Thanks for the opportunity to have read this great novel. It was a slow and steady read, keeping me glued to the book and I just couldn't wait to see what happened to Chris and Kayleigh! Was it a coincidence they disappeared on the same day? Or did Chris abduct Kayleigh? Well written.

Sorry I missed the date for this.

I really enjoyed the book - thank you.

Reported Missing by Sarah Wray
Publisher: Bookouture

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Bookouture for the ebook ARC of Reported Missing by Sarah Wray in exchange for an honest review.

Rebecca Pendle’s husband, Chris disappears four moths ago. 14 year old Kayleigh Jackson also disappears. Just a coincidence? Rebecca wants to believe it is.
But, as police start to investigate, and compare the disappearance of Chris and Kayleigh, it becomes harder for Rebecca to trust that her husband is innocent. With an angry town that believes Chris has abducted Kayleigh, Rebecca tries to find out the truth. But what she finds shocks her more than she ever thought. How well does Rebecca truly know her husband?

I give this book a rating of 2 stars. I found that it was a very slow read. Yet, it made me want to finish, to find out the truth about the characters. It only picked up almost near the end, and the ending wasn’t really what I was hoping for. It was well written, just not really a book for me.

A page-turner from start to finish... Highly recommended.

I didn't remember reading this book! I kept seeing it on my list and thinking - that looks good I need to read it! However I already did - months ago! I don't feel there was anything really bad or unlikable about this book. I did finish it. But it was just completely meh - 75% of the book was the dreaded sagging middle. There was nothing memorable about at all! It was a bit dragging, the characters were sort of dull - nothing made them stand out or feel real. For me this would be one I'd say to skip.

Four months ago our protagonist Rebecca Pendle’s husband Chris went missing. She thought they were happily married and there was no signs that there was anything wrong so his disappearance is a massive shock turning her life upside down.
On the very same day 14-year-old Kayleigh Jackson also goes missing. She had gone to meet up with her friends but she never made it there.
Is it just a coincidence or are they both connected in some way?
A search was made looking for the missing teenager and only Bec is actively looking for her husband.
As the search goes on with no signs of Kayleigh the 2 disappearances appear to be connected but no solid evidence to confirm it.
As with any small town rumours are ripe, there is the accusation that Chris is a paedophile, that there was child pornography found on his computer, that Chris used to spend a lot of time with Kayleigh and consequently he has either killed her or he has her captive somewhere. Or maybe they have run off together?
The story is told from Bec’s point of view and her life since her husband disappeared.
She has been living in a caravan for four months and is shunned by almost everyone as they hold Chris responsible for Kayleigh’s disappearance.
It is only Bec that doesn’t believe there is any truth in the rumours but as she starts her own investigation into what happened that day four months ago she discovers her husband has been keeping secrets.
She discovers that Chris had lost his job which comes as a massive shock to her because he had still kept up the appearance of going to work, taking his packed lunch she makes for him every morning and she was waving him off to work as normal.
How could she not know? Why had he not told her and where had he been going everyday?
If he could hide that from her what else didn’t she know about her husband?
As she continues to search for answers strange things start to happen. She starts getting strange phone calls, things have been moved in her house and even things have started to go missing from her mum’s room in the care home.
This book is quite a slow burner and I did find it a struggle at times to carry on reading it, even though the book is really well written it failed to grab and hold my attention unfortunately. But i had to finish the book as i needed to know how it ended, sheer curiosity kept me going to the end!
It was just to slow for me but this is a book that you need to read for yourselves and make up your own mind as we are all different, some books fit different people in different ways.
This book is a bit like Marmite, you will either love it or hate it!! 🙂

An interesting premise that didn't completely work for me but still kept my attention. I found it to be a little too slow-moving for my liking. It's a debut for the author, and I do think the writing is solid, just lacking the action I expected from reading the synopsis. I'm looking forward to seeing what else she comes up with. It's as much about Rebecca's breakdown as it is about her missing husband.

There are sporadic moments in the book which are sensitive, Rebecca's visits to her mother who is at a care facility, her persistence inspite of opposition, her belief in her husband, her intentions are appreciated. Rebecca's investigative methods are different but they lead to results at the end of the book, barring a few details which are not explained.
There are few areas that I have to mention... If the author's intention was for me to get irritated, yes she succeeded. If she wanted me to read the book real fast, without enjoying, yes she succeeded. Rebecca just drinks and drinks and drinks and then wonders why she gets irritated fast and why her reactions are slow. Which all just reminds me of Girl on the Train... another book that didn't stick with me. I have no idea how so many people enjoyed that book.

