Missing Person #BookReview #missingperson @mulhollandbooks

Synopsis from Mulholland Books:

From acclaimed thriller writer Sarah Lotz, hailed by Stephen King as “vastly entertaining,” a new novel about a group of amateur detectives infiltrated by the sadistic killer whose crimes they’re investigating.

Reclusive bookseller Shaun Ryan has always believed that his uncle Teddy died in a car accident twenty years ago. Then he learns the truth: Teddy fled his home in Catholic, deeply conservative County Wicklow, Ireland, for New York and hasn’t been heard from since. None of Shaun’s relatives will reveal why they lied about his uncle’s death or why they want Shaun to leave the whole affair alone.

But Shaun has a burning need to find out the truth. His search is unsuccessful until he’s contacted by Chris Guzman, a woman who runs a website dedicated to matching missing-persons cases with unidentified bodies. Chris and her team of cold-case obsessives suspect that Shaun is looking for the “Boy in the Dress,” one victim in a series of gay men murdered by the same killer.

But who are these internet fanatics really, and how do they know so much about a case that has stumped police for decades? Soon armchair sleuths and professional investigators are on a collision course with a sadistic serial killer who’s gotten away with his crimes for far too long – and now they’re in his sights.

About: Missing Person is a mystery thriller written by Sarah Lotz. It will be published on 9/3/2019 by Mulholland Books, an imprint of Little, Brown, and Company, 480 pages. The genres are mystery, thriller, and fiction. According to the publisher’s website, “Mulholland Books is simple: to publish books you can’t stop reading. Whatever their form—crime novels, thrillers, police procedurals, spy stories, even supernatural suspense—the promise of a Mulholland Book is that you’ll read it leaning forward, hungry for the next word.” Please see below for more information about the author and publisher.

My Experience: I started reading Missing Person on 7/29/2019 and finished it on 8/9/2019. I gave birth to my second child in between reading this story so the book was at the hospital with me. This book is a great read! I love the idea of that missing-linc forum. The read is exciting when I realized that the killer is hiding among the good guys. This thriller is a bit slow paced than what I normally prefer to read but there’s enough suspense and mystery to keep me turning the pages. I like the diverse of characters and their individual stories. The idea of regular people investigating a murder as a hobby is pretty cool, especially how serious they all were. This book questions about mass shootings in the current day versus serial killers back in the nineties, which I also find the question to be interesting as well.

This book is divided into 4 parts, where part 1, started with Shaun aka Wicklowboy22 who just learned that the uncle he thought to have been dead may be alive. He decided to look him up over the internet and began to daydream about how his lonely life could change with this uncle since his mom died 6 years ago. The second view is Christina (Chris) aka Ratking1 who ran a web forum called Missing-linc.com. Her forum listed the details of unidentified bodies and the site’s members match them up with people who have gone missing. The third view is Ellen (Ellie) aka Rainbowbrite. She’s a moderator for Chris’ Missing-linc forum. The fourth view is Pete aka Bobbiecowell. He and Ellie both obsessed over  an unidentified victim known as The Boy in the Dress and have been working constantly to solve it.

Missing Person is well written. I enjoyed the story line because I haven’t read anything like it before. I like the modern use of technology and everyday people doing web sleuthing. I’m not sure I like the ending much because the mystery of Chris’ mom remains unsolved, Mommydearest’s unresponsive to apologies, and the killer’s ending ended in speculation instead of an action. However, I do like the intensity near the end when their investigation to finding the killer got close. This thriller has a bit of everything, from Ireland to USA to victims of LGBT to a bunch of misfits solving murder mysteries. I enjoyed reading this book overall and I do recommend everyone to read it.

Pro: sleuthing, mystery, suspense, page turner, online forum, killer hiding among the sleuths, diversity

Con: unsolved mystery, lack of action to end the killer

I rate it 4.5 stars!

Buy it here for free shipping:  Book Depository or Mulholland Books’ Website

About the Author:

Sarah Lotz is a novelist and screenwriter with a fondness for the macabre. She is the author of Day Four and The Three, and lives in Cape Town with her family and other animals. (Photo and info obtained from Little Brown’s website).

More Information about Mulholland Books

Website: https://www.mulhollandbooks.com | Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mulhollandbooks | Twitter: https://twitter.com/mulhollandbooks | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mulhollandbooks

***Disclaimer: Many thanks to Mulholland Books for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest.

xoxo,
Jasmine