What do you think?
Rate this book
The Missing Child
Has she finally come home?
Fifteen years after the disappearance of ten-year-old Ellie Beckett devastated the town of East Plain, Tess Winters arrives as the new housekeeper for the Beckett family - a young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to their missing daughter.
Though Tess claims she's just looking for work, her presence in the grief-stricken household awakens long-buried secrets. As Ellie's mother's hostility intensifies and suspicions of a sinister plot emerge, Tess must unravel the truth behind the vanishing before she becomes the next to disappear.
Fifteen years after the disappearance of ten-year-old Ellie Beckett devastated the town of East Plain, Tess Winters arrives as the new housekeeper for the Beckett family - a young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to their missing daughter.
Though Tess claims she's just looking for work, her presence in the grief-stricken household awakens long-buried secrets. As Ellie's mother's hostility intensifies and suspicions of a sinister plot emerge, Tess must unravel the truth behind the vanishing before she becomes the next to disappear.
450 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 21, 2025
1464 people are currently reading
277 people want to read
About the author
A.J. Carter
30 books200 followersAJ Carter is a psychological thriller author from Bristol, England. His first book, The Family Secret, is praised by critics around the world, and he continues to regularly deliver suspenseful novels you can’t put down.
Sign up to his mailing list today and be the first to hear about upcoming releases and hot new deals for existing books. You’ll also receive a FREE digital copy of The Couple Downstairs – an unputdownable domestic thriller you won’t find anywhere else in the world: https://BookHip.com/WAXFLLP
Sign up to his mailing list today and be the first to hear about upcoming releases and hot new deals for existing books. You’ll also receive a FREE digital copy of The Couple Downstairs – an unputdownable domestic thriller you won’t find anywhere else in the world: https://BookHip.com/WAXFLLP
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
November 27, 2025
Just wanted to say didn’t care for this to dragged out story could have been shorter.
June 4, 2025
a lot of repetition. kinda boring til about 60%. took too long to get to the point/get interesting. the end of the plot was good, but it continues another chapter or two beyond where it should've ended and ruined it.
June 25, 2025
The missing child
I was not impressed with this book, sadly. There was a lot of procrastinating, from the author, going over the same things, already said, too many times, and it made the story last twice as long as it would have done without the unecessary reiterated parts. I could often skip a few paragraphs and still be able to follow the tale because it had got no further ahead from what was last being said. Too laboured over each bit, too much description in parts.
I, personally found the plot hard to believe, too, I mean, why would the protagonist put herself in danger, over and over again if she knew she would probably be in danger!
In reference to the title, I actually spent the whole book believing Tess was really Ellie and had hidden her true identity for years, and that it would be revealed in time, however the truth was more boring, sorry to say.
There was hardly any excitement, and heart-stopping moments, for me it wasn't a page turner to see what happened next, it was more a race to the end to see if it would get better, to see if anything exciting would materialise, and to skip the many boring bits.
Sorry to AJ Carter.
I was not impressed with this book, sadly. There was a lot of procrastinating, from the author, going over the same things, already said, too many times, and it made the story last twice as long as it would have done without the unecessary reiterated parts. I could often skip a few paragraphs and still be able to follow the tale because it had got no further ahead from what was last being said. Too laboured over each bit, too much description in parts.
I, personally found the plot hard to believe, too, I mean, why would the protagonist put herself in danger, over and over again if she knew she would probably be in danger!
In reference to the title, I actually spent the whole book believing Tess was really Ellie and had hidden her true identity for years, and that it would be revealed in time, however the truth was more boring, sorry to say.
There was hardly any excitement, and heart-stopping moments, for me it wasn't a page turner to see what happened next, it was more a race to the end to see if it would get better, to see if anything exciting would materialise, and to skip the many boring bits.
Sorry to AJ Carter.
July 18, 2025
If you want to know about how to clean a house or about sunlight through windows this is the book for you !!! A thriller that could have been written in a short story
May 26, 2025
We meet Tess who has taken a job with the Becketts……the couple whose daughter went missing 15 years ago….she needs a fresh start and it seems the ideal job, but is she who she says she is? And more to the point are The Becketts who they say they are? Respected GP and grieving Mum?
Tess soon finds out Margot is virulently against Tess being in her home and will stop at nothing to ‘get her out’
But, of course, all 3 have secrets, all 3 are not as they seem and all 3 are playing a dangerous game
A genuinely ‘wonder what is going on here!?’ read where we know things are not as they appear and you have to keep reading the story as it is building to the reveals and then….well then the reveals and the truth are out and so is the shock….
