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The Missing Girl
'A gripping debut from a serious new talent . . .' Erin Kelly on Jenny Quintana’s The Missing Girl
When Anna Flores' adored older sister goes missing as a teenager, Anna copes by disappearing too, just as soon as she can: running as far away from her family as possible, and eventually building a life for herself abroad.
Thirty years later, the death of her mother finally forces Anna to return home. Tasked with sorting through her mother's possessions, she begins to confront not just her mother's death, but also the huge hole Gabriella's disappearance left in her life – and finds herself asking a question she's not allowed herself to ask for years: what really happened to her sister?
With that question comes the revelation that her biggest fear isn't discovering the worst; it's never knowing the answer. But is it too late for Anna to uncover the truth about Gabriella's disappearance?
297 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 18, 2017
393 people are currently reading
2370 people want to read
About the author
Jenny Quintana
35 books69 followersJenny Quintana has become the 20th Curtis Brown Creative student to land a publishing deal, just days after her book was sent out to UK publishers by Conville & Walsh’s Sophie Lambert. On the eve of the London Book Fair, UK rights were bought at auction by Mantle Books, an imprint of Macmillan. German rights were snapped up by Goldmann after a hefty pre-empt, and Italian rights have also been sold already. Jenny workshopped her novel on our creative writing courses in Spring 2014, and we’re thrilled with the news of her success.
When Birds Forget to Sing (a title which we’re told may yet change) is the story of Anna, whose sister Gabriella disappeared years before as a teenager. When her mother dies, Anna returns home, reigniting her questions – and her quest to uncover the truth – about what happened to Gabriella. Sam Humphreys, Associate Publisher at Mantle, who bought Jenny’s book, has called it, “… a wonderful, wonderful novel: part whodunnit, part account of a life interrupted – not just Gabriella’s, but also Anna’s.”
Jenny is a teacher and mother of three who taught English in England, Spain and Greece before turning her hand to novel-writing.
When Birds Forget to Sing (a title which we’re told may yet change) is the story of Anna, whose sister Gabriella disappeared years before as a teenager. When her mother dies, Anna returns home, reigniting her questions – and her quest to uncover the truth – about what happened to Gabriella. Sam Humphreys, Associate Publisher at Mantle, who bought Jenny’s book, has called it, “… a wonderful, wonderful novel: part whodunnit, part account of a life interrupted – not just Gabriella’s, but also Anna’s.”
Jenny is a teacher and mother of three who taught English in England, Spain and Greece before turning her hand to novel-writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 345 reviews
January 30, 2018
Twelve-year-old Anna Flores and her fifteen-year-old sister Gabriella were extremely close; they had always been, but Gabriella was changing. Teenage years; loud music; dark make-up – but still the sisters spent time together. It was on the afternoon that Anna was to meet Gabriella at their father’s shop after school, when Gabriella didn’t turn up, that lives changed forever. Gabriella was never found, and it destroyed her family…
Thirty years later, Rita, Anna’s mother’s best friend, notified her that her mother had passed away. Guilt immediately hit Anna – it was three years since she’d been home. But now she had to return, and in doing so would re-visit her grief – which had never left her – on the loss of her sister. Not only Gabriella, but her mother as well.
As Anna sorted through her mother’s belongings, memories continued to swamp her. But always at the bottom of everything she touched was the question about her sister’s fate. She needed to know what had happened to her to be able to move forward. But after all the time that had passed, was it even possible?
The Missing Girl by Jenny Quintana is the author’s debut novel, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Twists, turns, mystery and intrigue threaded through the pages and kept me interested until the last page. Highly recommended.
With thanks to Pan Macmillan Australia for my ARC to read and review.
Thirty years later, Rita, Anna’s mother’s best friend, notified her that her mother had passed away. Guilt immediately hit Anna – it was three years since she’d been home. But now she had to return, and in doing so would re-visit her grief – which had never left her – on the loss of her sister. Not only Gabriella, but her mother as well.
As Anna sorted through her mother’s belongings, memories continued to swamp her. But always at the bottom of everything she touched was the question about her sister’s fate. She needed to know what had happened to her to be able to move forward. But after all the time that had passed, was it even possible?
The Missing Girl by Jenny Quintana is the author’s debut novel, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Twists, turns, mystery and intrigue threaded through the pages and kept me interested until the last page. Highly recommended.
With thanks to Pan Macmillan Australia for my ARC to read and review.
January 26, 2018
The Missing Girl is an acutely well-observed and eloquently rendered portrayal of the disappearance of a teenage daughter and the very profound consequences on her family left behind. In a emotionally gripping story of family dynamics, the secrets that we keep hidden and the lies we tell ourselves, Jenny Quintana combines a dual timeline narrative which serves as both as a coming-of-age story and a poignant literary exploration of the coping strategies of a family splintered by grief.
Life for Anna Flores has never been the same since the sister she idolised disappeared in the autumn of 1982 when she was twelve-years-old and enigmatic Gabriella was fifteen-years-old. Anna’s response was to run as far away from her family and her hometown as soon as possible, fleeing to London first and then to Athens. Despite this displacement, it has never stopped the question of just what did happen to Gabriella from haunting Anna’s days. The impetus for change comes thirty years later with the news that Anna’s mother, Esther, has passed away and the realisation that she will have to confront the memories she left behind. Reluctantly summoned for the funeral and to oversee the sale of both the rambling Victorian semi and the families second-hand shop, House of Flores, Anna finds she is still ‘the missing girl’s sister’ after all this time. Jenny Quintana’s first-person narrative is comprised of flashbacks to 1982 when a frustrated twelve-year-old tells of the months and days surrounding Gabrielle’s disappearance combined with the events and discoveries of a now mature Anna some thirty years later.
It is the fluctuating relationship of the sisters and it’s evolution from living in each other’s pockets to Gabriella increasingly having secrets of her own and assuming greater independence from the family that held me captive. With the undercurrents of family life increasingly leaving Anna more and more isolated as her parents are consumed by Gabriella’s exploits Anna is filled with self-pity and jealously. With the 1982 period identifying the mix of neighbours and relatives who feature in the story the present day narrative catches up with those that are still living and revisits the memories of the dead, in turn revealing secrets which have never previously seen the light of day... As the present day sees Anna return home, what begun as tentative questions and fragments of memory in 1982 is followed through, slowly unravelling everything from the first innocuous family secrets through to Gabriella’s fate and the raw realities of the answers that cannot be given back.
Perhaps most impressive is how Quintana charts the growth of Anna and it is only through the story of Gabriella that the long term implications for Anna’s life can be traced back through time. Not only is it easy to empathise with the twelve-year-old Anna’s growing animosity and adolescent wish to escape the confines of the family home, but the reader is left in no doubt about the intensity of Anna’s love for her sister. It is at the point when Anna realises that, “I wasn’t avoiding memories as I had done previously; instead I was seeking them”, that the reader can truly appreciate her need to make peace with the past in order to be free to live her remaining life to the full. As a reader I found my attitudes to several of the characters mellowing over the course of the novel, most notably towards mother Esther and best-friend Rita whose actions I viewed much more sympathetically given an appreciation of the complete picture, especially given the prevailing attitudes of the time which frowned on anything remotely akin to “airing one’s dirty laundry in public”.
Atmospheric and insightful, The Missing Girl is an understated debut to savour and whilst there is an underlying mystery element that makes it nigh on impossible to put this book down, it is not the be all and end all of this novel. In fact I was surprised that as the denouement loomed the identification aspect seemed of secondary importance and I was reading just as much for the story of the Flores’ family and primarily Anna, for whom the legacy of 1982 has undoubtedly altered the course of her life. In a very different sense each of Gabriella’s family ‘go missing’ after her disappearance and The Missing Girl is just as much their stories too. All told, this is a slow-burning and highly emotive family drama and comes highly recommended.
