Wow. I think breathless with anticipation is the best description of the way I felt when reading this book. It is a fantastic story, the missing girls, the sinister forest and then the chapters that seem to belong to another book but that you know hold the key to everything. This is definitely my book of the year so far and it is one which will take some beating. Can't wait to read more of this author's work.

The Girls Who Disappeared - Claire Douglas

Twenty years ago, Olivia was driving home from a night out with three friends when she crashed the car. On regaining consciousness her three friends have disappeared.

Twenty years later, journalist Jenna Halliday visits the town to record a podcast on the mysterious story of The Girls Who Disappeared.

I generally like books with journalists coming in as outsiders and trying to get to the bottom of a case, and this gets off to a very good start.

There's another strand, a group of friends going on the holiday of a lifetime to Thailand, staying in a villa belonging to a friend. Both strands have distinct character and good development.

I thought the plot was very good, with enough elements and layers to keep it interesting, and it does eventually all tie together nicely. Sadly, I just found it a little slow and I would have liked more tension.

Not bad at all, but didn't get my pulse racing. Readers who enjoy a gentler pace might really enjoy it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House

This was an intriguing twenty year old mystery about three girls who vanished from the scene of a car crash which seriously injured driver Olivia. Journalist Jenna is in the area recording a podcast about the disappearances but it far from welcome by some in the area. I found Olivia a slightly difficult character to understand especially in terms of her relationship with Wesley who had no clear redeeming features and it was strange they had been together since before the accident. Jenna was an easier character, struggling privately and almost too compassionate for a journalist but it was easy to see why she was so spooked by the town and events. I was intrigued by the addition of Stace’s story although unsure how it would link in but it was an unexpected connection that really started pulling the whole mystery together. Overall I found myself very engrossed by this and the revelations offered quite a few surprises. 9/10

Took me to about the 20% mark to really get into the book. Stuck with it, as I have enjoyed every book this author has written since her debut. I'm glad I did. It becomes hugely gripping, and while the mystery raises loads of questions they are all answered neatly and impressively. It's getting harder and harder for thrillers to shock, but this one hit the mark. Fantastic read.

Wow, what a good book. Totally gripping from start to finish, twists and turns galore. Well rounded characters makes you feel emotionally attached to some of them. Totally recommend, thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

Olivia Rutherford was driving her car home with 3 of her friends in the car with her. The car crashed and when Olivia awoke she was alone in the car with no sign of the other three girls. Twenty years later Jenna is asked to cover the case for a podcast. As she arrives in Wiltshire it is clear that someone didn’t want the case to be looked into.

This book has multiple timelines that I found confusing at times. I did get a little mixed up with some of the side characters. This book had a lot of promise in the beginning but as the book went on it didn’t grab me quite as much as others I have read from this author.

Claire Douglas has never disappointed me. I was gripped from the very beginning.

The random chapters set in Thailand threw me off at first. It felt a little disconnected from the previous chapters. But I was intrigued to how they connect to the missing girls. It took 3/4 of the book before we got the solid link. Which I didn't guess. I feel like I probably should have but Douglas was sneaky with the nicknames so I totally missed the clues.

The twists and reveals were interesting. I do feel it may have been a bit much with everything that was revealed but Douglas's writing captivated me the whole time that it didn't take my enjoyment of the story away.

I will say Jenna bringing up her son every 5 seconds throughout the book got a little irritating. I also felt that it might not have been totally realistic for Dale to be on the case considering his connection to the missing girls.

Olivia Rutherford wakes from a car accident , badly injured, to discover her 3 friends missing without a trace.

20 years later, Jenna Halliday is creating a podcast about this unsolved crime. But someone obviously wants her to leave this mystery alone. Olivia is reluctant to talk to her and there are strange and unexplained events keeping Jenna on her toes. Can she solve this mystery?

I didn’t love this book. It started with so much promise, and I really liked the interlinked story about Stace and the her gang, but I’d worked out who they all were long before the ‘reveal’. The ending was spectacularly rushed and just didn’t ring true in any way. It was all a bit of an anti climax.

It’s well written enough, but did seem a little repetitive in places. I didn’t really care deeply for any of the characters so I kept reading more to see if Jenna and Olivia would actually get their acts together. Olivia was trapped in a time warp and Jenna was quite whiny. I understood she loved her son without needing to be reminded every 5 minutes!

It’s not a bad read, but I’ve read better by this author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

Another great, keep you guessing, read from a fabulous author.

Twenty years ago, a car crashed in the woods with 4 teenage girls inside. By the time the driver regained consciousness, she was the only one left. The other three seemingly vanished into thin air and have not been seen since. Just what happened to Olivia’s friends on that fateful night? And does Olivia know more than she is letting on? Why is she so reluctant to speak to Jenna, a journalist who has arrived in the village with a view to making a podcast about the incident?

