Local Girl Missing by Claire Douglas

Penguin (11 Aug. 2016)

The Blurb . . .

Twenty years ago

21-year-old Sophie Collier vanishes one night.
She leaves nothing behind but a trainer on the old pier -
and a hole in the heart of her best friend Francesca.

Now

A body's been found.
And Francesca's drawn back to the seaside town she's tried to forget.
Perhaps the truth of what happened to Sophie will finally come out.
Yet Francesca is beginning to wish she hadn't returned.
Everywhere she turns are ghosts from her past.
The same old faces and familiar haunts of her youth.
But if someone knows what really happened to Sophie that night then now's the time to find out - isn't it?
Except sometimes discovering the truth can cost you everything you hold dear - your family, your sanity and even your life . . . 

My thoughts....

Frankie is back in the little seaside town she left when her best friend disappeared, and her dialogue is written as though she is speaking to Sophie in the present day. The chapters then switch to Sophie's diary from all those years ago, which are formatted in italics which I found brilliant, it makes it much easier to remember whose part you are reading and keep a track of what is going on.


I really enjoyed the way this book is written, and although I found some of Frankie's dialogue repetitive, it did help to build up an idea of her frame of mind, she's struggling being back in the little town having spent the last 18 years in London as a career woman as opposed to the dead girls friend.

I found that this story seemed to take a while to really kick in and pick up momentum, but when it does, my gosh does it pick up! There are lots of twists, lots of plots building up to really give you the run around and, although there was a point at which I thought some of it was a little pointless, BAM! It all falls into place perfectly (I even gave a gasp of shock whilst sat on the bus!)

Some books are quite predictable and you can gauge an idea of who dunnit, or where the story is going, I thought I had and I was shocked by the plot twists and turns at the end! Douglas brings everything together brilliantly and you will be left gasping for breath by the end!

I really enjoyed Local Girl Missing and would certainly recommend it to others, thank you to Net Galley and Penguin for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I will be keeping an eye out for Douglas' work in the future!

About the author . . .