Missing 6

by Alice Ayden

COMPLETELY UPDATED JULY 26, 2013.
Sequel and Conclusion to Beautiful Whispers.
Missing 6: A Jane of Virginia 2 Romance/Suspense

6 Missing Months. Will Jane remember the truth in time to save the missing? Or will she lose her memories and Alexander forever?

Locked inside Jane is the truth of what really happened. Jane lives with her quirky family on a Virginia Plantation and tries to remember her true love, Alexander, and the 6 missing months since her attack.

Fifty miles away, Jane's old friend Meg is a perpetually late nursing student who dashes into an alley where she meets a serial killer and wakes up chained in a cellar.

When Jane has flashbacks of being trapped with Meg in the cellar, Jane realizes locked within her amnesia is the hope of saving the missing women. Will Jane remember the truth in time to save them? Or will she lose her memories and Alexander forever?

307 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 18, 2013

About the author

I wrote my first short story when I was five, but when an assignment in a lit course challenged me to “rewrite” the last chapter of Jane Eyre I was hooked. I dreamt of going to an ivy cloaked university in England or Scotland, but my health issues forced me to rethink that agenda. Working through and with chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, food allergies, migraines and the scary health emergencies, I managed to finish both my Bachelor’s degree in English and History and my Master’s in Strategic Intelligence.

As a child, I wanted to be everything from a veterinarian (can’t stand to see any animal hurt) to an actress (too shy) to an astronaut (not good at science) to an Egyptologist (I wilt in extreme heat – or anything over 70 degrees). Writing makes sense to me. My characters pursue all the subjects that interest me and/or terrify me. I started with screenplays and TV scripts, and my first screenplay placed finalist and semi-finalist in several screenwriting competitions. Loving a challenge, I dove further into the writing craft to study dialogue, description, plot, pacing, story (if there was a book on writing I’ve read it).

When I’m not writing, I’m filling up bird feeders, troubleshooting computers, playing games (I’m a freak for logic problems and Tom Clancy video games), reading (anything by Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, Dean Koontz, Anne Rice), watching movies (I personally would like to recommend Joss Whedon be officially named a god). I’ve never met an animal I didn’t love and regularly rescue bugs and spiders. Living in North Carolina and Texas, I became the snake expert and successfully relocated many happy snakes who lived to tell the tale. I’ve lived in California, Arizona, Texas and North Carolina but have felt most at home in Virginia.

Sidenote: I love finding friends on Goodreads!

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won "Missing 6" in the Goodreads Giveways and was captivated by the way Alice Ayden combines murder, mystery and intrigue in a society that relishes the name of "Austen". What I found exciting and even a bit scary was the way she wove parts of the story through the eyes of the deranged serial killer.
The story opens in an old Virginia Plantation called Ausmor that has weathered slavery, the civil war and a massacre by a depraved lunatic. Jane Austen lives with her eccentric family and suffers from a loss of memory. In the story she has flashbacks of a cellar, of chains, of women dying; visions that leave her exhausted and with an excruciating headache. Determined to rewaken her memory and solve the puzzle of her injuries while trying to reconcile her feelings for two men- the handsome Byron who betrayed her love and Alexander, the rugged, handyman- Jane finds herself at the mercy of a deranged serial killer. Juxtaposed against Jane's struggle and her family's dysfunctional relationship with the Morgans, is Detectives Weever and Maine's investigation of the murders of several young women all linked by one clue; into bone or flesh is written the name "Jane".
I liked the way Alice Ayden exposes each character's deepest weakness and greatest strength; Byron's self-absorption versus his compassionate love for Jane,Grand Maeve's insatiable sexual proclivity, and her protective and caring love for Jane and her family. It's a story of moral corruption, of depravity and betrayal, but also one of family love and forgiveness.
I can't recommend this book highly enough to all those that like a good murder mystery.

[Kaitlin Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book EXTREMELY hard to follow. I'm not honestly sure I know, even now, what happened. It was confusing for me. The character were very likeable, but I found the descriptions of them to be very back and forth and contradictory. It was like one thing was said about a character, and then two sentences later, the character acted completely different, or said something completely opposite. I wanted to like the book. I think the idea of the story is a great one, and the suspense was good, but it was so hard to follow I found that it was more of a job to read it, than enjoyment. I put it down twice and started and finished others books, and went back and trudged through it the 3 time. I really did want to like it, but it was just to hard to follow to enjoy the story, which was a great concept.

[Kirsty (BookBlogger) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled to get into this book, but I did managed to stick with it until the end.

The book was well written and it was obvious that a lot of thought and time had gone into making the book what it was. However, I thought that it was just too difficult to follow to be that enjoyable. I read the book twice and I am still not 100% sure that I actually know what happened.

The last 100 pages were actually the easiest to read. I found myself not able to put it down because I actually wanted to find out what was going on the cellar and who was actually responsible.

I don't feel that this Missing 6 deserves one star because when I managed to get hooked it was a good story but I do think that it could have been better written.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Missing 6 by Alice Ayden

This book was rather confusing to read. I was unaware that this book was a sequel to another. Jane evidently had amnesia. Trauma that she had witnessed when she was six years old. Someone who was her friend also went missing and saw cruelty take place. Jane was around her killers then taunting her hoping she doesn't remember. What would happened if she did remember. She needed to or the others will be lost.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something awful happened in Jane's life that caused her to suffer from trauma memory and dissociation. Her pain brought great pleasure to those who were stalking her as if she was someone's toy. Jane would suffer small injuries and only be tormented as long as she couldn't remember but if she remembered, she could have the same fate as others had...death.

There were lots of twists and turns and left guessing who the second culprit was... never would have guessed it. Loved the ending!

I would recommend this book

[Rachel Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won Missing 6 in the goodreads giveaway..
had I started a review at the beginning of the book, I would have rated it a 1 as it was hard to follow and very confusing, but I perservered and made it thru to the end...it gets way better...
It really started to pick up in the last 1/3 of the book and the ending was great...never would have suspected the villain! so at the end, I would give Missing 6 a 5 star review, so on average I went middle of the road with a 3.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I had started a review at the beginning of the book, I would have rated it a 1 as it was hard to follow and very confusing, but I kept on reading and made it through to the end...it gets better...
It really started to pick up in the last 1/3 of the book and the ending to me was not great. It leaves off with the thought that there might be a second book. Don't know that I could force myself to read another.
JUST ALRIGHT!!!

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Biggest waste of $3.99 ever. Grammatical errors, spelling errors, and so poorly written. UGH! So glad I didn't pay for the first book. This whole story could've been written in one book. It dragged out so long and then had a terrible ending. Don't waste your time or money on this.

[Cathie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't realize this was the second book in the series. It's no wonder I felt like I came in in the middle of the story. It was very difficult to follow, I had no idea what was going on... it's like there was a back story I knew nothing about... yes, that would have been the first book.

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author has a refreshingly unique writing style.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book in exchange for a review and I'm glad I did, Missing 6 was actually enjoyable to read and well worth the five stars I gave it.

[Tiffany · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quirky, hard to follow, and too many unlikable characters.

[Aleah Flowers · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok. so...im not sure i like how it ended, but dayum!!! what a screwy twist!!!! it aint who you think it is and yet it is!!!!! #goodread