DNF

I’m not enjoying this book. The lack of consistency with the characters names and the long drawn out chapters just aren’t holding my attention. It’s not a fast paced or snappy start and in my experience books like this just aren’t for me… if I’m not enjoying it or finding it engaging then I must learn to put it down and move on.

Shame because I loved their older novels.

I've read this book as part of an online book club.
I love book clubs as they open you up to a world of different genres. This isn't a book I would usually read but wow it was brilliant. It really was as they say "a page turner"
It kept you guessing right to the end. Etty was my favourite character as I felt so sorry for her. Thank you for allowing me to read this book.

I enjoyed reading this captivating mystery that skilfully combines family dynamics and relationships,
police procedural and poignant but suspenseful story. The slow-burning tension builds across three parts and two timelines, keeping readers engrossed in the lives of well-developed characters and small town gossip. I am hoping it’s a start of a new series with Detective Inspector Maude O’Connor at the centre.

I have read all of the authors’ previous works and was keen to be able to read this one. A book told in three parts, over two timelines. This has some police procedural, some family saga and some mystery. I enjoyed this a lot and hope that Maud has her own series of books in the future. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers.

“Thirty years ago, in a village in East Anglia, where the land is swallowed up by mudflats and marshes and a hard wind blows in from the sea, a woman went missing.
“Life was changed forever in that ordinary little village”
On the day of Alec Salter’s 50th birthday party, his wife Charlotte disappears.
All the small village of Glensted were at the party and it was hours before anyone realised she was missing, then the body of Salter’s neighbour, Duncan Ackerley is found floating in the river.
What really happened to Charlotte Salter?
Fast forward thirty years and Morgan Ackerley returns to Glensted to make a podcast based on the shared tragedy with the Salters.
When the podcast makes national news, DI maud O’Connor is sent to Glensted to re-open the investigation.
A tense, taut thriller about the two families shattered by the tragedy and the secrets and lies they’re hiding.
A fabulous whodunnit with a few red herrings, and strong believable characters, particularly DI Maud O’Connor
Loved Maud’s backstory - her challenges at work, resented by her male colleagues, she has no time for their sexism or incompetence and would love to see Maud as character in further books.
Thanks @frenchnicci, @simonschusteruk & @netgalley for the amazing tense 😬 thriller

Can you imagine what it must feel like to not know what happened to your mother for 30 long years? There you are, at your dad's 50th birthday party waiting for your mum to arrive, only she never does and you're left not knowing if she's dead or alive. That's what happened to the Salter children when their mum, Charlotte, disappeared in 1990. Left with their totally apathetic father, hours become days. Then a body is found; but it is not Charlotte. It is family friend, Duncan Ackerley. What happened to Duncan, and has it got anything to do with Charlotte's disappearance?

Fast forward 30 years, and a police investigation has been reopened. Led by Maud O'Connor (my favourite character), and in response to the growing popularity of a podcast by Duncan's sons, Maud has to try and unpick the incidents of 30 years ago, and boy, is it a mess!

This is definitely a book with different faces. Part domestic noir, part thriller and part police procedural, it is a great read. I was only slightly let down by the outcome as I was expecting more of a WTF moment. This is the first book I've read by the authoring partnership of Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, but I'm hoping though that there are other books featuring Maud O'Connor.

I read this book as our February Book Of The Month for THE Book Club on Facebook. Thank you so much to TBC, the authors and publisher for the advance copy.

Nicci French delivers a masterclass in suspense and psychological depth, expertly paced and thoroughly enjoyable. With heart-thumping tension and unforgettable characters, it's a perfect blend of mystery and poignant exploration of family dynamics.

I have read a few books from this husband and wife duo and their latest offering is another great read!

It’s 1990 and Charlotte Salter cannot be found at her husband’s 50th birthday party. As the search begins secrets are revealed and Charlottes jacket is found by the river. Soon the case is closed.

Fast forward 30 years when her now grown up children return home and more secrets are revealed. Will the truth about Charlotte finally be uncovered?

I really enjoyed this book, it was a page turner from the beginning. A great whodunnit with some red herrings. I didn’t think the personal story of Maud was needed, felt pointless. Her challenges at work were interesting enough.

I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of this, it’s out 29 February and is def worth a read ❤️📚

Gripping whodunnit which managed to stop me working out the ending. Great range of characters, lots of detail about policing making it seem realistic. Plenty of potential red herrings to keep you guessing along the way. Nothing too gory or mature to stop younger readers (e.g. teenagers) giving this a go to try out the genre. Has made me want to try out more Nicci French titles.

