Missing Clarissa is a fast-paced young adult whodunit mystery. For a high school journalism assignment, two friends, Cameron and Blair, decide to create a podcast about a girl that went missing 20 years before. Things get tense as people recall the events that took place. The characters are easy to relate to and likeable. The story is well-written with a tidy ending. I look forward to reading more books from Ripley Jones.

missing clarissa definitely falls into the category of books that just screams me. missing girl? ✅ teenage sleuths? ✅ solving an old mystery that the police failed to solve? ✅ true crime podcasts? ✅✅✅

i won’t lie, the book started out great and then towards the middle i sort of started losing interest. the last “episode” 100% saved any negative thoughts i was having though.

🔍: our main protagonists are cam & blair; two best friends who decide (well mostly cam if i’m being honest) to do a podcast of the disappearance of clarissa campbell for their journalism class. the two have completely different voices, and i found myself favoring one character over the other for the majority of the book. both girls are great, but i just connected to cam more. cam was focus mainly on the podcast and the mystery while blair pov consisted of pitying herself & life, and questioning what the hell is she thinking doing a podcast and why does she always listen to cam. it was pretty aggravating i won’t lie, but she did grow on me towards the end of the book when she started realizing her worth isn’t determined by others. i won’t call her annoying, she’s a teenage girl. we all be there before, i’m still there.

📰: the mystery itself was great, if only a tad predictable. it’s a version of a story that’s been told many times and it never fails to sickens me. i won’t speak much on this part because i want to leave this review spoiler free, but one thing i will say is, i absolutely, positively, hate men. that’s all.

i did thoroughly enjoy reading this. the characters were hilarious and that kept me going, and there was a bit of a surprise there with one of our characters that i absolutely loved. i love rep in books like these, there not many around unfortunately. the side characters were also fascinating and great. i would totally read a story from all the 90s kids pov, but especially irene (who’s the best character, love her).

🎙 i debated giving this either 5 stars or 4 because i did enjoy reading it, but again some parts fell flat for me and i’m sticking to being honest. overall though, i absolutely would recommend this to all the readers out there who love some true crime podcast mysteries. & i definitely wouldn’t mind reading more about these girls in the future, doing something completely crazy because cam had an idea.🎙

3.5 stars
☆☆☆/☆☆☆☆☆

thank you netgalley & st martin’s press/wednesday books for approving me of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Clarissa Campbell was a beautiful cheerleader who went missing 20 years ago and has never been found. The story made national news and despite an investigation no one was ever charged in her disappearance.
Twenty years later two high school students from the same town decide to start a podcast into the mystery for a school project. Cameron and Blair know nothing about podcasting but that doesn't stop them. They interview several of those closest to Clarissa and they think they have figured out who might have hurt her.
This book had a great story but the main characters were lacking for me. Despite the author telling us how smart Cameron was, she acted very naive and clueless at times. I enjoyed the podcast aspect and my favorite character was Cameron's mom Irene.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of this book for review.

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Another addition to the popular trend of murders-solved-in-a-podcast format, MISSING CLARISSA follows two friends as they attempt to get an A in a journalism class (then solved the murder) by creating a podcast investigating the famous case of Clarissa Campbell-- a 1999 high school graduate who suddenly disappeared during a party. As the story unravels, Cam and Blair discover that Clarissa's disappearance was not just a singular occurance, but acted more like ripples in a pond and the small Washington community they live in still feels the effects.

The plot was somewhat predictable, but well paced and engaging. It was difficult, especially at first, to follow the writing because it's written so fluidly between points of view-- I had a hard time getting a grasp of the two main characters and understanding who they were as individuals. But over time, I was finally able to follow a bit easier.

MISSING CLARISSA is a perfect spring read for fans of Sadie or Good Girl's Guide to Murder!

I really wanted to love this. The whole idea was so intriguing but honestly, this was a hard read. It felt like it was all over the place. Jumping from one girl to the next and it lacked...heart I guess. I never connected with any of the characters or even the storyline, which really did have so much potential.
It sadly ended up feeling a lot like the author repeatedly described Cam, a big hot chaotic mess.

The mystery was very predictable and I found myself wanting to just put the book down and not pick it up again. I think this sadly, just wasn't for me.

This was a wonderfully done mystery novel, I enjoyed the mystery plot in the book. It was well-written and I was invested in what was going on. The characters were interesting and I enjoyed getting to know them. I thought it was unique that each chapter was titled like a podcast episode, it really immersed into the world.

