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Missing Daughter
Families with nothing to hide don’t have so many secrets
Life can change in an instant. For Ryan and Karen Lane, it happens on the morning they discover their twelve-year-old daughter’s window open, their beloved Maddie missing from her bed.
Police investigate. Suspicions swirl. A teenage boy admits he was outside her bedroom window the night she disappeared. A halfway house for convicts recently opened in the neighborhood. The Lane family is thrown into turmoil, then detectives turn their sights on them.
No one is ruled out. Not Karen, with her tragic past, who argued with her daughter. Not Ryan, with his violent streak. Not Maddie’s thirteen-year-old brother, Tyler, who heard voices in her room the night she vanished.
Days, weeks, months, then agonizing years go by without answers, the Lanes fearing that Maddie is gone forever…until a stunning twist shocks everyone, plunging the family deeper into a world of buried secrets whose revelations threaten the very foundation of their lives.
Life can change in an instant. For Ryan and Karen Lane, it happens on the morning they discover their twelve-year-old daughter’s window open, their beloved Maddie missing from her bed.
Police investigate. Suspicions swirl. A teenage boy admits he was outside her bedroom window the night she disappeared. A halfway house for convicts recently opened in the neighborhood. The Lane family is thrown into turmoil, then detectives turn their sights on them.
No one is ruled out. Not Karen, with her tragic past, who argued with her daughter. Not Ryan, with his violent streak. Not Maddie’s thirteen-year-old brother, Tyler, who heard voices in her room the night she vanished.
Days, weeks, months, then agonizing years go by without answers, the Lanes fearing that Maddie is gone forever…until a stunning twist shocks everyone, plunging the family deeper into a world of buried secrets whose revelations threaten the very foundation of their lives.
512 pages, ebook
First published February 19, 2019
815 people are currently reading
4491 people want to read
About the author
Rick Mofina
66 books1,325 followersRick Mofina is a former journalist who has interviewed murderers on death row in Montana and Texas, flown over L.A. with the LAPD and patrolled with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police near the Arctic. He's also reported from the Caribbean, Africa and Kuwait's border with Iraq. His true-crime freelance work has appeared in The New York Times, The Telegraph (London, U.K.), Reader’s Digest, Penthouse, Marie Claire and The South China Morning Post, (Hong Kong). He has written more than 20 crime fiction thrillers that have been published in nearly 30 countries.
His work has been praised by James Patterson, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen, Jeffery Deaver, Louise Penny, Sandra Brown, James Rollins, Lisa Unger, Brad Thor, Nick Stone, David Morrell, Allison Brennan, Heather Graham, Linwood Barclay, Peter Robinson, Håkan Nesser and Kay Hooper.
The Crime Writers of Canada, The International Thriller Writers and The Private Eye Writers of America have listed his titles among the best in crime fiction. As a two-time winner of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award, a four-time Thriller Award finalist and a two-time Shamus Award finalist, the Library Journal calls him, “One of the best thriller writers in the business.”
Series:
* Tom Reed and Walt Sydowski
* Jason Wade
* Jack Gannon
Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Novel (2003): Blood of Others
His work has been praised by James Patterson, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen, Jeffery Deaver, Louise Penny, Sandra Brown, James Rollins, Lisa Unger, Brad Thor, Nick Stone, David Morrell, Allison Brennan, Heather Graham, Linwood Barclay, Peter Robinson, Håkan Nesser and Kay Hooper.
The Crime Writers of Canada, The International Thriller Writers and The Private Eye Writers of America have listed his titles among the best in crime fiction. As a two-time winner of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award, a four-time Thriller Award finalist and a two-time Shamus Award finalist, the Library Journal calls him, “One of the best thriller writers in the business.”
