How To Find A Missing Girl was so good it changed my mind on an entire genre. I’ll be honest, prior to reading HTFAMG it’d been years since I read a YA thriller. Something like a decade since I read the Pretty Little Liars series, and while I’ve certainly read more since then, nothing has stuck out. Now that I think about it, I have no good reason for not following the genre more closely; after all, adult mystery/thriller is in my top three genres. But rest assured, after reading HTFAMG, YA thrillers will be forgotten no more.

It’s hard to know where to begin with this one, because there’s just so much I loved about it. The characters were so compelling, the plot full of intrigue and twists that kept me wanting more at every turn. I loved the growth, both in terms of individual characters as well as their relationships with each other. This book captured high school dynamics authentically while still keeping it interesting. The way that everything was connected in the end was truly incredible, it absolutely blew my mind. HTFAMG is an outstanding debut, and I can’t wait to read more from Victoria.

From beginning to end, I was thoroughly captivated by this novel. The addition of podcast transcripts and a group of amateur detectives reminiscent of the Scooby Gang was a delightful touch. Additionally, the representation of queer characters was really good. Loved it.
The plot starts in Hillwood with the case of one girl labeled a runaway, but the disappearance of a second girl spurs Iris and her companions into action. With Iris's sister being the first missing girl and her ex-girlfriend the second, the stakes are personal and high. I was on the edge of my seat, eager to learn if Iris would uncover the perpetrator or find herself in danger.
The author excelled at integrating clues throughout the narrative in a way that felt really good and subtle. This mystery was engaging and rewarding to unravel. The characters are well-developed, with distinctive personalities that complement each other perfectly. Iris, in particular, as she navigates an emotionally charged and intricate path from despair and helplessness to resilience and determination.. The use of podcasts, text messages, and authentic teenage dialogue added layers of realism to the story.
Victoria Wlosok's vibrant writing style and the ability to paint vivid imagery with her words pulled me deep into the narrative. I found myself genuinely concerned for Iris and her circle of friends, each of whom brings something special to the table. "How to Find a Missing Girl" stands out as a remarkable debut novel, showcasing Victoria Wlosok as a promising new voice in the Young Adult genre.
It's an enthralling, innovative, and powerful read.

How to Find a Missing Girl is a fun read. a great mix of characters and a plot with enough twists in it that it holds your attention nicely.

This was a highly enjoyable read. Fast paced and interesting.

I will say in parts it was hugely reminiscent of ‘A Good Girls Guide To Murder’ however since that’s one of my favourite reads of all time that isn’t a bad thing.

I definitely tried out my detective ‘skills’ while reading this 🤣

Such a good YA mystery, and a sapphic one at that.
It's been a while since I finished this book, but I remember vividly how much fun I had throughout the whole thing. I mean, as much fun as you can have while talking about death and disappearance (which, morbidly enough, for me is a lot, when it comes to fictional ones).
It was a well built mystery and it had great characters, plus a romance I did not hate. Yay for that.
I can't wait to read more by this author, because I feel like she could really grow into the genre. So I hope she keeps writing murder mysteries or even thrillers. We will see!
For now, I highly recommend this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc!

This is a really good thriller and will be enjoyed by anyone who's loved A Google Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. The writing style is so good. I can't believe this is Victoria Wlosok's debut!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc!

I really tried to get into this book as best as I could but I couldn’t connect with the characters and felt myself not caring about the story. Although, the writing was really good and the plot was there so don’t let my inability to connect with the characters deter you!

I really enjoyed this. Iris had a good voice and there was a good cast of characters to back her up. My favourite was her former best friend who just had such a distinct personality as the plucky journalist who just wanted to be friends with Iris again.

The Sapphic edge on this was naturally what I was most interested in. Having all the detective agency characters be Sapphic in some way (the main character is pan, one is a lesbian and the other I think is a non-binary lesbian though I might be wrong about her orientation) was a good idea. It really gave this an edge up on the other mystery books I've read.

Though with teen detectives, you often have to suspend reality on what they would actually get away with and what they wouldn't, I thought the teen angle was done well here. Iris doesn't have years of experience to fall back on. She's just a kid, trying to do what she can. I really liked that authenticity in our plucky young heroine.

If you like detective stories and sapphic characters, give this one a try!

This was a captivating thriller that had me enthralled from start to end. I was completely hooked and loved every second.

3.5 Stars
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC! This was pitched as a great book for those who love A Google Girls Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson and I definitely agree with that.

This is a YA thriller following Iris whose sister went missing over a year ago, her case never solved. Now Iris’s ex-girlfriend is missing and she is determined to solve this case when she couldn’t solve her sister’s. She teams up with her “agency” and also, albeit reluctantly at first, an enemy. As the group dig into the case they discover an entire web of secrets concealed in their small town.

This was very enjoyable and addicting. There were a lot of twists, unfortunately I did predict who the culprit was but not other aspects of that particular twist so I wasn’t mad about it. Also I read a lot of thrillers so I’m suspicious of everyone so don’t let me guessing who it was put you off reading this. The plot itself was well crafted and interesting, it didn’t lag at any points and new information was given at regular intervals so I wasn’t left frustrated.

There is a lot of LGBTQ+ rep in here which I loved and the supporting characters were really loveable. It was also written really well for a YA thriller and is a brilliant debut! If “YA” writing bothers you then still check this one out because the writing does not feel YA. I’m really excited to see what this author does in the future.

