Quick take
Faced with a case that hits awfully close to home, a detective must decide the lengths she’ll go to protect her family.
Good to know
Multiple viewpoints
Family drama
Action-packed
Whodunit
Synopsis
22-year-old Olivia has been missing for one day . . . and counting. She was last seen on CCTV, entering a dead-end alley. And not coming back out again.
Julia, the detective heading up the search for Olivia, thinks she knows what to expect. A desperate family, a ticking clock, and long hours away from her husband and daughter. But she has no idea just how close to home this case is going to get.
Because the criminal at the heart of the disappearance has something she never expected. His weapon isn’t a gun, or a knife: it’s a secret. Her worst one. And her family’s safety depends on one thing: Julia must NOT find out what happened to Olivia—and must frame somebody else for her murder.
If you find her, you will lose everything. What would you do?
Free sample
Get an early look from the first pages of Just Another Missing Person.
Just Another Missing Person
Prologue
Julia knew from the way Genevieve rushed toward her that something was wrong. She burst through the door of the multistory car park, let it swing behind her, a hasty, chaotic slam that pounded the walls. Julia shouldn’t have let her go alone: that was her first thought. She had taken a work call, and Genevieve went to pay for their ticket by herself. And now . . .
“Mum?” Genevieve shouted, crossing quickly toward her. She looked haunted, white under the strip lights, eyeliner smudged. Eyes panicked, her gaze darting back over her shoulder. Dread began to churn in Julia’s stomach. She could feel her pulse everywhere: in her hands, her legs, her shoulders; her body’s siren call. Something’s wrong. Something’s wrong, thudded her heartbeat.
And then Genevieve indicated with a blood-stained hand behind her. “You need to come.”
Why I love it
Fiora Elbers-Tibbitts
BOTM Editorial Team
Regardless of genre, my ideal reading setup is a cozy one—leaning back in my favorite sofa, legs slung over the arm, mug of tea next to me cooling to the perfect temperature. My reading experience of Just Another Missing Person was the exact opposite of this: under glaring fluorescent light, sitting in a creaky government-issued chair, waiting anxiously to hear whether I’d be called to serve. And that’s how I knew that this was a cream-of-the-crop thriller: even in the midst of jury duty, it managed to take me away and keep me enthralled through every page.
Just Another Missing Person opens with 22-year-old Olivia’s disappearance. We see the case through the eyes of detective Julia, who has a teenage daughter of her own whom she’d do anything to protect. The more Julia dives into this girl’s life, the more she feels her daughter’s long-buried secrets threatening to implode, and Julia wonders if it’s even possible to defend both her badge and her family—or if one of them will have to be sacrificed.
This book hit me with twist after twist as we flit between different perspectives and complicated motives. Just Another Missing Person has a wonderfully emotional core, delving into parent-child relationships in a way that keeps the stakes high and the consequences equally intense. While I wish for you a more idyllic reading setting, this is the kind of thriller that will make you forget the world around you—so regardless, you’re in for a treat.
Member ratings (2,217)
Taylor W.
Lewisville, TX
Thrillers are often gauged by the book’s twists & shock value. And while some stories use too many, or throw in ones that conflict w/ everything you’ve read thus far, JAMP plays it right & delivers!
Tolly B.
Mount Gilead, OH
Well done! It was a lot of thinking and fairly decent character development. I did struggle to get a different feeling for each person, but the mystery was sooo good! Loved that. Intense moral dilemma
Emily V.
birmingham, AL
A thriller with depth! These are fully developed characters with the exception of our villain, and although all of the story lines didn’t come together in the end, I enjoyed this too much to care!
Marcy F.
Perkasie , PA
A great thriller that keeps you guessing. I let out an audible gasp when the criminal mastermind was revealed and was again surprised on the very last page. Deeply layered and very entertaining!
Renee W.
Pittsburgh, PA
I love how this story explores the ethical dilemmas we sometimes face and how far we may be willing to compromise our boundaries to protect the people we love. Very thought provoking thriller.