Life for Anna Flores has never been the same since the sister she idolised disappeared in the autumn of 1982 when she was twelve-years-old and enigmatic Gabriella was fifteen-years-old. Anna’s response was to run as far away from her family and her hometown as soon as possible, fleeing to London first and then to Athens. Despite this displacement, it has never stopped the question of just what did happen to Gabriella from haunting Anna’s days. The impetus for change comes thirty years later with the news that Anna’s mother, Esther, has passed away and the realisation that she will have to confront the memories she left behind. Reluctantly summoned for the funeral and to oversee the sale of both the rambling Victorian semi and the families second-hand shop, House of Flores, Anna finds she is still ‘the missing girl’s sister’ after all this time. Jenny Quintana’s first-person narrative is comprised of flashbacks to 1982 when a frustrated twelve-year-old tells of the months and days surrounding Gabrielle’s disappearance combined with the events and discoveries of a now mature Anna some thirty years later.
“The past was a ghost, gone in essence, but ever present, lurking in the background with its queries and its doubts.”As The Missing Girl segues effortlessly between 1982 and the present day Jenny Quintana conveys the ebb and flow of both the family dynamics, the fallout from Gabriella’s disappearance and the withdrawal of each member into their own solitary world of grief and loneliness. As mother, Esther, effectively stops functioning and withdraws from society, husband Albert is driven to the brink by his inability to put things right and a feeling of having failed his family. As we hear from Anna as a frustrated twelve-year-old, Quintana captures the voice of a child resentful at not being made privy to the whispers and secrets of the older generations yet piecing together the details she is able to understand. Capturing the spirit of the early-eighties era and imbuing the novel with the charm of village life it is the stories of jam making and whiling away the long summer holidays in a simpler time when curious children explored and family life was sacrosanct that resonate the most. In the 1982 timeline each of the Flores’s clan are painted in vivid detail making their gradual estrangement all the more heartbreaking.
It is the fluctuating relationship of the sisters and it’s evolution from living in each other’s pockets to Gabriella increasingly having secrets of her own and assuming greater independence from the family that held me captive. With the undercurrents of family life increasingly leaving Anna more and more isolated as her parents are consumed by Gabriella’s exploits Anna is filled with self-pity and jealously. With the 1982 period identifying the mix of neighbours and relatives who feature in the story the present day narrative catches up with those that are still living and revisits the memories of the dead, in turn revealing secrets which have never previously seen the light of day... As the present day sees Anna return home, what begun as tentative questions and fragments of memory in 1982 is followed through, slowly unravelling everything from the first innocuous family secrets through to Gabriella’s fate and the raw realities of the answers that cannot be given back.
Perhaps most impressive is how Quintana charts the growth of Anna and it is only through the story of Gabriella that the long term implications for Anna’s life can be traced back through time. Not only is it easy to empathise with the twelve-year-old Anna’s growing animosity and adolescent wish to escape the confines of the family home, but the reader is left in no doubt about the intensity of Anna’s love for her sister. It is at the point when Anna realises that, “I wasn’t avoiding memories as I had done previously; instead I was seeking them”, that the reader can truly appreciate her need to make peace with the past in order to be free to live her remaining life to the full. As a reader I found my attitudes to several of the characters mellowing over the course of the novel, most notably towards mother Esther and best-friend Rita whose actions I viewed much more sympathetically given an appreciation of the complete picture, especially given the prevailing attitudes of the time which frowned on anything remotely akin to “airing one’s dirty laundry in public”.
Atmospheric and insightful, The Missing Girl is an understated debut to savour and whilst there is an underlying mystery element that makes it nigh on impossible to put this book down, it is not the be all and end all of this novel. In fact I was surprised that as the denouement loomed the identification aspect seemed of secondary importance and I was reading just as much for the story of the Flores’ family and primarily Anna, for whom the legacy of 1982 has undoubtedly altered the course of her life. In a very different sense each of Gabriella’s family ‘go missing’ after her disappearance and The Missing Girl is just as much their stories too. All told, this is a slow-burning and highly emotive family drama and comes highly recommended.
December 31, 2017
**4.5 Stars**
An excellent and beautifully written debut from Jenny Quintana here – a missing sister, a woman looking for answers and an evocative past/present setting that resonated.
The Missing Girl is emotionally gripping as we see Anna sorting through the aftermath of her mother’s death and returning again to that terrible time in her youth when her sister disappeared. Through flashback we see the events leading up to that day and, more importantly, the relationship that existed between the sisters and their parents.
This is a story about loss and about closure, it is less psychological thriller and more family drama, the mystery elements managed within that in a really clever and emotive way. Jenny Quintana writes with a deeply touching prose that really gets to the heart of the feelings of her characters, it is genuinely absorbing from the very first page.
Highly enjoyable and memorable this is a wonderful debut and I can’t wait to see what this author brings us next.
Recommended.
An excellent and beautifully written debut from Jenny Quintana here – a missing sister, a woman looking for answers and an evocative past/present setting that resonated.
The Missing Girl is emotionally gripping as we see Anna sorting through the aftermath of her mother’s death and returning again to that terrible time in her youth when her sister disappeared. Through flashback we see the events leading up to that day and, more importantly, the relationship that existed between the sisters and their parents.
This is a story about loss and about closure, it is less psychological thriller and more family drama, the mystery elements managed within that in a really clever and emotive way. Jenny Quintana writes with a deeply touching prose that really gets to the heart of the feelings of her characters, it is genuinely absorbing from the very first page.
Highly enjoyable and memorable this is a wonderful debut and I can’t wait to see what this author brings us next.
Recommended.
September 25, 2018
The Missing Girl is a compelling mystery but also an absorbing and believable depiction of a family coping with the disappearance of a child. For me, this second element was the most rewarding part of the book. As the mystery of Gabriella’s disappearance remains unresolved, it has a disturbing effect on the family. Even more so coming as it does on top of overheard fragments of conversations and knowing glances between her father and mother the meaning of which twelve-year old Anna doesn’t understand at the time. Anna mainly notices the hole Gabriella’s absence has left in their lives. ‘There was an emptiness, a stillness. Gabriella had created sound.’
Alternating between two timelines – the present day and the 1980s – I thought the author did a particularly good job of recreating a sense of the earlier period. A time when a bottle of Cinzano and a bowl of Twiglets marked a family celebration, Sunday lunch was a roast dinner (followed by roly-poly and custard if you were lucky) and a popular teenage hangout was the Our Price record shop. I also liked the way the rather insular nature of a small village was conveyed and the spine-tingling feeling the author creates as young Anna undertakes her own investigation in the wooded outskirts of the village.
Given the sisters’ close relationship, I’ll admit I found it a little difficult to understand how Anna could have spent thirty years not wanting to find out more about Gabriella’s disappearance and Anna’s life in those intervening years doesn’t get much attention. Nevertheless, the death of her mother does awaken Anna’s desire to know the truth – ‘Persistence, the need to know, creeping back after all those years away’ – and, luckily for her, some of the key witnesses from the time are still around.
The Missing Girl is an accomplished debut which I really enjoyed for the author’s deft handling of the dual timelines and its multi-layered story. The author lays down plenty of tempting false trails for the reader to follow and although I (sort of) guessed one of the key twists in the book before it was revealed it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of what followed. The solution to the mystery of Gabriella’s disappearance – sorry, not going to say! However, I’ll admit the author wrong-footed me.
Alternating between two timelines – the present day and the 1980s – I thought the author did a particularly good job of recreating a sense of the earlier period. A time when a bottle of Cinzano and a bowl of Twiglets marked a family celebration, Sunday lunch was a roast dinner (followed by roly-poly and custard if you were lucky) and a popular teenage hangout was the Our Price record shop. I also liked the way the rather insular nature of a small village was conveyed and the spine-tingling feeling the author creates as young Anna undertakes her own investigation in the wooded outskirts of the village.
