Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Reported Missing. Unfortunately, I could not finish this book. I could not enage with the characters or the writing. I got confused in the beginning - not my cup of tea.

Ever since I first saw that cover and read the blurb I have been looking forward to pick up Reported Missing. I'm a sucker for a good psychological thriller and this story had all the signs of being another winner. Unfortunately I ended up having a completely different reading experience. This is going to be a though review to write... I'm still surprised to say this myself, but this is the first Bookouture thriller ever that actually ended up disappointing me. It's such a shame, because I do feel the concept itself has a lot of potential. Reported Missing is ment to be more of a character driven story than a fast-paced thriller, something that can go both ways with me because the main character has to be very strong to keep me interested. And this was exactly one of my problems: I was never able to connect to the main character and I actually found her mostly dull and annoying even. Her reaction to her husband going missing under suspicious circumstances and the aftermatch is understandable in a way, but unfortunately actually reading about it didn't seem to do the trick for me. Instead of a fascinating characterization with mental health/illness elements and a dose of suspense, I found myself rather struggling to keep interest in Reported Missing. The pace is considerably slow and basically nothing much is happening during the story. Part of this can be explained by the fact that Reported Missing is mostly focused on the character development, but this doesn't take away that I really struggled to keep focused and continue reading. Things did improve slightly in the second half, making things a little more interesting, but overall I don't think I would have reached that part in the first place if it would have been an ARC. Because unfortunately the urge to DNF was real... All in all not the thrilling experience I was expecting.

I struggled a lot with this book. 4 months before the start of the book, Rebecca’s husband disappeared the same day as a 14 year-old school girl. The small town they all live in makes the connection and assumes their disappearances are related. So much of the book is spent on Rebecca getting drunk, chasing ghosts, and alienating those around her. I would have preferred a story more centered on solving the mysteries but I don’t think that was Ms. Wray’s intention. She wanted us to follow Rebecca through her self-destruction and return from the brink. Sadly, for me, this didn’t lend itself well to a suspenseful read.

This book had so much potential. The premise sounded promising and I thought the subject was very topical. That being said the only thing that kept me reading this book was to see what happened to the two missing characters. I had a theory, based on events that happened in the book, but I was wrong. I think my ending may have been more satisfying, I don't know.
The first problem of the book for me was the main character Rebecca. She is just so pitiful for so long that it's hard to get to know or like her. And my gosh this woman must look a mess with how many times she falls, scrapes, gets hit in the book. Someone buy her some band-aids!! I got sick of her pity party and wish she had gotten stronger much earlier in the book.
My second problem in the book was the addition of certain events and scenes that seemed confusing and unnecessary at times. Her best friends birthday for instance. I am pretty sure that if we cut that scene out of the book we wouldn't lose much of the story.
And of course the ending. The reason we all read. To get to the end of a book and wish there were just 10 more pages so we could just keep on reading. Putting that book aside and feeling satisfied with what a tale you have read. It almost felt as if the writer stopped caring about the book as well. Sorry Ms. Wray, but this one just didn't do it for me.

Fourteen-year old Kayleigh Jackson disappeared four months ago from a sleepy sea-side town. No sightings, and no trace. Rebecca Pendle’s husband, Chris, was last seen on the same day as Kayleigh, but she can’t bring herself to believe that the two are linked. As far as the rest of the town is concerned, it’s no coincidence. His absence is all the proof they need, and apart from a handful of friends, Rebecca is shunned by the town. Her efforts to find Chris, to separate his disappearance from Kayleigh’s, make Rebecca a target for disgruntled locals. Her unshakable belief in Chris’s innocence drives her to uncover the truth, but as the layers of small-town-life are peeled back, she’s forced to confront the possibility that she may not know the man she married as well as she thinks. As if that’s not enough to contend with, there are those who would rather she stopped asking questions, and some who are willing to take steps to make that happen.

The small town setting makes for an intriguing paradox. It’s interesting to see how many secrets exist in an insular community where everyone wants to know your business, and the consequences of them unravelling. Rebecca’s world is smaller still, and the claustrophobic feel to her point of view, combined with her self-imposed exile from her old life, adds a sense of building pressure, as Rebecca edges closer to answers that she’s no longer as certain she wants to know. But she, and we, are compelled to chase after them, right to the last page. Impressive debut novel, and will be intrigued to see what Sarah Wray writes next.

I wanted to like this book more, but it fell a bit short for me. I didn't really connect to the characters and felt the story moved a bit slow.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this novel.