I’ve read a couple of Claire’s books and would highly recommend.

The Girls Who Disappeared by Claire Douglas

A car accident along a spooky road during a storm , Four 20 something girls involved , only one wakes up in the car , the others missing .
Twenty years later journalist Jenna , newly single , mother of 1 , travels to the village of where it all happened.
The village is best described as the village of the damned by the explanation of it , and Jenna mainly finds herself not welcomed by most of the inhabitants , who definitely don't welcome her wanting to find out the truth.
I enjoyed the book and the characters the author has invented , the plot was interesting and it had enough of the creeping , foreboding atmosphere to keep me reading .
I thought I had the ending sussed but was pleasantly surprised by the twist at the end !
A great read.

I recently read The Couple at Number 9 and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I was really excited to get my hands on her new novel The Girls Who Disappeared.
This is another winner! The story centres around a journalist Jenna who is looking to do a podcast regarding a car accident that took place 20 years ago. She wants to speak to the only survivor Olivia but no one seems to want her in the village asking questions and everyone seems to be hiding something. There are two stories being told in the story and at first I couldn’t put it all together, once the penny dropped it all made sense and added a whole other level to the book.
A gripping story which kept me awake last night as I had to finish reading it! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC, this is a fabulously gripping read!!

As with any Claire Douglas book there are twists and turns all over the place, you have to suspect everyone!

3 girls went missing following a car accident in 1998, 1 survivor.. fast forward 20 years and the mystery is still not solved.. what happened that night and where are the girls? Jenna is determined to find out as part of a podcast she is recording.

I liked the way the book was written with another story intertwined, I was kept guessing throughout.

A nice little twist at the end, I wouldn’t expect anything less from this author.

Thanks to netgalley & the publisher for the digital ARC of this fab book!

I really wanted to love this as I enjoyed the couple at no9 but I struggled, the story had no real depth and the ending seemed cobbled together, not the author’s best work in my opinion

Claire Douglas's new book has an intriguing premise, with three young women going missing from the scene of a car accident, never to be seen again. One girl disappearing is standard psychological thriller fare, but three at once? Not so usual.

The one left behind, Olivia - the driver of the car - has never really moved on with her life over twenty years, still living with her mother, working at the family riding stables, and still with the same boyfriend, the annoying Wesley.

Now, journalist Jenna is making a podcast about the case (true crime podcasts also seem to be a popular theme for psychological thrillers at the moment), and it's all about to get stirred up again...

I've enjoyed a number of Claire Douglas's previous books, and while this certainly wasn't a bad read, it failed to really grab me. I didn't totally engage with the plot or the characters, though I liked the sections about a group of young people on a holiday in Thailand, and was keen to learn how this could possibly connect to the main storyline.

I read an advance copy and it does need a good editing in places, with a number of wrong words etc being used, hopefully this will be fixed before publication.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review!

I absolutely loved The Couple at Number 9, the previous novel by the author, so was excited to get the opportunity to read The Girls Who Disappeared.
Journalist Jenna has come to a rural Wiltshire town to make a podcast about the Olivia Rutherford case. 20 years ago the teenage Olivia survived a car crash but her 3 friends who were in the car with her disappeared. Jenna is not made to feel welcome in the town and soon realises that someone does not want her to discover the truth behind the girls disappearances.
I really enjoyed this thriller and felt that it moved along at a good pace. There are a couple of storylines and I felt that the author brought them together well by the end. I loved the character of Jenna and would love to see her again in a future novel. I liked the setting which felt atmospheric and claustrophobic and contributed to the pace and the tension. A recommended read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

#TheGirlsWhoDisappeared #NetGalley
Masterful.
A car accident.Three missing girls.A twenty-year mystery.A woman on the verge of discovering the truth .In a rural Wilshire town lies the Devil’s Corridor—a haunted road which has witnessed eerie happenings, from unexplained deaths to the sounds of a child crying in the night.In this bucolic stretch of Southwest England famous for its otherworldly sites, nothing is more puzzling than the Olivia Rutherford case. Four girls were driving home. After their car crashed only one—Olivia—was found.
What happened to the girls who disappeared? On the twentieth anniversary of the tragedy, journalist Jenna Halliday has arrived in Wiltshire to cover the case. The locals aren’t happy with this outsider determined to dig into the past. Least of all Olivia. Soon, Jenna starts receiving menacing notes. The locals have made it clear she’s not welcome. But someone is going to make her leave one way or another. Jenna’s been warned: she must get out of this town before she suffers a dark fate and becomes another mystery attached to this place.
I loved it. It was like Then She Vanishes but in a darkest way possible. Definitely recommend this.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for giving me an advance copy.