"What does she need? What do you take with you, when you confront a murderer? In the movies she would have a gun, but she doesn’t own a gun, and nobody is going to give her a gun at three in the morning, even in America."

Three girls,
One outspoken and outgoing
One shy and reserved
One missing and presumed dead.
Two best friends decide to do a podcast about a girl who went missing in the woods during a party during the years their parents were in highschool.

Missing Clarissa by Ripley Jones is a YA novel about two teen girls who start a true crime podcast. The storyline is good, excellent pacing...but, yet, not a real fan. A tighter edit removing the long paragraphs about prisons being part of white supremacy and slavery could have left. The references to ACAB. They added zero to the story line and frankly knocked me off the groove of the story line.
The pacing is tight and the suspense builds well. I would definitely read more by this author and hope her future editor uses more red ink.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of MISSING CLARISSA by Ripley Jones in exchange for my honest review.***

Main characters doing podcasts has become a frequent trope in mysteries and thrillers of late, so when a writer makes this sub genre feel fresh and, I’m excited. Two small town high school juniors examine an unsolved disappearance from their moms’ high school years for their journalism class. They aren’t experts or even skilled at first, sometimes they go live and wing it

MISSING CLARISSA has no shortage of suspects, innocent bad guys and red herrings. The major characters were flawed yet easy to champion when when I wanted to strangle them.

In a crowded mystery/thriller field MISSING CLARISSA stands out with character and plot and has crossover adult appeal.

I really love how YA is bringing in the concept of true crime and how the books are being written. This one had me hooked from the beginning and was well-paced throughout.

I really enjoyed this book overall, but one of the characters was had dialogue that was strange in her approach and the other was self deprecating in the first half, so it was a little hard to deal with their dialogue at times but the story was good, it definitely had some fun twists towards the end. I definitely would recommend this book!

I am giving my five stars without thinking any further but my main reason to enjoy this book so much is not related to the mystery about young cheerleader’s disappearance!
The characterization of this book is perfect! Cam is my kind favorite weirdo I truly adored! She’s extra intelligent, socially awkward, eccentric, over enthusiastic, impatient, impulsive. Thankfully her best friend Blair is quite opposite of her characteristics, balancing her in positive way. She’s kind, observer, fixer with great storytelling skills even though she has insecurities about her own abilities.

When Cam comes out with an idea out of nowhere to start a podcast about town’s most effective tragedy, Blair reluctantly finds herself buried into this project.
20 years ago, Clarissa Campbell: popular cheerleader, talented art student, disappears in the woods outside the rural town of Oreville, Washington. During their podcast, they will bring out different perspectives to this incident. How hard it can be? They will just talk and discuss new theories!
They both want to pass with flying colors from their journaling class. This is the best concept they can focus. This is the heart wrenching mystery has been hunting the town for years.

They never found the body! Clarissa’ mother thinks she can be still alive but most of her loved ones, including her father, her boyfriend who was also person of interest for the involvement in her disappearance and her best friend think otherwise.

Cam chose the subject because of the popularity but when she and Blair start hearing from different perspectives, there’s a lot of drama coming out from Clarissa’ inner circle who truly miss her!

The press objectified Clarissa as a young white girl with a perfect face! But she’s more than that! Most of the people truly know her talk about the secrets they’ve been hiding with Cam and Blair. Because they are tired to keep things to themselves.

Both girls finally realize Clarissa’ disappearance is more than just a project they have to work on or podcast success with climbing numbers of followers! They want justice for her and other girls who are mistreated just like her! But her good intentions to bring out true justice may endanger their safety! Because there are people out there not so happy about the town’s longtime kept secrets coming out!

Overall: fast pacing, unique, absolutely different from other YA mysteries with its emotional POVs from the people who are involved into the podcast project and smart writing style! The character stories are more alluring than the entire disappearance mystery!

I also enjoy how Cam and Blair discover the realities about themselves during their investigation. Cam comes clean about her sexual choices and starts building a great relationship even though she doesn’t know exactly what she’s doing. And Blair sharpens her writing and shooting skills. Finally she discovers what she wants to do with her life.

I’m looking forward to read more Ripley Jones books in near future!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

I love a good mystery, and I couldn't put this one down — I read it in one sitting! The story was thrilling and tense and kept me guessing until the very end. If you like true crime podcasts and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, you'll love this book.