Given the sisters’ close relationship, I’ll admit I found it a little difficult to understand how Anna could have spent thirty years not wanting to find out more about Gabriella’s disappearance and Anna’s life in those intervening years doesn’t get much attention. Nevertheless, the death of her mother does awaken Anna’s desire to know the truth – ‘Persistence, the need to know, creeping back after all those years away’ – and, luckily for her, some of the key witnesses from the time are still around.
The Missing Girl is an accomplished debut which I really enjoyed for the author’s deft handling of the dual timelines and its multi-layered story. The author lays down plenty of tempting false trails for the reader to follow and although I (sort of) guessed one of the key twists in the book before it was revealed it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of what followed. The solution to the mystery of Gabriella’s disappearance – sorry, not going to say! However, I’ll admit the author wrong-footed me.
December 27, 2017
* https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
3.5 stars
On an autumn day in 1982, a fifteen year old girl Gabriella goes missing. Thirty years later, Gabriella’s sister Anna comes to terms with her sister’s tragic disappearance and tries to piece together the loose ties from decades before. The Missing Girl is a slow burn style domestic thriller that leans heavily on the psychology between an unusual family and the bonds of sisterhood.
Anna Flores adores her older sister Gabriella. When Gabriella goes missing, Anna struggles to cope with the huge loss. In the years that follow, Gabriella’s case is slowly swept under the carpet. Anna deals with the loss of her sister by moving away from the small village where she grew up. Anna makes a new life for herself abroad, removing herself from her family and the painful memories of the loss of her sister. When Anna’s mother passes away thirty years after Gabriella’s disappearance, Anna is forced to return home. Anna is faced with the difficult task of sorting out the family home and their business, a second-hand shop. It is a process the dredges up old memories, unresolved issues and encourages Anna to re-investigate her sister’s disappearance.
For a debut novel, The Missing Girl is a fantastic page turner. This isn’t the type of slick thriller that has you relentlessly turning the pages to a fast pace, rather, the urge to find out to truth to Gabriella’s disappearance is the main reason why I stuck with this book. The Missing Girl isn’t just another police procedural novel, ripping apart a missing person’s case, instead, the novel offers readers a complex family drama. The Missing Girl is also a solid mystery novel and a coming of age tale, where a woman must confront her fears from the past.
The Missing Girl is told in the form of shifting time periods, moving between 1982, to the present day. This provides the book with an air of tension filled mystery, unravelled layer by layer, which I appreciated very much. Quintana has a firm handle on her past focussed era, the early 1980’s. As I too grew up in this era, it was easy to both visualise the time period and I was able to connect with the Flores sisters. Quintana’s evocation of small village life in the 1980’s, where everyone is aware of one another’s business and the attitudes that define this era, was spot on. I enjoyed this aspect of the novel very much.
The Flores family are a complex clan. Quintana puts the spotlight on this strange family and the secrets that they hold in an interesting format. Quintana’s characterisation skills are solid and I thought her presentation of the two sisters was excellent. Likewise, the girl’s parents are also well drawn. The loved ones and outsiders who are all embroiled in one way or another in Gabriella’s disappearance are all slightly off in some sense. Quintana builds the reader suspicions of these characters, so we are not sure who had a part to play in Gabriella’s disappearance. Quintana serves up some questionable suspects or red herrings, who may or may not be involved in Gabriella’s missing person’s case. These include new neighbour at the time Edward Lily, to the unkind Mrs Ellis and her odd daughter Martha. Everyone is cast with a suspicious eye by Quintana and this approach definitely enhances the crime-mystery side to this novel.
Part of the appeal of The Missing Girl is the process that Anna Flores goes through, some thirty years later, to make peace with her sister’s disappearance. I consider The Missing Girl more of a solid coming of age family drama, where the now adult Anna must come to grips with events in the past. The final reveal didn’t quite deliver the impact I was expecting, as Quintana invests plenty of her narrative in setting the reader up for the final chapters in this unsolved missing persons case. Nevertheless, I appreciated the psychological based investigation contained in The Missing Girl, which is eloquently written. This book really is the sad tale of a missing teenager, which successfully examines the impact this scenario has on a family, the feelings of guilt and loss associated with a disappearance and the impact on a close-knit community.
The Missing Girl is an assured debut from first time novelist Jenny Quintana. Now I have a feel for Quintana’s writing style, I am looking forward to seeing what she releases next. If you enjoy cold case, missing person style novels, this one will capture your interest.
*I wish to thank Pan Macmillan for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes.
3.5 stars
On an autumn day in 1982, a fifteen year old girl Gabriella goes missing. Thirty years later, Gabriella’s sister Anna comes to terms with her sister’s tragic disappearance and tries to piece together the loose ties from decades before. The Missing Girl is a slow burn style domestic thriller that leans heavily on the psychology between an unusual family and the bonds of sisterhood.
Anna Flores adores her older sister Gabriella. When Gabriella goes missing, Anna struggles to cope with the huge loss. In the years that follow, Gabriella’s case is slowly swept under the carpet. Anna deals with the loss of her sister by moving away from the small village where she grew up. Anna makes a new life for herself abroad, removing herself from her family and the painful memories of the loss of her sister. When Anna’s mother passes away thirty years after Gabriella’s disappearance, Anna is forced to return home. Anna is faced with the difficult task of sorting out the family home and their business, a second-hand shop. It is a process the dredges up old memories, unresolved issues and encourages Anna to re-investigate her sister’s disappearance.
For a debut novel, The Missing Girl is a fantastic page turner. This isn’t the type of slick thriller that has you relentlessly turning the pages to a fast pace, rather, the urge to find out to truth to Gabriella’s disappearance is the main reason why I stuck with this book. The Missing Girl isn’t just another police procedural novel, ripping apart a missing person’s case, instead, the novel offers readers a complex family drama. The Missing Girl is also a solid mystery novel and a coming of age tale, where a woman must confront her fears from the past.
The Missing Girl is told in the form of shifting time periods, moving between 1982, to the present day. This provides the book with an air of tension filled mystery, unravelled layer by layer, which I appreciated very much. Quintana has a firm handle on her past focussed era, the early 1980’s. As I too grew up in this era, it was easy to both visualise the time period and I was able to connect with the Flores sisters. Quintana’s evocation of small village life in the 1980’s, where everyone is aware of one another’s business and the attitudes that define this era, was spot on. I enjoyed this aspect of the novel very much.
The Flores family are a complex clan. Quintana puts the spotlight on this strange family and the secrets that they hold in an interesting format. Quintana’s characterisation skills are solid and I thought her presentation of the two sisters was excellent. Likewise, the girl’s parents are also well drawn. The loved ones and outsiders who are all embroiled in one way or another in Gabriella’s disappearance are all slightly off in some sense. Quintana builds the reader suspicions of these characters, so we are not sure who had a part to play in Gabriella’s disappearance. Quintana serves up some questionable suspects or red herrings, who may or may not be involved in Gabriella’s missing person’s case. These include new neighbour at the time Edward Lily, to the unkind Mrs Ellis and her odd daughter Martha. Everyone is cast with a suspicious eye by Quintana and this approach definitely enhances the crime-mystery side to this novel.
Part of the appeal of The Missing Girl is the process that Anna Flores goes through, some thirty years later, to make peace with her sister’s disappearance. I consider The Missing Girl more of a solid coming of age family drama, where the now adult Anna must come to grips with events in the past. The final reveal didn’t quite deliver the impact I was expecting, as Quintana invests plenty of her narrative in setting the reader up for the final chapters in this unsolved missing persons case. Nevertheless, I appreciated the psychological based investigation contained in The Missing Girl, which is eloquently written. This book really is the sad tale of a missing teenager, which successfully examines the impact this scenario has on a family, the feelings of guilt and loss associated with a disappearance and the impact on a close-knit community.
