Missed

by Lisa Bork

After personal tragedy strikes, American mystery author Clare Towlson hops the first plane available, hoping to escape her painful memories. Landing in England, she joins her seatmates’ pilgrimage to tour Agatha Christie’s holiday home in Devon. There Clare takes an accidental tumble down the stairs, loses consciousness, and awakens to a broken rib, a head injury, and an encounter with what appears to be the specter of the great Dame herself. Shaken, Clare rushes back to the safety of familiar territory, but she’s pursued by her unsettling new ghostly companion. Worse, Clare lands in the middle of a real murder investigation, one in which she’s a viable suspect and in need of spiritual help to find the real killer and avoid revisiting the traumas of her past.

From Lisa Bork, author of Counting on You, Discovering Nowhere, and the Broken Vows Mystery Series: For Better, For Murder (a 2009 Agatha Award Finalist for Best First Novel), For Richer, For Danger, In Sickness and In Death, and To Love and To Perish.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy

221 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Lisa Bork is the author of seven contemporary novels. Her most recent release is Missed. Lisa is also the author of Counting on You and Discovering Nowhere as well as the Broken Vows mystery series. Her debut novel, For Better, For Murder, was a 2009 Agatha Award finalist for Best First Novel. The second book in the series, For Richer, For Danger, was released in September 2010 and In Sickness and In Death hit the shelves September 2011. The fourth book in the series, To Love and To Perish was released in December 2012.

Reviews

[Sandie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just how many injuries both mental and physical can one woman sustain in a three month period and still come out in possession of all her faculties? Well, if you're willing to abandon logic and just go with the flow you might be the ideal candidate to read and enjoy Lisa Bork's latest offering MISSED.

Personally, my foray into the life and times of Clare Towlson the 40ish cozy mystery writer protagonist of the piece, whose latest head injury finds her keeping company with the ghost of Agatha Christie, turned out to be a pleasant, light weight diversion on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

All of the standard cozy accoutrements are present including the charming B&B, the blizzard raging outside, the dead body, the handsome cop who braves the storm to investigate the death, and a host of consistently and unequivocally annoying suspects. Most had the means, motive and opportunity to commit the crime - including Clare.

With a little push from Agatha, our heroine Clare the wounded warrior manages to put the pieces together and expose the culprit. As for the romantic aspects of the tale - - - - - all I can say is - - - - three months isn't much of a grieving period for a woman who has lost her family.

Overall, this salute to the mysteries of Agatha Christie is more than readable and the last page delivers a little gift for Clare from Agatha that is apt to make readers reach for the Kleenex box.

[Mayda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clare Towlson is trying to reclaim her life after a personal tragedy. She decides a trip to England might help alleviate her unhappiness, but a tumble down a staircase during a tour of Agatha Christie’s home leaves her with an unusual problem that follows her back to the States. Deciding to return to an inn where she had vacationed with her family, Clare finds herself not only enmeshed in a murder, but one of the prime suspects as well. And all because she listened to a ghost. Was she hallucinating because of head injuries combined with medications? Or was Agatha Christie really giving her advice on murder? Author Lisa Bork’s latest novel is an entertaining cozy with engaging characters and a well developed plot. Allow enough time to read this tale, because once you start it, you won’t want to stop until you’re done. Fans of author Nancy Atherton and her Aunt Dimity series will undoubtedly like this novel just as much. We can only hope this novel is the start of a new series. Highly recommended for mystery readers. I received this novel as a free Kindle download, offered by the author.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

After her husband and daughter are killed by a drunk driver, mystety writer Clare Towlson, also injured, sells her home and decides to travel to England to try and forget her troubles. When she falls down the steps while touring Agatha Christie's home, she receives a concussion and decides to return home because the ghost of Agatha appears and talks to her. Having no permanent residence, Clare books a room at a B&B in the Finger lakes where she had stayed with her husband in the past. Now the guests are snowed in and when one of them is murdered, Clare becomes a prime suspect, relying on Agatha's help to prove her innocence.

I don't read too many cozy mysteries, but this one was entertaining, clever and suspenseful. It started off a little slow (maybe that's normal for cozies?) but I soon got into the story when Clare got to the inn. I thought the author handled Agatha's ghost character skillfully and threw in several red herrings to keep you guessing. I obtained this title as a free kindle download.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Missed" is a different type of mystery than I have been reading by Lisa Bork and I was very pleased with this book. Bork's main character (a mystery writer) suffers a fall while on a tour in England and wakes up seeing her traveling companions and Agatha Christie. Since Agatha Christie was the first adult mystery writer I read after I left the children's section of the library, I have a strong attraction to her. Seeing and talking to a long-dead writer could come across in a hokey manner, but Bond handles it in a realistic manner. She handles the mystery set up and execution in a clear and complex manner.

