Missing

by Susan Lewis

A powerful new novel from the best-selling author of The Hornbeam Tree and Just One More Day . The Hornbeam Tree was short listed for the Romantic Novelists’ Association Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2005.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Drama, Thriller, Chick Lit, Contemporary

512 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.


Susan Lewis is the bestselling author of over forty books across the genres of family drama, thriller, suspense and crime. She is also the author of Just One More Day and One Day at a Time, the moving memoirs of her childhood in Bristol during the 1960s. Following periods of living in Los Angeles and the South of France, she currently lives in Gloucestershire with her husband James, stepsons Michael and Luke, and mischievous dogs Coco and Lulu.

Reviews

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story comes across as melodramatic. But then what else would you expect when you have a woman, Jacqueline, who has gone missing after finding herself unable to deal with the disappearance of Sam, her 11 month old son 15 years earlier? At the time of the child’s disappearance Miles, had come under suspicion of foul play but Sam’s body was ever found and neither did Sam ever turn up, so Miles and Jacqueline were left in the limbo of not knowing. Needless to say their marriage suffered and Miles found love elsewhere, with Vivienne. But Jacqueline kept her hold on Miles.
When Jacqueline goes missing, Miles again falls under suspicion, especially as more aspects from the past start to emerge. At times I found this book gripped my interest, while at other times it just felt a bit overdone. I also didn’t like the way we had so many characters with names starting with the same letter. Lots of J and S names. I thought the author could have investigated other letters of the alphabet for names and I found the characters of some those involved in WI and the slave auction crude at times rather than engaging.
Kelsey, daughter of Miles and Jacqueline was a brat. Did she have reason to be? Each reader will decide that for themselves. Personally, I thought Vivienne and Miles were far too understanding and accommodating of her behaviour. On the whole I enjoyed this book, though I thought it could have done with some editing . It wasn’t as good a some other books by this author I have read. I wasn’t convinced by the ending, but maybe others will react differently.

[Natalie O'neill-sandon · Rating 1 out of 5]

quite possibly one of the most boring books I have ever read, aside from Needful Things by Steven King.
Full of filler that was not really relevant to the plot, I skipped quite a bit of the book it was so boring and irrelevant.
I would recommend this book - to use as a prop for a lopsided table.

[Shelley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wasted my time/life reading this book & knew from the first 50 pages this was going to be oh so boring but I'm the type of reader who HAS to finish a book when already started! I normally enjoy Susan Lewis but this is by far her worst publication!

Would the police really put in as much time as they did into finding the missing person I get there's a vulnerable adult theme but it feels like the author is just going around in circles every couple of chapters, this book could be at least half the pages it has used & I found it very frustrating!

Why the heck would Sky Tv televise a fund raiser of dancing firemen for a slave auction?!?!?

This has left me with more questions than when I read the back of the book when I first picked it up to be purchased!! I spent most of my time frowning whilst reading, I now require Botox!

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

11 month old son was kidnapped and never found. It is now 15 years later and the mother has now gone missing throwing the lives of her family into a spin. New to this author but recommended by a friend. Enjoyed it very much and would recommend it.

[Achella · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poorly written and far too long. Very superficial and I found it impossible to feel any sympathy or empathy with any of the characters.

[Irene Ruano · Rating 3 out of 5]

He tardado 9 meses en leerlo pero por fin lo he terminado. No ha estado mal, hay algunas tramas que me aburrían un poco pero la trama principal está interesante y me ha gustado el final.

[Ursula Kibido · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very boring, predictable book from start to finish. I didn't like any of the characters and felt it dragged on and had a lot of unnecessary story lines within the main story. I just kept reading it for my reading challenge and to sort of find out what happens to Jacqueline. No surprise ending there. I wouldn't recommend this book. 😕

[Josie · Rating 3 out of 5]

bit slow to start off with but about 3/4 chapters in i found i couldnt put it down.

[Lou Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked one up from Gayle and I agree, quite a gripping read!

[Bonnie McLaren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the character development and the storyline although kelsey was quite repetitive and annoying. It's a pretty long book and was quite hard to get into at first with some unnecessary sections. By the end I couldn't put it down. Nice ending but I really thought we would find out what happened to Sam which was disappointing.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave up about 100 pages in… decided I don’t care what happened to Jacqueline.

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compulsive read about a wife who goes missing. Couldn't put it down by the end (or is that just because we are in lockdown!).