Series:
* Tom Reed and Walt Sydowski
* Jason Wade
* Jack Gannon
Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Novel (2003): Blood of Others
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 484 reviews
June 9, 2022
Missing Daughter by Rick Mofina, Mark Owen (Narrator)
A mother, a father, a twelve year old daughter and a thirteen year old son. This is the Lane family, Karen and Ryan, with kids, Maddie and Tyler. There are problems in the family, Ryan's business is going under and he's devastated he can't keep the business his father started from failing. Karen and Maddie have been going at it because Maddie is furious that her mother won't let her date boys. And then one night, Maddie disappears from her bedroom and she doesn't come home.
The story is told in a very matter of fact, non sensational way and might be too slow for some readers. I enjoy this kind of story, watching investigators do their work. trying to ferret out what has happened and who did it. But it is disturbing how they can try to destroy person after person, in the interrogation room, hounding them to confess to kidnapping, maybe murder, when the investigators have no idea who did what.
It's all a big mystery and the answers are not forthcoming. Years pass and then something huge happens. But, questions remain unanswered and there is an air of something not right over the entire situation. The last part of the story is where things get very interesting and I finally felt for the family and the investigators and this story really pays off! You may think there is not much here but then it all comes slamming down with horrifying revelations.
Published February 19th 2019 by Dreamscape Media
A mother, a father, a twelve year old daughter and a thirteen year old son. This is the Lane family, Karen and Ryan, with kids, Maddie and Tyler. There are problems in the family, Ryan's business is going under and he's devastated he can't keep the business his father started from failing. Karen and Maddie have been going at it because Maddie is furious that her mother won't let her date boys. And then one night, Maddie disappears from her bedroom and she doesn't come home.
The story is told in a very matter of fact, non sensational way and might be too slow for some readers. I enjoy this kind of story, watching investigators do their work. trying to ferret out what has happened and who did it. But it is disturbing how they can try to destroy person after person, in the interrogation room, hounding them to confess to kidnapping, maybe murder, when the investigators have no idea who did what.
It's all a big mystery and the answers are not forthcoming. Years pass and then something huge happens. But, questions remain unanswered and there is an air of something not right over the entire situation. The last part of the story is where things get very interesting and I finally felt for the family and the investigators and this story really pays off! You may think there is not much here but then it all comes slamming down with horrifying revelations.
Published February 19th 2019 by Dreamscape Media
May 25, 2020
Missing Daughter by Rick Mofina is a 2019 MIRA publication.
I’m trying to get back to some of my pre-pandemic reading goals, one of which was to sample work from authors I have never read before. Rick Mofina is a name I’ve seen circulating amongst my Goodreads friends in the mystery/thriller category for a long while. I have a handful of his books on my Kindle, but I never have gotten around to reading any of them.
I was drawn to the title of this one because, although missing person’s cases are hardly original, there is something so utterly unsettling about someone simply vanishing into thin air, it sucks me in every time.
This book was no exception. When twelve-year-old Maddie disappears during the night, swift suspicion falls on her family:
Her mother, Karen has a tragic past, and a newly contentious relationship with her daughter. Ryan, her father, who is occasionally hot-headed and is under a lot of strain, and her older brother, Tyler, who claims to have heard voices in her room the night she disappeared.
The investigation, like most missing persons cases, is hot in the beginning, but it eventually goes cold. Years pass. Then a staggering turn of events stuns everyone…
Suddenly, shocking secrets float to the surface. Will these revelations finally lead to the truth about Maddie’s disappearance?
This turned out to be a fantastic novel of suspense, complimented by terrific characterizations, and even, well-timed pacing. It held my attention from start to finish, not only with the guessing game, but with the realistic depictions of police interrogations and the emotional strain of a family stuck in a never- ending nightmare. It’s an emotional and absorbing novel, with some huge surprises I ever could have seen coming.
Overall, I am pleased with my first impression of this author and am glad I finally got around to reading one of his books. It goes without saying, I will be reading more of them in the future.
4 stars
I’m trying to get back to some of my pre-pandemic reading goals, one of which was to sample work from authors I have never read before. Rick Mofina is a name I’ve seen circulating amongst my Goodreads friends in the mystery/thriller category for a long while. I have a handful of his books on my Kindle, but I never have gotten around to reading any of them.
