the main character and ask WHAT ARE YOU DOING. I definitely preferred Wong Place, Wrong Time more than this one, but this was a great follow up.

I really enjoyed this one. As is common in this genre, there was a twist — but it came early, about halfway through. It felt like it slid everything into place, and yet still, I kept wanting to read, because the story was so engaging; and of course, there was still more to be revealed.

How have I not read anything by the author before this? And how was I lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book prior to publication? These two questions kept pinging through my mind as I raced through this fast-paced, wild book (in the BEST way).

DCI Julia leads a head-scratching investigation trying to determine where 22-year-old missing person, Olivia, has disappeared to. She seemingly disappeared into thin air, never emerging from a dead-end alley and is reported missing by her new roommates. As the investigation unfolds, Julia is asked to make an impossible decision...either watch as one of her loved ones is irreparably harmed or become involved in a deception that will compromise her ethics and her stellar police record. While making this tough, life-altering decision, Julia also struggles with a floundering marriage and a teenage daughter dealing with her own demons. Stressed out and confused, Julia must find a way to not only locate Olivia, but to save her career and family as well.

Wowzah...this was good! Just when I thought I knew where it was headed, it veered off another path and had me gasping once again. I highly recommend picking this one up, and make sure to give yourself plenty of time to read it. You won't want to pause in reading it, sleep can wait! I will now be frantically adding this author's backlist to my TBR. Highly recommend!!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for a fair and honest review!

What would you do to protect the ones you love?
DCI Julia Day finds out just that when she discovers her recent missing persons case isn’t all it appears to be. Someone is blackmailing her to plant evidence and convict a man of murder or her secret will be revealed. She needs to solve this case or risk her family’s lives being ruined.

This one was a little confusing at first with the perspectives but once I got that figured out it really took off and had me on edge the whole time.

“For Julia.”

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in return for my review.

I loved Gillian McAllister’s Wrong Place, Wrong Time last year. This one wasn’t quite the hit that her last release was for me, but it was still a solid mystery and I would recommend it. The main character is DCI Day, a detective investigating the case of a missing woman. She is then blackmailed and forced to incriminate an innocent man in order to keep a secret from her past safe.

The twists were unexpected and satisfying and I really enjoyed the characters. I particularly like the way she writes familial relationships. I was surprised to find she just became a mother within the past year given how well she writes mothers. This one solidified the author’s status as an autobuy author for me.

3.5 stars ……..Just Another Missing Person is the second book I read by Gillian McAllister, the first being wrong Place Wrong Time. Both books started off confusing. I had a very difficult time getting into the flow of the writing style for both books, but by the end I really enjoyed Wrong Place Wrong Time giving it a solid 4 star rating. The fact that I ended up really enjoying it made me continue on with McAllister’s new book. Like I said the first half of the book was rough for me to get through but after that I finally became engaged and couldn’t put Just Another Missing Person Down. Fast forward to the end and the who done it part and I found myself not really caring. It felt like two different authors wrote this book. The first half and the end being one author and the middle being another.

I found some of the twists in the book to be very unique. As far as the characters go they were just ok. I could not understand why Lewis never referred to Yolanda as Sadie’s mom . I would have felt so different for her parents if that little change was made.

All in all an entertaining read with some interesting twists and turns, Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow wow wow. This was amazing and SO COMPLEX!! How does the author accomplish all the twists and turns yet keep everything accurate. I honestly kept trying to catch her with inaccurate information, but my mind is blown. I highly recommend this read, you may need to take notes to keep up.

The first Gillian McAllister book I read was “Wrong Place Wrong Time” and it was one of my favorite reads from last year. I loved the creative way of time traveling/time loops used in this book and looked forward to reading another book from this author. Reading the synopsis for “Just another missing person”, I was wondering if this was going to be as interesting as the other book was. It felt more like other thrillers I had read, but oh was I wrong.
You are following the detective Julia in her search for Olivia, a woman last seen on CCTV footage going into an alley and not coming back out again. The story is told from multiple POVs and you find out slowly how these characters are connected to the story. Halfway through the book there was a plot twist that I did not see coming and turned this book into a page turner for me. I could not put it down until I finished it.

This book not only was a great mystery but also explored how much we are willing to do for loved ones!

Again a great book from Gillian McAllister! I’m looking forward to reading more of her books!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with the Advanced Reader Copy!

“Family: people will do anything for it.”

Gillian McAllister’s eighth novel, Just Another Missing Person, is not just another missing person plot. While it includes a typical police procedural plot focused on solving multiple missing person cases, it stands out from all the rest through the incredible humanization of her flawed characters.

DCI Julia Day was unable to solve last year’s missing person’s case when Sadie disappeared. She blames herself for being distracted when her daughter accidentally wounded a mugger, leading to his consequential death. She may have missed key evidence because she needed to protect her own daughter from going to jail. When another woman is reported missing, Julia is tasked to find her. However, someone knows what her daughter did and blackmails her into planting evidence at the crime scene.

To what lengths will Julia go in order to protect her daughter? What happened to the missing women?

Each character in this thriller must grapple with the decision to “do the right thing.” They are fully developed and flawed in unique ways. However, they are all intriguing and I was invested in their individual quests to find out the truth. There are two major twists in this plot, one at around 50%, and the other near the end. Both are satisfying, but not over the top. I was very surprised to learn that McAllister is about to become a mother for the first time, because the plots in her books always involve protective mother characters, who will do anything for their children.

While I enjoyed Just Another Missing Person, it is not quite as spectacular as last year’s Wrong Place, Wrong Time. However, this being the third McAllister thriller I have read, I am convinced she is an extremely talented writer, and am looking forward to reading more from her!

4/5 stars

Expected publication date: 8/1/23

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow publishing for the ARC of Just Another Missing Person in exchange for an honest review.