This one gave me such Gabby Petito vibes, and just like that story I was gripped by this one needing to know what did happen to Nina.

I loved the thought provoking nature in this one, being a parent it did have me thinking what would I do, how far would I go in order to find the truth or to protect a love one.

As a massive fan of Dervla McTiernan’s novels I just loved her Cormac Riley series and her recent standalone novels have also captivated me.

Her stories are superbly written and I always find myself fully absorbed in them, often reading them in a single sitting.

This one was without exception, you will want to clear your schedule when you pick this one up as you will not want to put it down until the final page is turned.

This book had massive amounts of hype prior to publication, author quotes included her best ever etc. I was not similarly swayed. I love crime novels I expect a lot from them. To be fair this was well written and the plot lines were believable and sustainable but it didn’t have me staying up all night to find out what happened. The family angst of a missing daughter is palpably real , far too real really. The stress and agony of all family members is believable. So I remain a little underwhelmed. Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for the copy to review.

I like this author’s work, so I was really excited to get the opportunity to read this new novel!

It’s totally engaging and I was finding it hard to put down, as like her family, I was desperate to know what happened to Nina.

I think it was a good and interesting concept to include multiple POVs for added depth, from Nina’s parents and sister, to Simon’s parents but never from him.

I will say I think that maybe this needed just a tad more editing (and some characters seemed to get mixed up with others) but overall a really engrossed police procedural with a focus on the trial by social media and how money or the access to it can impact an investigation.

What a disturbing crime/mystery story this is. We meet Nina in the prologue, we see things and when she disappears we know enough to be worried for her.

We see her family - distraught and out of their minds. We see Simon and his family and for a start they see money and power as the way to proceed. They are not likeable!

We see the police following up on small leads, and we see the online trolls that Rory - Simon's father has set in place to blacken Nina and her family. That part I found chilling and oh so real. We see it every day over smaller matters than possible crime.

Have You Seen Nina? was a riveting and disturbing read. Would justice be served? I didn't see what was coming and that was even more disturbing. It wasn't something I could rest with or delight in. Messy!

4★
“I packed my bag. And then I went downstairs to tell Simon that we were over and that I never wanted to see him again.”

Nina and Simon have been climbing in Vermont, and while she was sitting at the top, enjoying the view, she reminisced about their relationship.

“Simon and I met in school when we were five years old. In middle school we became friends. When we were sixteen we fell in love. It’s important to me that you know that it was really good between us… He never played games, never made me feel like some other girl was better. With him I felt pretty, which matters, way too much, when you’re sixteen.”

From everyone else’s accounts later, Nina is indeed pretty. But Simon seemed to understand what she needed. They’re now twenty, attending different universities, and enjoying a school break at Simon’s family’s holiday place in Stowe, Vermont. He’d wanted to go to Hawaii, but she’s still working for her mother in the inn the family runs.

Get the picture? He comes from money, she comes from workers. He’s annoyed he had to come home to see her. She’s just glad she got a couple of days off from work.

Chapters are headed with the name of the character whose part of the story it is. Simon and Nina, of course, but each of their parents, the detective, and others. We are sometimes privy to what has actually happened, but sometimes we are also a bit in the dark, although we certainly have our suspicions.

Nina has been worried about the unnerving changes in Simon’s behaviour as he has become a bit rough and controlling. Her life has revolved around Simon, and vice-versa, but she’s reached her limit.

“I packed my bag. And then I went downstairs to tell Simon that we were over and that I never wanted to see him again.”

That’s where we leave her. She doesn’t return home, but at twenty, she’s an adult, so it’s a while before the family gets really worried and a while longer before the police take it seriously. Everyone, absolutely everyone, says how much Simon and Nina loved each other. Old photos and videos prove it.

So, where is she? Her parents, Andy and Leanne, are stressed enough to go to Simon’s house to approach his family.

“The Jordans’ house was very large, easily four times the size of the inn. It was set well back from the road and protected by a wall and a cast-iron gate, neither of which are remotely necessary.”

Wow - four times the size of the inn, where Nina’s family lives, hosting guests.

Rory and Jamie Jordan, on the other hand, are a business couple, perfectly groomed and superficially content with a handsome, popular, intelligent son. Rory is well-connected and influential with an immaculate trophy wife.

“She looked, as she always did, very pretty. Jamie had the kind of body that no woman over forty has without obsessive focus and absolute discipline. Very thin, and toned to perfection.”

Leanne asks to speak to Simon, since they heard he’s already returned home, and they want to ask where Nina is. Simon’s parents say no, the kids broke up, Nina’s probably with her other boyfriend, and we’re having dinner, goodbye.

Other boyfriend?

