Top Pick - 4.5 Stars

The latest by Nicci French is a very engaging book. Charlotte Salter, wife and mother, disappears from the English village where she lives. The police, as well as Charlie’s husband, brush off her disappearance. However, her children, especially her daughter, are certain their mother wouldn’t have abandoned them. The case grows cold, but is revisited 32 years later in a podcast. The two brothers doing the podcast have a personal stake in the outcome – their father, a family friend of the Salters, was suspected of killing Charlie before his own death. Many secrets come out during the interviews for the program, but when a killer strikes, Charlie’s case is also reexamined. This time, the detective in charge of the investigation is determined to get answers.

The question of what really happened to “Charlie” Salter is important, but the book also examines how her disappearance affected her family in the immediate aftermath, but also how it changed their lives going forward. The already dysfunctional family starts to fall apart in ways that couldn’t have been foreseen. I felt terrible for Charlie’s daughter Etty and the toll these events took on her. The book has an air of sadness, and it’s heartbreaking to see what happens to some of the Salters in the years following Charlie’s disappearance. The book also has some of the most apathetic and incompetent police officers I’ve ever seen. Thank goodness for DI Maud O’Connor, who is brought in from London to investigate a suspicious death. Maud thinks the death could have ties to Charlie’s case and is able to uncover a surprising solution to the crimes.

I really liked this book, although there are some pacing issues. Some parts of the book move slowly, but then there are a few twists that keep the story moving. As soon as Maud O’Connor enters the scene, things pick up and I was fully engrossed in the story. I think the book is part mystery, part domestic drama, and part character study and one that I truly enjoyed.

~ Christine

A mystery/thriller told in three distinctive parts.

In 1990, Charlotte Salter disappears, leaving her husband and four children in suspense and giving their neighbors plenty to gossip about. No note, no missing clothing, no clues at all. Then a few days later, Duncan Ackerly, the Salter's next door neighbor, is found floating in the river. In the interest of speed, the local police declare Duncan has killed Charlotte then commited suicide. Case closed, two families destroyed.

Fast forward to 2022. The Salter family is preparing their father for his move into assisted care and dissolving the family home. At the same time, the Ackerly family has returned to their family home to resolve the questions they have had ever since their father's death. Morgan Ackerly is producing a documentary hoping to find clues and solutions to Charlotte's disappearance that would clear their father's name and solve the questions left when the police rushed to judgement. They have been very vocal in their critique of the police investigation at the time.

In response to the public's poor opinion of the police, the case has been reopened and personnel assigned. The story line at this point kicks into high gear as DI Maud O'Connor applies pressure on witnesses and gossip mongers alike. As each action is linked and each story is proved and/or disproved, the story moves into territory that no one could have predicted. The solutions she uncovers lead to many OMG moments. The story may have started in slower, more predictable lines but definitely sets a new high for the reveal.

I will read anything this author writes.
Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? by Nicci French is a gripping thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat! French does a masterful job of creating suspense and tension throughout the novel. The characters are well-developed and believable, and the plot is full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? is a must-read for fans of suspenseful thrillers.
This was fantastic, I was so excited reading it and rushed through it in a few hours.

Thank You NetGalley and William Morrow for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I mostly enjoyed this but I will say the first part dragged and I think could have been a lot shorter.

Part two picked up a bit but part three is where it really takes off. But it takes forever to get there. When it did though, I didn’t want to stop reading. I do wish we got maud and Carrie in there earlier though.

I did like maud and Carrie a lot. I kept forgetting how old everyone was in this, they felt like they should be in their late 20s or 30s but they’re all like, 45+.

I was very excited expecting this to be a podcast book and while there is a podcast, we don’t get the episodes written out in podcast transcript form which is what I expected, so if you want that kind of podcast book this isn’t it.

I also wish we got a bit more on how the killer did what they did, for charlotte at least

And this is a little thing, but the constant repetition of the salter last name was really annoying. One sentence said something like “Alec salter was terrible, charlotte salter was afraid of him” (that’s not exact but they used both of their full names in one sentence like that and it was close to the end. we know who they are!)