In every work of fiction, the reader needs to have a suspension of disbelief to some level. Once you accept that Agatha's presence is possible, and that a mystery writer could actually find herself in the middle of a murder investigation, you will find a well-written story with a variety of characters who offer multiple options for the resolution of the mystery.

I highly recommend this for mystery fans!

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clara Towlson is running away—from the memory of the deaths of her husband Stephen and daughter Annabelle at the hands of a drunk driver. She also received a concussion and was in a coma for 11 days following the accident. When she falls down the stairs at a castle in England where she's gone "to get away" she realizes she needs to return to America. But where to go? She's sold her home and most of her belongings. She chooses to stay at an inn in the Finger Lakes district of New York where she and Steve had stayed. The owners were nice and caring, and she wouldn't be alone. The pre-bridal party from hell was staying there, too! When the fiancé dies, apparently murdered by peanut oil, everyone, including Clare, is suspect, and they're forced to stay at the inn because of a raging blizzard. What transpires, including the appearance (or not) of the ghost of Agatha Christie, is a tightly written locked room mystery with, as it turns out, a happy ending. Very clever, too. B+

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Missed by Lisa Bork

Clare Towlson, a mystery writer recently suffering a personal tragedy and decides to travel abroad. While in England she visits the home of famed Mystery Writer Agatha Christie. She falls down stairs, ends up in Hospital and shortly after starts seeing the ghost of her favorite Author Agatha Christie.

Once back in the United States she finds herself in the middle of a crime scene. Everyone at the Inn where she is staying is suspect including herself. With the aide of her ghostly companion, she sets out to solve the crime and clear her name.

A fast paced light murder/mystery with a paranormal twist. I really enjoyed Missed, and I definitely plan on reading more from Lisa Bork

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I began reading this book, I kept asking myself why... Why read something with an odd plot like a woman going to England, falling when touring Agatha Christie's summer home and then seeing Agatha. I don't like 'supernatural' books and find most to be a joke. Then I got into the story. It was a delight. The novel was written ala Christie and grabbed your interest. The protagonist was sympathetic but feisty, the cop as manly (not necessarily macho) as one could expect. The setting was pure Christie and the cast of characters all one could hope for in this kind of novel. It's nice to see Christie brought into the twenty-first century.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one held my interest. The "plot device" of Agatha is not overdone, nor intrusive. It is handled with a deft hand. And true to Christie form, you both know more than you think and likely won't guess at the whodunit. And all the little strings are important, even ones that feel throwaway in the moment. Ignore them at your peril. More importantly, they all come together in the Poirot scene. Nothing extraneous in the plotting (thank you!).

I would recommend this to Agatha fans, and even generic mystery fans. Good read!

[Phillis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its the first book of Lisa Bork that I've read. I like the main character, Claire Towlson. Clare is on a trip to England to clear her head and help her make up her mind about her future. While there she falls down a flight of stairs and suddenly can see the ghost of Agatha Christie. Realising she better get back home to see if she recevied permanent brain damage she stops at a friends B&B. Meanwhile her and the few other guests get snowed in and one guest is found murdered. Claire gets thrown into the case as a mystery writter to help the detective and as a suspect.

[Wanda Shuster · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main character, Clare, ends up visiting a B&B inn after tragically losing her husband and daughter to a drunk driver. A murder happens and Clare ends up being a suspect. I agree with another reviewer about how much can Clare endure, both physically and psychologically. She holds her own and works on solving the crime.

Loved Agatha Christie references and ghost character :).

Really liked it and almost lost it at the very end....sniff, sniff.

[Rexanna Ipock-Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read several of Ms. Bork's other books, but I loved the premise of this one the best. Who doesn't need the ghost of Agatha Christie to help solve a murder case? The book flowed and had entertaining characters. I had nights I really should have put it down and gone to sleep long before I did. If there had been more romance and some kissing and hugging, it would have been perfect. A great story.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clare was led to a favorite location, the Finger Lakes of New York by a ghost named Agatha. Despite disliking many aspects about the way the story is woven; I found myself delighted with Clare and the other captive characters snowbound after a incident that could be an accident or more likely could be a murder.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book read as an ebook great descriptions and characters. Kept me guessing as to the killer until the end. loved the added spirit of the mystery. Great book Lisa
Sorry you'll have to read this book as I don't do spoilers

[Janet Vanderbeek]

I really enjoyed this book. It was a good story and kept me reading until the end to see what the outcome would be. Great characters and I have always loved the Agatha Christie mysteries and this book was a lot like them.

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good light mystery. I rate it 4.4 stars.

[Farrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will definitely read more of her books.