I was drawn to the title of this one because, although missing person’s cases are hardly original, there is something so utterly unsettling about someone simply vanishing into thin air, it sucks me in every time.
This book was no exception. When twelve-year-old Maddie disappears during the night, swift suspicion falls on her family:
Her mother, Karen has a tragic past, and a newly contentious relationship with her daughter. Ryan, her father, who is occasionally hot-headed and is under a lot of strain, and her older brother, Tyler, who claims to have heard voices in her room the night she disappeared.
The investigation, like most missing persons cases, is hot in the beginning, but it eventually goes cold. Years pass. Then a staggering turn of events stuns everyone…
Suddenly, shocking secrets float to the surface. Will these revelations finally lead to the truth about Maddie’s disappearance?
This turned out to be a fantastic novel of suspense, complimented by terrific characterizations, and even, well-timed pacing. It held my attention from start to finish, not only with the guessing game, but with the realistic depictions of police interrogations and the emotional strain of a family stuck in a never- ending nightmare. It’s an emotional and absorbing novel, with some huge surprises I ever could have seen coming.
Overall, I am pleased with my first impression of this author and am glad I finally got around to reading one of his books. It goes without saying, I will be reading more of them in the future.
4 stars
December 12, 2025
WOW,WOW,WOW!
What a story, Rick Mofina has crafted—amazing. Mofina draws on his background as a crime reporter to bring us the story of the Lanes..a struggling middle-class family led by parents Ryan and Karen to 13 year-old son Tyler and 12 year-old daughter Maddison.
On the precipice of Ryan’s collapsing business, not only are the money issues causing tension, but mother Karen and her daughter, “Maddie”, are warring over whether or not Maddie can start dating. Maddie is unrelenting in bringing the pressure and it’s almost too much for Karen.
Suddenly, Maddie is missing and the police have the Lanes in their sights. Each page brings more pressure and the short chapters reinforce the feeling of despair.
This is definitely a book you want to read if you like chills, thrills, and unbelievable twists!!
What a story, Rick Mofina has crafted—amazing. Mofina draws on his background as a crime reporter to bring us the story of the Lanes..a struggling middle-class family led by parents Ryan and Karen to 13 year-old son Tyler and 12 year-old daughter Maddison.
On the precipice of Ryan’s collapsing business, not only are the money issues causing tension, but mother Karen and her daughter, “Maddie”, are warring over whether or not Maddie can start dating. Maddie is unrelenting in bringing the pressure and it’s almost too much for Karen.
Suddenly, Maddie is missing and the police have the Lanes in their sights. Each page brings more pressure and the short chapters reinforce the feeling of despair.
This is definitely a book you want to read if you like chills, thrills, and unbelievable twists!!
May 22, 2024
Twelve-year-old Maddie and her brother Ryan are home with a sitter one night. Their parents come home. The kids seem to be fine, asleep. When they wake up in the morning, Maddie is gone.
This crime drama/mystery was gripping and well-paced. There are so many possibilities for what could have happened. Did something untoward happen while the babysitter was over? A boy Maddie could have secretly been seeing? The halfway house just behind the woods from their property? Could one of her parents have done this? And just like in any child abduction, the narrative gives more possibilities than answers as we’re taken through the police investigation.
This story is told in two parts—the first in the days immediately following Maddie’s disappearance, and part two taking place four years later. Some reviewers found the first section slow, but I thought the mystery unfolded at a good pace. When we get to part two and the story begins to reveal itself, it’s a race to the end.
This crime drama/mystery was gripping and well-paced. There are so many possibilities for what could have happened. Did something untoward happen while the babysitter was over? A boy Maddie could have secretly been seeing? The halfway house just behind the woods from their property? Could one of her parents have done this? And just like in any child abduction, the narrative gives more possibilities than answers as we’re taken through the police investigation.
This story is told in two parts—the first in the days immediately following Maddie’s disappearance, and part two taking place four years later. Some reviewers found the first section slow, but I thought the mystery unfolded at a good pace. When we get to part two and the story begins to reveal itself, it’s a race to the end.