Once again the author has written a compelling enjoyable and exciting thriller
Tess soon finds out Margot is virulently against Tess being in her home and will stop at nothing to ‘get her out’
But, of course, all 3 have secrets, all 3 are not as they seem and all 3 are playing a dangerous game
A genuinely ‘wonder what is going on here!?’ read where we know things are not as they appear and you have to keep reading the story as it is building to the reveals and then….well then the reveals and the truth are out and so is the shock….
Once again the author has written a compelling enjoyable and exciting thriller
June 23, 2025
I don’t know why I continued reading until the end. So slow and boring
August 3, 2025
Another very entertaining book from this author.
June 16, 2025
I like this author, but this book was boring. Rather than addictive I struggled to finish it. It seemed like they just said the same thing a hundred different ways. I never did "feel" anything for the protagonist and the dead child's mother was not only inconsistent, but also unbelievable. I might have enjoyed it if it were about 100 pages shorter.
June 4, 2025
This is a very suspenseful and intense story with a shocking reveal. When a girl arrives for a job as a housekeeper her lady of the house takes an immediate dislike to her. The townspeople all look at her and begin whispering about her. She is a lookalike for the girl that went missing 15 years prior and never been found. Her mother keeps her old bedroom as a shrine and forbids the housekeeper to ever enter that room. What is the big secret about the missing child everyone in the town wants to know, as you will as the story evolves. It's quite an unexpected ending you won't see coming. I highly recommend the book.
September 10, 2025
I considered this book to be more of a mystery than a psychological thriller, as I tried to figure it out.
"Fifteen years after the disappearance of ten-year-old Ellie Beckett devastated the town of East Plain, Tess Winters arrives as the new housekeeper for the Beckett family - a young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to their missing daughter.
Though Tess claims she's just looking for work, her presence in the grief-stricken household awakens long-buried secrets. As Ellie's mother's hostility intensifies and suspicions of a sinister plot emerge, Tess must unravel the truth behind the vanishing before she becomes the next to disappear." synopsis copied
"Fifteen years after the disappearance of ten-year-old Ellie Beckett devastated the town of East Plain, Tess Winters arrives as the new housekeeper for the Beckett family - a young woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to their missing daughter.
Though Tess claims she's just looking for work, her presence in the grief-stricken household awakens long-buried secrets. As Ellie's mother's hostility intensifies and suspicions of a sinister plot emerge, Tess must unravel the truth behind the vanishing before she becomes the next to disappear." synopsis copied
October 24, 2025
I thought because it had 4.17 stars it would be good... wrong.
I think I read that she was an employee and just a house cleaner about 100 times. There were also inconsistencies throughout the book with time. The author had written "X event happened that day" and then the next sub chapter said "the next evening we had dinner" (so thats the next day right?) and then followed it with "after yesterday's event..." but surely that was now 2 days ago? There were a few more, but that was the most obvious.
The plot felt flat and didn't really go anywhere...
I think I read that she was an employee and just a house cleaner about 100 times. There were also inconsistencies throughout the book with time. The author had written "X event happened that day" and then the next sub chapter said "the next evening we had dinner" (so thats the next day right?) and then followed it with "after yesterday's event..." but surely that was now 2 days ago? There were a few more, but that was the most obvious.
The plot felt flat and didn't really go anywhere...
November 9, 2025
Tess Winters begins her employment as a housekeeper for Victor and his wife Margot. The only problem is that Tess is the exact image of their daughter Ellie who had vanished 15 years before, right down to the scar on her hand.
Things turn dangerous and violent in the household with Tess’s appearance causing a spiral of emotions for her employers.
I found the book to be an okay read. I kept expecting some twists to spring up, even until the end.
The reason for Ellie’s death was a bit lame and confusing. It was okay.
Things turn dangerous and violent in the household with Tess’s appearance causing a spiral of emotions for her employers.
I found the book to be an okay read. I kept expecting some twists to spring up, even until the end.
The reason for Ellie’s death was a bit lame and confusing. It was okay.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2025
Last book I read by this writer was kind of dissapointing, but this book I could not put down!
The whole time it left me guessing what was happening - I kind of knew that a certain person knew more than he let on.
Sometimes it was a bit slow, but that didnt stop me from reading.
Did I expect another twist in the end? 100 %, was the ending satisying? Also, yes!
The whole time it left me guessing what was happening - I kind of knew that a certain person knew more than he let on.
Sometimes it was a bit slow, but that didnt stop me from reading.
Did I expect another twist in the end? 100 %, was the ending satisying? Also, yes!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2025
Enjoyable Read
I enjoyed this story.
It was a quick read that kept a good pace and was interesting throughput.
I enjoy the way this author develops characters enough for the reader to feel connected, but not overwhelmed...it's a fine balance and this writer know how to do it.
