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All The Missing Girls’ Back-of-Book Description
Like the spellbinding psychological suspense in The Girl on the Train and Luckiest Girl Alive, Megan Miranda’s novel is a nail-biting, breathtaking story about the disappearances of two young women—a decade apart—told in reverse.
It’s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched.
The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter, Nic’s younger neighbor and the group’s alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Then, within days of Nic’s return, Annaleise goes missing.
Told backwards—Day 15 to Day 1—from the time Annaleise goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbor’s disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago.
My Thoughts
You know how sometimes your friends post on Facebook something like “Hey guys what should I read next?” And you click on the post to see everyone’s recommendations, following it like the book stalker you are?
Well that’s how I came across All The Missing Girls. Someone described it as a really interesting mystery thriller and said they were enjoying it. And so, months after adding it to my TBR list, I used a Barnes & Noble gift card to treat myself. *cue cool sunglasses emoji*
Anyways. I really liked the idea behind this book. It’s a mystery, suspense novel with an interesting take on how to tell the story: Backwards.
The author introduces the characters and sets the scene – a girl having to go back to her hometown for a while, getting re-acquainted with family and old friends. But then it goes to two weeks in the future. and each next chapter is the day before the last one.
It was kind of cool to see a writer try something new and different.
Although, to be honest, I was a little irritated by it around a quarter or so of the way through. I just wanted to know what had happened! They were referencing things that hadn’t been explained to the reader!
But … I powered through the frustration and got kinda hooked.
I liked the main character, even though she made some questionable choices. But I suppose that ultimately made her more relatable. The other characters – the brother, the fiancé, the old boyfriend and friends from her past – they were interesting, too and pretty well developed.
Her descriptions of them made it easy to picture how they looked. As well as the town the story was taking place in.
The writing was pretty good. I started to really like the way she wrote in flowery, half sentences. Like she needed to explain her thoughts and memories in less conventional ways.
Buy it now!
Favorite Quotes From the Book
“It’s a pinprick of discomfort that grows into a hollow terror. It’s a void that gets filled with all the horrible possibilities existing all at once.”
“There is nothing more dangerous, nothing more powerful, nothing more necessary and essential for survival than the lies we tell ourselves.”
“People were like Russian nesting dolls – versions stacked inside the latest edition. But they all still lived inside, unchanged, just out of sight.”
“The ghosts of us gaining substance.”
“Time can weave around and show you things if you let it.”
In Conclusion
Overall I think I’d give All the Missing Girls like 3.5 stars. I admire the new spin on a mystery – the story told backward. But I think it might have been just as enjoyable had it been written the normal way. Maybe? Who knows.
Either way, I’m glad I read it. I’d recommend it for lovers of thrillers and suspense who are looking for a new twist. I really liked the way it ended. And I think I could see it being a successful movie, if it ever got made into one.
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