[Πάνος Τουρλής · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ένα βαθιά ανθρώπινο γυναικείο μυθιστόρημα, με απίστευτους χαρακτήρες, αγωνία και ανατροπές. Η Τζάκλιν εξαφανίζεται. Ο Μάιλς αργεί να την ψάξει. Η αστυνομία τον θεωρεί ξανά ύποπτο, όπως τότε που χάσανε τον μονάκριβο γιο τους, που απήχθη κι έκτοτε δεν ξαναφάνηκε. Η έφηβη κόρη του του φέρνει μπελάδες κι αρνείται να αγαπήσει την ερωμένη του, που ξανάρθε στο προσκήνιο μετά από 2 χρόνια σιωπηλής μοναξιάς, αυτήν τη φορά με τον καρπό του παράνομου τότε έρωτά τους. Κι αν μάθουν τα ΜΜΕ την πρώην και τον παράνομο καρπό, μήπως ο Μάιλς έχει άλλον έναν λόγο να σκοτώσει τη σύζυγό του;Κι όταν εμφανίζεται η Τζάκλιν τι αναζητά άραγε;

SPOILER
Απίστευτη η σκιαγράφηση της Τζάκλιν, που μαθαίνει για τον νόθο γιο του άντρα της από τα ΜΜΕ, που καταφεύγει στη σιωπή για να εξιλεωθεί απέναντι στον εαυτό της που έχασε τον γιο της από απροσεξία, τόσα χρόνια πριν. Ένα μοναχικό πλάσμα, που καταφέρνει με τις δικές της δυνάμεις να αναγνωρίσει τα λάθη της, να παραδεχτεί την ανικανότητά της ως μητέρα (ιδιαίτερα με τη συμπεριφορά της απέναντι στην κόρη της) και να ζητήσει από όλους συγνώμη πριν αυτοκτονήσει. Δε θα ξεχάσω το γεγονόςότι όλοι αναρωτιούνται πού κρύβεται κι όταν εμφανίζεται όλοι πιστεύουν ότι θέλει να βλάψει τον νόθο γιο του άντρα της. Κι όμως αυτή η γυναίκα έδωσε την ευχή της στον άντρα της και έκανε τα αδύνατα δυνατά για να αγαπήσει η κόρη της τη μέλλουσα μητριά της. Καθόλου μελό, καθόλου Άρλεκιν, μοντέρνο, γρήγορο και ανατρεπτικό.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up in a charity shop after briefly reading the back - had I known it centered around a historical child abduction case I would not have read it - I find these things too upsetting. Having started it I carried on and am glad I did - it was a great book, although pretty upsetting at times. I felt every bit of fear and guilt and anguish that Jacqueline and Miles felt. Some great bits of writing - I believed every character and understood all their different viewpoints. Only criticisms here being that Vivienne was at times too saint-like in her acceptance of Jacqueline and Kelsey's behaviour - I really feel she should have had the odd selfish wobble. I also got a bit fed up of Kelsey's constant teenage tantrums, even the worst of teenagers don't behave like that every second of every day, so it got a bit repetitive. I also feel the slave-auction was a bit too wonderful and perfect. Having said this, I liked the switch between the tense search and the auction, and would recommend this book to anyone looking for a not too difficult read with a bit of tension and occasionally a lump in the throat.

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really deep read.
In and amongst the laughter and fun of this book lies a deep thread of sadness. The sadness and the deep deep scars of loosing a child. Along with the changed relationships that subsequently develop between partners and siblings. Whilst the story line was of course fictional there was a depth of understanding that spoke volumes. At the end of the book I was left with the deep reawakening of the fundamental truth that we all need to be deeply loved and to give deep love. When that chain of giving and receiving is broken, it requires huge levels of energy to navigate a way through! Sometimes, as this story showed, capacity for these journeys is nowhere to be found, so depleted can a death leave someone. The human spirit whilst incredibly resilient cannot always overcome. This story is a fascinating read if read through the eyes of grief and it’s impacts on mental health and resilience.
It left me pondering on what is needed to navigate the waters of grief. Why do some survive and continue to grow and thrive after death, whilst others slowly curl up and become walking dead?

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bored and disappointed in the characters early on but kept reading to see what happened to Jacqueline. This is a kitchen-sink book: just throw in anything you can think of. It's hard to believe that Ms. Lewis thinks that's what readers want. The book was a perfect opportunity to show the devastation and destruction the loss of a child, especially by violence, can cause a family. Instead, Ms. Lewis chose to highlight sordid, stupid people as her main characters. Sadly, this is the first book by Susan Lewis I have read; she may have a gem hidden out there somewhere but I won't waste my time looking for it.