August 30, 2025
My least favorite mofina book. It all just felt like a prolonged dialogue with all the interviews and descriptions of actions. Skipped some parts here and there
July 7, 2023
“As a former crime reporter, I have a basic understanding of police investigations.”
Rick Mofina’s own words in a closing afterword to MISSING DAUGHTER demonstrate that he is a master of humble understatement.
As plot lines go, the middle of the night disappearance of Ryan and Karen Lane’s twelve-year-old daughter through an open second story window and down a ladder isn’t particular gripping or unique per se. Everyone is a suspect and the police seem to be unable to eliminate anyone from their list of persons of interest. What sets MISSING DAUGHTER head and shoulders above many comparable thrillers is that it is perhaps the purest police procedural novel that I have ever read. Days, weeks, months and even years go by without a solution to the mystery. But Mofina shows his reader how an open case that has gone stone cold is still relentlessly pursued by a motivated and dedicated police force.
And even though I would contend that the beauty of MISSING DAUGHTER rests in the minutiae of the investigation and the police work, Mofina has still pulled a rock solid ending "suspense thriller" twist out of the bag that will definitely leave his readers fully satisfied and waiting with bated breath for his next novel.
Paul Weiss
Rick Mofina’s own words in a closing afterword to MISSING DAUGHTER demonstrate that he is a master of humble understatement.
As plot lines go, the middle of the night disappearance of Ryan and Karen Lane’s twelve-year-old daughter through an open second story window and down a ladder isn’t particular gripping or unique per se. Everyone is a suspect and the police seem to be unable to eliminate anyone from their list of persons of interest. What sets MISSING DAUGHTER head and shoulders above many comparable thrillers is that it is perhaps the purest police procedural novel that I have ever read. Days, weeks, months and even years go by without a solution to the mystery. But Mofina shows his reader how an open case that has gone stone cold is still relentlessly pursued by a motivated and dedicated police force.
And even though I would contend that the beauty of MISSING DAUGHTER rests in the minutiae of the investigation and the police work, Mofina has still pulled a rock solid ending "suspense thriller" twist out of the bag that will definitely leave his readers fully satisfied and waiting with bated breath for his next novel.
Paul Weiss
July 30, 2019
3.5 Unfortunately i don't think i enjoyed this 1 as much as a lot of my GR friends... Don't get me wrong, the story itself was great! The "mystery" was interesting, & not at all predictable. My problem was that from about 40% to about 85%, i was kinda bored. I felt like we were just stuck in a rut, waiting... (& I'm not talking about pertinent background info either, I'm talking white noise!) Until it switched over to part 2 (at about 60%!) I was so excited because i didn't know the "switch" was coming.. But then it STILL didn't pick up for a long time (in my opinion.) Thankfully I listened to this on audio so i just sped it up a little to get through the down time! Now that its over i do appreciate that what actually happened was interesting! I mean in the future when someone mentions the book I'll remember what actually happened.. which was good! But (imho) you have to wade through alot to get there..
February 22, 2019
Synopsis
It starts off just like any other night. Karen and Ryan come home after date night, pay the babysitter, check on their children, then go to bed. The following morning, twelve-year-old Maddie is missing. This novel details the investigation that follows this horrific discovery. Everyone has their secrets, from Karen and Ryan to Maddie’s friends. But will the police be able to sift through all the lies and deception and find out whatever really happened to Maddie Lane?
Plot
Missing Daughter has a lot of police procedural content, yet it still manages to be fast paced. Some aspects of the investigation might not be for everyone, but I recommend this book to those who are fascinated by following how a police investigation like this unfolds.
Missing Daughter occasionally came across as repetitive. We follow one character making a phone call and informing someone of something, and then we follow that someone making a subsequent phone call informing someone else of said thing. However, this rang true of what would really happen in a case like this, and this realism make the book so much more engrossing. Mofina wasn't cutting out information that might not be of interest to the reader, and as a result, any innocuous little detail felt like it could be a clue.