I enjoyed this story.
It was a quick read that kept a good pace and was interesting throughput.
I enjoy the way this author develops characters enough for the reader to feel connected, but not overwhelmed...it's a fine balance and this writer know how to do it.
July 17, 2025
One question?
I don’t understand Collins why he was there to begin with why he was basically corrupt. I guess I could’ve missed the explanation somewhere but if I did, I’m sorry. Otherwise he’s the one thing that didn’t make any sense. And otherwise great story that kept me reading page by page to figure out what why who and when.
I don’t understand Collins why he was there to begin with why he was basically corrupt. I guess I could’ve missed the explanation somewhere but if I did, I’m sorry. Otherwise he’s the one thing that didn’t make any sense. And otherwise great story that kept me reading page by page to figure out what why who and when.
August 16, 2025
Twists and turns in this book you will be on the edge of your seat every time you turn a page.
As the caption says an utterly addictive psychological thriller for the shocking twist. You will not believe what went on 15 years ago and continues to go on up to this reading. Tess is very smart and came to her decisions on her own. Blood sisters forever. Even after death.
As the caption says an utterly addictive psychological thriller for the shocking twist. You will not believe what went on 15 years ago and continues to go on up to this reading. Tess is very smart and came to her decisions on her own. Blood sisters forever. Even after death.
November 10, 2025
too long and drawn out.
This book dragged on for ages, I kept wanting it to just wrap up and end. Some parts were very redundant and the book could have been half as long and still made its point, with its blah ending. I’ve read AJ Carter before and this is the first book of his that I didn’t enjoy.
This book dragged on for ages, I kept wanting it to just wrap up and end. Some parts were very redundant and the book could have been half as long and still made its point, with its blah ending. I’ve read AJ Carter before and this is the first book of his that I didn’t enjoy.
May 25, 2025
This is an excellent psychological thriller. It grabbed me and drew me in right away….couldn’t put it down! The suspense was gripping. The twists and turns were like riding a roller coaster. And the twist at the end….chef’s kiss
May 27, 2025
Another awesome book by AJ Carter!
Tess starts an in home housekeeping job and her new employers are keeping secrets. As the story unfolds, everyone's true colors and secrets come out.
Such a great thriller!
Tess starts an in home housekeeping job and her new employers are keeping secrets. As the story unfolds, everyone's true colors and secrets come out.
Such a great thriller!
August 18, 2025
The Missing Child
I absolutely enjoyed this book. It had some unexpected twists. Really enjoying this author. I definitely recommend it.
Two more words required. Nope!
I absolutely enjoyed this book. It had some unexpected twists. Really enjoying this author. I definitely recommend it.
Two more words required. Nope!
June 22, 2025
Good stor
A very good book. This one kept me guessing and second guessing myself. I read this one pretty fast couldn’t put it down.
A very good book. This one kept me guessing and second guessing myself. I read this one pretty fast couldn’t put it down.
June 27, 2025
Excellent read. You think you know, but you don’t!
June 29, 2025
Chilling Phycological Thriller, strong characters
(Margot is evil) Tess knows secrets & has a story to tell, if she lives long enough! Good book
(Margot is evil) Tess knows secrets & has a story to tell, if she lives long enough! Good book
July 4, 2025
bad
I read the same exact chapter 19+ times. This was one of the worst books I’ve read in years. I don’t like writing reviews at all but this one felt necessary.
I read the same exact chapter 19+ times. This was one of the worst books I’ve read in years. I don’t like writing reviews at all but this one felt necessary.
July 6, 2025
Had good potential but very underwhelming :(
July 9, 2025
not for me
Just drawn out. Completely surprised but unhappy with the ending.
Sorry. It just was not an interesting story for me. Rather silly.
Just drawn out. Completely surprised but unhappy with the ending.
Sorry. It just was not an interesting story for me. Rather silly.
July 11, 2025
a slow read
I did read it all but kept wondering when the action would begin. After it did, the novel dribbled on for chapters.
I did read it all but kept wondering when the action would begin. After it did, the novel dribbled on for chapters.
July 17, 2025
No no no,not for me,bland,slow,ripetitive and also not a storyline that is credibile.This is my second book by this Author I will maybe tra one more just to see if he is able to draw me in.
July 20, 2025
Eh. This one was a good read. But felt really repetitive and slow. It took till about 50-60% to really get going. Plot was good. Twist was good. But felt like a slow burn to me.
August 7, 2025
The missing child
Excellent, well written. Shame Tommy and
Tess had to go their separate ways. Couldn't put it down. Very well done.
Excellent, well written. Shame Tommy and
Tess had to go their separate ways. Couldn't put it down. Very well done.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews