4 Stars
“I have to tell it this way, in pieces. I have to work my way up to it. Work my way back to it. I have to show you the beautiful things before I get to the ugly.”
Before I even start let’s get something taken care of real quick like . . . .
“Like the spellbinding psychological suspense in The Girl on the Train. . . “
STFU already about the most boring alcoholic on the train who can’t get over the fact that he’s just not into her. Seriously. Dear Girl on the Train . . . .
Now that that is taken care of guess what? I can’t tell you diddly squat about this book without ruining it because it is a dun dun dunnnnnnnn mystery and people who spoil mysteries are the worst people in the world aside from this guy . . . .
(The Cheeto-colored one, not the green fella)
The basics of All the Missing Girls is that Nic has returned to her home town in order to help prepare her childhood home for sale in order to get enough money to pay for her father’s assisted living facility. While there a young woman goes missing – bringing back memories of the past and another missing girl.
That’s all you get. When I saw this was told in reverse my immediate reaction went a little like . . . .
Buuuuuuuuuut, since it wasn’t the typical wibbly wobbly past to present that is used in nearly every mystery/thriller I was willing to give it a shot. And boy am I glad I did. While All the Missing Girls wasn’t a high adrenaline thrillride like Memento, the backwards storytelling really worked well here. There also wasn’t a giant jawdropper of a reveal, but that worked for me too and I appreciated being presented an ending that made the most sense rather than one chosen simply for shock and awe.
Highly recommended to fans of this genre.
P.S. To the eleventy trillion trolls who have told me how I screwed the pooch by reading Elizabeth Is Missing in the wrongest way possible, please note THIS is how you write a mystery featuring a character with dementia. If Elizabaeth would have been marketed as a “book clubby” or “chick lit” type of selection I probably wouldn’t have hated it.
Before I even start let’s get something taken care of real quick like . . . .
“Like the spellbinding psychological suspense in The Girl on the Train. . . “
STFU already about the most boring alcoholic on the train who can’t get over the fact that he’s just not into her. Seriously. Dear Girl on the Train . . . .
Now that that is taken care of guess what? I can’t tell you diddly squat about this book without ruining it because it is a dun dun dunnnnnnnn mystery and people who spoil mysteries are the worst people in the world aside from this guy . . . .
(The Cheeto-colored one, not the green fella)
The basics of All the Missing Girls is that Nic has returned to her home town in order to help prepare her childhood home for sale in order to get enough money to pay for her father’s assisted living facility. While there a young woman goes missing – bringing back memories of the past and another missing girl.
That’s all you get. When I saw this was told in reverse my immediate reaction went a little like . . . .
Buuuuuuuuuut, since it wasn’t the typical wibbly wobbly past to present that is used in nearly every mystery/thriller I was willing to give it a shot. And boy am I glad I did. While All the Missing Girls wasn’t a high adrenaline thrillride like Memento, the backwards storytelling really worked well here. There also wasn’t a giant jawdropper of a reveal, but that worked for me too and I appreciated being presented an ending that made the most sense rather than one chosen simply for shock and awe.
Highly recommended to fans of this genre.
P.S. To the eleventy trillion trolls who have told me how I screwed the pooch by reading Elizabeth Is Missing in the wrongest way possible, please note THIS is how you write a mystery featuring a character with dementia. If Elizabaeth would have been marketed as a “book clubby” or “chick lit” type of selection I probably wouldn’t have hated it.
No comments:
Post a Comment