I recently read The Couple At No 9 by Claire Douglas and really enjoyed it. It had me gripped from start to finish and was so cleverly written. I therefore decided I wanted to read some of her previous novels in the hope they would be just as good.
Local Girl Missing was released in 2016 and is the second novel by Sunday Times bestselling author Claire Douglas.
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Local Girl Missing Plot
Twenty years ago, 21-year-old Sophie vanishes leaving nothing behind but a trainer on the old pier and devastated best friend Francesca. In the present day, a body has been found and Francesca finds herself back at her seaside hometown, a place she’s tried so hard to forget.
Francesca soon wishes she had never returned as old ghosts from her past seem determined to haunt her. But now is the time to finally find out the truth and discover who really knows what happened to Sophie that night.
Local Girl Missing Book Review
I really liked the premise and I felt the novel got off to a good start. It caught my attention immediately but sadly I felt it lost its way midway through. There wasn’t much character development and I didn’t feel a connection to any of them.
I felt the story unfolded through a series of unlikely events. Perhaps I’ve been reading too many of these thriller/mystery books recently but I felt it was just thriller by numbers. I predicted the twist quite early on and I found the ‘twist’ at the end to be so obvious I was surprised and disappointed that it wasn’t a red herring.
I found the characters acted in unrealistic ways and some of the events that occurred bordered on farcical.
I just found the whole thing to be implausible and I was really disappointed, especially when comparing it to The Couple At No9. It’s not enough to put me off reading any more of Claire Douglas’ books as I’m hoping this one was just a blip. I’m also willing to accept that it’s just me that didn’t like it, as it seems to have received very positive reviews elsewhere!
What to read next
If you enjoyed Local Girl Missing, I would definitely recommend you read some of Claire Douglas’ other novels. I particularly enjoyed The Couple at No 9 and The Girls Who Disappeared.
If you’re looking for other crime and thriller authors to read, I’d recommend books by Lucy Foley and Gillian McAllister.
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