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dannb's review against another edition
3.0
It is an interesting plot; however, it seems to try to get on too many subplots.
lbrauz's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Not my fave Kimberly Belle book, but it was still pretty good. The little twist at the very end still has me thinking about it!!
minseigle's review against another edition
5.0
This book was pretty suspenseful. I had a small idea who did it about 1/3 of the way through but I didn’t know why. It came out in a nice, tidy package. I recommend.
nsa101's review against another edition
I found myself skimming through the pages and once the predictable “twist” was revealed about 1/4 of the way through I lost interest.
minimicropup's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
🇺🇸 Set in various Atlanta, Georgia neighbourhoods and a mining camp for tourists.
POV: We are following the story from the perspectives of a single parent with a gifted child and the mayor’s wife. The novel’s present tense narrative brings immediacy to the mystery of a child gone missing on a school trip, presenting a bit like a police procedural wrapped in family drama.
Mood Reading Match Up:
-Missing child mystery
-Police procedural from the POV of a family member
-Family and elementary school kids drama
—
🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕
✏️ Writing: The suspense kicked in almost instantly, giving us good insight in to the relationship between Kat and her son. However, the dialogue often felt forced and cliché, detracting from the realism. Present tense was the wrong choice (to me) as it fumbled with all the mundane descriptions, making everyday actions feel overdrawn. For some reason, in past tense I have no problem reading about a character getting dressed and grabbing their keys, but in present tense I find myself thinking ‘yeah yeah, we know how leaving a house works, let’s get on with it already’. 😳
🫥 Characters: The protagonist, a worried mother, was well-explored and consistently portrayed. I found the narrative from the politician’s wife initially failed to captivate me because I kept questioning her relevance.
🗺️ Worldbuilding: The book did well in sketching out its world through character observations, but occasionally slipped into repetitive descriptions, especially about appearances.
🔥 Fuel: The heart of the story lay in uncovering what happened to Ethan, a missing 8-year-old boy. The plot offered a good mix of suspects, which kept me guessing without overdoing the villainy.
🐢 Pacing: Despite its straightforward narrative, the pacing felt uneven. The detailed police procedural, seen through a family member’s eyes, sometimes dragged, dwelling too much on minor details and internal monologues.
🤷♀️ Problematics: The police’s openness with the mother bordered on implausible, feeling like a scene from a B-grade movie (letting her roam potential crime scenes trusting she won’t touch anything, trusting her word above all others etc). This stretched to other characters too, whose unrestricted involvement in the investigation felt unrealistic!
The portrayal of Ethan’s abilities at his age and the conclusion of the story might raise eyebrows…it did mine. The ending, in particular, seems a bit far-fetched for the character’s age and context. Sure I don’t have a wealth of experience with even typical 8-year olds, but even for a genius it seemed over the top (in a corny way). Also I’m not sure that was a technologically solid ending?
🤔 Random Thoughts: Overall I think this story was suspenseful with some intriguing elements but it got bogged down by cheesy dialogue and an occasionally sluggish pace. It’s a mixed bag – great for a quick suspense fix but might leave you wanting more in terms of depth and believability.
—
Content Heads-Up: Missing child. Grief. Confinement. Divorce (messy). Bullying.
Rep: Primarily features White American characters.
Format: Paperback
“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement and Bullying
fuzzywuzzy's review against another edition
2.0
This is probably my lowest rating this year and I feel bad for it. I take no pleasure not being able to sing a books praises. I anticipated this book a lot because The Marriage Lie was so good, but this book did not live up to The Marriage Lie. The characters were okay. I felt that Stef, Sammy, Ethan and Kat were developed really well, but the rest were not. The plot was weak and the way it was all pulled together it came across like not a lot of thought went into it. Overall this book seems like it was written by someone who is trying to be a writer and not someone who IS a writer. I will read her next book because the first was so good and I have a lot of faith in this author.
julielb's review against another edition
4.0
This was a good book. Such a refreshing read in that it didn't focus on catty neighbors or gaslighting husbands or mysterious affairs. Instead, it was about the disappearance of a boy from a school camping trip. The mother, Kat, who is separated from her husband after a publicly abusive event, is awoken by the police and the countdown clock begins as she travels with the detective to the campsite to find out what happened and what's going on with the search.
Kat also contacts Lucas, who is not fully explained but I guess a childhood friend. However he is not there for support, he's there to assist with the search because of his marine and search and rescue experience.
At the same time, we meet Stef who is the wife of Atlanta mayor. Her son is also on the school camping trip and we soon find out that the sons swapped sleeping bags, and after Stef gets a call from the kidnapper, they determine that Kat's son was kidnapped by mistake.
