For every time that I've been foolish when I wish that I'd been wise.

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Nicolette Farrell left her hometown of Cooley Ridge ten years ago and, if she'd had her way, she wouldn't have looked back since. But Nic's brother Daniel and her father still remain in Cooley Ridge. When Nic gets a call from her brother that her father's memory is truly failing and they need to sell the family house for his care, she knows she must come back and help deal with things. But coming back also means facing the memories of her feisty best friend, Corinne, who vanished right before Nicolette left. Nic's dad has been mentioning seeing "that girl." Is he talking about Corinne, or is that just his confused memory talking? What really happened to her? Meanwhile, once Nic is back, another girl goes missing: Annaleise Carter, who lives behind Nic's family's house. Suddenly, Nic finds herself in the middle of a police investigation, one that involves herself, Daniel, her father, and her old high school boyfriend, Tyler, who was also dating Annaleise when she disappeared.

The "shtick" with All the Missing Girls is that, with the exception of a little intro, it's told backwards, counting from Day 15 to Day 1, as Nic tries to figure out not only what happened to Annaleise, but also to Corinne so long ago. At first, the mechanism took a little getting used to, as it's a little confusing keeping track of time and what is happening. However, as the novel continues, it really hooks you, and at one point, I got chills as some of the key details were revealed.

Overall, I enjoyed this one -- it's definitely exciting and a quick read. My issues were that I guessed some of the plot, which took some of the excitement away for me, and that it reminded me almost too much of a book it's being compared to (Luckiest Girl Alive). Both this one and "Luckiest" have main characters who are hard to love and relate to, which made it difficult for me to really get into this one, at least as much as so many other readers. Still, don't get me wrong, this is a fascinating book, and I would still recommend it, especially if you like twisty thrillers that mess with your head. It's an intriguing read that stuck with me; I found myself dreaming about the characters after finishing it, which never happens to me! 3.5 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley (thank you!); it is available everywhere on 6/28/2016.



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