The cover and concept immediately grabbed my attention. But then…The synopsis is more interesting than what actually happened in the book. It was basic. Bree (MC) had no depth and was quite flat. The beginning dragged. While the ending blazed through much too quickly. Abruptly it ends and then I was left questioning what the hell actually happened. I would have liked to get more definitive answers on how the murder took place. I appreciate the social commentary on the missing white woman syndrome and internet trolls/vigilantes. Overall, this lacks depth on all fronts for me though. Thanks to NetGalley & Mulholland Books for my ARC!

📜Missing White Woman
✍️Kellye Garrett
📠Mulholland Books
📚Mystery/Thriller, Fiction
🗓️Pub date: April 30, 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨Thank you @NetGalley and @mulhollandbooks for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

✨Breanna is whisked away to Jersey City for the weekend by her new boyfriend, Ty. The Airbnb he rented is gorgeous and has sweeping views of the New York City skyline.

✨Admist what is supposed to be a romantic and relaxing weekend turns into Ty constantly on his phone or working, and Bree left wondering if she should have come at all. She is left to her own devices and goes for her daily runs by herself.

✨With flyers at every corner, everyone is on the hunt for a local missing white woman, a popular dog-walker in the area. Splashing across all news and social media outlets is the woman’s face—Janelle Beckett.

✨So it comes at immense surprise that on her spontaneous extended weekend and the last morning of her trip, Breanna comes downstairs to find a woman dead on the floor—none other than the missing white woman—and Ty nowhere to be found. Breanna must turn to the only person who can help her, her ex-best friend.

✨This book fell somewhat flat for me. I felt like the writing was a bit basic, and character development could have been stronger. It does touch upon sensitive racial divide issues, which I felt permeated the book, rather than letting the plot speak for itself.

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Hard to put down. Very good read.

Thanks to the good folk at NetGalley for the chance to read an ARC.

Many thanks to Net Galley for the advance reading copy of this stunning eBook.

I would recommend this to people who enjoy crime thrillers or people looking to get into crime thrillers with a strong book. I also think this is a great match for people who have complicated relationships with true crime, particularly the community around it. I think the strongest aspect of this book is the fact that the writer knows what she’s talking about: the social issues surrounding true crime are the foundation of this book, are the foundation of this book rather than scene-dressing, and she’s clearly well-versed in her genre, so the meeting of those two elements is practically perfect. The only thing left to be desired here is a pinch more character development—and a lot of that is because I enjoyed these characters so much that I wish we got to spend maybe 25 to 50 more pages with them. I think extending the ending just a little bit would have been nice—I loved the final shot we’re left on, but I would have loved to see one more scene of Bree and Adore. I’m very interested in seeing what Kellye Garrett writes next, and I’m hoping to read her already published works in the future.

As someone who grew up over-exposed to true crime and still consumes it in as conscious and critical a way as I can while also being very alarmed by certain aspects of the community, especially in conjunction with the way we as a society are conditioned to think about crime, this book really spoke to me. The narrative is very compelling. It’s both a quintessential twisty thriller and overall very believable, something that I really appreciate in the genre but often feel isn’t executed well—this, however, is a book that pulls it off. There’s an interesting throughline about trust and the unreliable ground it stands on: both interpersonal—trust in one’s loved ones and trust in strangers, in community—and systemic—trust in the establishment, in news media, and in social media. The way it intertwines with themes of identity and betrayal is potent and effective.

The cast was very memorable to me, each character’s dynamic with Bree being compelling and unique. The complicated friendship between Bree and Adore spoke to me; losing close friends and finding your way back to them is something I don’t see enough in books. The chemistry built up at the beginning between Bree and Ty was believable and electric, even in moments of tension, lending to the effectiveness of the mystery. I appreciate that the secondary narratives are tied into the overarching plot so well—for example, Bree’s backstory is used not only to explain her internal conflicts about persons of interest, but it anchors her relationships with Adore and her mother.