Great novel. It has a bit of everything including some great unexpected twists and turns,

The premise of this was very intriguing and I did like the remote town setting - unfortunately the plot, probably because of the first person narration, fell a bit flat for me I'm afraid. She asked herself an awful lot of questions and drank excessively which really annoyed me . Realistic sadly but my heart dropped when she did it once, then again, then headed out of her caravan park at night. Not wise, Rebecca. I didn't like Rebecca at all and that coloured the whole book sadly. I reacted strongly to her but then I guess that is the mark of a good writer!

I knew I would enjoy this book as soon as I read the prologue which i did three times! I warmed to Rebecca straight away and felt what she was going through. I also enjoyed reading about the times in the club Barnacles as i used to work in a club myself and the setting and descriptions Sarah used were spot on and felt like i was there.. I raced through the book desperate to know what had happened to Kayleigh and Chris. I was slightly disappointed with the ending though as i felt it didn't really tell me what happened to Chris. Had he jumped or just disappeared? I did really enjoy thie book though and would recommend it.

I really enjoyed this book, it was suspensful, emotional and kept me wanting to keep reading as I just has to see what was going to happen next. I really had a hard time putting it down. I enjoyed the story line and characters and their complex lives and the dynamics around them. A very well written book, a really great read.

I give Reported Missing by Sarah Wray 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.  I will tell you why in a minute.

To say Rebecca is having a rough time is an understatement.  One day, her husband goes to work and never comes back.  In other news, there's a 14 year old girl, Kaleigh, who went missing the same day.

Are they linked together?  The public sure thinks so. Rebecca is getting phone calls, being followed, being taunted. The police are unable to share any information and she is living her life in limbo.

Stars be gone...

The story itself was excellent. Sarah Wray's writing is good for a first time novelist. But, there's always a but, the first quarter of the book was...  So. Darn. Slow.  I'm pretty sure I could have gotten a feel for the troubled life Rebecca was leading in less than 25% of the book.  That's the reason for the loss of a whole star.

The other half of the missing star was because even though it became interesting after 25%, the book pace seemed very slow to me.  Thus, 3.5 stars for me - rounded up for the good story.

Stars be here...

On the other hand, Sara Wray's Reported missing fully earned it's 3.5 stars that I did give.  Once I got past the 25% point, we finally got into the meat of the story. While there wasn't much emotional ups and downs for me, Sarah Wray did a really good job of keeping the ending a secret.  This drew me into the book (instead of doing chores uh hem) easily because I was really dying to see what was going to happen in the end.

The ending was unexpected and that's always a bonus for me.

P.S.  Isn't that a gorgeous book cover?

Thank you bookouture, Netgalley, and Sarah Wray for an advanced copy of Reported Missing. My opinions are my own and not biased in any way.

How well do you know anyone? Even those closest to you? When someone vanishes, suspicions are cast in all directions, rumours spread and many lives disintegrate. When two vanish simultaneously, it's worse. The turmoil left behind is unbearable. This is Sarah Wray's first book and I shall certainly read more in the future. Different t my usual thriller but highly enjoyable.

Without a doubt, this debut novel is going to hit the right notes for a ton of readers. For me, however, it fell a little bit flat.

For sure, it's a solid plot and the writing is very good; and overall, I enjoyed reading it and give it 4 stars without hesitation. For the most part, what colored my experience, I think, is that I've read too many of late with a similar theme: A spouse/lover/child suddenly goes missing (or is accused of a crime, or both), and the remaining spouse/lover/parent desperately tries to figure out what happened while refusing to believe what others insist is true. Whether the chapters reflect the perspective of a single person (as is the case here) or alternates points of view among several characters, each one adds "clues" that crescendo to an ending that's intended to knock readers' socks off.

All that happens here as well, to a woman named Rebecca Pendle. In the midst of a seemingly happy married life, her husband Chris Harding suddenly disappears without a trace from Shawmouth, the small English town to which they'd recently moved from the hustle and bustle of London. That same day, 14-year-old Kayleigh Jackson went missing as well, leading authorities to suspect the two disappearances might be connected. In short order, many of the townspeople turn against Rebecca - as do some of her former friends and neighbors, who now taunt and shun her because she was close to a person they believe to be a pedophile or worse.

Rebecca, of course, still loves Chris and doesn't believe for a second that he's played any role in the young girl's disappearance. To escape, she relocates to a rather seedy "caravan" park; but even here, she can't get away from the rumors and things that go bump in the night. And little by little, clues crop up that make her begin to doubt how much she really knew her husband - for instance, the fact that he never told her he'd been fired from his job two weeks before he disappeared.

