With NIGHT FALLS, STILL MISSING we find Sunday Times bestselling author, Helen Callaghan doing what she does best. Delivering heart-stopping thrills against the backdrop of poignant human relationships and dilemmas.

There are plenty of things to love about NIGHT FALLS, STILL MISSING, starting right from the title and the cover art. The engine of the piece is the dynamic between the two main characters, Fiona and her best friend Madison (who has gone missing while working on an archaeological dig on Orkney). Both women are archaeologists, although with different skills sets. While Madison is used to digging in the wilds, Fiona is normally to be found working in a lab on items sent back from such digs. The pair are best friends with a long and varied shared history. But who are Fiona and Madison when no one else is looking? What drives them to get ahead, to fall in love, or get their own back? Is everything as it really should be between them? Who is keeping secrets and more importantly, why? Ms Callaghan never misses a chance to tease the reader through the twists and turns of these questions. By delving into the intricacies of this female relationship where they are by turns closer than family, yet by turns not always so sure, NIGHT FALLS, STILL MISSING more than delivers on its promise of being a ‘psychological’ thriller.

The story itself races along. Without wishing to risk any spoilers, the main thread is that when Fiona arrives on Orkney to visit Madison, she discovers that her friend has gone missing. Madison has been working on this highly sought after dig (think 'Time Team') which could lead to TV opportunities for all concerned. Has professional jealousy and ambition got the better of someone else on the dig? Or have some other aspects of Madison's chaotic personal and family life also followed all concerned to Orkney?

All of these threads would be more than enough in their own right to keep you turning pages well into the wee hours. But because they are all happening on Orkney, where the weather changes ten times per hour and the coming and goings of the tides can suddenly leave you stranded with nothing but the raging elements for company, Fiona finds herself juggling emotional and physical peril the whole time.

I always love it when the characters have interesting careers and in NIGHT FALLS, STILL MISSING, the nature of what it is to be an archaeologist is brought into service deftly. Helen Callaghan is an archaeologist by training and so it probably no surprise that she excels at bringing the present to bear on the past and vice versa. The moments in which the activities of the dig itself are brought to bear on the story are beautifully done and left me wishing I could visit the site myself. Something tells me I won't have long to wait. I'm sure NIGHT FALLS, STILL MISSING will make an amazing Netflix series, with (some of) the characters from this story ending up on troubling digs in other spectacular locations.

With thanks to Michael Josef and Netgalley for letting me see an advance copy of this title.

#NightFallsStillMissing #NetGalley
A must read of 2020. Highly recommended.
Do you believe in friendship? Do you have a best friend? Did they ever ask you for help?
On a cold, windswept night, Fiona arrives on a tiny, isolated island in Orkney. She accepted her old friend's invitation with some trepidation - her relationship with Madison has never been plain sailing. But as she approaches Madison's cottage, she sees that the windows are dark. The place has been stripped bare. No one knows where Madison has gone.As Fiona tries to find out where Madison has vanished to, she begins to unravel a web of lies. Madison didn't live the life she claimed to, and now Fiona's own life is in danger
My jaw was dropped as the story starts unraveling itself. After a long time, I read such a great book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK Michael Joseph for giving me an advance copy.