I read and enjoyed this author’s Kate Waters Series and I liked each book more than the last. I was interested in this new book but I don’t think I liked it quite as much as the series.. I did find that there were a lot of characters and it was confusing at times. There does seem to be a lot going on in the beginning of the book and luckily things get clearer as the story progresses. Although this wasn’t my favourite of this author’s I still enjoyed it and will read more from her.

Fiona Barton is always spot on in her storytelling, and Local Gone Missing is no exception.
Detective Elise King is on leave, fighting her biggest battle yet. Cancer. She is just hanging out, resting, observing things around her, when suddenly Charlie is missing. So you already know that Detective King isn’t going to be able to sit around and watch.

I like the "small town" reads since it always seems to be the small towns that seemingly on the surface look serene and non mysterious usually have such an undertone of secrets and lies! Elise King is residing in a seemingly small quaint seaside town that reveals some mystery to the detective who is trying to map out her own life wondering if she will ever return back to work and be able to investigate again. It seems the town of Ebbing is bringing the investigation right to her doorstep. A local man goes missing and her amateur sleuthing neighbor was a great addition to having a sidekick for Elise! The story switches between multiple POVs, has a few subplots, and at times could be a lot at once but overall was a good detective read! Thank you NetGalley for the copy and the chance to review with my own opinions.

I've read all of Fiona Barton's novels, and while The Child is still my favorite, I really enjoyed her latest whodunnit thriller. The novel is told via dual timelines and narrated via multiple points-of-view, with the main one being Detective Inspector, Elise King. I wasn't completely surprised by any of the twists because I had an inkling early on, but I wanted to see how all the characters ended up being connected.

The beginning was confusing for me, as we were introduced to a large cast of characters and I kept having to go back to reread chapters to help jog my memory. Also, while the mystery itself didn't completely pique my interest, I would like to know more about Detective King, as her ending was left open. I'm hoping this is the beginning of a new series by Ms. Barton.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'll start with this: I have enjoyed Barton previous books and won't hesistate to reach for another. That said, I can't say that I enjoyed this one overall and am a little disappointed by it. The story itself is promising and while the execution isn't bad, there's something a bit disjointed about it and most characters remain two dimensional rather than being fully fleshed out, which makes it hard not only to connect with them, but the book itself.

If you like slow-paced books, you will definitely enjoy this book more than I did. It took me about halfway through the book to really even get into it. I am normally okay with slower-paced books but I was already in a reading slump when I started the book so that did not help. Once I did get into it though it was a lot more interesting and easy to finish quicker!

I enjoyed “Local Gone Missing.” The main character, detective Elise King is on medical leave and somehow becomes embroiled in the disappearance of a man in a small seaside town.

**I received an electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

I always enjoy reading a Fiona Barton novel and Local Gone Missing was no exception. I've had some time to think about this one and it made me bump my rating up just a bit from where it started at a 3.5/5. I couldn't help but be a little confused since there is a lot going on in this one, but I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that I listened to the audiobook. I really appreciated that there were 3 narrators (Gabrielle Glaister, Jayne Entwistle & Nicholas Guy Smith), but there are a lot more viewpoints than narrators, so it did tend to get confusing that way. I am definitely planning on a reread of this at some point, and for that, I will try simply reading the book as normal. Despite my confusion, I was a really big fan of the audiobook in general and I thought all of the narrators were fantastic. In other words, don't be scared to pick up the audio just because I got confused by all the characters.

Out of all the viewpoints, I definitely enjoyed Elise's the most, and thanks to her there is a very police procedural feel to the story. I love police procedurals, and I loved watching Elise as she tries to figure out what is going on in Ebbing. Out of everyone, I felt like I got to know her the best and was very invested in her since she is on leave thanks to having breast cancer. I really felt for her, and she felt the most fleshed-out of the characters. I was also a huge fan of the way so many things and characters tied together, and the small-town feel of everyone knowing things about everyone else. There are plenty of secrets to be revealed though, and I enjoyed the slow unraveling of them. I would call the pacing of Local Gone Missing medium at best, but there is so much going on that it easily kept me interested. So, who should read this? Fans of police procedurals who can handle a lot of viewpoints and a lot of moving pieces, this is for you!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I enjoyed Fiona Barton's The Child, so I knew I had to grab Local Gone Missing when I saw it available. You guys know I can't pass up a good thriller!

