The Girl in the Missing Poster by Barbara Copperthwaite
Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 22nd February 2021
Published: 23rd February 2021
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
24 June, 1994 – Nineteen-year-old Leila Hawkins runs from her father’s birthday party into the stormy night wearing her sister Stella’s long red coat. Some say she was crying, others swear they saw her get into a passing car. Nobody ever saw her again.
Present – This time every year, on the anniversary of that fateful night, Stella decorates the small seaside town she grew up in with pictures of her beautiful missing sister. But after twenty-five years, is it even worth hoping someone will come forward? Perhaps the upcoming documentary will spark people’s memories by reuniting all the guests who were there the night Leila went missing.
As old friends gather and long-buried secrets begin to surface, the last thing Stella ever expects is a direct response from someone claiming they took Leila. They want private details of Stella’s life in return for answers. But as the true events of the night of the party play out once again, who is lying? And who is next?
From the bestselling author of The Perfect Friend, this absolutely gripping psychological thriller will keep you up all night and leave you sleeping with the light on. If you loved Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and The Wife Between Us this book is for you!
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Barbara Copperthwaite's latest psychological thriller THE GIRL IN THE MISSING POSTER.
After enjoying "Flowers for the Dead" not once but twice, I jumped at the opportunity to read Barbara's newest thriller THE GIRL IN THE MISSING POSTER. I was intrigued by both the cover and the exciting premise that I just had to find out what happened. And boy, what a unique and twisty thriller it was! Unfortunately, it was very slow in parts that I felt some of the story could have been redacted to keep the pace moving steadily. But I still really enjoyed it in the end.
Nineteen year old Leila Hawkins disappeared without a trace on 24th June 1994 after leaving her father's 50th birthday party early, wearing her twin sister's red coat. Twenty five years later, Stella is still looking for answers hoping that her sister will return, albeit unlikely now. Since her sister's disappearance Stella's whole life has been about finding out what happened to Leila and laying her to rest.
As the 25th anniversary of her disappearance looms ever near, Stella puts up missing posters hoping for a positive response in the unlikely event that someone will remember something. What she doesn't expect is to be approached by a production company looking to film a documentary series about Leila's disappearance set to air on the anniversary. Stella agrees thinking it will be great exposure and hoping the renewed interest might help solve the case once and for all. She meets Euan Vincent, an investigative journalist, who conducts the interviews for the documentary series and exploring the possibility of what may have happened to Leila. The interviews reopen old wounds for Stella as she attempts to maintain her composure throughout whilst keeping some secrets to herself at least.
When the documentary airs, Stella binge watches it in its entirety for the first time, but the theories Euan explored brought trouble to her door when certain people would have preferred to leave the past behind. And then...Stella begins to receive emails from the person who claims to be responsible for Leila's death. She should pass them on to the police and let them investigate. But...what if this is her only chance to find out what really happened to her sister? Shouldn't she take it? Should she throw caution to the wind and play their game?
Since the disappearance of her "other half", her identical twin, Stella has never felt completely whole again. She feels incredibly guilty about that night and has carried it for 25 years, blaming herself in part for Leila's disappearance. Once a bit of a wild child, Stella is now a loner. She lives with her three dogs who are her world and has never given up on her search for Leila. As a dog behaviourist and an animal advocate, Stella recognises the cry of a terrified animal and thus rescues her fourth addition to her family...a French bulldog she later names Fifi.
Although the story centres on Stella and her search for Leila, there is the underlying theme of dogs running throughout as well. It's this undercurrent that had me on edge for most of the book, anticipating something awful happening to one of the dogs. Or to any dog. As it was, Stella rescued Fifi from her owner who was kicking her and dragging her along the ground as the animal yelped in pain and fear. This scene, which is near the beginning, had me in tears. And then she took Fifi off to the vet only to witness a man having to say goodbye to his beloved staffy and by then I was bawling. Stella's friend is vet Farrah who checks Fifi saying she was extremely malnourished, emaciated and had recently had pups. My thought was - puppy farm.
As a dog lover and staffymum myself, I cannot bear anything happening to any animal, particularly dogs, in a book...and have been known to stop reading immediately if there is any graphic abuse or death of our beloved canine friends. So I felt like I was keeping one eye on the story and another on the lookout for something happening to the dogs. But, without giving any spoilers I will happily say that nothing happens to the dogs...thankfully.
THE GIRL IN THE MISSING POSTER is an addictive mix of suspense filled thriller and heartwrenching drama with a palpable tension throughout. There is an eerie undercurrent as Stella has the feeling of being watched and suspicion is cast on even the most likeable of characters. Slow throughout the first half of the book, the pace does pick up in the second half, filling you with unease and shocking truths are uncovered. The final twists will leave you breathless.
The story itself alternates between Stella's first person narrative and the documentary transcript which draws you in and reveals bit by bit, the events that took place on the night of Leila's disappearance. It's hard not to empathise with Stella, who can't even look in the mirror without seeing an aging Leila's face, though she remains strong and stoic throughout. Yet at the same time she feels like an unreliable narrator at times as she struggles with herself and the journey on which she now finds herself. I found that I could identify with Stella with her love for her dogs and the implicit trust she has in them, as they in her. She understands dogs and appreciates the fact that they never judge, they never lie and they love wholly and unconditionally...unlike humans. For this reason, her world consists mainly of her dogs and that I can relate to. The documentary transcript is an excellent addition to the story, providing the much needed backstory to Leila's disappearance as well as insight into some of the other characters.
Throughout the story, I changed my mind several times as to who the main suspects were...but nothing prepared me for that final reveal! I so did NOT see that coming! In fact, there were several aspects Barbara had me well and truly hoodwinked on. She threw in so many red herrings and twists that she was able to successfully fool the reader on more than one occasion. The cat mouse game she put before us threw us off completely as we focused elsewhere while she lay in wait with us unsuspecting readers falling into her trap. The pace in the second half gained so much momentum that it was a race to the end filled with twist after shocking twist.
I have to say that THE GIRL IN THE MISSING POSTER is most definitely original, compelling and completely addictive...with the second half of the book being one hell of a thrill ride!!
I would like to thank #BarbaraCopperthwaite, #NetGalley, #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheGirlInTheMissingPoster in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Her writing career started in journalism, writing for national newspapers and magazines. During a career spanning over twenty years Barbara interviewed the real victims of crime - and also those who have carried those crimes out. She is fascinated by creating realistic, complex characters, and taking them apart before the readers' eyes in order to discover just how much it takes to push a person over a line.
Her first book, Invisible, was ‘totally gripping, and scarily believable’ according to Bella magazine. Its success was followed by Flowers For The Dead, which was the Sunday Mirror’s Choice Read, beating Lee Child’s latest offering. ‘Will have you looking over your shoulder and under your bed... Original, gripping, with a deep psychological impact,’ their review read.
The Darkest Lies came next, published by Bookouture, and became a USA Today bestseller. The follow-up, Her Last Secret, hit the Number 1 spot on Kobo. The Perfect Friend is a No 1 Kobo and Amazon best seller.
When not writing feverishly at her home in Birmingham, Barbara is often found walking her two dogs, Scamp and Buddy, or hiding behind a camera to take wildlife photographs.
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