Thank you to NetGalley, RB media | Recorded Books, and the author for the ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When Mimi Went Missing follows the story of Tanvi and her cousin Mimi, their fractured relationship, tortured history, shared losses and love. Tanvi has always idolised her cousin who took her under her wing and protected her from bullies and became her best friend after Tanvi lost her parents and had to move in with her aunt and Mimi. All this until Mimi became friends with the 'perfect' Beth, who is perfect to the world but Tanvi's biggest bully. Mimi started hating and pushing Tanvi away. When after a party, Mimi disappears, A party that Tanvi crashed before the beginning of the school year to get some dirt on Beth to hold her accountable, and Tanvi wakes up bruised and hurt with no recollection of what happened. Tanvi has no choice but to try and figure out what happened to Mimi and to her.

What follows is a story of a teenager dealing with grief over her mother's actions and her losses while questioning her own choices, slowly piecing back together her memory until she finds Mimi – but is it too late? And is she responsible like Beth keeps telling her?

The story was fast-paced and intriguing. I love the fact that even though I guessed the ending and the culprit, the author still had me on my toes second-guessing myself. The depictions of grief, isolation and abandonment in children were vivid and shown with all consequences out to see. I was disappointed how 'dark magic rituals' were brushed off and not clearly talked about at all! That could have added lore to the story and more depth culturally.

The narrator did a good job with all the characters. I only had one complaint, which is possibly a niche complaint – I did not understand that the Indian roots of the girls and the moms were from Kerala – the pronunciations were butchered. It was not until the mention of a 'Malayalam song from 90's' (I would have loved it, if the actual song had been mentioned??) I was like, wait, are they Mallus? Look, I understand the MCs are 2nd generation immigrants, but they have been to Kerala at least once as per the story, and if you are just going to include the barest of the mentions, they could have been pronounced properly? At least better than the fully whitewashed one!! So that docked a star! It is so rare to see Mallus in such books already, so this was very disappointing in retrospect.

Anyways, other than that, a very good thriller with a good plot and pace.

TW: Death of parents. Murder, PTSD, depression, Anxiety attacks, loss of a child, Grief, Bullying, Drug abuse, Parental abuse

I know this was YA, but the tone felt a tad to juvenile for me still. Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Suja Sukumar delivers a gripping debut with When Mimi Went Missing, a psychological thriller that keeps readers guessing until the very end. The story unravels through intricate twists and vivid character dynamics as a small community is shaken by the disappearance of Mimi. Sukumar’s sharp prose and skillful pacing create a palpable sense of tension, making it impossible to put down. A must-read for fans of suspenseful mysteries with emotionally charged undertones.

I love YA mystery/thrillers, and When Mimi Went Missing did not disappoint. It was fast paced and intriguing. The main character was unreliable and sometimes a bit annoying, but at the same time I appreciated her growth. I saw the ending coming, but I still enjoyed this book very much and thought it was a solid debut novel. The narration was good, but my only critique is that I wish YA thriller/mystery audiobooks would feature narrators that actually sound like their age in the book. A lot of times the narrator has a very mature almost gravely voice - such was the case with this narration.

Thank you Netgalley, Suja Sukumar, and Recorded Books for the advanced listening copy.

Sukumar’s debut is a thrilling ride with an unreliable narrator that keeps you guessing up until the very end. I truly did not know who to trust or believe, and I enjoyed the dark and off-kilter feeling of this thriller. I would read another book by this author.

I KNEW! This was bananas with all the lying and intrigue and angst flying around. So many lying liars! This was my 1st book by Suja Sukumar but will definitely be my last, I am adding all of her books to my TBR!

#WhenMimiWentMissing
#NetGalley

ARC review - thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this.

As I am a huge fan of YA thrillers/mysteries I knew When Mimi Went Missing would be right u my alley. And it didn’t disappoint.
I can’t believe this was a debut novel because it’s so so good!
I was instantly hooked and loved our FMC dearly. Every character in this book was multilayered and managed to surprise me. Every single one served a specific purpose to the story without feeling like a prob. Somewhere between 70 and 80% I was like nooo that can’t be the conclusion and I loathed the author but then the final chapters hit and I was absolutely blown away by the conclusion.

The ending was both heartbreaking and beautiful. This story will probably stay with me for a while. It’s a great tale of friendship, family and overcoming the pressures of society.

I dearly recommend this to all of you.

This book was a fast-paced, gripping read that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The twists and turns in the plot were thrilling, and the stakes felt high throughout.

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I received an ARC audio copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5☆ rounded up

This fast-paced novel pulls the reader into the many possibilities of what could have happened to Mimi. As the FMC, Tanvi was unreliable as a narrator, making the story intriguing to discover what was true or a piece of a fuzzy memory of Tanvi. As a reader, I could sense some misdirect and wasn’t surprised by the reveal. That being said, I valued Tavi’s self-reflection and healing of what happened to her parents. Even through the traumatic experiences she has, she stayed determined to find the truth even if it scared her and faced her past with healing, releasing anger, and finding some inner peace with what happened.

