Book Review & Giveaway - The Missing by C.L. Taylor - Blog Tour

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Title: The Missing

Author: C. L. Taylor

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Avon

Publication Date: 7th April 

Rating: 5 Stars

You love your family. They make you feel safe. You trust them.

But should you…?

When fifteen-year-old Billy Wilkinson goes missing in the middle of the night, his mother, Claire, 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?

Sometimes those closest to us are the ones with the most to hide…

C.L. Taylor has done it again, with another compelling masterpiece, a great example of a book that starts of well but gradually draws you in even more, and leaves you unable to put the book down, or catch your breath as it realises its finale. 

There are a multitude of twists in this fantastic novel, and even the ones I thought I had guessed were so far off the mark, that I was being surprised time and time again. I have no idea how C.L. Taylor comes up with her plots, but this was absolutely brilliant. 

And of course as a gripping psychological thriller, I dare not say too much about the plot, as I feel going into this book with no pre-conceptions, or ideas of how it could turn out is the best way, so you can experience the story in its purest form. 

What I will say is the story focuses's around Billy Wilkinson, a 15 year old boy who disappeared 6 months ago, to the anguish of his family. The story is told predominately from mother, Claire's point of view, and some of what she is experiencing is terrifying and heartbreaking at the same time. Added to that her family seems to all be hiding things of their own. 

As secrets are uncovered, expect to see fireworks, and your guesswork shattered, as you are drawn into Claire's story. In between chapters you see a dialogue between two screen names, which is key to everything, but you aren't told the real names behind the screen names, so can only guess as to the exact nature of the conversations, which are cleverly crafted to give away hints, but not necessarily the whole truth. 

The Missing is a well paced story that will get under your skin. I devoured it over the course of a day, mainly on my commute and was amazed I didn't miss my stops at any point. 

The Missing shows just how strong a mother's love is, and how shattering the not knowing the whereabouts of a loved on can be. Despite everything though, The Missing is not my favourite book by C.L. Taylor, that still is definitely The Lie, which a year later, I'm still amazed at, however the quality is definitely still there and its a close call in my opinion. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for this review copy. This was my honest opinion. 

Giveaway to win a a paperback copy of The Missing (UK Only)

I was sent a wonderful paperback copy, and it arrived on the day I was reading the book, so thought I would give you a chance to win it instead. 

Giveaway open to UK only, all options are voluntary, but please do what they ask, as I will be verifying the winner. Giveaway closes 23:59 19/4/2016. Winner will be announced on twitter and emailed, and they will need to reply within 7 days, or forfeit the prize, and I will re-draw for a new winner.  Good luck everyone.

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