The Missing Girl is an assured debut from first time novelist Jenny Quintana. Now I have a feel for Quintana’s writing style, I am looking forward to seeing what she releases next. If you enjoy cold case, missing person style novels, this one will capture your interest.
*I wish to thank Pan Macmillan for providing me with a free copy of this book for review purposes.
October 3, 2018
Atmospheric, dramatic, and intriguing!
The Missing Girl is a slow-burning, captivating mystery that takes us into the life of Anna Flores who upon returning home to settle her mother’s estate decides to probe, explore and finally piece together what actually happened to her sister Gabriella on the afternoon she disappeared thirty years prior.
The writing is crisp and precise. The characters are troubled, determined, and genuine. And the plot, using first-person narration and alternating between 1982 and present, builds nicely and creates tension as it twists, turns, and unravels all the behaviours, actions, motivations, relationships, and personalities within it.
The Missing Girl at its core is a novel about family, friendship, secrets, kidnapping, and murder that highlights the emotional and psychological devastation caused by a missing child and the resulting finger-pointing, fragility and dynamics between family members, friends, neighbours, newcomers, and the community. It is an evocative and impressive debut for Quintana, and I look forward to reading what she comes up with next.
Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Missing Girl is a slow-burning, captivating mystery that takes us into the life of Anna Flores who upon returning home to settle her mother’s estate decides to probe, explore and finally piece together what actually happened to her sister Gabriella on the afternoon she disappeared thirty years prior.
The writing is crisp and precise. The characters are troubled, determined, and genuine. And the plot, using first-person narration and alternating between 1982 and present, builds nicely and creates tension as it twists, turns, and unravels all the behaviours, actions, motivations, relationships, and personalities within it.
The Missing Girl at its core is a novel about family, friendship, secrets, kidnapping, and murder that highlights the emotional and psychological devastation caused by a missing child and the resulting finger-pointing, fragility and dynamics between family members, friends, neighbours, newcomers, and the community. It is an evocative and impressive debut for Quintana, and I look forward to reading what she comes up with next.
Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
December 14, 2021
The Missing Girl is an intriguing dual-timeline narrative following the protagonist, Anna Flores, as she gradually uncovers the truth surrounding the disappearance of her elder sister, Gabriella.
Chapters alternate between the autumn of 1982, in the weeks leading up to and following the unsolved disappearance of 15-year-old Gabriella, and thirty years later - the book's present - when now adult younger sister Anna returns to their hometown in England, following the death of their mother. The alternating perspectives between that of Anna as a 12-year-old child and as a forty-something woman allow author Jenny Quintana to effectively portray the character's dawning realisation about events from her family's past.
Anna's reticence to confront the past, particularly the reality of Gabriella's disappearance, is evident throughout, and Quintana creates a sense of dislocation as Anna reconnects with people and places she once knew. As Anna puts the pieces together she uncovers shocking revelations about her family history as she closes in on the dreadful truth of what became of her beloved elder sister all those years ago.
Jenny Quintana's writing is nuanced and well-paced for the subject matter, creating an atmosphere of hidden malice and inevitability in the 1982 chapters and a range of potential suspects and leads as present Anna attempts to solve the mystery. The final solution, when it comes, is jarring but fitting within the complex web of family secrets, local alliances and animosities, and teenaged rebellion that the author has created.
I'd recommend The Missing Girl to any reader who enjoys twisty "cold case" type mysteries, especially those involving an element of family drama and dislocation.
Chapters alternate between the autumn of 1982, in the weeks leading up to and following the unsolved disappearance of 15-year-old Gabriella, and thirty years later - the book's present - when now adult younger sister Anna returns to their hometown in England, following the death of their mother. The alternating perspectives between that of Anna as a 12-year-old child and as a forty-something woman allow author Jenny Quintana to effectively portray the character's dawning realisation about events from her family's past.
Anna's reticence to confront the past, particularly the reality of Gabriella's disappearance, is evident throughout, and Quintana creates a sense of dislocation as Anna reconnects with people and places she once knew. As Anna puts the pieces together she uncovers shocking revelations about her family history as she closes in on the dreadful truth of what became of her beloved elder sister all those years ago.
Jenny Quintana's writing is nuanced and well-paced for the subject matter, creating an atmosphere of hidden malice and inevitability in the 1982 chapters and a range of potential suspects and leads as present Anna attempts to solve the mystery. The final solution, when it comes, is jarring but fitting within the complex web of family secrets, local alliances and animosities, and teenaged rebellion that the author has created.
I'd recommend The Missing Girl to any reader who enjoys twisty "cold case" type mysteries, especially those involving an element of family drama and dislocation.
May 6, 2018
I thought this was a beautifully written novel, which resonated very much.
I’ve had a sister missing for 25 years and have never found a way to describe the profound emotional roller coaster that happens when a sibling goes missing and remains missing for many years. The author, Jenny Quintana, has managed to capture much of what it can be like through her character, Anna Flores, who returns home after the death of her mother to the town where her older sister went missing from 30 years earlier.
Told in duel narratives: when Anna is 12 at the time leading up to and after her sister goes missing and 30 years later when Anna returns after her mother has died, we see Anna trying to piece together the pieces of what happened to her beloved sister, Gabriella. From the first few sentences I couldn’t stop turning the pages, hoping Anna found out what happened to her sister.
Wonderful!
I’ve had a sister missing for 25 years and have never found a way to describe the profound emotional roller coaster that happens when a sibling goes missing and remains missing for many years. The author, Jenny Quintana, has managed to capture much of what it can be like through her character, Anna Flores, who returns home after the death of her mother to the town where her older sister went missing from 30 years earlier.
Told in duel narratives: when Anna is 12 at the time leading up to and after her sister goes missing and 30 years later when Anna returns after her mother has died, we see Anna trying to piece together the pieces of what happened to her beloved sister, Gabriella. From the first few sentences I couldn’t stop turning the pages, hoping Anna found out what happened to her sister.
Wonderful!
April 29, 2018
My Review: The Missing Girl is a really wonderful debut novel and one I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. The story is narrated through one character Anna Flores, alternating from 1982 to present day. Anna is now a 40 year old single woman who has to return to her home town after a 30 year absence to sort out her mother’s estate and uncover the truth about her older sister Gabriellas’ disappearance in the 80’s.
The chapters told from Anna’s 12 year old perspective were at times heartbreakingly sad, as her adoration and idolising of her older sister Gabriella and feeling unloved, unnoticed and ignored made me as a mother want to give her a big cuddle and tell her everything would be OK. A socially awkward and plain child, Anna’s devotion and obsession with her beautiful older sister was really sweet to read about and throughout the story I felt her pain and confusion towards her family.
This isn’t a fast paced thriller, more of a slow burner but that actually made me savour and enjoy the book even more. An atmospheric and well written book which gets under your skin and into your thoughts long after you’ve finished the story.
The chapters told from Anna’s 12 year old perspective were at times heartbreakingly sad, as her adoration and idolising of her older sister Gabriella and feeling unloved, unnoticed and ignored made me as a mother want to give her a big cuddle and tell her everything would be OK. A socially awkward and plain child, Anna’s devotion and obsession with her beautiful older sister was really sweet to read about and throughout the story I felt her pain and confusion towards her family.
This isn’t a fast paced thriller, more of a slow burner but that actually made me savour and enjoy the book even more. An atmospheric and well written book which gets under your skin and into your thoughts long after you’ve finished the story.
October 18, 2020
In 1982, Anna Flores's older teenage sister, Gabriella, goes missing and is never seen again. Anna herself is a teenager but is kept in the dark about suspicious events and adult conversations leading up to Gabriella's disappearance, which have haunted her throughout her childhood and even now into an adulthood some 30 years later. Her father also died of a heart attack shortly after Gabriella went missing and Anna's mother shut down, to the extent that Anna felt no love from her remaining parent, so was quick to take herself away as soon as the opportunity presented itself. 30 years on, living in Athens and teaching English, Anna is forced to return to her home village following the death of her mother and finds that what she wanted to be a quick visit turned into a re-kindling of all her old insecurities and the desire to find out what had really happened to Gabriella all those years ago...