Enter Detective Matthew Wright, a decent, caring detective who has a new off-sider, Officer Sarah Jane Reid, who’s new to Major Crimes. He’s careful with his questioning and seems to have a pretty good handle on the situation, but he’s very much caught between warring factions. I enjoyed the two of them working together, seeking evidence and deflecting rumours.

The public is of two minds – those who think Nina is a good-time girl about town with several boyfriends and has done Simon wrong, and those who think Simon murdered her.

There are teams of journalists and broadcasters outside both homes, making life claustrophobic for both families.

As the police case proceeds, social media erupts with theories and lies that stir up the worst in people.

McTiernan is a plotter, not a pantser, she says. She doesn’t let a story wander and get away from her, rather she carefully plots and cross-plots to ensure she’s covered all the angles. I don’t need to understand how she does it, I just need to believe in the story, and this one is satisfying.

Mind you, she’s a dab hand with characters and setting. Don’t get me wrong – it isn’t all A+B=C plot.

I enjoyed this one more than her first US-based novel, The Murder Rule, and I believe it was her publishers (and the bigger market) that insisted on another American setting.

This is a story that could be set anywhere, I think, and be just as believable. I am fond of her Dublin settings (her homeland), and would love to see some novels set in her new home in Western Australia.

Meanwhile, I’ll enjoy whatever she writes.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Harper Collins for a copy of #WhatHappenedToNina for review.

Nina and Simon are a beautiful couple. They take off for a climbing weekend together at Simon's family holiday estate. Simon returns but Nina is never seen again. Simon says they argued and she went off in a huff to visit her girlfriend. But where is she?

Nina's family are falling apart with the not knowing, especially her mother. Simon's parents will use all their money and any trick they can to take the heat off Simon. Soon social media is abuzz with people taking sides and developing horrific theories. Who can stand up under that kind of pressure? And who remembers that the real issues is where is Nina?

If it was your child missing or accused, how far would you go?

As always, Dervla McTiernan delivers an engrossing story that leaves us breathless with it's twists and turns.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Australia for the chance to read this book.

This story is a hard but enjoyable read. From the get go you know it's not going to be a happily ever after. The families within are broken by the events that occur.

At it's heart it's a story about parents love and the lengths they'll go to to protect their children. But there is a lot going on.

The story is well written and is really gripping. Definitely a book you don't want to put down!

This book is possibly triggering due to violence against women.

This book is so true to real life, it's scary.
I found it hard to put down and will be thinking about that ending for a long time. I hope this is turned into a movie/TV series because the human emotion throughout is something else.
Picked it for my bookclub and the feedback has been extremely positive.

This book actually took me a lot longer to read than usual, not because it was a bad read but because it was so well written it felt invasive to the family. While this is fiction, it did feel very similar to the Gabby Petito case in 2021. This is a multi POV plot so we spent time with both of Nina’s parents, both of Simon’s parents, the detective on the case and Simon himself. We don’t hear from Nina after the prolog and it was deliberately obvious early on what happened to Nina. The book was more about the fall out between the families, the town and the wider community taking side and how easily misinformation is spread. I felt anxious while reading this book, it did a fantastic job of highlighting human nature at its absolute worst. I can understand the intrigue of true crime but as it plays out in real time, I think it’s easy to forget there is a real family experiencing the worst moments of their lives in front of camera. This was great book that I will never read again.

It is not very often I will review books just as they are released, normally it is either just before the date or after the date. However, What Happened to Nina? was high on my list to read so I got to it as quick as I could. Dervla's previous book The Murder Rule was a favorite for me and so I was looking forward to this book. The book starts with Nina on a hike with her boyfriend Simon, you can tell the relationship is not what it seems and Nina decides finally she can't take it and walks out. That was the last time we all saw Nina. The next few days, Nina's family gets worried and reports her as missing. The family and police check in with Simon and his family and Simon is being painted as a heartbroken boyfriend and claims Nina cheated on him and left. We know Simon did something as we readers know better, but how can they prove it and prove he is guilty when there is nobody and no sign of any crime committed? This was one book where readers do know pretty early what happened to Nina, but you still read the rest of the book as you hope that she gets justice and Simon's head is on the chopping block. Reflecting on this book, it reminded me of the Brian Laundrie and Gaby Petito case where Brian killed Gaby, came home protested his innocence, and sent the police on a goose chase. If you love true crime and missing person reads, then check out What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan.

This a perfect book for a book club. The discussions you could have with all of the themes and dynamics in this book.....

What would you do if your child was missing? How far would you go for your child? How far is too far?

Initially I was hesitant to read this one because I wondered if it was too soon after a certain very public real life situation, however I put those thoughts aside and this was definitely a compelling read.

I experienced a fly on the wall feeling and really felt like I was a part of the story, the conversations and watching everything unfold.