Elise has always been an ambitious person. She had high hopes for her career as a detective, but her medical leave is forcing her to take a step back from that life. Now she's not sure if she'll ever return. Funny how that happens.

Thankfully, the drama of her small town is enough to keep her mind away from the work she may have left behind forever. The small town is being transformed as those with the money grab up land and build luxury houses – much to the chagrin of the locals.

Right away, I found myself hook on Elise's story. I think we've all been there – having something we care about so much, only to think that it may be lost forever. This very human concern made for a solid foundation in Local Gone Missing.

Which is exactly what this mystery needed. It took a little longer to get into the intrigue of what was happening in town and even longer for me to put all the puzzle pieces together. Neither fact is a bad thing, merely a statement. However, I think the story's core could have used some more fine-tuning before things were said and done.

The thing I enjoyed the most about Local Gone Missing had to be the characters. There are several characters, all of whom are very different from one another. They nearly make up for any other complaints I have about this book and kept me invested until the end.

Local Gone Missing is a slow-burn mystery/police procedural.
Detective Elise King is on medical leave recovering from breast cancer. But when a local man goes missing, she and her neighbor Ronnie can't help but get involved, unofficially, of course. I like both Elise and Ronnie as characters and thought they worked well together.
Another character is Dee, the local house cleaner who cleans both Elise's and Charlie's (the missing man) homes.
There were a lot of secondary characters and it was hard to keep things straight sometimes.
I did find it to be quick read, with short chapters that I like.
Solid 3 stars.

I love books with a dual timeline, and I also love multiple narrators. This book had both of these things, however in this instance, it just didn't work. For some reason, I just struggled to keep up and remember who was who and when was when. Getting lost in the details meant I couldn't get into the mystery and clues placed along the way. I also need to stop reading procedural thrillers, and that is more about me than this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this recent release.

Some guy with financial trouble and a b*tchy wife goes missing after a music festival in a small town. Detective Elise King is on medical leave but can’t help herself from investigating this case.

I’m struggling to remember the details of this book, and I just finished reading it a few days ago. I think Elise is an interesting character and I’d love to read another book with her in it, but this story was overall pretty dull.

I did love the nosy/Murderino neighbor who created the pin and red string board in her kitchen — honestly, she should have been let loose to solve the case on her own because she would have wrapped this all up much quicker.

I’ll definitely read another book by Barton, but this one was not my favorite.

2.5*
Detective Elise King is on leave, fighting the battle of her life - breast cancer. A battle she is presently conquering and wants nothing more than to return to work. Only her brain is fogged up, a side-effect of the chemo she received.

When a local man, Charlie, vanishes she can’t help but sniff around “unofficially” of course. But as the case becomes more complex she’s suddenly needed back on the frontline. Maybe even before she’s really ready to take that leap.

Told from multiple perspectives and timelines, the further I read the more confused I became.

There seemed to be so many fringe characters that kept popping up that I didn’t recognize. I kept questioning myself, “am I supposed to know who this is?”🤷🏻‍♀️

I have to admit by the end I’m not completely sure if I totally understood all the pieces of this complex puzzle.

What I did enjoy was the police procedural aspect and the character of Elise King. The chapters from her POV were clear and concise (even if her foggy brain wasn’t).

Not a favorite from this author, but I’ll still be reaching for her next.

A buddy read with Susanne that left both of us a bit confused 🤪

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group

Local Gone Missing is a slow-burn mystery that will leave you surprised at the end. The story follows Elise King, a local detective who has been on medical leave, who begins investigating the disappearance of a local man with the help of her neighbor. While she isn't officially back to work, she provides whatever information she finds to her coworkers. The other main character, Dee, is a local housecleaner who tends to be an invisible presence in homes and learns a lot of secrets.

Overall, the book is a bit of a slow burn with some pretty great twists. The ending was solid and the characters were great. I definitely recommend checking out Local Gone Missing!

Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC!

I was thrilled to receive the e-galley of this title from the publisher. Mainly this was because I have read and enjoyed all of the other books by this author. I was also delighted to be approved for a title by Berkley as this is a rarity for me.

Local Gone Missing was an absorbing book from the start. It followed many characters, among them, Charlie. He is quite the man but what is behind his facade? Early on readers learn that Charlie has a severely disabled daughter (Birdie) and a second wife (Pauline) who is quite attached to her creature comforts. What will “hail fellow, well met” personality, Charlie, do to meet his financial obligations?

