Just another missing person: Another top-notch Gillian McAllister thriller

This post reviews the second book by Gillian McAllister that I have read. Check out my previous post on Wrong place, wrong time, McAllister's 2022 time-bending thriller.

Just another missing person | Published August 2023 | Read December 2024

I loved the unique take on the thriller/crime novel that McAllister took in Wrong place, wrong time. McAllister serves up another intriguing and fresh approach to the genre in her 2023 novel, Just another missing person, a book I devoured in a day.

The story follows the disappearance of 22-year-old Olivia Johnston from the coastal town of Portishead, south of Bristol. DCI Julia Day is heading the investigation. Julia, a veteran police officer with an unblemished record, is being blackmailed into planting evidence to frame a man for Olivia's disappearance. There is a secret that Julia is keeping that could ruin her career and harm her teenage daughter, Genevieve, and somehow the blackmailer has found out. This sets up the crime thriller with a side order of moral dilemma.

I have found McAllister to be an intelligent and captivating storyteller with penchant for bending timelines. Her books are multilayered and suspenseful, and I reckon it takes some skill to craft such stories out of a basic idea. The premise for Just another missing person is quite straightforward, but McAllister throws several puzzles into the mix to keep the reader interested. DCI Julia Day is the main narrator, but there are two others: Olivia's father, Lewis, and Emma, the mother of the man accused of Olivia's kidnapping and/or murder. All three characters are vividly portrayed, woven together through their shared desire to protect their offspring. Their vulnerabilities and imperfections are on show, but I found them believable and authentic.

There's a reveal part way through the book that I had an inkling of but I can still appreciate its execution and cleverness. The final twist is also clever, and then there's another final twist on the last page. All three reveals left me feeling satisfied. I liked that McAllister stays away from bonkers territory as so many thriller writers seem want to do.

One niggle I had concerns the writing. I didn't notice it in Wrong place, wrong time, but McAllister went mad with the comma in Just another missing person, especially at the start of the novel. I found the writing choppy and distracting, but I either settled into it or the commas were used less often as the book progressed. The book is not your usual missing person story, so I could see past some of the writing issues that also included a bit of repetition in addition to the overused comma.

I'm keen to read the rest of McAllister's novels now, as the two so far have been crackers. I love a good moral dilemma! McAllister sure knows how to elevate a simple concept through deft engineering, throwing in curve balls along the way.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