Title: Losing You by Nicci French
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: C
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
In this thrilling standalone novel from the internationally bestselling author of the Frieda Klein series, a woman’s frantic search for her missing daughter unveils a nefarious web of secrets and lies.
Nina Landry awakens on her fortieth birthday, anticipating a day filled with excitement. She, her new boyfriend, and her two children are taking a trip—leaving their home on Sandling Island, off the coast of England, for a dream vacation. As soon as her fifteen-year-old daughter, Charlie, returns from a sleepover, they can get ready to leave.
But Charlie doesn’t come home at the expected time. Nina can’t believe of all days, Charlie has chosen this day to be late. As minutes and then hours tick by, Nina’s annoyance soon changes to concern, and then to a chilling certainty that something terrible has happened.
The police insist there’s no reason to worry—yet. Teenagers are unreliable, impulsive. Nina always thought she and Charlie had a solid, trusting relationship, but seeking out Charlie’s friends for clues to her whereabouts makes her reconsider. How well does Nina know her daughter, really? How well can a parent ever know a child? And will everything Nina doesn’t know—about Charlie, her neighbors, even the friends and family closest to them—prove fatal…?
Losing You once again proves that Nicci French is at the height of their storytelling powers in a clever, mind-bending thriller that has readers guessing at every twist and turn.
Review:
In Losing You by Nicci French, a worried mother faces every parents’ worst fear: a missing child.
Nina Landry, along with her new boyfriend, Christian and her two children, fifteen year old daughter, Charlotte “Charlie” and eleven year old son Jackson, are about to depart for their vacation to Florida. In the midst of tying up the trip’s loose ends, Nina is growing increasingly concerned when she cannot reach Charlie. Her daughter spent the night before with friends but she has failed to return home nor is she answering her phone. Growing more frantic, Nina immediately contacts the local police who are not exactly overly helpful. Nina continues searching for Charlie on her own and a shocking discovery ratchets up her fears for her daughter’s safety.
Nina and her kids have been through a rough period since their relocation to Sandling Island. She is now divorced from the kids’ father Rory and works as a maths teacher. Nina is in a newish relationship with Christian but she remains cautiously optimistic about their future. Her relationship with Charlie is strong but her daughter tends to be tempestuous and willing to fight for what she believes in. Charlie has recently been the target of bullying from her classmates, but she has recently made friends with the circle of girls who were involved. One of Nina’s concerns about Charlie going missing is the fact she slept over with the former bullies. Can she believe their assertions they do not know anything about Charlie’s disappearance?
With the police unwilling to put much effort into locating Charlie, Nina does not worry about offending or angering anyone during her search for her daughter. As the situation turns more dire, Nina is not at all confident the police are doing as much as they should be to find Charlie. She is further stunned by shocking discoveries about someone close to her and the kids. With the police distracted by these latest revelations, Nina takes matters into her own hands as she grows more desperate to locate Charlie.
Mysteries often need a suspension of disbelief to fully enjoy the unfolding story and it eventually becomes impossible to comfortably go with the storyline. While her worry and desperation are completely understandable, Nina’s impulsivity and lack of cooperation with the police hinders their investigation. Her uncanny ability to uncover leads and unearth new information strains readers’ credulity. The mystery moves at a brisk pace but the extremely tight timeframe is somewhat unrealistic since the entire mystery takes place during approximately five to six hours.
Losing You is a fast-paced and cleverly written mystery. The novel’s beginning is strong and the entire story has a smooth flow since there are no chapter breaks. Unfortunately, Nina’s over the top decisions are exasperating. With shocking twists and unbelievable turns, Nicci French brings the novel to an action-packed conclusion. While the mystery of Charlie’s disappearance is completely wrapped up, some rather important parts of the storylines are frustratingly unresolved.