The pacing is straightforward and mostly linear, with some backstory exposition peppered through it when necessary, and it’s an incredibly quick read, easy to get sucked into. Repetition is occasionally utilized here for dramatic effect, but it’s not overdone. Conflict is built well: the plot and backstory threads are woven together well to create recurring tensions. The resolutions, while leaving room for a little mystery at the end, are well-earned and satisfying. The stakes are well-established and remain consistently high throughout.

There’s a stylistic element of fragmenting sentences, with a reasonable amount of structural and length variation to balance them out. Visual and sensory description are well-employed, and not overwhelming. Character voice is captured well throughout dialogue, being consistent, natural, and without sacrificing characterization. The e-ARC itself was a little buggy, but the construction of the book itself is solid: lucid grammar and word choice paired with strong, clear syntax. The style is persistent and congruous to the narrative, and the third-person limited perspective captures Bree’s way of thinking well.

Missing White Woman was a very engaging book! Kellye Garrett has done it again! There were plenty of twists and turns. Just when I thought I knew what was going on and who did it there came another awesome plot twist! I literally couldn't put this one down. A for sure bestseller!

I had an absolute BLAST with this book. The twist and turns were so fun and at no point did I guess how this was going to end. I found Garrett's writing to be fun, quick and to the point. She hit her plot point perfectly. In terms of thrillers, this was solid and quite a fun ride. I would highly recommend it.

This is an important topic and an important book. Anything that sheds light on the issue of the disproportionate treatment of missing black women versus white women is a book that needs to be written and read.

If I could give this book 10 starts I would this book was a page turner I was obsessed with Bree she was my kind of Main Character did feel like at times she was a little to trusting in ty but my goodness what a plot what a whirlwind I loved every second of the book I will say once we got towards the ending I felt like I was dragged out a tiny bit dragging but overall I enjoyed the book so much and the plot twist at the end is one I didn't see coming . i enjoyed how the past caught up with the present .

This book was real fun! It’s messy and tense and a little stressful. It also mixes in the real life “missing white woman” problem as well as how social media has so much power over who is prioritized. The influencer pieces of this were a wild ride and gave me a lot to think about.

I also loved the twists - some felt predictable but for the most part I was just along for the ride.

Breanna and her boyfriend Ty decide to go on a romantic getaway in a beautiful Airbnb. Breanna wakes up to find a dead woman in the entry way and her boyfriend gone. She tries desperately to reach him but he isn't answering his phone and he didn't show up for work.

Now, Breanna's past is coming up again and someone she hasn't seen for years comes to her rescue.

This was interesting because of how social media played a part in the investigation and media and how it can portray someone as victim or hero.

As usual, dove into this one with almost zero information on the plot or what it was all about. That's the way I do it – no spoilers, no nothing. I can't stand knowing a book has twists because then I spend the entire time trying to play detective instead of just enjoying the book.

It starts as a cozy romantic getaway in an Airbnb and then takes an unexpected turn into a full-blown murder investigation. It starts out a bit slow, and the characters could use a tad more fleshing out, but it kept me entertained.

Things get wild as the story develops. It sheds light on how crimes involving white and black women get treated so differently. It's got some solid social commentary without beating you over the head with it. It really makes you think while keeping you hooked.

I will surely check out more of Garrett's novels.
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.. I love that this book kept me engaged and kept me in suspense but I did not like the main female character. I felt like she was so naive. This book was good but a lot of it was predictable.

MISSING WHITE WOMAN is stunning. It’s a blistering insight into the day-to-day microagressions Black people deal with + a smack down of internet vigilante justice. It’s also a tightly paced mystery with lived in characters. She’s the urban twin of SA Cosby.

Missing White Woman is fast-paced, full of well-timed twists and turns, and thoughtful in its exploration of Missing White Woman Syndrome and traveling while Black. The incorporation of Bree’s past, and how key events shaped Bree’s adult life, is perfectly woven into the story. Loved it!

This was an excellent and compelling thriller from an author new to me. The uneasiness of the "how well do we really know anyone" set up, combined with an amazing portrait of female friendship, was executed brilliantly.

