Title: The Missing Years by Lexie Elliott
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense, Supernatural Elements
Length: 382 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
The French Girl captivated readers with a twisting tale of psychological suspense. Now author Lexie Elliott heads to the foothills of the Scottish Highlands, where a woman’s tangled family history comes back to haunt her…
An eerie, old Scottish manor in the middle of nowhere that’s now hers.
Ailsa Calder has inherited half of a house. The other half belongs to a man who disappeared without a trace twenty-seven years ago–her father.
Leaving London behind to settle the inheritance from her mother’s estate, Ailsa returns to her childhood home, nestled amongst the craggy peaks of the Scottish Highlands, joined by the half-sister who’s almost a stranger to her.
Ailsa can’t escape the claustrophobic feeling that the house itself is watching her– as if her past hungers to consume her. She also can’t ignore how the neighborhood animals refuse to set one foot within the gates of the garden.
When the first nighttime intruder shows up, Ailsa fears that the manor’s careless rugged beauty could cost her everything.
Review:
The Missing Years by Lexie Elliott is a suspenseful mystery with slight supernatural elements.
Following the death of her mother, thirty four year old Ailsa Calder inherits the family home they abandoned following her father’s disappearance twenty-seven years earlier. She and her half-sister Carrie travel to the house where they plan to live temporarily while Ailsa takes care of having her father declared legally dead so she sell or rent the property.
Upon arriving at the Manse, Ailsa is extremely uncomfortable within the walls of the home. She is also concerned by the discovery that neighbor Fiona McCue is fascinated with the Manse. But her brother Jamie is quick to assert Fiona’s interest in the Manse is harmless. Ailsa is unsure if she can trust anyone in the village, especially in the wake of a series of sinister events. Will she uncover the truth about what happened to her father? And can Ailsa repair her troubled relationship with Carrie?
Ailsa continues to carry the emotional scars of her father’s disappearance and her mother’s neglect. Ailsa has a successful career and she is in a long term relationship. Her partner Jonathan Powell’s decision not to accompany her puts their future in jeopardy. Feeling a bit adrift due to her unsettling personal life, Ailsa is hoping she will be able to fix her fractured relationship with Carrie. Unfortunately, the strange occurrences at the house make it impossible for her completely trust anyone. Will this inability to have complete faith that Carrie is not involved ruin their reunion?
The Manse has a complicated history that is part rumor and part fact. Ailsa is surprised to discover her father was deeply interested in uncovering the truth about parts of its history. Could his research have something to do with his disappearance? Will Ailsa learn the truth about what happened to him? Will she be completely satisfied with whatever information she can unearth about those long ago events?
With sinister overtones and eerie supernatural elements, The Missing Years is an intriguing mystery that is quite riveting. Ailsa is a lovely woman who unexpectedly finds herself at a crossroads as she tries to uncover the truth about her father. Carrie is supportive of her sister’s attempts to settle the past but does she have an ulterior motive for accompanying her to the Manse? Who (or what) is responsible for worrying things that have been occurring since their arrival? With plenty of twists and astonishing turns, Lexie Elliott provides unexpected answers to these questions as this spellbinding novel comes to an exciting conclusion. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this atmospheric mystery to fans of the genre.