This story is written from multiple viewpoints and it is done, in my opinion, brilliantly.

The examples of the way media is used to build a story, to be used for 'good', but also to manipulate the narrative (something I don't think people really understand given then way they are all too happy to jump on a particular bandwagon without hesitation) gave the story a feeling of authenticity.

Brilliant.

McTiernan expertly crafts a story that is both gripping and emotionally resonant, drawing readers into the complex dynamics between Nina, Simon, and their respective families. As the investigation into Nina's disappearance unfolds, secrets are unearthed, alliances are tested, and the line between truth and deception becomes increasingly blurred.

Twenty year old Nina Fraser disappeared after spending a few days hiking and climbing with her boyfriend Simon Jordan at a property owned by his parents. It was the last week of summer break, before they both headed back to college and Nina had ditched working at her mother’s Inn so they could spend some time together. According to Simon, Nina told him that she had been seeing other guys and wanted to break up with him. Claiming to be heartbroken, he headed home leaving Nina alone at the house, saying she planned to go and stay with a friend in Boston. However, no one ever saw or heard from her again. So, what did happen to Nina?

This is a superbly written tale of two families pitted against each other, both desperate to protect their children. Nina’s parents don’t believe Nina would stay away without contacting them, while Simon’s parents are adamant that he would not have hurt her in any way. Simon and Nina have known each other since they were children and became sweethearts in high school and despite going away to different colleges, the relationship seemed to be as strong as ever.

Nina’s mother Leanne worked hard to renovate a dilapidated building into her successful inn, while raising Nina on her own. She later married landscaper Andrew when Nina was still young had a second daughter, Grace. Simon is an only child of wealthy parents, with a strong sense of entitlement, who never wanted for anything. As soon as the police look at him as a suspect in Nina’s disappearance, his father hired top lawyers and a PR company to support Simon’s innocence and spread rumours and misinformation about Nina and her family, encouraging toxic speculation to spread through social media.

The narrative unfolds through the voices of the family members as well as those of the detectives, each adding what they know or do to the plot. Although the reader learns quite early what happened to Nina, but there is still much to learn about how her disappearance eventuated. it’s the subsequent events, particularly the effect on family dynamics and interactions that generate the suspense and intrigue in the novel.

It all makes for a gripping tale that is hard to put down. With short punchy chapters, maintaining momentum, the pacing is excellent and the characters so well defined they feel like people we know. It’s hard not to empathise with what Nina’s parents are going through and feel angry at the way the Jordans and the community are treating them, while also understanding Simon’s mother’s desperation to do whatever it takes to clear her son’s name. The events and the way the investigation unfolds also feel totally plausible. The ending has a surprisingly unexpected twist that will delight many readers.

<i>With thanks to Harper Collins Au via Netgalley for a copy to read.</i>

I am not generally a crime fiction reader, nor do I particularly enjoy true crime either, but this book had me HOOKED until the very end.
As the title indicates, something has happened to Nina and we (the readers) are following Nina’s and Simon’s family on this harrowing journey to find out exactly that. It sounds like your standard murder/crime story where someone is accused, evidence is found, and charges are laid. But it’s not. Dervla has given us the heart-wrenching perspectives of the victim’s (Nina) family dealing with such tragedy in their lives, as well as the social media backlash and small town gossip that can lead from such an investigation.. She has also given us the perspective of the family on the other side of the investigation, the accused’s (Simon) mother and father, and the lengths they’ll go to in order to protect their son.
The families parts are written in first person that enables us to feel the raw emotions they feel, to help better put us in their lives as if it were our own. In amongst their views is the third-person perspective of the Detective on the case to lend us that ‘non-biased’ opinion on the events of the investigation.
Derval has not wasted her words on pointless descriptions of houses, environments or even weather. She gets straight to the point to keep the story moving along and to keep the readers brain active and interested. I thoroughly enjoyed how she focuses more on the families and their ways of processing such a horrible nightmare, and not so much on the ‘crime’ itself. I also like how she was able to so perfectly showcase how ‘trolls’ on social media can have such negative effects on the people involved in such investigations. We see it all the time when we open Facebook etc. and see on news pages how people are saying horrible things about the victims and their families, but we always just ignore. I don't think we ever fully realise the extent of how those comments can affect someone’s life completely, but Dervla clearly can, and she wanted us to see too.
This is a book I will highly recommend to anyone wanting to dip their toes into the Crime Fiction genre. I received a free reading copy courtesy of NetGalley but this review is 100% my opinion.

Nina and Simon are college students who have been dating for a while. They both set out for a weekend away at Simon’s parents lakefront property in Vermont. That same night, Simon returns home to his family … but Nina does not.

