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thehouseplantlibrarian 's review for:
Local Woman Missing
by Mary Kubica
A woman named Meredith goes missing, along with her young daughter, Delilah, and when she is later found, all evidence points to suicide, but her daughter remains missing, gone without a trace. Years later, a girl matching Delilah's age and description escapes her abusive captors and is returned home to her broken family. Can the traumatized girl be relied upon to shed light on what really happened all those years ago or is the truth something too horrible to uncover?
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Largely split between three POVs on different timelines, we slowly learn the awful, unthinkable truth of what happened to these women. Leading up to her disappearance, Meredith recounts her family life and the irrational fears she had been experiencing. And following it, her neighbor, Kate, takes it upon herself to investigate what really happened. Years later, Meredith's son Leo grapples with the reappearance of his sister and the reexamining of a traumatic event that had altered his life so long ago. Unfortunately, I felt like Meredith's POV was the only one that really held any importance. Kate's takes you on a wild goose chase and had me questioning her sanity (esp the scene with the gynecologist). Leo's sets a jaded and uncomfortable tone, but not enough to foster the doubt it is meant to.
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Overall, I felt that the author definitely builds suspense with Meredith's anxiety and the creepy events leading up to her disappearance. While the POVs of the other missing characters provided some gruesome and haunting scenes, I felt like they were eventually forgotten. The twist at the end is surprising, but not in a good way. It didn't feel like it was set up appropriately and the motive wasn't believable. It didn't have me feeling like "oh it all makes sense now." I was just like... what the f***!
.
Largely split between three POVs on different timelines, we slowly learn the awful, unthinkable truth of what happened to these women. Leading up to her disappearance, Meredith recounts her family life and the irrational fears she had been experiencing. And following it, her neighbor, Kate, takes it upon herself to investigate what really happened. Years later, Meredith's son Leo grapples with the reappearance of his sister and the reexamining of a traumatic event that had altered his life so long ago. Unfortunately, I felt like Meredith's POV was the only one that really held any importance. Kate's takes you on a wild goose chase and had me questioning her sanity (esp the scene with the gynecologist). Leo's sets a jaded and uncomfortable tone, but not enough to foster the doubt it is meant to.
.
Overall, I felt that the author definitely builds suspense with Meredith's anxiety and the creepy events leading up to her disappearance. While the POVs of the other missing characters provided some gruesome and haunting scenes, I felt like they were eventually forgotten. The twist at the end is surprising, but not in a good way. It didn't feel like it was set up appropriately and the motive wasn't believable. It didn't have me feeling like "oh it all makes sense now." I was just like... what the f***!