I almost put this into the DNF file. I'm glad I didn't.

There are quite a few characters in this book. Nat, Beth, Jim, Jonathan, Ollie, Sophie, Victor, Richard, etc. We hear from most of these but the main focus is on Nat and Victor. We never meet Beth. Her story though is told from the perspective of others. Which was why I had a hard time at the beginning of the book. Part of this was not being use to the dialect of the people, What's a punter?, part was all the different voices. As I continued on the flow of the book changed. The characters became more familiar. One downside of the book is characters appearing for no particular reason and then disappearing. The story became much more coherent and tighter.

Beth, an early 20's young woman, disappears. Originally we get the impression this is typical behaviour. She's a party girl who doesn't take anything seriously. Nat, her friend, doesn't report her missing because of this. That stereotyping slowly disappears the more we find out. When Nat does report Beth missing the police are 1) busy investigating a death of a young man and 2) unconcerned because of Beth's reputation. This leaves it up to Nat to find and followup on clues.

As I stated The Day She Disappeared starts off as a jumble of characters but Christobel Kent tightens this up the deeper we go. I look forward to future offerings.

I wish to thank Christobel Kent, the Publisher, and NetGalley for my review copy

3 stars--I liked the book.

Kent has a strange writing style, almost a stream of consciousness, that at first bothered me but that I grew to like. In fact, this is a very clever book. There are many, many suspects, and we're reminded that we can't trust or truly know anyone--especially men. But of course, the protagonist has to trust men to answer the riddle of who murdered her friend. It's a subtle commentary that is expertly woven into the plot.

I'd give this 4 stars, but I found it depressing. The older I get, the harder it is for me to read about certain topics, especially domestic violence. There was a bit of that here, and combined with an aging man in the hospital and violence toward women, I found the book sad (despite an overall "happy" ending. Or at least, an ending where everything is resolved).

Still, recommended for fans of suspense fiction, especially if they like a lot of suspects and trying to determine who-done-it from subtle hints.

I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!

Kent sets her latest mystery in Cornwall, where Beth, a hard partying barmaid has disappeared. Few are concerned, but Beth’s friend Nathalie knows something is wrong. Beth may be a bit flighty bu she wouldn’t just up and disappear. As Nat begins her search for her missing friend, it becomes obvious one of the pub’s patrons knows something. But is it just the drink talking? I loved the description of this book, but I had to keep plugging away for the first 80-100 pages. It sets off slowly, but once it gets going it really flies. Stick with this book and you will be rewarded in the end