Rebecca narrates her attempts to ferret out the truth, which often take her to places she knows she shouldn't go and to people she knows don't want to see or hear her. The clues she picks up here and there, though, only add to her self-doubt, angst and paranoia. And here is where I really got bogged down. Admittedly, I come from a sturdy stock of female role models, but never in a million years would I allow myself to be victimized by other people's words or actions. Certainly, I can understand the emotional toll of not knowing, say, whether a missing loved one is alive or dead and the need to get answers; but only up to a point. Rebecca reaches that level early on and then drags it to an all-new high. By the halfway mark, I had a single nerve left - a frazzled one at that - and she was standing square on the middle of it. From then on, I remained interested in learning who did what, but I really didn't care a whit how, or even if, Rebecca herself survived.

But that, folks, is just me. As I said at the beginning, this is a solid effort that I expect - and hope - will do well. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review it.

Promising debut psychological thriller from Sarah Wray. The dialect, character development, and character interactions paint a perfect picture of the setting of the novel. The prologue gives an ominous foreshadow and sets a dark tone for the book. The first chapter picks up as the main character, Rebecca, is once again under attack from friends of the missing girl, Kayleigh. They are accusing Rebecca's husband, Chris, of kidnapping and inappropriate relations with Kayleigh, as they have been for the past four months. The fact of the case is that Chris and Kayleigh went missing on the same day. Appeals were made for information to their whereabouts, and appeals for them to return home. Eventually the media had to take a side in their reporting and, as is usually the case, they took the one with the juciest angle.

The plot slowly and methodically builds, almost seeming to drag on until the latter part of the book. Rebecca is wrought with guilt and despair as she desperately tries to find clues to her husband's whereabouts and attempts to clear his name. She experiences bizarre coincidences along with the continued verbal assault from Kayleigh's friends. At times you begin to wonder if Rebecca's drinking is to blame for certain things or if she has entered a twilight zone of sorts.

Everything culminates into a shocking conclusion that you may be able to guess if you are paying close attention throughout. I was somewhat disappointed in the ending because some things are left unanswered, but overall it's still a good read. Hopefully there is more to the story to tell in Sarah Wray's next book. I would recommend this book to fans of suspense and psychological thrillers. I received this as a free ARC from Bookouture on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fast paced, grippy storyline, absolutely brilliant. By far one of the best books of this year up to now.

An interesting read which proves that things are not always as they seem. Should you always assume the obvious? Sometimes events in life are just coincidental. This book is just the right length and the short chapters keep the pace moving the whole way through the book. The author does a clever job of leading the reader down one path when they should be considering another.

Four month before Rebecca Pendle’s husband had disappeared but she’s had a tough time getting the police or other area residents to care that he is missing since on that same day fourteen year old Kayleigh Jackson also vanished without a trace. From the very start everyone assumed that since a young girl was gone that Rebecca’s husband must have been the one who took her.

Now Rebecca is staying as off the grid as she can to avoid the whispers, stares and sometimes even threats that she must have known what her husband was up to. All Rebecca wants are answers since she’s never believed her husband could have anything to do with the missing girl and that their marriage was solid until his disappearance.

I went into Reported Missing extremely excited to read this story as it reminded me a great deal of a story that had been on the news recently here in the US. There was an older male that had left with a teenage girl and of course the controversy to the story came with did the girl go willingly or was it kidnapping? And regardless the man should not have taken off with an underage girl so the hunt was on to find that man. My thoughts had always wandered to the wife that was left behind and felt this story was extremely close to that situation.

The first few chapters of this book had my attention for sure learning of how Rebecca was still somewhat in mourning for her husband and unable to face that he may have been involved. There’s also be the build up of everyone being against her and her husband without a bit of proof that the two disappearances had anything to do with one another. But that was where it fell a bit apart in my opinion, the story just sort of stalls in that mode without much progress and leaving the reading just hanging on for something, anything exciting to happen. By the end of this one the slow pacing just had about done me in in really caring who had done what so this one only rates in at about 2.5 stars for me.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I thought this book had a really interesting premise, but I was never sure that it lived up to the potential of the idea.

Whilst I didn't expect the tone of this book to be light and happy based on the subject matter, I wasn't prepared for it to be as dark and gloomy as it was. The main character wasn't the type that I felt close to throughout the story, and I felt like the author took this too slow. I kept wanting something major to happen that would keep me hooked and turning pages, but it never happened. Even when the truth was revealed toward the end, I kind of just shrugged. It felt like effort to get there, so it wasn't all that enjoyable.

This wasn't a bad book, but I certainly wouldn't say it was one of the better psychological thrillers that I've read, either. The story moved from one event to another, but without much excitement and at a relatively slow pace. Perhaps if I could have felt more connected to the main character I would have enjoyed it more. I was hoping for a better turnout at the ending, perhaps a surprise that I didn't see coming, but that didn't happen either.

It is a thought provoking book, but one that I wouldn't read again.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Loved this, real page turner that I read in one sitting, good one the edge of your seat read.