Overall I enjoyed it and I’m glad I read it but it’s not a new all time fave or anything like that.

I've really enjoyed this book. What I liked the most was the two periods in which was told, and the different characters in the story through the years. And also how it was all connected and how it was revealed. Plus, the settings and landscapes were very well crafted that I felt that I was there. Congratulations to the author(s).

Nicci French is a new author for me. I was surprised to discover that this name is a pseudonym for a husband and wife team, Sean and Nicci French who are known for their suspense novels. They have written quite a few.

Description:
A nerve-tingling and atmospheric thriller from master of suspense Nicci French about two families shattered by tragedy and the secrets that have been waiting decades to be revealed. On the day of Alec Salter’s fiftieth birthday party, just before Christmas 1990, his wife Charlotte vanishes. Most of the small English village of Glensted is at the party for hours before anyone realizes Charlotte is missing. While Alec brushes off her disappearance, their four children—especially fifteen-year-old Etty—grow increasingly anxious as the cold winter hours become days and she doesn’t return. When Charlotte’s coat is found by the river, they fear the worst. Then the body of the Salters’ neighbor, Duncan Ackerley, is found floating in the river by his son Morgan and Etty. The police investigate and conclude that Duncan and Charlotte were having an affair before he killed her and committed suicide. Thirty years later, Morgan Ackerley, a successful documentarian, has returned to Glensted with his older brother Greg to make podcast based on their shared tragedy with the Salters. Alec, stricken with dementia, is entering an elder care facility while Etty helps put his affairs in order. But as the Ackerleys ask to interview the Salters, the entire town gets caught up in the unresolved cases. Allegations are made, secrets are revealed, and a suspicious fire leads to a murder. With the podcast making national news, London sends Detective Inspector Maud O’Connor to Glensted to take over the investigation. Resented by her mostly male colleagues, she has no tolerance for either their sexism or their incompetence. And she will stop at nothing to uncover the truth as a new and terrifying picture of what really happened to Charlotte Salter and Duncan Ackerley emerges.

My Thoughts:
This is an emotional novel with families torn apart by the disappearance of Charlotte Salter and the death of Duncan Ackerley soon after Charlotte disappeared. No one seemed to know what really happened. Thirty years later the children were all back in town and Morgan Ackerley (Duncan's son) stirred everything up again by making a podcast and talking with everyone in the families and in the community about the disappearance of Charlotte Salter. When the detective from London becomes involved the investigation is on again. My heart broke for the children, especially Etty. Charlotte's husband Alec was easy to dislike - did he do something to Charlotte to make her run away, or did he kill het maybe? This was a complex and difficult case and there were definitely some surprises. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good mystery.

Thanks to William Morrow through Netgalley for an advance copy. Expected publication on March 19, 2024.

4.5 stars! Pretty sure this is one of the best Nicci French novels I've ever read and I have read them all.
30 years ago, a few days before Christmas 1990, in the small town of Glensted, Charlotte Salter was supposed to be throwing a 50th birthday party for her ungrateful, churlish husband. However, she disappeared and hasn't been seen since before the party. A few days after that, a neighbor, Duncan Ackerly, was found in the river, dead by apparent suicide. The police wrapped up the disappearance and the "suicide" in a neat bow, figuring Duncan must have killed Charlie Salter and then felt guilty and killed himself on Christmas Day. Charlie's children never sat right with this theory and neither did Duncan's sons. Morgan Ackerly even decides to revisit the crimes w/ his podcast But the podcast is turning up new theories and a new police inspector has been hired from London to visit Glensted and finally figure out what happened all those years ago. Told in 3 parts, 30 years ago, the present and then the investigation, this novel was riveting and completely engaging.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this e-arc.*

Ettys mother, Charlotte Salter went missing 30 years ago before a Christmas party and was never found. Days later Duncan Ackerley is found dead floating in the river. Many think the two were having an affair. Duncan’s son Morgan who is a podcaster has returned with his brother Greg to interview people and bring up new evidence.
This was a gripping story with many interesting characters that had me quickly flipping the pages.
Thanks NetGalley and William Morrow for this eARC that will be released March 19, 2024!