I agree with some readers that some of the narration felt repetitive in describing the plot and circumstances. And I wish her remaining friend was more involved in her journey and that she wasn’t alone in finding the truth about what happened. But I felt that this was a great first novel, and I would read something from Sukumar in the future.

When Mimi went missing was an audiobook I listened to in November that had me working on autopilot. It was very easy to find yourself in the thought of Tanvi as your find out more about her parents death, the relationship between her and her cousin Mimi, and the turmoil between them at the time of Mimi’s disappearance.
The mystery pulls you in when you find out Tanvi was the last to see Mimi alive and the evidence that points to her involvement makes you question whether or not Tanvi had caused her cousins disappearance.

The story overall was a really good read, and I loved seeing an Indian FMC in this YA Thriller but I did at times find it a little clunky and repetitive.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sohopress and RBMedia for this ARC, and to Suja Sukumar for writing such an interesting story that I can’t wait to recommend to others.

Thank you to RBMedia and NetGalley for the free ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this is not a book likely to set the young adult mystery genre alight. There were too many pot holes, too many adults willing to ignore fact/reason because of some teenagers and not enough unique twists.

That is to say, it was fine but absolutely not memorable. The narrator did a good job.

A definite 4 star read for me. I loved this book, although at times I did not love the characters. It really sucked me in from the beginning. The story is based around American Indian cousins Mimi and Tanvi and the deterioration of their relationship over a short period of time. I was definitely on Team Tanvi!. It covers many different issues about young girls/teenagers growing up with an emphasis on bullying.

I received an AC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a suspenseful and nuanced book about trauma, bullying, and relationships. It is a little bit difficult to follow the timeline.

This book was a fast-paced, gripping read that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The twists and turns in the plot were thrilling, and the stakes felt high throughout. The mystery itself was engaging, and I appreciated how the author built tension with clever red herrings and well-timed reveals. The characters were relatable and well-developed, adding an emotional depth to the story that kept me invested. Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book if you're into YA thrillers. I think my students would enjoy this book and look forward to recommending it to them.
The narration was good.

Thank you Netgalley for the audiobook to preview.

Thank you NetGalley and RBMedia for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

An incredible mystery, It never had a boring moment , the characters were really well thought out, the writing was incredible and I just can’t think of a negative for this book. I really recommend this.

I'll be publishing my review on Goodreads and StoryGraph 6th January and on Tik tok most likely will add to a monthly wrap up post with review the beginning of February

It is an intriguing mystery of cousins with one suddenly be missing. Suja portrays wonderfully how awful mobbing can be but even how worse things can go. I was on the edge of my seat since the first minutes of the audiobook in and I did not see the twist coming!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When Mimi Went Missing is a tragic mystery/thriller. Tanvi comes to live with her Auntie and cousin Mimi after tragically loosing her parents in a car crash. Everything is going well, finally, until Beth decides to be Mimi's BFF. A tragedy happens and we have Tanvi the unreliable narrator trying to find Mimi. This book is sad and mysterious. It kept me questioning my predictions on who was the culprit. The one thing that bothered me was the lack of adult involvement in trying to find Mimi. After some of the things that happened to Tanvi, you would think she would go to an adult.
Although this is a young a adult book it touches on depression after the loss of a child-misarrange. I think this is important because unfortunately even teens can go through this. Maybe it will help someone recognize the depression and they can get the help they need.

This book can keep you reading until you finally finish it.
Recently I have been really interested in multicultural reading, involving different sets or characters of different nationality. I have come to the conclusion that those add colour to the book itself. The Indian heritage of Mimi and Tanvi brought some spicy odour to the reading itself.
The mystery seems simple enough to follow, though the amnesia and final revelation to the motives of the bad character still remain unrevealed to me. I am not satisfied with the reasoning, but the book was well written and enjoyable from the first page to the last one.

4⭐ (considering it's YA)
A fast-paced YA mystery/thriller about Tanvi solving the mystery around her missing cousin, Mimi, while simultaneously recovering her missing memories AND dealing/healing her past.

What an absolute page-turner!

✨Thank you RB MEDIA & NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

After her mother kills her father, Tanvi moves in with her aunt and her cousin Mimi. She has spent the past several years working through the trauma and PTSD, and Mimi has been looking out for her all along the way--until recently. As Mimi becomes closer friends with Beth, she shuts Tanvi out more and more. But when Mimi disappears and Tanvi can't remember anything about the previous night or the injuries she sustained, everything comes into question.

This was a solid mystery/thriller that fans of horror will love. I'm not sure that the relationship between Mimi and Tanvi was explored enough, and the killer's motivations didn't seem plausible. Probably not things that most student readers will take issue with.