Sometimes this repetition was very effective. For example, towards the beginning of the book, the father, wife, and son are all put through polygraph testing. It was repetitive in the sense that Mofina describes each one of them being set up with electrodes and answering the baseline questions. But this effectively jacked up the tension in the scene. Despite any repetition in the story, the plot was still incredibly fast paced, so it did not slow down the story telling at all.
After reading this book, I now feel intimately familiar with the inner workings of a missing child investigation. While Mofina says that he has taken some creative liberties to the actual process taken, his experience has a court reporter is quite clear in how genuinely he portrays the investigation.
There is quite a bit of detail in the plot, which made the read much more intriguing. There were so many little seemingly inconsequential elements that could lead to nothing or could crack the whole case wide open. I love having so many clues to sift through, because uncovering the twists before they happen becomes far more difficult.
Characters
There are a lot of characters introduced in this book in a short period of time, and it isn’t immediately evident who is important and who isn’t. Mofina names many family friends and family members in the first few chapters of the book, which slowed down the reading slightly, as I wasn’t sure which characters would become important as the story progressed. However, this in itself is true to real life. Most people have more than two or three friends to call on in a crisis.
The story follows the all the characters in third person POV that doesn’t quite allow us to get into the heads of the readers. This is a good thing, because I probably would have been sobbing the entire time if I was truly feeling what the parents were feeling when their daughter goes missing. That said, towards the end the raw emotion started to break through—particularly when the parents are watching Maddie’s home videos.
Mofina uses flashbacks to flesh out a few of the main characters, and it’s well done, as these flashbacks sometimes came into light with the current storyline that was playing out.
Overall, I recommend this book to anyone looking for a mystery with lots of twists and turns, a fast plot, and a focus on the investigation of the crime itself rather than delving deeply into characterization.
*Thank you to MIRA and the author for the book for review!*
This review appeared first on https://powerlibrarian.wordpress.com/
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My 2019 Reading Challenge
It starts off just like any other night. Karen and Ryan come home after date night, pay the babysitter, check on their children, then go to bed. The following morning, twelve-year-old Maddie is missing. This novel details the investigation that follows this horrific discovery. Everyone has their secrets, from Karen and Ryan to Maddie’s friends. But will the police be able to sift through all the lies and deception and find out whatever really happened to Maddie Lane?
Plot
Missing Daughter has a lot of police procedural content, yet it still manages to be fast paced. Some aspects of the investigation might not be for everyone, but I recommend this book to those who are fascinated by following how a police investigation like this unfolds.
Missing Daughter occasionally came across as repetitive. We follow one character making a phone call and informing someone of something, and then we follow that someone making a subsequent phone call informing someone else of said thing. However, this rang true of what would really happen in a case like this, and this realism make the book so much more engrossing. Mofina wasn't cutting out information that might not be of interest to the reader, and as a result, any innocuous little detail felt like it could be a clue.
Sometimes this repetition was very effective. For example, towards the beginning of the book, the father, wife, and son are all put through polygraph testing. It was repetitive in the sense that Mofina describes each one of them being set up with electrodes and answering the baseline questions. But this effectively jacked up the tension in the scene. Despite any repetition in the story, the plot was still incredibly fast paced, so it did not slow down the story telling at all.
After reading this book, I now feel intimately familiar with the inner workings of a missing child investigation. While Mofina says that he has taken some creative liberties to the actual process taken, his experience has a court reporter is quite clear in how genuinely he portrays the investigation.
There is quite a bit of detail in the plot, which made the read much more intriguing. There were so many little seemingly inconsequential elements that could lead to nothing or could crack the whole case wide open. I love having so many clues to sift through, because uncovering the twists before they happen becomes far more difficult.
Characters
There are a lot of characters introduced in this book in a short period of time, and it isn’t immediately evident who is important and who isn’t. Mofina names many family friends and family members in the first few chapters of the book, which slowed down the reading slightly, as I wasn’t sure which characters would become important as the story progressed. However, this in itself is true to real life. Most people have more than two or three friends to call on in a crisis.