I am embarrassed to report that the is the first Nicci French novel I have read. Where is that rock you climbed out from underneath, you ask? I loved this book. The story is basically told in two parts. In 1990 on the heels of a 5oth birthday party for Alec Salter, his wife, Charlotte, mysteriously disappears. He doesn't seem too disturbed by this but the lives of Charlotte's children are shattered. Her daughter Etty especially never really got over it. Charlotte's body is never found which prolongs the misery. Will she walk thru the door? Did she just run away? But then the mysterious death the Salter's neighbor causes the police to leap to conclusions. The police investigation is sloppy at best trying to make assumptions masquerade as facts. The conclusion is unremarkable and the case is closed but never really solved.
Flash ahead thirty years later. Through a set of coincidences, all the players are back in the little village of Glensted. It feels as though the tragedy occurred yesterday and the bones are being disturbed by a podcast examining the deaths. As a result of the notoriety of the podcast, DI Maud O'Connor is dispatched to Glensted to re-examiine the case.
It is unusual that the real mystery starts when Maud shows up and this is about halfway into the story. But this approach, although unusual, really works. I especially liked the character Maud and sincerely hope she features in future books. I loved her story line.
All in all I really loved this book, certainly one of the best I have read recently. I will be looking for more Nicci French books.I highly recommend this book.

The latest by Nicci French is a very engaging book. Charlotte Salter, wife and mother, disappears from the English village where she lives. The police, as well as Charlie’s husband, brush off her disappearance. However, her children, especially her daughter, are certain their mother wouldn’t have abandoned them. The case grows cold, but is revisited 32 years later in a podcast. The two brothers doing the podcast have a personal stake in the outcome - their father, a family friend of the Salters, was suspected of killing Charlie before his own death. Many secrets come out during the interviews for the program, but when a killer strikes, Charlie’s case is also reexamined. This time, the detective in charge of the investigation is determined to get answers.

The question of what really happened to "Charlie" Salter is important, but the book also examines how her disappearance affected her family in the immediate aftermath, but also how it changed their lives going forward. The already dysfunctional family starts to fall apart in ways that couldn’t have been foreseen. I felt terrible for Charlie’s daughter Etty and the toll these events took on her. The book has an air of sadness and it’s heartbreaking to see what happens to some of the Salters in the years following Charlie’s disappearance. The book also has some of the most apathetic and incompetent police officers I've ever seen. Thank goodness for DI Maud O'Connor who is brought in from London to investigate a suspicious death. Maud thinks the death could have ties to Charlie's case and is able to uncover a surprising solution to the crimes.

I really liked this book, although there are some pacing issues. Some parts of the book move slowly, but then there are a few twists that keep the story moving. As soon as Maud O’Connor enters the scene, things pick up and I was fully engrossed in the story. I think the book is part mystery, part domestic drama, and part character study and one that I truly enjoyed. (4.5 stars)

I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from NetGalley and William Morrow books, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

A cold case missing person inquiry resurfaces!

1990 December, Etty Salter walked to a family friend’s barn where they were holding a fiftieth birthday party for her father Alec. She was looking for her mother Charlie. Etty is concerned. She looks everywhere and finally contacts the local police.
Charlie never arrived. Her children never saw her again
A few days later Duncan Ackerley disappeared and was found in the river against a buoy. Suicide was the verdict. The general consensus is that Duncan murdered Charlie and then killed himself.
Now, thirty years later the case is being looked at again. Police procedure had not been followed and basically mistakes—many missteps had happened
Now it’s 2022 and Detective Inspector Maude has been asked to reopen the case. Difficulties arise with lost evidence and files, and the attitude of the local police
Another deadly occurrence happens that’s possibly linked to the 1990 case. The woman who was clearing out the Slater home because the family was putting Alec into care, (he has dementia) dies in a house fire
Are the three connected?
A very readable mystery that sucked me in. The reveal at the end is a surprise
Another deft mystery from the partnership that is Nicci French.