I thought this was very well written. Told from alternating perspectives of Kat, Stef and their husbands periodically. I was wholly engaged throughout and think this author does an excellent job of racheting up suspense while slowly unspooling the resolution.
Kat also contacts Lucas, who is not fully explained but I guess a childhood friend. However he is not there for support, he's there to assist with the search because of his marine and search and rescue experience.
At the same time, we meet Stef who is the wife of Atlanta mayor. Her son is also on the school camping trip and we soon find out that the sons swapped sleeping bags, and after Stef gets a call from the kidnapper, they determine that Kat's son was kidnapped by mistake.
Spoiler
. And the stakes are not money, but to force the mayor to save a building downtown that is to be razed as part of a new development.I thought this was very well written. Told from alternating perspectives of Kat, Stef and their husbands periodically. I was wholly engaged throughout and think this author does an excellent job of racheting up suspense while slowly unspooling the resolution.
novelesque_life's review against another edition
3.0
RATING: 3 STARS
2018; Park Row/Harlequin
Three Days Missing is my first novel by Kimberly Bella and I was excited to read this one. I listened to this one on audio and found it was well done. I found the book just an okay read. It is what I would call a good book to take to the beach where you don't need to focus too hard on the story. The plot was predictable especially with the two story lines. I understand why we had two points of view of Kat and Steph, but it just made it easier to see the ending. The characters a bit wooden, and I am not sure if that was a "red herring" and that was how they were meant to be written. Even a possible love interest story line didn't develop and kind of hung in the background begging to spice up the story. While the suspense is very low in this novel, I would still try another book by Belle.
***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***
2018; Park Row/Harlequin
Three Days Missing is my first novel by Kimberly Bella and I was excited to read this one. I listened to this one on audio and found it was well done. I found the book just an okay read. It is what I would call a good book to take to the beach where you don't need to focus too hard on the story. The plot was predictable especially with the two story lines. I understand why we had two points of view of Kat and Steph, but it just made it easier to see the ending. The characters a bit wooden, and I am not sure if that was a "red herring" and that was how they were meant to be written. Even a possible love interest story line didn't develop and kind of hung in the background begging to spice up the story. While the suspense is very low in this novel, I would still try another book by Belle.
***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***
marcccb's review against another edition
4.0
Belle does it again!
Back with another amazing thriller about a mother whose eight year old son goes missing on a camping trip. The search begins.
It’s just so great that a simple story such as a missing child can pack so much inside it. It felt like opening a present, then finding multiple other ones inside it. It never stopped delivering. Belle is such a talented writer and she taps into the mind of a mother who will not stop searching until her son is find. You can really feel for Kat in the book when her son disappears and it almost felt like I was with her searching for eight year old Ethan.
This is not just a thriller but it’s also a novel about parenthood and what happens when a child goes missing. The blame goes straight to the parents instantly, even though they don’t even know if the child is kidnapped or just lost. It really displays how your life falls apart in just an instant. In the novel we also got to see inside two women’s heads who are complete opposites but both sons go to the same school. A mayor’s wife and a regular mother. I guess you can say rich and poor? We got to see inside Stef’s head and how she judges how Kat’s son dresses. I hope some mothers aren’t like that!
The ending I did figure out before, but the story behind was very thought out. But as always, Belle has to put another shocking discovery on her last page or it wouldn’t a Kimberly Belle novel, would it? That last page really shocked me. I’m ending with that because I don’t want to spoil anything but this is a great thriller for sure!
Back with another amazing thriller about a mother whose eight year old son goes missing on a camping trip. The search begins.
It’s just so great that a simple story such as a missing child can pack so much inside it. It felt like opening a present, then finding multiple other ones inside it. It never stopped delivering. Belle is such a talented writer and she taps into the mind of a mother who will not stop searching until her son is find. You can really feel for Kat in the book when her son disappears and it almost felt like I was with her searching for eight year old Ethan.
This is not just a thriller but it’s also a novel about parenthood and what happens when a child goes missing. The blame goes straight to the parents instantly, even though they don’t even know if the child is kidnapped or just lost. It really displays how your life falls apart in just an instant. In the novel we also got to see inside two women’s heads who are complete opposites but both sons go to the same school. A mayor’s wife and a regular mother. I guess you can say rich and poor? We got to see inside Stef’s head and how she judges how Kat’s son dresses. I hope some mothers aren’t like that!
The ending I did figure out before, but the story behind was very thought out. But as always, Belle has to put another shocking discovery on her last page or it wouldn’t a Kimberly Belle novel, would it? That last page really shocked me. I’m ending with that because I don’t want to spoil anything but this is a great thriller for sure!