The story follows the all the characters in third person POV that doesn’t quite allow us to get into the heads of the readers. This is a good thing, because I probably would have been sobbing the entire time if I was truly feeling what the parents were feeling when their daughter goes missing. That said, towards the end the raw emotion started to break through—particularly when the parents are watching Maddie’s home videos.
Mofina uses flashbacks to flesh out a few of the main characters, and it’s well done, as these flashbacks sometimes came into light with the current storyline that was playing out.
Overall, I recommend this book to anyone looking for a mystery with lots of twists and turns, a fast plot, and a focus on the investigation of the crime itself rather than delving deeply into characterization.
*Thank you to MIRA and the author for the book for review!*
This review appeared first on https://powerlibrarian.wordpress.com/
Instagram | Blog | Website | Twitter
My 2019 Reading Challenge
April 5, 2019
Karen and Ryan Lane came back to their home in Syracuse, NY after a movie date night. The babysitter, Crystal said all went well with the kids—just a night full of pizza, soda and Jurassic Park. Karen checks on both kids—Tyler, 13, and Maddie, 12—and they’re both fast asleep in their rooms. But the next morning, when they go to wake Maddie for breakfast, she’s nowhere to be found.
Karen and Ryan quickly call the police, desperate to find their little girl. The police, along with the residents of Syracuse, work together to try and track down the Lane’s missing daughter. Due evidence in Maddie’s room and outside her window, police believe someone kidnapped Maddie, but they know never to leave a stone unturned.
The Lanes appear to be a family in a state of shock, but as police conduct interviews and polygraphs, they reveal cracks in this seemingly happy family. Most kidnap victims get killed within 4-hours and any ransom demands are usually sought after within the first 24-hours. So when the first day passes and there’s no news on Maddie, the police are scrambling to solver her case. Who could’ve snatched Maddie from her bed? Is it a stranger or has the kidnapper been under their noses all along?
Missing Daughter by Rick Mofina is an intriguing crime mystery. I didn’t know what to expect going into this book, as I’ve never read anything by Rick Mofina. The story is told through a plethora of perspectives: each member of the Lane family, several detectives, friends of the family, a criminal, and even Maddie herself. We weren’t given any type of forewarning that the perspectives were changing from one person to the next, but I didn’t have a hard time following the story. Usually I dislike a lot of perspectives, but for the most part, it worked here. The story is a fast-read, despite being over 500-pages. It’s divided into two parts: the first 60% is during the search for Maddie and the last 40% is 4-years after her disappearance. I wasn’t expecting there to be such a large time jump, as part one ended abruptly, but I enjoyed part two a lot. That’s where the story truly picks up and all the secrets start unfolding. I would recommend this to fans of the crime drama/mystery genre—3.75/5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, MIRA and Rick Mofina for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Karen and Ryan quickly call the police, desperate to find their little girl. The police, along with the residents of Syracuse, work together to try and track down the Lane’s missing daughter. Due evidence in Maddie’s room and outside her window, police believe someone kidnapped Maddie, but they know never to leave a stone unturned.
The Lanes appear to be a family in a state of shock, but as police conduct interviews and polygraphs, they reveal cracks in this seemingly happy family. Most kidnap victims get killed within 4-hours and any ransom demands are usually sought after within the first 24-hours. So when the first day passes and there’s no news on Maddie, the police are scrambling to solver her case. Who could’ve snatched Maddie from her bed? Is it a stranger or has the kidnapper been under their noses all along?