Bree visits her boyfriend Ty for what’s supposed to be a romantic getaway. On their final morning, Bree wakes up to find a dead white woman downstairs and Ty is nowhere to be found.

Around the same time the two met up in Jersey city to spend time together, the internet is in an uproar over a missing white woman named Janelle.

Billie, a popular makeup influencer uses her platform to bring awareness, call for justice, and deliver details about Janelle’s case to her audience. Why? Janelle is one of her followers.

As Billie acts as an internet detective, she comes up with her own theory about the dead white woman being Janelle (even though police never confirmed identity) and suggests Ty is the one who murdered her.

What we read play out is the common real life story where time and resources are dedicated to finding missing white women and solving their murders; All the while easily vilifying Black people.

I liked the exploration of the missing white woman syndrome through the lens of a Black woman. The actual murder mystery journey was lackluster to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mulholland Books for the advanced eARC.

Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett is a page-turning Thriller. I couldn't put it down and finished reading it in one sitting. There were many points where I wanted to smack Bree in the back of the head but everything unfolded satisfactorily. The author has a wonderful voice, and the incorporation of social media and how fast news travels made me feel as if this mystery unfolded in real-time.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kellye Garrett’s book, MISSING WHITE WOMAN is a gripping thriller that explores racial injustice, in particular the Missing White Woman Syndrome. This is when the media focus is primarily on reporting cases where the missing woman is young, beautiful and white.
Kellye grabs your attention is by creating a plot that involves a missing white woman, but the story is told from the perspective of the main character, Bree, a young, Black woman. Bree has travelled to Jersey City to meet up with her boyfriend, Ty for a romantic weekend.
Ty has gone all out to impress Bree. He has booked a high-end Airbnb in an affluent residential area with views of the Statue of Liberty. Bree is blown away by the luxurious house which is a big change from her little studio apartment back in Maryland.
Aside from moments when Ty is working, they enjoy their time in New York and in the house. The house is so large and sound proofed that when Bree comes downstairs on the final day of their vacation, she is shocked to discover a dead woman.
She is more surprised when she finds out that Ty has not gone to his office. He appears to have disappeared. Bree finds herself and Ty under the scrutiny of the police and social media. The woman in the house has been tentatively identified as Janelle Beckett, a missing woman.
It is at this point that Kellye introduces some subplots. One subplot is the introduction of Adore, an estranged friend of Bree. It is apparent that both women have buried secrets. Adore is a successful lawyer now and she reaches out to support Bree.
The other subplot has to do with Billie, a Tiktoker who is fighting for justice for Janelle and perhaps some more followers to boost her TikTok profile. Kellye moves the plot along quickly with TikTok posts from Billie.
The plot reflects how social media can create an environment where everyone feels like they are an expert, no matter what their actual experience, knowledge or level of credibility. When it comes to true crime cases, social media followers may assume the role of judge and jury.
Missing White Woman will engage you on multiple levels. There are interesting three dimensional characters along with a suspenseful plot. Kellye's superb writing will also give you insight into racial injustice, traveling while Black and the impact of social media.

4.25 stars This one was hard to put down. The prose and flow of this book was so addictive. I flew through it without even realizing. An unpredictable yet realistic thriller. Super entertaining

I am not even going to front like I didn't have a good time with one. The twists and turns in the story were unexpected and paced well. There was never a lull in the story, and it was hard to put the book down once I started. Breanna and Ty had only been in a relationship for like 90 days at the point we meet them in the story. I consider them still in the "Getting to Know You" phase, so Breanna was getting my nerves with how hard she was going for Ty. Like girl... y'all down know each other. But also it was understandable knowing Breann's past.
I like how race and social media were woven into the story. Breanna's distrust of the police again makes it understandable when she is reluctant to divulge certain information to them. But I think what was more damning than the police was social media and public opinion. The whole storyline with Billie had me frustrated but in a good way. it's been a while since I've picked up a suspense, thriller, mystery. I would recommend this one, especially if you're looking for a good black suspense/thriller.