Narrated by Anna herself, this book was a bit of a slow-burner but it got there in the end and was quite a good read overall - 8/10.
Narrated by Anna herself, this book was a bit of a slow-burner but it got there in the end and was quite a good read overall - 8/10.
January 7, 2018
The cover is striking and memorable, but I urge you (if like me you have the hardback version) to take a peek under the dust jacket. The blood-red cover with gold lettering on the spine is thrilling and truly spectacular.
Anna has no choice but to return home to settle her mother’s estate. She’s been hiding for so long but now she is out of excuses. The story flip-flops from current day to the 80’s. Where we get to puzzle together the fragments of the story and find out what happened to Anna’s sister Gabriella.
I was a little slow to catch the pace of the book. It’s not one to be rushed, there are details and important information as you go along. I loved the nostalgic references from the 80’s and it made me reminisce.
I liked Anna, I felt sorry for her. Her whole life defined by the death of her sister. How awful would that be? No wonder she withdrew from everything that was a reminder. But now she’s back and she is faced with the option of opening closed doors and asking what happened to her sister and getting answers.
I really enjoyed the book, it had me up until the wee hours. I had to know what happened to Gabriella and to find out if the truth will bring peace to Anna.
A brilliantly written debut novel with bite!
Anna has no choice but to return home to settle her mother’s estate. She’s been hiding for so long but now she is out of excuses. The story flip-flops from current day to the 80’s. Where we get to puzzle together the fragments of the story and find out what happened to Anna’s sister Gabriella.
I was a little slow to catch the pace of the book. It’s not one to be rushed, there are details and important information as you go along. I loved the nostalgic references from the 80’s and it made me reminisce.
I liked Anna, I felt sorry for her. Her whole life defined by the death of her sister. How awful would that be? No wonder she withdrew from everything that was a reminder. But now she’s back and she is faced with the option of opening closed doors and asking what happened to her sister and getting answers.
I really enjoyed the book, it had me up until the wee hours. I had to know what happened to Gabriella and to find out if the truth will bring peace to Anna.
A brilliantly written debut novel with bite!
July 8, 2018
Missing-blonde-teen-sister mystery set in 2004 (with flashbacks to 1982).
Evokes the vanished closeness of village life, right down to the ubiquitous known-by-first-name street sweeper. Quintana is less successful at showing little sister Anna's inner turmoil, which eats up many a repetitive paragraph and feels arbitrary and forced. Not many genuine surprises: you will probably spot the culprit long before Anna does. Period tunes serve as window dressing. Debut novel shows plenty of promise, just still has a ways to go.
So much to miss about the 80s
Evokes the vanished closeness of village life, right down to the ubiquitous known-by-first-name street sweeper. Quintana is less successful at showing little sister Anna's inner turmoil, which eats up many a repetitive paragraph and feels arbitrary and forced. Not many genuine surprises: you will probably spot the culprit long before Anna does. Period tunes serve as window dressing. Debut novel shows plenty of promise, just still has a ways to go.
May 16, 2021
30 years ago Anne Flores sister, Gabriella went missing. Now their mother have died and Anne goes back home to fix things up with the funeral and such. When she goes through the belongings she also finds Gabriella's stuff and memories and questions come up again. What happened to her?
I feel like I've read this in the wrong time, didn't give it as much "attention" as I should have done. Was to scatter brained. I didn't get invested into the story but I think iöö go back to this one some other time
I feel like I've read this in the wrong time, didn't give it as much "attention" as I should have done. Was to scatter brained. I didn't get invested into the story but I think iöö go back to this one some other time
January 1, 2018
Wow! I’m not sure what I expected from this debut author but it wasn’t this evocative tale of a girl whose sister goes missing one autumnal day in 1982.
Anna Flores’ sister, Gabriella went missing, in fact we only see her reflected through her younger sister’s adoring eyes but it’s now thirty years later and Anna’s mother has died and it is time to clear the house and sort through the family possessions. Anna sadly returns from Athens to attend the funeral but finds herself needing to confront what happened all those years ago.
Split between the present day and 1982 this is every family and uniquely the Flores family. Somehow this author has summoned up the 1980s without resorting to constantly naming the brands of the day or key events of the time but rather more exceptionally, by evoking the attitudes of those times.
We have Esther Flores, mother to two daughters, Gabriella and Anna and wife to Albert Flores who owns a second-hand shop which offers house clearance services. Now I don’t know about you but in another life I can think of no better way than to go poking around through the books, photos and sentimental items collected by a homeowner – I have to admit, I’m not up for the heavy lifting of furniture or cleaning up but the building a picture of a life lived, sorting the valuable from the rubbish, would be perfect for the nosiness I have about other people’s lives. Esther doesn’t like it when Albert does a house clearance as he is away from home far too much as but she has her friend Rita who brings her crime thrillers to read and offal from her husband’s butcher shop to feed her family.
At first any conflict in the family is seemingly benign with Gabriella pushing against her mother’s rules by dying her hair black and wearing unsuitable clothes at which point Albert steps in as the peacemaker without overly upsetting either party. Meanwhile Anna is young enough to observe all that is happening but when the whispering starts between her mother and father her attempts to eavesdrop fall far short of informing her of what has happened. Gabriella now has secrets from her and she feels she’s been pushed to the edge of the family.
And then Gabriella disappears on her way home from school one night, she’s agreed to meet Anna at the shop, House of Flores but she never turns up and in the intervening years there have been few clues to follow.
Told in alternating time periods between the events of 1982 and Anna’s present life carrying out the one last house clearance her mother had agreed to, Anna starts to put some of the pieces of the puzzle together. Reconnecting with those residents who are still alive, including of course Rita who had remained a steadfast friend Anna is able to reconcile the events of the past to some degree.
This book, despite not being the psychological thriller I had expected from its title was definitely a page-turner but of the less manic variety than the genre normally provides; indeed I would say this is on the edge of what is traditionally called women’s fiction exploring as it does families, secrets, friendship, community and love in a vivid and evocative way. I adored it all, the descriptions of Anna’s grandparents coming to visit, the two girls exchanging looks as the same old stories are told, visit after visit, the gentle love and respect her parents demonstrate for each other and their children gave me a feeling of nostalgia for what were arguably simpler times for children.
An assured debut that has me eager to see what Jenny Quintana will offer next.
Anna Flores’ sister, Gabriella went missing, in fact we only see her reflected through her younger sister’s adoring eyes but it’s now thirty years later and Anna’s mother has died and it is time to clear the house and sort through the family possessions. Anna sadly returns from Athens to attend the funeral but finds herself needing to confront what happened all those years ago.
Split between the present day and 1982 this is every family and uniquely the Flores family. Somehow this author has summoned up the 1980s without resorting to constantly naming the brands of the day or key events of the time but rather more exceptionally, by evoking the attitudes of those times.
We have Esther Flores, mother to two daughters, Gabriella and Anna and wife to Albert Flores who owns a second-hand shop which offers house clearance services. Now I don’t know about you but in another life I can think of no better way than to go poking around through the books, photos and sentimental items collected by a homeowner – I have to admit, I’m not up for the heavy lifting of furniture or cleaning up but the building a picture of a life lived, sorting the valuable from the rubbish, would be perfect for the nosiness I have about other people’s lives. Esther doesn’t like it when Albert does a house clearance as he is away from home far too much as but she has her friend Rita who brings her crime thrillers to read and offal from her husband’s butcher shop to feed her family.
