The Night She Went Missing - by Kristen Bird: Book Review

Title: The Night She Went Missing
Author: Kristen Bird
Pages: 352
Publisher: Mira Books
Publishing Date: February 8th 2022
Genre: Suspence
Themes: missing teenager, small town Texas
Format: Kindle
Rating: 3*

I chose to read this novel because I needed something dark-ish and a mystery. The build-up was at a steady pace, as one would expect from a mystery novel. Just when it seemed it'd start to drag, the story picked up and things intensified. The ending is not the shocking and jaw-dropping twist we're always promised with this kind of books. I don't think The Night She Went Missing is a memorable novel, one I'll never forget, but it is a good choice for when you want to break your usual choice of books, and enjoy a soft domestic drama novel.

The idea I can take away is that sometimes accidents happen, and one such accident can alter the course of a person's whole life. I liked the small town set-up on an island. The novel is told in third person, except for Emily's perspective, which she tells herself. Her disappearance ignites a series of events that lead to second-guessing and doubts among the residents of Galveston Island, Texas. Emily's character is not that well developed, despite she being the person who ignites the whole action of the novel. Better developed are the three adult women we get to know more about. Catherine, Morgan, Leslie are all part of the Galveston Islnd community and of the Preparatory school their children attend. They have secrets of their own they need to protect in order to keep the facade of a normal, successful life. I liked all three women, and their stories and their struggles didn't make them any less likable. However, the one person who made the whole novel seem like a weird TV series led by a matriarch with a patriarch's tendencies is Rosalyn, Catherine's mother-in-law.

There are a few elements which seem unbelievable throughout the novel, but not in a plausible, sure-this-could-happen way. The events of the second half are quite unlikely to happen, and it also picked up the pace, throwing a lot of details and revelations the reader's way; it felt a bit too much all of a sudden, and in a short time span. At the same time, they weren't shocking, just far-fetched. The ending offers closure, but I can see why some readers would be left unpleased with the author's choice. I personally don't like when a whole novel is based on a secondary character's mistake. 

 All in all, the build-up and the getting-to-know the characters was more enjoyable than the last quarter of the novel, which offered the resolution.

I received a free copy of the e-book of this novel from the publisher via Net Galley. All thoughts expressed here are my own.