I was given a copy of this via netgalley.
Local Girl Missing begins with Frankie returning to her home town, after the discovery of human remains. It is assumed that the remains belong to her best friend Sophie who disappeared one night when they were both just teenagers. Sophie’s brother had called Frankie and asked her to return to the town to help try and work out what had happened to his Sister. Frankie is not happy about returning but feels she owes it to her friend. She soon starts to discover that everyone in the town seems to have secrets and Frankie is no longer sure who to trust.
This was quite a good easy read. The story is told from two different viewpoints. We hear from a present day Frankie who is having a conversation with an imaginary Sophie. This gives the reader an incredible feel of Frankie’s paranoia and sense of isolation. We also get the impression that she is hiding something regarding her family. The other viewpoint is that of Sophie. We get to hear from her in the form of her diary which she wrote in the lead up to her disappearance. Gradually the two viewpoints reveal the truth of what happened to Sophie, and to Frankie.
This was a good story that kept me interested. I did find the crime reveal a little predictable, however that didn’t actually detract from my enjoyment. The writing was good and I felt that the two main characters had very distinct voices. Some of Frankie’s story was a little repetitive which adds to the feel that she isn’t quite keeping herself together. Sophie’s voice is that of a young teenager, with all the angst and fluctuations that come in that time between child and grown up. This does give the slight impression of it being a teenage novel, as there are lots of talk about boys and parties but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
I have to say I didn’t really care about Frankie, or any of the things that were happening to her. She was rather annoying and very self involved, which is of course exactly how she is meant to come across. I did however like the character of Sophie and you do care about what happened to her, although the final twist at the end of the book was a little unbelievable.
Overall I did enjoy this story. It probably wasn’t as dark as my preferred reads, but it is a good story that was a quick easy read.
A crime readers blog 