My gripe with this was the constant use of “my ex best friend” or “ex girlfriend” when their names could have just been used instead. It got annoying rather quickly. I also wasn’t the biggest fan of Iris as a main character, she was kind of selfish and her motivations for solving the case didn’t help to change how I saw her considering it was entirely to prove something to herself. She lies to her good friends about some really big stuff that actually really affects them and then turns it on them which bothered me to no end. So yeah, didn’t like her at all.

Overall I recommend this if you want a good, twisty and addictive YA thriller that you can’t put down. It came out on 21st September so you can read it now!

A really intriguing and captivating read that had me hooked right to the end. It perfectly fits in with its genre alongside books such as 'A Good Girl's Guide to Murder'.
Could NOT put it down, the writing style made the pages fly by so quickly!

My heart did not stop racing for the entirety of this book. A real page-turner. One of my favourite debuts of the year. Thank you for this early copy to read and review.

Unfortunately due to some sort of Netgalley glitch this book disappeared from my Kindle library before I got the chance to read and review it.

(Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review)

I wanted to love this book but it just didn’t have me hooked as much as it could have. This is mainly because I didn’t connect to any character other than our MC Iris.

I could however tell that a lot of thought had gone into the plot and making sure it had depth (which it definitely did). I appreciated how there were dead ends in the investigation and how clues/events weren’t conveniently found or handed to the main characters on a silver platter (which can sometimes be the case in YA mysteries). I will say though that the ending and conclusion to the mystery were a little random and didn’t really have any build-up. But the fact that this is a debut novel is super impressive as I've read mysteries from well-established authors that plot all over the place.

This was the sapphic murder mystery book of my dreams. Fast-paced, twisty, and full of surprises without ever feeling too forced, it was a ride from start to finish. I loved how natural the dialogue felt, and the realistic depiction of modern teens without ever falling into cringe territory. The initial sparks of the main romance took me a little by surprise, but it developed so adorably that it didn’t take long to win me over. Start to finish, this book captured my heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this arc.

It definitely gave of Good Girls Guide to Murder vibes but quite a bit different.

I liked how dark and real it felt, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

I loved the ending for the reason above.

Funny? Yes. Exciting? Definitely. Seemingly inspired by Heathers the Musical for reasons I can't quite put my finger on?* Absolutely. (*Aside from the obvious: a cheerleader called Heather!)

I adored How to Find a Missing Girl so much that I rationed myself to consume just a few pages a day, ensuring I wouldn't finish it too quickly and be left upset without it. Victoria Wlosok's writing style is so addictive, however, that it was always a struggle to stop reading! The representation was great, the characters even greater, and I enjoyed picking up on hints and foreshadowing as the plot progressed. Even so, I found myself shocked by the ending.

Following a Sapphic detective agency (come on, surely that's enough to make you pick up the book!), this novel details the disappearance of our protagonist's ex-girlfriend. It also discusses the earlier disappearance of the main character's sister. This isn't just a mystery story, though. It's a tale about friendship, family, arguments and reconciliations. It's the teenage girl experience wrapped up and adorned with one of the pinkest, prettiest covers you've ever seen.

I've recommended this book to my fiancé, my students and my local librarians. And now, I very happily recommend it to you.

Unfortunately, this book doesn't do anything groundbreaking. It definitely felt like it was trying to be the next A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, but it went too far - at times it was as if the author was trying to make Iris into Pippa, and it made it feel a bit... icky? Iris was quite frankly just not that great of an amateur detective - most of the stuff she "discovers" is laid out for her by other people, so it made it feel a little laughable whenever Iris was defining herself as being a detective.

The podcast element also felt completely unnecessary. None of those podcast episodes had anything to add to the mystery or to help unravel the puzzle; the main character didn't even listen to them until halfway through the story even though she's investigating the disappearance of the person making the podcast??

I don't want to be completely negative about this book; it was very easy to read, I was interested to find out how the mystery would unravel, and I did like the romance addition to the story; they were very sweet together and I was happy with how their ending turned out. I do think the author has great potential and I would definitely read from Victoria again. Sadly for me, this book just felt quite predictable and I didn't feel shocked at the reveal.

How to Find a Missing Girl is a sapphic snall town missing persons mystery. Iris’ older sister Stella went missing almost a year ago and was classed as a runaway. Now another girl, Heather, has gone missing and Iris is out to solve this this case, even though she was explicitly told to not.

Full of queer characters, missing ex-girlfriends, and ex best friends who try to help the investigation, things going not according to plan and a group of friends trying to solve both Stella’s case and find Heather. Heather had a podcast, How to Find a Missing Girl, centered around Stella’s case, which makes her disappearance even more odd.

I LOVED this book! I literally devoured it during my plane journey, I beeded to know who did it and where both girls are, what happened to them. The ending did not disappoint and it was so tense!! I am giving How to Find a Missing Girl by Wiktoria Wlosok 5 stars, and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a teenage detective story, perfect for fans of A Good Girls Guide to Murder or A Long Stretch of Bad Days.

i’m sorry i’m advance but the comparison with a good girl’s guide to murder really can’t be helped. some of the story points are soooo similar and i know there are very common tropes in mysteries but liiiiike, yeah, it was reallyyyy similar in some aspects. i liked the idea of a team, especially a team of sapphic friends, that was extremely fun. now iris was a bit stupid, especially when i read agggtm recently, pippa is a very smart character but here, i don’t know, she got caught a lot, there were no clever strategies to get info, etc. the mystery was pretty simple too honestly, it didn’t have my brain cells trying to piece everything together. a fun a quick book but nothing mind boggling or very original. 3⭐️