I don't like giving a negative review but sometimes it has to be done. This is the story of Rebecca whose husband Chris went missing on the same day as a teenager from the same village, Kayleigh. The local people have accused Chris of either kidnapping or murdering Kayleigh. Consequently Rebecca's life has been made hell. She stumbles drunkenly through the story trying to find Chris and Kayleigh. Her character was not very likeable and that didn't help. Sorry!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This book is awesome! I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend!!

A northern seaside town, not the liveliest of places until a man disappears on the same day as a local teenager. Immediately people start assuming the worst and a witch hunt begins. Rebecca who has to bear the brunt of the ill will is shocked that her husband Chris could just walk out and leave her. She doesn't handle the situation well, takes herself off to a ramshackle caravan and drinks far too much. It was hard to feel much sympathy for her or the way she behaved. The sort of person that you would say "get a grip" to. It took me a long time to get into this book as it was a very slow burner and only really sprang to life after the half way mark. It was an interesting idea with great descriptions of living in a caravan out of season - the lack of facilities, the cold, being almost the only resident. A credible first book!

So "Reported Missing" What did I think?
Well I would love to say that this bowled me over, but sadly I can't, It was an ok read and I did finish, but it was definitely a struggle to get to the end and I really did consider abandoning Reported Missing numerous times throughout.
So a brief run-through.
Our story centres around Rebecca Pendle (Bec) whose husband "Chris" has been missing for four months. Coincidently Schoolgirl "Kayleigh Jackson" is also missing and Rebecca faces a small town who believe the two events to be linked, as she tries to discover the truth about her husband's disappearance, secrets are revealed that lead to a totally different conclusion for all involved here.
So why didn't we gel?
Well, There were a few things going on here that grated on me the first being that I found Rebecca as a character a really annoying, abrasive, selfish and very whiny individual, I wanted to give her a huge kick up the backside and tell her to wake up and smell the coffee!!!
Now the way this story was told we were in Rebecca's head the entire book and that a real no no if you are not liking the person whose head you are in and I so wasn't liking Rebecca at all.
I was in a word really bored.
Bored with Rebecca's wanderings and pointless repetitive thoughts that seemed to lead nowhere, in particular, frankly, I was losing the will to live and I wanted out of her constricting narrow-minded headspace.
Now Look, I get it that her husband has walked leaving her floundering but it shows the mettle of this person in how she deals with this awful happening, Rebecca is still floundering in the pits of self-Pity four months later.
need I say more?
And also By the time we do get some answers for her I'd actually lost interest in the question and its reply, all that time we spent inside Bec's head I kept expecting something to happen, but no it's just more random wool gathering and self-pity, woe is me type stuff, and when we do get some actual closure I found it very anti-climatic indeed, it was like is that it?
I found this a very predictable read and you could kind of guess where it was going (and I was right)
There were some redeemable features to Reported Missing, and these did keep me persevering to the final curtain.
For one there were some great secondary character's, in particular, the friend Jeanie, I thought she was an unappreciated saint and Bec was very lucky to have her.
Also, Julie from the Caravan park, loved her, what a legend.
I also didn't like the lack of closure the whole experience gave me overall.
I found Reported missing very well written, it was just that the subject matter itself didn't grab me by the throat and I really failed to connect with the main character Rebecca.
Like massively!!!
This might have a totally different outcome for you.
I would like to Thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with a free advanced readers copy of Reported Missing, this is my own honest unbiased opinion.

Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm

The synopsis of this book drew me in. Imagine if your husband went missing on exactly the same day as a teenage girl from the same town does. It is easy to see why the media and local people jump to the conclusion he must be involved in the girl's disappearance - this was thought provoking and heartbreaking in places.

This is a well written thriller which starts off slowly with some intense moments throughout. It has a few twists and turns and I didn't expect the ending. Highly believable storyline. I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

For the last four months Rebecca Pendle has been bearing the brunt of a whole town’s hate. Four months ago her husband went missing on the same day that 14 year old Kayleigh Jackson also went missing. Did he take her? Did they run away together? No one, least of all Rebecca has the answers that Kayleighs family and the rest of the town want.

Finding out that her husband Chris had lost his job but failed to tell her, instead leaving Rebecca to pack his lunch and say goodbye to him every morning has been a huge shock to her, but surely if Chris was a man that would abduct a teenager she would know. She would see something like that in his eyes?

The premise of this book completely drew me in. Rebeca, the main character for the most part I wanted to grab by the shoulders, shake and scream vigorously “Pull yourself together woman”. Rebecca decides to investigate things herself but can barely stay sober long enough to walk out of the caravan that she has taken up residence in.

While this was a fantastic story the ending was only half tied up for me. It still left a great many questions unanswered and that always leaves me with an uneasy feeling when I finish a book! 4.5 stars from me!

This book moves way too slow! I found myself not caring what happened to the husband and the teenager. Not to my liking at all.