Dee is a cleaner. As often happens in fiction, Dee observes a lot while she tidies. There is more to Dee than meets the eye.

Pete Diamond (is it a coincidence that his name is the same as Peter Lovesey’s detective? This is just an aside as I noticed the name). Pete is one of the weekenders, a group that the insiders do not welcome. He has organized a music festival. It does not go well. Read the book to find out why.

There are many other characters as well. They are both local and not. Many of them (and all of the ones in the book) have complex interrelationships.

Finally, there is Elise, a character whom I really liked. Elise is a police officer who has been on leave due to a bout with cancer. She is friendly with Ronny. The two insinuate themselves into the investigations that are going on in their beach community. Of course, the police are involved as well.

Much happens over the course of the novel. I was deeply immersed and eager to see what would happen next.

I can honestly say that this might be my favorite book by the author. Those looking for a suspenseful, slow burn summer read need look no further.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for this title. All opinions are my own.

This is a Mystery Suspense. I loved the characters in this book so much. The characters felt real, and I really did not guess who did it. I loved the drama ride this book took me on. The ending of this book was really good, and the reveal was done so well. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Berkley Books) or author (Fiona Barton) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

One more book read with #BerkleyBuddyReads and again, I am happy to have read it. This suspenseful mystery by Fiona Barton was a good quick read. Local Gone Missing has short chapters with multiple points of view that did not get overwhelming. They really gave a clear picture of this small seaside, vacation town and some of it’s inhabitants.
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One of the points of view is from the local housekeeper, Dee, she is in and out of everyone’s homes and seems to have the dirt, but there is something going on with her too! I think she was my favorite character because she is a common thread through all the others.
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Elise is a successful detective who, at the beginning of the book, is on medical leave but she can’t shake her sleuthing nature when two kids overdose at a festival and a well liked neighbor has gone missing. Obviously he might not be liked by everyone. Elise is probably the main character and her chapters are distinct and detailed as a police detectives probably are.
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I enjoyed the fast pace that kept me guessing until the end. This book came out last Tuesday so it is sitting on a shelf somewhere, ready for you to pick it up.
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3.5 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

I wanted to like this contemporary mystery/thriller more, but it fell a bit flat for me. I liked the main character, detective Elise King, who is on medical leave as she battles cancer. She spends her day watching tensions rise between the local small town residents and the weekenders that invade the town each weekend. During a musical festival two teenagers suffer a drug overdose and are hospitalized and one well-liked elderly man disappears. Elise discovers his body a couple days later and she finds herself suddenly brought back to work and in charge of the investigation.

I liked Elise's neighbor Ronnie. She inserted some much needed levity in the story, although once Elise returns to work, Ronnie's character basically disappears from the story. Elise's grief over the break-up with an ex-boyfriend, a fellow detective, is brought up a couple times, but it's never explored and his mysterious disappearance from work shortly after she returns to work makes no sense. It's a loose end that is never resolved and served no purpose in the story. The addition of new characters mid-way through the story was a bit jarring. The mystery was fairly predictable, although I still enjoyed seeing how the author resolved it all.

I did enjoy seeing Elise's self-doubt and hesitation slowly disappear the more she threw herself into the investigation. It's clear that she equates her identity and self-worth with her job, and while some may scoff that a person shouldn't do that, it's truly what brings her joy, so to each their own.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group. All opinions are my own.

Small Town

Big Secrets


I love a murder mystery and police procedural, especially with female detectives. In Local Gone Missing we get just that – we follow Detective Elise King who is recovering from an illness in small town of Ebbing. Hoping to keep things low key, she is drawn to an investigation when a well-known local goes missing, after a very controversial music festival takes place in town. With the help of her house cleaner Dee Eastwood and amateur sleuth Ronnie, she helps with the investigation.


I enjoyed the writing with its intricately weaved plot and sub plots. I enjoyed reading about multiple point of views and timelines, as well as some red herring thrown in that adds to the twists of the story, this was a fun read for me.


Part cozy, part police procedural, but wholly entertaining, I enjoyed Local Gone Missing a lot.

Fiona Barton has done it again in this masterful slow burn thriller that will have you guessing until the end. There are several red herrings, so don’t let yourself be fooled. The story takes place in a small town and is told from several different points of view. It took me a minute at the start to get all the characters correct but I plugged on and got it straight.

Thank you to #netgalley and #berkleypublishinggroup for allowing me to read an eARC of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.