Book Review: The Missing by C.L. Taylor

Today I share my review for C.L. Taylor's latest psychological thriller, The Lie. I was lucky enough to get an early review copy, so thank you Avon! And I devoured it in a weekend. Here are my thoughts: 

Blurb: You love your family. They make you feel safe. You trust them. Or do you…?

When fifteen-year-old Billy Wilkinson goes missing in the middle of the night, his mother, Claire Wilkinson, blames herself. She's not the only one. There isn't a single member of Billy's family that doesn't feel guilty. But the Wilkinson’s are so used to keeping secrets from one another that it isn't until six months later, after an appeal for information goes horribly wrong, that the truth begins to surface.

Claire is sure of two things – that Billy is still alive and that her friends and family had nothing to do with his disappearance.

A mother's instinct is never wrong. Or is it?

First of all I would like to thank the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: After loving C.L. Taylor's previous two psychological thrillers, I'd say The Missing was one of my most anticipated books of the year. So I am glad to report that it did not disappoint at all. In fact, I think it's going to be difficult to express how much I loved this book without giving anything away. But let's try.

The Missing revolves around the disappearance of Billy Wilkinson and it is told from her mother's, Claire, point of view. When we start reading, Billy has been gone for 6 month already and the atmosphere at the Wilkinson's couldn't be more tense. Claire and her husband doesn't seem to be able to communicate with each other and even less with their older son, who has decided that drinking is the only way of action. Plus, Claire is sure Billy is out there and she must find him, her baby, no matter what, a feeling that not everyone seems to share so deeply.

From here, C.L. Taylor takes us on a chilly and gripping journey to find Billy and the truth about his disappearance, lead by Claire. I found her to be an amazing character. From page one, you can feel her despair and helplessness, she slowly creeps in your head and you end up sharing all her pain. It was equally astonishing and brutal to walk this journey alongside her and just as her, I doubted about everyone in this story, even about her. Seriously, every time I thought we might be closer to the truth, Taylor surprised me and stirred the story another way. It was a bit like playing cat and mouse, and I loved every minute of it.

Between chapters, we can read Snapchat conversations between two users from before Billy's disappearance. We don't know who they are but they held little clues that can help the reader figure it all out. I found this idea simply brilliant, they added a new perspective to the story and made me understand the story and the characters involved even better. Plus, in the world we live, where nothing happens unless you have posted it online, these conversations added the perfect touch to make this story even more realistic and relatable.

Something I love about C.L. Taylor's writing is how she takes a situation and stretches it to its limits to see how the characters involved react. In The Missing, I found the dynamics between the family fascinating. Claire's deepest fear has come true, her baby (even if he is already 15) has been taken away from her. But what if this actually wasn't her deepest fear? What if someone she loved, someone close had taken him? The stress and the pain this family goes through is palpable during the whole story and how all of them interact with each other might held some clues for Claire and for the reader as well.

For me, The Missing is another hit from C.L. Taylor. It is so cleverly written and so absorbing that I completely forgot about everything else while reading it. Unmissable.  

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