Though Local Gone Missing‘s plot is wonderfully twisty with a surprising and satisfying conclusion, it's the characters who stand out. Ebbing's weekenders have their own complex motivations—especially a mild-mannered gay caterer and a middle-age father who are mysteriously connected to each other, and maybe to Charlie as well—but it's the locals who will really draw readers in. Foremost among them is the compelling and well-drawn Elise, who's struggling to adjust to life back on the force after returning from medical leave. Her retired librarian neighbor Ronnie, who's eager to play amateur sleuth and surprisingly adept at sussing out clues, provides much-needed comic relief in this intense story of greed gone terribly wrong. Thanks to Barton's airtight plotting and impeccable characterization, a minibreak by the sea will never seem relaxing again.
... solid and steadily paced ... Barton successfully spins and weaves the novel's various storylines with ease ... a slower burn than Barton's previous novels, but readers will savor untangling the intricate web Barton weaves.
Barton does it again ... There are so many characters that are tied together in this story that there were times I became a bit confused as to who was related to who. Barton does a great job of tidying up things as the story goes through its twists and turns that everything just makes sense in the end ... This book was fascinating and I liked how the chapters were told from different points of view. Local Gone Missing is an excellent read for fans of the mystery and suspense genre. Perfect for fans of Kerry Wilkinson, Harlen Coben, and Karin Slaughter.
... a slow burn ... a sneaky thriller that creeps up on you chapter by chapter with more details to consider and ponder. Much like Ebbing itself, everything appears to be unassuming on the surface until someone dares to dig deeper and unearth the same darkness that makes this small town just like any other.
Barton skillfully pivots here from the globe-trotting reporting that drives her Kate Waters series toward domestic crime awash in village secrets. Readers drawn in by Elise’s hawk-eyed detecting and hard-edged vulnerability won’t see the final twist coming.
Fans of Barton’s mysteries will enjoy identifying Ebbing’s bad actors and figuring out how the characters’ backstories weave together to allow Elise and her team to solve the crime.
Barton presents such an embarrassment of riches that the tale has almost run its course before the coppers have a chance to sit down with Stuart Bennett, the just-freed burglar who attacked Birdie ... Layers and layers of unlovely revelations about people who seemed perfectly nice.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay[/caption]