At first any conflict in the family is seemingly benign with Gabriella pushing against her mother’s rules by dying her hair black and wearing unsuitable clothes at which point Albert steps in as the peacemaker without overly upsetting either party. Meanwhile Anna is young enough to observe all that is happening but when the whispering starts between her mother and father her attempts to eavesdrop fall far short of informing her of what has happened. Gabriella now has secrets from her and she feels she’s been pushed to the edge of the family.
And then Gabriella disappears on her way home from school one night, she’s agreed to meet Anna at the shop, House of Flores but she never turns up and in the intervening years there have been few clues to follow.
Told in alternating time periods between the events of 1982 and Anna’s present life carrying out the one last house clearance her mother had agreed to, Anna starts to put some of the pieces of the puzzle together. Reconnecting with those residents who are still alive, including of course Rita who had remained a steadfast friend Anna is able to reconcile the events of the past to some degree.
This book, despite not being the psychological thriller I had expected from its title was definitely a page-turner but of the less manic variety than the genre normally provides; indeed I would say this is on the edge of what is traditionally called women’s fiction exploring as it does families, secrets, friendship, community and love in a vivid and evocative way. I adored it all, the descriptions of Anna’s grandparents coming to visit, the two girls exchanging looks as the same old stories are told, visit after visit, the gentle love and respect her parents demonstrate for each other and their children gave me a feeling of nostalgia for what were arguably simpler times for children.
An assured debut that has me eager to see what Jenny Quintana will offer next.
June 17, 2018
When Anna Flores was a young girl her sister disappeared, never to be found, her parents never declared her dead and this tragic event haunted Anna to adulthood. Thirty years later Anna returns to her childhood home, her mother has died and Anna finds herself revisiting the past, trying to discover what happend to her beloved sister.
With a narrative which moves back and forward in time, this domestic thriller deals with loss, secrets and memory. If I was to take issue with The Missing Girl, I would say it was overworked and overwritten. There was too much description (to the nth degree) which then gave away too much so the reveals weren't reveals.
With a narrative which moves back and forward in time, this domestic thriller deals with loss, secrets and memory. If I was to take issue with The Missing Girl, I would say it was overworked and overwritten. There was too much description (to the nth degree) which then gave away too much so the reveals weren't reveals.
February 11, 2018
I read this over the weekend. Has a 2 part story structure. Current timeline and past timeline. Im not sure what it was, but the POV and main character didnt interest me at all. The plot was solid, standard missing person story and writing solid for a debut.
August 12, 2019
Heart breaking. Beautifully written
September 15, 2018
If I could give it a 3.5 I would. It was slow moving and wasn't as much of a thriller as I thought it would be, but I was still interested in what happened to Gabriella.
January 8, 2018
Having come straight from the highs of THE CHILD by Fiona Barton, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to jump straight back into a mystery surrounding a ‘missing’ person – but within the first few chapters, this feeling disappeared and I started to get into Anna & Gabriella’s story.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed THE MISSING GIRL. The mix of past and present story telling gives the reader the full picture and understanding as to why Anna has the relationship with her family as she does. We are taken to the 1908’s when Anna is a child and view her interactions with her sister and parents. Most readers will be able to relate with the family dynamic and will empathise with Anna.
This is one of those books where there are many twists and turns, and as you think you have figured out what happened….we are thrown off course and sent in another direction. One of things I love about reading is thinking I have the story all figured out – it’s then like Jenny laughed at me and told me not to be so silly! As if it was going to be that easy!
Based on THIE MISSING GIRL, I for one am looking forward to reading more of Jenny’s work in the future!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed THE MISSING GIRL. The mix of past and present story telling gives the reader the full picture and understanding as to why Anna has the relationship with her family as she does. We are taken to the 1908’s when Anna is a child and view her interactions with her sister and parents. Most readers will be able to relate with the family dynamic and will empathise with Anna.
This is one of those books where there are many twists and turns, and as you think you have figured out what happened….we are thrown off course and sent in another direction. One of things I love about reading is thinking I have the story all figured out – it’s then like Jenny laughed at me and told me not to be so silly! As if it was going to be that easy!
Based on THIE MISSING GIRL, I for one am looking forward to reading more of Jenny’s work in the future!
May 4, 2018
Just 2 stars for this one me, I just never really got into it and it took quite a while to finish. The main problem I think was that I never really felt much for Anna other than a little bit of pity, we don't get much of a picture of her other than being 'the missing girls sister'.
Parts of the book were great but they were too few and far between for me. The ending picks up a bit but it takes a while to get there and there aren't many twists along the way unfortunately. I really wanted to like this one it had a great premise but it really missed the mark for me although the book does have good ratings from other readers so maybe it was me!
Parts of the book were great but they were too few and far between for me. The ending picks up a bit but it takes a while to get there and there aren't many twists along the way unfortunately. I really wanted to like this one it had a great premise but it really missed the mark for me although the book does have good ratings from other readers so maybe it was me!
August 13, 2018
Trigger warnings: death of a parent, disappearance of a sibling, mentions of rape,
So here's the thing: I thought this was a thriller, based on the blurb. Instead, it was mostly the story of a woman dealing with having to return to the village where her sister disappeared years earlier and which she's been avoiding ever since. But now, her mother has died and she has to go back and it brings up a whole lot of memories and emotions.
And I did like what I got, but I definitely anticipated there being much more of a thriller element involved, so...that was a little disappointing. But really, that's more of a me thing than a book thing.
So here's the thing: I thought this was a thriller, based on the blurb. Instead, it was mostly the story of a woman dealing with having to return to the village where her sister disappeared years earlier and which she's been avoiding ever since. But now, her mother has died and she has to go back and it brings up a whole lot of memories and emotions.
And I did like what I got, but I definitely anticipated there being much more of a thriller element involved, so...that was a little disappointing. But really, that's more of a me thing than a book thing.
July 7, 2018
Again I think Im in the minority here but found this hard to get into and did not enjoy it The story did not grip me atall I would not recommend it
Read
February 16, 2020DNF
I got to about half way but just found it really boring and not for me, unfortunately.
I got to about half way but just found it really boring and not for me, unfortunately.
August 4, 2018
My rating strategy:
5 stars = An all time favourite, I could tell you about this 10 years later.
4 stars = Loved this, really gripping/fun/exciting, will remember long term.
3 stars = Definitely enjoyed, might forget quickly though, but happy to read more by the author.
2 stars = Likely to have some good points, but it didn't properly captivate me.
1 star = Not my cup of tea at all, wouldn't return to the author.
5 stars = An all time favourite, I could tell you about this 10 years later.
4 stars = Loved this, really gripping/fun/exciting, will remember long term.
3 stars = Definitely enjoyed, might forget quickly though, but happy to read more by the author.
2 stars = Likely to have some good points, but it didn't properly captivate me.
1 star = Not my cup of tea at all, wouldn't return to the author.
April 23, 2022
Konnte mich leider nicht ganz überzeugen.
January 10, 2018
This book was received from the publisher in return for an honest review
I was lucky enough to take part in the blog tour for Jenny Quintana’s debut novel The Missing Girl. The ARC dropped through my letter box last year and I was intrigued by the blurb and when I picked it up it certainly didn’t disappoint!
When Anna’s mother dies Anna is forced to return from Greece to the small village where she grew up, the village were her older sister went missing. Keen to get through the funeral and get back to Greece she finds herself drawn back into the mystery of her sister’s disappearance. Now thirty years later will she finally get the answers she’s looking for and find out what happened to her sister?
I was sucked into this one right from the beginning! Jenny Quintana uses a dual narrative to tell the story, with the chapters alternating between the present day and 1982, the year Gabriella went missing. For me this was a plot device that really worked well, following Anna’s journey in the present as she dealt with the death of her mother as well as seeing the past through her eyes and trying to work out what happened happened to Gabriella all those years ago.