What ensures is finding Nina and discovering the truth of what actually happened. Simon is maintaining his innocence, and with his wealthy parents money behind him can hire the best legal representation and publicity firm to paint him in the best light. Meanwhile, Nina’s parents are dragged through some pretty horrific online trolling, stemming from the publicity campaign against them.

While the entire story is surrounded in mystery, what sets this one apart is McTiernan’s ability to create authenticity and humanity. The emotional exploration of what a parent wouldn’t do for their child. The behind the scene narrative of how and why relationships work and fall apart. The grief and helplessness a parent goes through when tragedy hits your child - either as the accused or the victim.

We’ve all heard and seen the all too tragic real life events of couples who go away, only for one of them to return. McTiernan very cleverly writes that tragic narrative with Nina. It honestly felt like I was reading a true crime account. From the palpable emotions of both sets of parents, to the relentless police investigation and media coverage - it was utterly addictive and unputdownable! This is one of the best fictional ‘true crime’ books I’ve read in a while. Do yourself a favour and grab this one!

Huge thanks to the wonderful team @harpercollins for sending this stunner my way 💌
Out now!

What Happened to Nina?
This is the central premise of the book, which begins the opening chapter from Ninas perspective and sets the scene for this novel. We are led to the conclusion early, that this character has been killed and we never hear from her again, as she fails to return home from a rock climbing trip away with her boyfriend Simon. The rest of the book is spent piecing together Nina’s disappearance and what happened to the missing girl? Told from the perspectives of her family, her boyfriend’s parents and the detective assigned to solving the case.

The book was powerful for a couple of reasons, particularly as it conveyed the raw anguish and pure ‘hell’ that the families of the missing girl were living. It was also a look into what parents in ‘real life’ go through in this situation of not knowing what happened and potentially never knowing what happens to their child. It definitely tugged at the heartstrings reading the parents accounts as their worst nightmares played out, and we ‘witnessed’ their struggles to cope and function through such heart wrenching and devastating loss.

We also see the other side, where parents ‘knew’ their child was guilty of such a horrendous crime and lengths people will go to, to protect a child. In this case using their extreme money and wealth to hide behind and influence the situation, and when ‘playing by the rules’ and acting ethically, lines become skewed and crossed.

What was also hard to read was the power of social media to influence rumours, lies and allowed online ‘trolls’ to paint the narrative of guilt or innocence before the investigation could solve the case. The flow on effects with the ability and potential to ruin people’s livelihoods and reputations. This was summed up perfectly in quote from the book on page 111, “Simons future and ours, was going to be decided on Facebook, Reddit, and YouTube. Opening arguments were already being made in the court of public opinion and there were no attorneys involved”.

Although most of the outcomes in the book were predictable, I wasn’t expecting one of the twists at the end. It may have felt a little unrealistic in my view, but overall, I highly enjoyed this read as it took you through all the emotions of a missing persons case. I have given it a 5 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating. Thank you to Publishers Harper Collins and Netgalley for a digital copy to read and review.

I love this author's Cormac O'Reilly series so much but was not equally enthralled with The Murder Rule which is a standalone set in America. What Happened to Nina? is the same but I decided to give it a try anyway and I am so glad I did.

The book opens with a prologue which introduces Nina and her boyfriend Simon. Nina is considering dumping him due to his continuous cruelty. When the story begins Nina has been missing for 24 hours and Simon is the last person to have seen her. A major search begins, the media is involved, and then the internet goes crazy with people taking sides over what has occurred. It all becomes really unpleasant when Simon's father hires a PR company to create false messages about Nina's family in order to muddy the waters regarding Simon's possible involvement.

It all makes for fascinating reading and the lengths that the parents go to protect their children are amazing. Well worth reading. Five stars.

Thank you to Netgalley, Scene of the Crime/William Morrow and Dervla McTiernan for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOW. I really LOVED this. What Happened To Nina? It was full of suspense and drama.
The writing was superb, I was hooked from the first page, I devoured it in day.
It was full of intrigue and had real emotional depth, I felt fully invested in the characters, especially Nina and her parents.

This is definitely one of my favourites so far this year. It's my second book from Dervla McTiernan, the first being The Murder Rule, which I also loved.
I'm looking forward to reading her previous novels and I'll be waiting impatiently for her next.

I very highly recommend.

5 stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love Dervla McTiernan novels! This is another addictive and satisfying read. A perfect choice for those who enjoy murder mystery novels.

Wow, this was such a good book, read this in one day!

It was so interesting and had a completely different perspective to most books I’ve read. The way this book played on the public view of Nina, Simon and their families was really interesting and I thought it was very true with what we see from the media with a lot of similar scenarios in real life.

The idea that it’s the victim’s fault until proven otherwise I thought was done very well.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Publishers Australia and the authors for the ARC in exchange for an honest review