Thanks to Netgalley, Sarah Wray and publisher. For a first book, it wasn't bad, but I think the story was deceiving. I kept waiting for the husband to show back up, and the explanation at the end of his disappearance was so short. . The character of Rebecca was so needy and desperate, that I wanted to slap her into this real world ! I think the only characters I liked were Julia and Jeanne. The teenagers were so mean and nasty, I wanted to best them senseless ! But maybe the author wanted her readers to feel emotions. She succeeded there.

Fourteen-years-old Kayleigh Jackson is missing. She goes out to visit her friends and never gets there. Very same day, a man disappears too. His wife, Rebecca Pendle, reports him missing. The two cases do not seem connected at first, but as the time goes by, rumour has it that Chris has something to do with Kayleigh’s disappearance. Everyone is looking for the missing girl, no one seems to care for the missing man.

The only person who believes in Chris’ innocence is his wife, Rebecca. She starts her own investigation. She is the only one who doesn’t believe in the rumours of her husband being a paedophile. People talk that there was pornography found on his computer, that he hung out with Kayleigh, that he kept her hostage somewhere. To find out what really happened and to clear her husband’s name, she has to find out what really happened four months ago.

But her investigation doesn’t come out as she planned. Kayleigh’s friends seem to hide something, they do not talk much, and someone is always following Rebecca. There are strange phone calls, things are moved in her house, things are missing from her mother’s room in the nursing home. Maybe there is a simple explanation for everything, or maybe Rebecca doesn’t want to see the truth.

Reported Missing is a beautifully written thrilling story. I like the way the story flows, the tension that rises on every other page. I like the hints, the turnovers that the author includes in the main story, that makes you suspect in everyone and everything. I must say that the ending didn’t really leave me with my jaw dropped, but the storytelling made me wonder if Rebecca was following her gut or was wearing her pink glasses. Overall, it is a thrilling, nail-biting story definitely worth reading.

Described as a ‘completely gripping, suspenseful thriller’ and suggested for fans of Louise Jensen, K.L. Slater and The Girl on The Train, one would expect a little more from this lukewarm book than it actually delivers.
Rebecca Pendle is hiding out in a caravan park from a town that has turned its back on her. Four months ago, her husband disappeared. You’d think she deserves a bit of sympathy, but teenager Kayleigh Jackson has also not been seen since that same day. For some reason, everyone, including the police (who inexplicably seem to have done minimal background research and called in very little support backup from surrounding areas) have branded Rebecca as the enemy.
I couldn’t force myself to like any of the characters. Rebecca is a weak, sad type, wallowing in her misery and in alcohol most of the time. When she does gather herself towards herself occasionally she makes strange, misunderstood attempts to approach random (horrible) teenagers, who all turn on her and bully her, increasing her sense of self-loathing and sending her back to her lonely caravan. Even the absent Chris and Kayleigh are not painted in a positive light, so you don’t feel much sympathy towards their situation (whatever that may be) either!
To its credit, Wray’s writing, although slow and slightly laboured at times, did keep me reading until the end. I wanted to see how things were going to turn out for the seemingly defeated Rebecca (I always have that little voice inside me shouting for the underdog, even if they aren’t shouting for themselves). Strangely, I was more interested in seeing how it all turned out for her than for the missing Chris and Kayleigh!
3 stars out of 5 for this one. Thanks to Bookouture and to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Reported missing is not what I would classify as a psychological thriller but is definately worth a read.
Rebecca is married to Chris and believes they are happy until Chris disappears one day but also Kayleigh a 14 year old girl from the same town goes missing. Is it just a coincidence or has Chris ran off with this young girl. The story is told from Rebecca's point of view, the beginning is slow and I didn't feel it was getting anywhere at the same time I couldn't really identify with Rebecca and feel the start of this story doesn't match the rest of the book. As I got into the story I began to sympathise with Rebecca and understand her actions and loved her bond with her mum. The story was a cliff hanger which although annoying!! I completely get why! I was waiting g for a twist in the story but there really wasn't one but it did not deter my enjoyment at all. I would definately read more by Sarah Wray in the future.
I would like to thank netgalley and bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I was interested in reading this book because of the premise. I was intrigued by the idea of the missing girl and the man who disappeared on the same day. I was curious to know whether this was just a coincidence or did Chris really take the girl.

This book wasn’t for me because of the pacing. The story starts out slow and ends up staying that way to the last page. It mainly focuses on Rebecca’s life after Chris went missing. At first, it shows her despair although after a while, she decides to investigate and find out what happened to Chris. I thought the investigation would help move things along but it didn’t. The only reason why I kept reading the book to the last page was because I was curious about what happened to Chris and Kayleigh.

I think this book will appeal to readers who enjoy slow paced, character-driven mysteries. However, check out other reviews especially on goodreads before deciding whether or not to read this book.