For this reason I was particularly intrigued by the chapters set in the past. I spent my time trying to pick up on any little clues that Jenny may have been leaving, anything that had happened in the period leading up to her disappearance that might have explained what had happened to Gabriella. She was a teenager when she vanished, moving into a rebellious phase, had something terrible happened to her? Had she run away from something, or did she just run off with a boy her parents wouldn’t have approved of?
That’s not to say the present chapters weren’t also enjoyable! Moving further through the story I could begin to put things together, something that had happened in the past suddenly making sense after Anna came across something in the present, that’s not to say that occasionally I didn’t add two and two together and end up with five!
I really liked Anna, and with her being the centre of the story it was crucial! I really felt for her as a child as her sister pulled away from her and things she didn’t understand began to happen, her desperation to find her sister. As an adult I completely understood her reluctance to return home, having spent so long escaping simply being the missing girl’s sister, as well as wanting to avoid all the memories that being back in her childhood home would bring.
There are a lot of other characters in the story, Anna’s parents are prevalent in the past chapters, but have both passed away by the time the present day chapters take place. Rita, a friend of Anna’s mother can be found in both the past and present chapters, I spent a fair amount of time going back and forth about how I felt about Rita, unable to decide if I felt she was a little too interfering or just a good friend to Esther. I also could decide whether I felt sorry for Martha, or if she was just a little creepy, I suspect that was coloured by Anna’s interpretation of her as a child.
Would I Recommend?
I thought this was a fantastic debut from Jenny Quintana, I’d definitely recommend it to any mystery fans out there. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for whatever comes next from Jenny.
4.5 Stars
Find more reviews at Sarah Withers Blogs
I was lucky enough to take part in the blog tour for Jenny Quintana’s debut novel The Missing Girl. The ARC dropped through my letter box last year and I was intrigued by the blurb and when I picked it up it certainly didn’t disappoint!
When Anna’s mother dies Anna is forced to return from Greece to the small village where she grew up, the village were her older sister went missing. Keen to get through the funeral and get back to Greece she finds herself drawn back into the mystery of her sister’s disappearance. Now thirty years later will she finally get the answers she’s looking for and find out what happened to her sister?
I was sucked into this one right from the beginning! Jenny Quintana uses a dual narrative to tell the story, with the chapters alternating between the present day and 1982, the year Gabriella went missing. For me this was a plot device that really worked well, following Anna’s journey in the present as she dealt with the death of her mother as well as seeing the past through her eyes and trying to work out what happened happened to Gabriella all those years ago.
For this reason I was particularly intrigued by the chapters set in the past. I spent my time trying to pick up on any little clues that Jenny may have been leaving, anything that had happened in the period leading up to her disappearance that might have explained what had happened to Gabriella. She was a teenager when she vanished, moving into a rebellious phase, had something terrible happened to her? Had she run away from something, or did she just run off with a boy her parents wouldn’t have approved of?
That’s not to say the present chapters weren’t also enjoyable! Moving further through the story I could begin to put things together, something that had happened in the past suddenly making sense after Anna came across something in the present, that’s not to say that occasionally I didn’t add two and two together and end up with five!
I really liked Anna, and with her being the centre of the story it was crucial! I really felt for her as a child as her sister pulled away from her and things she didn’t understand began to happen, her desperation to find her sister. As an adult I completely understood her reluctance to return home, having spent so long escaping simply being the missing girl’s sister, as well as wanting to avoid all the memories that being back in her childhood home would bring.
There are a lot of other characters in the story, Anna’s parents are prevalent in the past chapters, but have both passed away by the time the present day chapters take place. Rita, a friend of Anna’s mother can be found in both the past and present chapters, I spent a fair amount of time going back and forth about how I felt about Rita, unable to decide if I felt she was a little too interfering or just a good friend to Esther. I also could decide whether I felt sorry for Martha, or if she was just a little creepy, I suspect that was coloured by Anna’s interpretation of her as a child.
Would I Recommend?
I thought this was a fantastic debut from Jenny Quintana, I’d definitely recommend it to any mystery fans out there. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for whatever comes next from Jenny.
4.5 Stars
Find more reviews at Sarah Withers Blogs
December 29, 2025
Wow, this book was an unexpected page-turner! If this is Jenny Quintana’s debut, then her talent is truly something to admire. The story and mystery are nicely crafted, and I especially appreciate authors who can genuinely capture a child’s perspective.
While there’s nothing quite like “To Kill a Mockingbird” (not even by Harper Lee herself), some books, though few and far between, manage to deliver a similar kind of experience. Jenny Quintana’s “The Missing Girl” could be one of them.
It’s worth noting that it’s a pretty slow-burn thriller. That’s not to say it’s bad; in fact, reading it during the summer, I sometimes really enjoyed the leisurely pace. However, I have to admit there were moments where it felt a bit boring.
While there’s nothing quite like “To Kill a Mockingbird” (not even by Harper Lee herself), some books, though few and far between, manage to deliver a similar kind of experience. Jenny Quintana’s “The Missing Girl” could be one of them.
It’s worth noting that it’s a pretty slow-burn thriller. That’s not to say it’s bad; in fact, reading it during the summer, I sometimes really enjoyed the leisurely pace. However, I have to admit there were moments where it felt a bit boring.
June 4, 2018
Thirty years on from her older sister's disappearance and the loss doesn't get any easier for Anna Flores who was just twelve when Gabriella failed to return home from school in the autumn of 1982. When Anna returns to her childhood home after her mother's death, the grief and loss, so cleverly hidden over the intervening years, comes brimming back to the surface.
What then follows is a beautifully written family drama which looks at the secrets families keep, not just between themselves, but also from the wider community in which they live. Moving effortlessly between time frames, the story of Gabriella's disappearance gradually comes to light but it is only in Anna's adult world where the jigsaw pieces of the puzzle start to make chilling sense. I thought that Anna was portrayed very sensitively, you can feel the pain of her loss, still so keenly felt, all these years later, but it was in Anna's childhood were the story really came alive. The desperation of twelve year old Anna trying so hard to find her sister was really heartbreaking and made me wanted to bundle her up in a blanket to stop her hurting so much.
The Missing Girl is a wonderful example of domestic noir, part family drama, part psychological thriller, it's all beautifully put together in a package which keeps you guessing from start to finish.
What then follows is a beautifully written family drama which looks at the secrets families keep, not just between themselves, but also from the wider community in which they live. Moving effortlessly between time frames, the story of Gabriella's disappearance gradually comes to light but it is only in Anna's adult world where the jigsaw pieces of the puzzle start to make chilling sense. I thought that Anna was portrayed very sensitively, you can feel the pain of her loss, still so keenly felt, all these years later, but it was in Anna's childhood were the story really came alive. The desperation of twelve year old Anna trying so hard to find her sister was really heartbreaking and made me wanted to bundle her up in a blanket to stop her hurting so much.
The Missing Girl is a wonderful example of domestic noir, part family drama, part psychological thriller, it's all beautifully put together in a package which keeps you guessing from start to finish.
September 14, 2021
What a great story this was. I love a good mystery and this has all the right ingredients for me.
Thirty years ago, fifteen year old Gabriella Flores disappears without a trace one afternoon after school. She was supposed to meet Anna, her twelve year old sister at their father's shop. She never shows up.
Anna is living in Greece teaching English when her mother's friend Rita calls to let her know her mother has passed away. Anna returns home to bury her mum and tidy up the house and the old shop.
Once back home Anna finds the memories of Gabriella surface and wonders what really happened all those years ago. Did her sister really just disappear?
Why did her mother accept a house clearance from Edward Lily, who was a suspect in Gabriella's disappearance? Why is there a portrait of her sister in his belongings? What does Rita know of the past?
This is a well rounded mystery with a dual timeline all from Anna's point of view.
This is my second book by Jenny Quintana, having read The Hiding Place and I have Our Dark Secret also to read. I like this type of mystery and I enjoy how this author writes her stories.
