The Girl on the News by Elisabeth Carpenter
Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense, Mystery
Read: 23rd January 2024
Published: 29th January 2024
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
My heart pounds as I take in the headline: ‘Missing girl believed kidnapped’. Underneath is a photo of my beautiful daughter Mia, her gap-toothed grin unmistakable. But Mia is safe beside me, snuggled up on the sofa. Why would someone pretend my child has been taken?
I thought my husband Mark and I had built a perfect new life with our precious daughter Mia. She is everything to us. I thought we were finally safe from my past. But I know Mia’s picture on the news means someone has uncovered who I really am…
They must know about the terrible accusations I faced. Those other missing little girls. I was only a child myself but no-one believed I was innocent. Not even my own family. It still haunts me, every day.
Then my worst nightmares come true. Mia is taken, snatched from the playground, and my world collapses.
My sweet daughter is in danger. Because whoever took those children years ago must still be out there. Why are they trying to destroy my life again? And if they knew where to find me, how to take my daughter – does that mean they are someone close to home?
I can’t trust anyone. But it’s not like last time. I’m not a child any longer. And I will do anything to get Mia back, before it’s too late…
An utterly shocking and page-turning psychological thriller perfect for fans of Shari Lapena, The Housemaid and All Her Fault.
MY THOUGHTS:
Missing girl...believed kidnapped...
My first book I ever read by Elisabeth Carpenter was her debut, also about a missing girl called "99 Red Balloons". That book was phenomenal! I somehow missed her next few but since she has signed with Bookouture I was lucky enough to read "The Family on Smith Street", also five stars. This book is no different. Three out of three five start reads, I think I'm going to have to find some time to devour her earlier ones. I think Carpenter was one of the first authors I read with multiple narratives and timelines, and this has since become one of my favourite formats, with just enough information being drip-fed to the reader with each unfolding chapter.
Rosie McShane is a name that is synonomous with child killers when at 12 years old she was convicted of murdering her best friend Lauren Jones. Rosie had always pleaded her innocence but the police, the jury and everyone involved thought her to be unremorseful, cold and calculating. She was sentenced to seven years in a secure unit for very young offenders, and upon her release was given a whole new identity. But the people of Clayton of Greater Manchester have never forgotten.
For all intents and purposes, Jessie Donovan has the perfect life. The perfect husband, the cute little daughter and a beautiful home. But no one knows the trauma she has suffered or what it has taken to get her where she is today. When her mother calls babbling about news reports online saying that her 4 year old daughter Mia has been kidnapped, Jessie is beside herself with worry. Who would post such allegations that were clearly untrue? Nevertheless, Jessie is determined not to let Mia out of her sight.
When her husband Mark reveals his business is in trouble and he has taken out a dodgy loan to cover expenses of which they are now demanding payment, Jessie is furious with him for being so careless as to put their lives in danger. She decides then that the best thing for her is to spend a few days with her mum but surely returning to the area in which she grew up is tempting fate.
Almost from the moment she arrives, Jessie finds herself jumping at shadows. Her mother is acting strangely and her friend back home is sending her weird texts that she dismisses as annoying. But when Liza tells her that she is at her place and hasn't been able to raise Mark's attention, Jessie begins to worry. Where is Mark and why is not answering the door, her text messages or phone calls?
Things get even stranger when faces from the past threaten to throw Jessie's life into turmoil with even more social media posts about her daughter being missing.
And then Mia really does goes missing.
What is going on and why has Mia been taken? Is someone seeking retribution for a past crime? Or are they just trying to even the odds? Jessie is going out of her mind with worry when she still can't raise Mark on the phone. But is she prepared for what's about to come?
This was a quick and easy read that I started in the wee hours of the night and picked up again as soon as I woke to finish. The suspense kept me turning the pages throughout from start to finish. My only complaint was that the ending was a little ambiguous. Who was the real guilty party? I do prefer my endings to be a little more cut and dried rather than ambiguous, leaving me guessing a little.
One part I did find a little unbelievable was the fact that after Rosie was given a new identity, no one thought it strange that she continued to associate with faces from her past such as a childhood friend and her family. In these cases, the person is given a new identity and a new life away from the old one so as to protect their new identity. Aren't they? And there is the fact that Rosie was convicted on such little evidence when there was clear evidence refuting that which they convicted her on. Why did they ignore it?
Either way, this is still an absorbing, thrilling and entertaining read as you turn the pages looking for the clues from the past in the interviews transcribed and actions in the present. Who took Mia Donovan? And why did they take her?
Despite my misgivings, they weren't enough to overshadow my enjoyment of this addictive read...although one does have to suspend belief at times, as one is wont to do in the case of an entertaining and addictive story such as this one.
I would like to thank #ElisabethCarpenter, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheGirlOnTheNews in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Elisabeth was awarded a Northern Writers’ New Fiction award, and was longlisted for Yeovil Literary Prize (2015 and 2016) and the MsLexia Women’s Novel award (2015). She loves living in the north of England and sets most of her stories in the area, including the novel she is writing at the moment.
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