All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

All the Missing Girls is Megan Miranda's first adult novel; she has previously written several YA novels. However, I haven't read any of Miranda's YA novels. All the Missing Girls is a thriller, a genre I don't read as often as I used to, and a page turner. You won't be able to put it down, and you won't see many of the twists coming until they're right on top of you. The story opens on day 1 and then flashes forward to day 15 and unspools backwards one day at a time back to day 1 before jumping forward again at the very end to wrap up the story. It's a messy ending and it's probably not your stereotypical 'happy ending.'

Nicolette's father is slowly succumbing to dementia and now that he's run out of money, Nicolette and her brother, Daniel, must sell the house to finance their father's upkeep at the convalescence home. So Nicolette returns home to tiny Cooley Ridge, NC, for the summer to ready her father's house for sale and put his affairs in order. It is her return home that serves as the catalyst for everything that comes afterwards.

Once back in Cooley Ridge Nicolette's summer is derailed when a young woman named Annaliese goes missing from town. The disappearance dredges up the fears and uncertainties remaining regarding the disappearance a decade prior of Nicolette's best friend Corinne. All the persons of interest in that still unsolved disappearance remain in town except for Nicolette who escaped up North and rarely returns home. And now those same persons of interest, from Daniel to their father to Nicolette's former high school boyfriend (who was now dating Annaliese), are under renewed scrutiny in the current disappearance. As Nicolette delves into the past, dredging up all the secrets and lies related to Corinne's disappearance and the toll the investigation took on her family, friendships, and the town, she starts losing weight and losing sleep. As the days unfold in reverse time all of Nicolette's secrets and lies are laid bare to the reader. Is Annaliese's disappearance tied to Corinne's? If so, how and why? Who is stealthily entering her father's house to rifle through his belongings and what are they looking for? Why was Annaliese obsessed with Corinne's disappearance?

This book sucks you in from the first chapter and as the story progresses it becomes increasingly harder to put down until the mysteries of both disappearances are resolved. While the story structure is unique and allows for the organic reveal of several story twists, keeping track of the twists that reveal Nicolette's increasing repertoire of obfuscation as well as her possible motives for such is tricky. Miranda's writing is both haunting and lyrical in its depiction of two weeks that threaten to unravel everything that Nicolette has built since she left her small hometown. I highly recommend you pick this up the next time you visit the library.

--Reviewed by Ms. Angie

In The Woods by Tana French

"What I warn you to remember is that I am a detective. Our relationship with the truth is fundamental, but cracked, refracting confusingly like fragmented glass. It is the core of our careers, the endgame of every move we make, and we pursue it with strategies painstakingly constructed of lies ... and every variation on deception. The truth is the most desirable woman in the world and we are the most jealous lovers, reflexively denying anyone else the slightest glimpse of her. We betray her routinely ... This is my job ... What I am telling you, before you begin my story, is this--two things: I crave truth. And I lie." opening lines of In The Woods chapter 1, pages 3-4 In The Woods by Tana French, an Irish writer, is an extremely well-written and well-crafted mystery novel. The downside is that this is French's debut novel, and her website (located at http://www.tanafrench.com/ ) does not off...

Broken by Karin Slaughter

Before I begin the formal review there are a few things I need to get off my chest in the wake of finishing this book; I'll do so without giving away too many (or any) spoilers. The OUTRAGE!: the identity of Detective Lena Adams' new beau; the low depths to which Grant County's interim chief has sunk and brought the police force down with him; agent Will Trent's wife, Angie's, sixth sense/nasty habit of reappearing in his life just when he's slipping away from her. Thank God for small miracles though because while Angie was certainly referred to during the book, the broad didn't make an appearance. One sign that I've become way too invested in these characters is that I'd like to employ John Connolly's odd pair of assassins, Louis and Angel, to contract out a hit on Angie; do you think Karin Slaughter and John Connolly could work out a special cross over? Hallelujah: Dr. Sara Linton and agent Will Trent are both back. There is no hallelujah fo...

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline is the first book by this author that I've read. I'm not sure how I first came across it, but it's been on my books-to-read list for a while. Recently my library acquired a copy, and since I was between books, I thought, hmm, let me try this one and see if it sticks. Sometimes when I'm between books I have a problem starting and actually sticking with a book to the end. The historical part of the story of Orphan Train is actually inspired by true events. There really was a train in the 1920's that took orphaned children from the Children's Aid Society in New York City out to the Midwest in a quest to find families to place them in. Some of these children are still alive today. However, I don't think that the characters of Molly and Vivian are based on any real life people. Molly Ayer has spent the last nine years bouncing among over a dozen different foster homes. She's developed a tough shell and a ...

A Series Of (Un)Fortunate Reviews

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