Thirty years ago, fifteen year old Gabriella Flores disappears without a trace one afternoon after school. She was supposed to meet Anna, her twelve year old sister at their father's shop. She never shows up.
Anna is living in Greece teaching English when her mother's friend Rita calls to let her know her mother has passed away. Anna returns home to bury her mum and tidy up the house and the old shop.
Once back home Anna finds the memories of Gabriella surface and wonders what really happened all those years ago. Did her sister really just disappear?
Why did her mother accept a house clearance from Edward Lily, who was a suspect in Gabriella's disappearance? Why is there a portrait of her sister in his belongings? What does Rita know of the past?
This is a well rounded mystery with a dual timeline all from Anna's point of view.
This is my second book by Jenny Quintana, having read The Hiding Place and I have Our Dark Secret also to read. I like this type of mystery and I enjoy how this author writes her stories.
February 9, 2018
My Rating ~ 4.5*
‘It’s been thirty years since Anna’s sister disappeared.
Anna’s never stopped missing her.’
The Missing Girl is the debut novel from Jenny Quintana, a novel described as ‘a powerful, gripping and evocative debut, perfect for readers of Joanna Cannon and Kate Hamer.’ Released in January 2018 by Mantle ( a Pan McMillan imprint)
I knew from the Prologue of The Missing Girl, that here was a book that was going to be quite a visual read. I quoted the opening lines on Twitter that day and I will share them with you here now
‘You disappeared in the autumn of 1982, when the leaves switched their wardrobe from green to burnished brown, and our mother made great pots of jam from the fruit we picked in our garden. I was twelve, with clumsy clothes and National Health glasses. You were fifteen, crazy haired and willowy.’
Anna Flores is now in her forties. After escaping the claustrophobic atmosphere of her family home many years previously, Anna returns home. But for Anna, this is not a joyful homecoming. Now living in Greece, she receives a phone call that changes everything for her. Her mother has passed away unexpectedly. Anna makes the journey home with a certain amount of fear and trepidation, knowing that long hidden memories will now find there way to the surface.
Anna had escaped her hometown, packing her traumatic memories away, as she tried to move on with her life. Anna’s earlier years were always overshadowed by the mysterious disappearance of her older sister Gabriella, followed by the tragic and sudden death of her father.
Anna was twelve when Gabriella disappeared. Gabriella was everything Anna wanted to be. She had an energy, an aura that only the youth can ever possess. Gabriella was popular among her peers and was always very understanding of other kids who may have been a little different. Anna admired Gabriella, but was also very jealous of the attention she garnered from both girls and boys. Gabriella loved music, loved her fashion and had a typical rebellious teenage streak. Their mother, Esther, was a firm church goer and like any mother of teenage girls, tempers between them were oft times frayed.
Their Dad was a accumulator of antiques and collectibles, all of which he sold from his store, House of Flores. The girls used to meet up there regularly after school to hang out but one day Gabriella never showed up as planned. This was the day life for the Flores family changed forever.
When I first read the back of The Missing Girl I was so unprepared for what to expect. Would it be a murder mystery? A suspenseful read? Would I be able to guess the outcome? Would we ever find out what really happened to Gabriella Flores?
Jenny Quintana has written a book that deals with so many issues. We bare witness to a family that literally falls apart as they are consumed by the memory of their missing daughter. Life cannot move on, life will never be the same. For Anna Flores, her childhood ceased to exist on that fateful day in 1982. Gabriella’s disappearance became the core of her existence. Her mother, Esther, became a mere shadow of her former self and her poor father never recovered from the trauma. The police brought in suspects. There were televised re-enactments of Gabriella’s last sighting. There were many false sightings and after many years Gabriella’s disappearance was old news. For Anna, her life became a series of half-truths. In meeting with strangers, she chose not to mention the existence of the sister she once had, thereby preventing the inevitable sympathy and awkwardness that would follow.
With the passing of her mother, Anna now finds herself caught up in the memory again and starts to delve a little deeper back over the old newspaper cuttings and letters left behind by her mother.
Although there is a mystery to the core of The Missing Girl, it is not all that the book entails. The Missing Girl, is an incredibly atmospheric debut with each character’s individual story beautifully portrayed. There is lost love, tragedy, grief, sadness and secrets….lots of secrets.
An impressive novel bursting with nostalgia and just the right amount of tension, The Missing Girl is a book I heartily recommend.
Filled with a sharp and vivid prose, Jenny Quintana has written a superb debut.
‘It’s been thirty years since Anna’s sister disappeared.
Anna’s never stopped missing her.’
The Missing Girl is the debut novel from Jenny Quintana, a novel described as ‘a powerful, gripping and evocative debut, perfect for readers of Joanna Cannon and Kate Hamer.’ Released in January 2018 by Mantle ( a Pan McMillan imprint)
I knew from the Prologue of The Missing Girl, that here was a book that was going to be quite a visual read. I quoted the opening lines on Twitter that day and I will share them with you here now
‘You disappeared in the autumn of 1982, when the leaves switched their wardrobe from green to burnished brown, and our mother made great pots of jam from the fruit we picked in our garden. I was twelve, with clumsy clothes and National Health glasses. You were fifteen, crazy haired and willowy.’
Anna Flores is now in her forties. After escaping the claustrophobic atmosphere of her family home many years previously, Anna returns home. But for Anna, this is not a joyful homecoming. Now living in Greece, she receives a phone call that changes everything for her. Her mother has passed away unexpectedly. Anna makes the journey home with a certain amount of fear and trepidation, knowing that long hidden memories will now find there way to the surface.
Anna had escaped her hometown, packing her traumatic memories away, as she tried to move on with her life. Anna’s earlier years were always overshadowed by the mysterious disappearance of her older sister Gabriella, followed by the tragic and sudden death of her father.
Anna was twelve when Gabriella disappeared. Gabriella was everything Anna wanted to be. She had an energy, an aura that only the youth can ever possess. Gabriella was popular among her peers and was always very understanding of other kids who may have been a little different. Anna admired Gabriella, but was also very jealous of the attention she garnered from both girls and boys. Gabriella loved music, loved her fashion and had a typical rebellious teenage streak. Their mother, Esther, was a firm church goer and like any mother of teenage girls, tempers between them were oft times frayed.
Their Dad was a accumulator of antiques and collectibles, all of which he sold from his store, House of Flores. The girls used to meet up there regularly after school to hang out but one day Gabriella never showed up as planned. This was the day life for the Flores family changed forever.
When I first read the back of The Missing Girl I was so unprepared for what to expect. Would it be a murder mystery? A suspenseful read? Would I be able to guess the outcome? Would we ever find out what really happened to Gabriella Flores?
Jenny Quintana has written a book that deals with so many issues. We bare witness to a family that literally falls apart as they are consumed by the memory of their missing daughter. Life cannot move on, life will never be the same. For Anna Flores, her childhood ceased to exist on that fateful day in 1982. Gabriella’s disappearance became the core of her existence. Her mother, Esther, became a mere shadow of her former self and her poor father never recovered from the trauma. The police brought in suspects. There were televised re-enactments of Gabriella’s last sighting. There were many false sightings and after many years Gabriella’s disappearance was old news. For Anna, her life became a series of half-truths. In meeting with strangers, she chose not to mention the existence of the sister she once had, thereby preventing the inevitable sympathy and awkwardness that would follow.
With the passing of her mother, Anna now finds herself caught up in the memory again and starts to delve a little deeper back over the old newspaper cuttings and letters left behind by her mother.
Although there is a mystery to the core of The Missing Girl, it is not all that the book entails. The Missing Girl, is an incredibly atmospheric debut with each character’s individual story beautifully portrayed. There is lost love, tragedy, grief, sadness and secrets….lots of secrets.
An impressive novel bursting with nostalgia and just the right amount of tension, The Missing Girl is a book I heartily recommend.
Filled with a sharp and vivid prose, Jenny Quintana has written a superb debut.
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