I thoroughly enjoyed this one
It did take me a little bit of time to remember all the characters and disseminate between the children of the two main families but once I had achieved I was drawn in by each of them. The plot was great and I particularly warmed to Maud who was brought in to solve the mysteries.
I rattled through this book at a rate of knots. Would definitely recommend

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and husband & wife writing duo Nicci French for the ARC. While this book had lofty ambitions it fell short to me. The three different perspectives helped liven up the book, but the police procedural aspect was hard to follow and kind of boring, to be honest. It just was too long. A good edit would greatly help this book before it's released to the public. Recommended to domestic thriller fans, family drama lovers and police procedurals/stupid cops.

A well paced crime mystery set over two time periods, 1990 and the present day which starts with the disappearance of a well liked local woman, much loved mother and friend and the apparent suicide of her family friend. The story speeds up with the reopening of the case by a Metropolitan detective, Maud who skilfully uncovers the truth leading to a satisfying denoument. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Absolutely loved this, a real page turner exploring a disappearance and a death thirty years ago. I enjoyed the switches in time, pov and characters and felt the arrival of DI Maud gave a new energy. Satisfying conclusion, excellent read.

Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter by Nicci French ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Loved this police procedural book. Charlotte Salter never turned up at her husband’s 50th Birthday Party. She leaves behind 4 devastated children & an unhappy marriage. This is a story of a family who were torn apart. But what did happen to Charlotte Salter. Keeps you guessing. Great writing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this crime novel. A good, thoughtful plot and believable characters. Like a few other reviewers have said, I think that the first part could be shorter. It sets the scene for the rest of the book but the main action is 30 years later. I like a crime story that is straightforward, no ridiculous twists and turns and this book ticks that box. I have to admit that I had my suspicions quite early on but it didn't spoil my enjoyment at all and I think that Maud could have her own series.

I adore Nikki French I’ve been reading her them for a very long time and this book was tremendous. I’d love to see it made for screen.. thanks

I've never read a bad book from the writing duo that makes up Nicci French and this book continues that run. It has everything you expect. Unexplained deaths and disappearance. Dysfunctional families and bumbling policemen. The story is in three parts but flits between a 30 year old cold case and a death by arson in the present. It is an absolutely excellent read and difficult to put down. I would recommend anyone to read it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

I thought this book was absolutely brilliant. It had the right amount of suspense, twists and turns to give it that ‘real’ feel. There wasn’t any point where I thought, that would never happen.

I liked the way the book was split into two; the first half focuses on Lottie’s disappearance in 1990 and the second half is set in the present day. I felt this was a better way of doing it, rather than intertwining the two time periods.

The characters were shaped well and were really well-developed and in my opinion, exactly as they would have turned out after 30 years.

5⭐️ from me.

Thank you to Netgalley and TBC for the ARC.

Description

She’s loved by all who meet her. But someone wants her gone . . .

Then

When beautiful and vivacious Charlotte Salter fails to turn up to her husband Alec’s 50th birthday party, her kids are worried, but Alec is not. As the days pass and there’s still no word from Charlie, her daughter, Etty, and her sons, Niall, Paul and Ollie, all struggle to come to terms with her disappearance.
How can anyone just vanish without a trace?
Left with no answers and in limbo, the Salter children try and go on with their lives, all the while thinking that their mother’s killer is potentially very close to home.

Now

After years away, Etty returns home to the small East Anglian village where she grew up to help move her father into a care home. Now in his eighties, Alec has dementia and often mistakes his daughter for her mother.
Etty is a changed woman from the trouble-free girl she was when Charlie was still around - all the Salter children have spent decades running and hiding from their mother’s disappearance.
But when their childhood friends, Greg and Morgen Ackerley, decide to do a podcast about Charlotte’s disappearance, it seems like the town’s buried secrets – and the Salters’ – might finally come to light.

After all this time, will they finally find out what really happened to Charlotte Salter?

I really enjoyed this book. It was a combination of a police/ crime procedural book and a family drama which made it all the more interesting to me

Charlotte Salter ( Lottie) was wife to Alec and mother to Niall, Paul, Olly and Etty. Etty was the youngest child at 15 years old. It was Alec’s 50th birthday party and all his friends and family were there apart from Lottie. She didn’t show up and nobody had seen her all evening. She disappeared into thin air and the police struggled to find anything that would help them work out what had happened to her. A few days later a family friend of the Salters, who had been close to Lottie, was found dead in the river. Two things of this scale in a small village were rare and puzzling for the residents and the police investigating both incidents.

Thirty years later the Salter children were all back home sorting out the family home and arranging for their father Alec to go into a care home. A new police team was set up to look into the disappearance of Lottie and the assumed suicide of Duncan, the family friend.

DI Maud O’Connor was determined to solve both cases and to do it properly as the original policing team had made some awful errors.

A really enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I read has anyone seen Charlotte Salter as part of my online book club monthly read. I really enjoyed it and it kept me guessing till the end.