A William Morrow ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

“Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter,” by Nicci French is a dual-timeline, multiple narrated fictional tale of love and loss, friendships and betrayals, and missing persons and unsolved deaths in a small East Anglia river town where gossip of king but ignorance is bliss.

I really wanted to like this novel, however the storyline was repetitive, and it was not suspenseful, thrilling nor particularly engaging until the last few chapters. Although, the premise of the story is interesting. It centers on the 30-year-old cold cases about a woman who disappears while walking to her husband’s 50th birthday party and a man that she allegedly had an affair with who is found dead days later.

However, there is no reason that this book should be over 500 pages in length. It’s just a slog-fest of text begging to edited for conciseness and readability. I forced myself to read on just to see who the “killer” was. This was concluded quickly and almost too easily with a bow tied around the package.

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Nicci French, and Publisher William Morrow for this advanced reader’s copy (ARC) for review.

A kind and caring Mom, Charlotte, who everyone loves never arrives at her husband’s 50th birthday party 2 days before Christmas. Etty is only 15 but knows something is wrong while her 3 older brothers are wrapped up in girls and partying and her Dad doesn’t seem to care. As time goes on she doesn’t show up, their family friends father, Duncan, who was very close to Charlotte commits suicide and they discover her Dad’s been having an affair and her Mom was planning to leave him. Years go by and the closed as Duncan murdered Charlotte and then killed himself in remorse but Charlotte’s kids always felt their Dad was involved. Years and years later Duncan’s boys decide to do a podcast to help them work through this as they never believed that. New information unfolds as well as a new Inspector assigned and all the emotions come back and another person dies linking all 3 deaths. I could not put this one down! Loved it and did not see the twists or end coming!

#Netgalley #HasAnyoneSeenCharlotteSalter?
Thank you to William Morrow for the ARC.

Man, this author never disappoints! What an incredible mystery of a family torn apart by tragedy. And then years later all the children return home and the questions and finger pointing begins again. Blundering cops until Maud shows up. Cool character- love her. Well done!!!

An exciting family drama mixed with police procedural!

On the day of Alec Salter’s fiftieth birthday party, his wife, Charlotte, vanishes. He is in denial and thinks its a slight. His daughter Etty, is incredibly worried. A body is found, but it seems to be one of the last people to have seen Charlotte.

Many years later Etty returns to help her father move to a long care facility. As she goes through his papers, her friends from childhood begin a podcast to investigate the unsolved disappearance. The podcast stirs up the entire town and deep secrets are uncovered.

Where did Charlotte go? What happened? Read Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter to find out!
#willimamorrow #hasanyoneseencharlottesalter #niccifrench

I felt slightly bored by reading this at the start an at other times in the book. An with getting out a massive reading slump I do feel like I self sabotaged myself.

4.5 - This is exactly what I’ve been missing in the mystery/thriller/suspense genre!!

I’m a big fan of this duo’s Frieda Klein book series but have only read one other stand-alone by them. This has wholeheartedly convinced me that I need to remedy that problem. The strength of the writing is evident - these characters (there are quite a few!) are all fully formed, the small English village setting is quaint and a perfect match for the story, and the mystery was interesting through to the end.

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for the chance to read and review this advance copy. Expected publication March 19, 2024.

I have heard great things about these authors, unfortunately, this read was not for me. The writing style was hard for me to get into and I found myself struggling to get into the story. It felt too slow paced for my liking.

Charlotte Salter disappears the night of her husband’s 50th birthday party. Days become weeks become years. Thirty years later, her son Morgan returns with his older brother to make a podcast which stirs everything up. Secrets are uncovered and the vanishing of Charlotte Salter is finally solved. I didn’t see the ending coming!

Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter is an excellent triller. The books is well written with a plot that kept me guessing. I definitely recommend this book. I received an advance copy from the publisher and Netgalley. This is my unbiased review.