I’ll admit up front that I’m a sucker for stories about the sinking of the Titanic, but The Missing Pages is so, so much more than a story about this famous tragedy.

Richman has composed a narrative that anyone who has experienced loss can relate to and appreciate. She creates characters from two separate time periods that allow her to explore the all-consuming nature of grief, juxtaposing the agonizing pain of loss with the enduring and protective power of love.

As she tells the stories of Violet, Hugo, Harry, and Ada, she urges us to consider that we live in a universe where we are surrounded by all sorts of unseen connections to those we’ve loved and lost. She reminds us to cherish the power of memory and, to the delight of the English teacher in me, she also gives more than a nod to the way words - books, letters, essays - can continue to preserve someone’s legacy.

My only criticism, if indeed it counts as one, is that I didn’t need the everything tied in a neat, pretty bow ending. The story is strong enough on its own without it.

Visiting the Widener Library and seeing Harry’s flowers is now on my bucket list. This book is one I'll be thinking about for a while.

Thanks to Netgalley and Union Square & Co. for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Missing pages is a captivating historical novel that blends mystery, romance, and history into a beautifully written story. The story follows Violet, a library worker who discovers a priceless book linked to the ghost of Harry, a young man who died aboard the Titanic. Harry's mother, determined to keep her sons memory alive builds a library in his name , which leads Violet into a moving mystery involving lost love and hidden secrets.

This story is both timeless and unforgettable. The novel is rich with historical detail with the Titanic tragedy, the tribute of love from a mother, mystery, the power of books to connect the past and present, and a true love story. I highly recommend !

The missing pages is a historic fiction novel that unlocks the mysterious personal life of Harry Widener, book collector, who perished on the Titanic.

I thoroughly enjoyed the way his story is revealed throughout The Missing Pages, particularly with the multiple POVs between Harry, Violet and later on, Ada.

For me, Harry’s chapters were my favourite. He really leapt off the page and I felt his love for books and Ada in my own heart. When his point of view reached his time on the Titanic, the story really picked up for me, and I suddenly felt more invested in not just him but Ada too.

Violet was the perfect person to research his life, and when they found a way to communicate I was enthralled.

This was an intriguing piece of history, and its story was delivered wonderfully.

I did pick up on a small issue, which was through Chapters 87-88. There’s mentions of the year following the titanic, but shows the incorrect year. Specifying it as being 1916 rather than 1913, as titanic sunk in April 1912.

Other than that, I’d rate this a solid 4/5 stars. Loved it!
Thank you for allowing me to read an ARC copy.

In the most unique twist in a tale about the ill fated Titanic, a young library worker at the Widener Library comes across a mystery about a priceless, lost book. Harry Widener sailed on the Titanic with what he called an incredible find, a priceless book that would shake the world. But Harry and his book went down with the ship. After his death, his mother built the library to honor her son’s memory. Now, Violet, working at the library begins to notice strange, seemingly supernatural events occurring at the library. Could Harry’s ghost be trying to tell her something? Loved this book, it had everything I like, a library, a mysterious lost book, creepy happenings and the Titanic