[Janine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read, did not feel it dragged at all. The charity auction was a bit of an odd note, didn't feel it added to the story, just seemed to introduce more characters. The main man Miles was not very attractive, hard to understand Vivienne's attraction to him, no wonder the police thought he was involved with his wife's disappearance. Vivienne was also a bit boring, luckily events kept the story rolling along. Good story but not sure how memorable it will prove to be.

[Lizzie · Rating 1 out of 5]

That is a chunk if my life I'll never get back.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 2.5 that I rounded up. Unfortunately this was unnecessarily long for the story to be told. The idea centres around the disappearance of a wife and mother 15 years after the abduction of her son.
As far as I remember, this book was published around the time that the very young Madeleine McCann was abducted in Portugal, which some 16 years later is still unsolved.
I think the author does a good job in getting us into the tortured soul of this mother, but it was simply too long and would have carried far more impact if culled by at least 150 pages.
I’ll try another by the author, but it may just be she is not one for me.

[Jos Chloe · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s over 400 pages, could have easily been 200. So many subplots added, and minor characters introduced that use whole chapters but don’t seem to add to the overall plot at all? Like a once off mention that has no relation to the rest of the story? Honestly I’m on page 380 now so almost done and I’m STILL struggling with which characters are which cus there are SO MANY. And there is yet to be a decent plot twist. It’s been so obvious the entire time, and the one mini plot twist has been entirely underwhelming and actually made the story more boring. It’s also verbose with out using enough adjectives which I didn’t think was possible until now.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grab tissue

I have never read a book that pulled me in and I needed to know what was going to happen. I don't want to give away the book for anyone, I will say you will need time to read. In my opinion this book is one of those that once you start you reading you will want to keep reading to find out what happens. I was drawn in by the the first few pages.
I really liked that there was no cliffhanger. I felt as though I was on an emotional rollercoaster, there were times I was yelling at the characters and asking why the book was written the way that it was but i

[Srikumar Krishna Iyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up before I could finish a chapter.
Picked up this paperback from the library after impressed with the summary at the back.
But unfortunately found it difficult to proceed further after 18 pages, thought there was too much conversation (also not very interesting too) on the missing Jacqueline.
To think I need to continue this for 550 pages was impossible hence gave up (& decided to pick up king's "institute" )

[Natalie Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book but was dissapointed that we never find out what happens to Sam. Also Kelsey really got on my nerves, I have a 14 year old and if she spoke to me the way Kelsey spoke to her dad she's being rounded with TV removed, phone removed and anything she enjoyed!

Fave character has to be Mrs Davis

[Mary Manson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be Sure to Have a Box of Tissues Readily Available

This was my first book by this author. The writing was smooth flowing and she handle the subject matter masterfully. I don't want to give any spoilers but even though I have been crying over the last ten pages, the book was well worth reading.

[Elisa Vangelisti · Rating 1 out of 5]

La trama mi interessava, ma è troppo contorto e intricato per i miei gusti. Troppi personaggi, troppa freddezza. Molto lento e quindi piuttosto noioso. Nessun personaggio mi attira particolarmente e non provo empatia per mezza persona. Pazienza.

[Janet Nast · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story, but so sad...

Not sure how I'd react under the same situation... It really broke my heart. I wondered how it was going to end since some things were still left unresolved. Luckily not too sappy, it was just perfect.

[Nandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book many years ago as a teenager and found this book compelling. However, it did take quite a long time to get into but this book delves into mental health the effect. I genuinely feel sorry for the father, his wife appears distraught and mental ill

[MR JOHN SHAFFORD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixed feelings

The main story-line is really compelling & takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster. However, the sub-p!ot (the auction) is an irritating distraction which made the book unnecessarily long & drawn out.

[Mark Green · Rating 2 out of 5]

A load of flim flam. To paraphrase the advert, "it doesn't do what it says on the tin". Won't spoil it for those that want to read but this was a lot of piffle about very little. Deeply unsatisfying and promising hidden depths it doesn't really have.

[Nisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gosh it took me a long time to get through this book. I kept getting confused with the characters ! Found Jacqueline a bit on the weird side. And actually thought the son would somehow appear from somewhere