Missing Daughter by Rick Mofina is an intriguing crime mystery. I didn’t know what to expect going into this book, as I’ve never read anything by Rick Mofina. The story is told through a plethora of perspectives: each member of the Lane family, several detectives, friends of the family, a criminal, and even Maddie herself. We weren’t given any type of forewarning that the perspectives were changing from one person to the next, but I didn’t have a hard time following the story. Usually I dislike a lot of perspectives, but for the most part, it worked here. The story is a fast-read, despite being over 500-pages. It’s divided into two parts: the first 60% is during the search for Maddie and the last 40% is 4-years after her disappearance. I wasn’t expecting there to be such a large time jump, as part one ended abruptly, but I enjoyed part two a lot. That’s where the story truly picks up and all the secrets start unfolding. I would recommend this to fans of the crime drama/mystery genre—3.75/5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, MIRA and Rick Mofina for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
March 21, 2019
I hate giving bad reviews to books with under 100 reviews. But the other reviews are all so positive, and I don't know what book they were reading because the book I read was just... not good. There were SO many characters that I kept having to go back and figure out who was talking and when. The writing itself was cohesive, but nothing above average (and I did spot quite a few grammatical errors, though that isn't the author's fault so much as the editor's). The plot was kind of ridiculous, honestly. And it felt like every chapter was trying so hard to have a cliffhanger, but I just didn't care enough for any of them to be effective.
I kept reading only because I like to finish things I commit to unless it's really unbearable. There was also zero character development and the only characters who had distinct personalities were the mom and some other guy I forgot the name of already. I felt like somehow it was both slow-moving and yet had so much going on that it was hard to keep track of the different storylines.
It's definitely not the worst book I ever read. I understood what was going on, I kept reading until the end, and I did genuinely want to know what happened. But like, the blandness of the title speaks for itself. At best, it was unremarkable. But the best word to describe this book? Disappointing.
P.S. if the author sees this, I'm so sorry and it's not personal and I hate hate hate giving bad reviews so I hope you take this in a constructive way and work on some of the things I mentioned for your next book. I'm sure you're a wonderful person and this is making me very sad. I'm sorry.
I kept reading only because I like to finish things I commit to unless it's really unbearable. There was also zero character development and the only characters who had distinct personalities were the mom and some other guy I forgot the name of already. I felt like somehow it was both slow-moving and yet had so much going on that it was hard to keep track of the different storylines.
It's definitely not the worst book I ever read. I understood what was going on, I kept reading until the end, and I did genuinely want to know what happened. But like, the blandness of the title speaks for itself. At best, it was unremarkable. But the best word to describe this book? Disappointing.
P.S. if the author sees this, I'm so sorry and it's not personal and I hate hate hate giving bad reviews so I hope you take this in a constructive way and work on some of the things I mentioned for your next book. I'm sure you're a wonderful person and this is making me very sad. I'm sorry.
dnf
May 5, 2022DNF @ 20%
The first chapter was intriguing and exciting, but from then on the writing alternated between succinct sentences (which had me struggling to connect with characters) and long-winded explanations of investigation techniques.
I increased the audiobook speed, but even that didn’t help.
I’ve heard the second half is better, but with so many books on my tbr, I can’t wait that long.
The first chapter was intriguing and exciting, but from then on the writing alternated between succinct sentences (which had me struggling to connect with characters) and long-winded explanations of investigation techniques.
I increased the audiobook speed, but even that didn’t help.
I’ve heard the second half is better, but with so many books on my tbr, I can’t wait that long.
July 11, 2019
*thank you to Netgalley, MIRA and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
5 stars.
Wow. Ohh. Wow!!!
Seriously LOVED THIS!!! If you chose to read only one Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense type book this year then this HAS to be the one!
Ok. I gotta admit. When I saw that this book was 512 pages, it made me have second thoughts as I don't like large ebooks (but I do LOVE paperbacks of the extremely thick type) but I thought I'd give it a go because it sounds good and I thought that I might enjoy it so much the size wouldn't bother me. Ohh wow am I glad I thought that because I flew through this!!
I lost count of the amount of turns this book dished out. What happened to Maddie? The whole time I only had a couple ideas but, yeah, I was so off. This book literally sent me into a cyclone of emotions. I actually cried at one stage and that almost NEVER happens for me with books. Yeah I can get sad feelings and happy feelings on the edge of actual tears but not many get the kind that roll down my face and grabbing for the tissues.
What happened to Maddie? What actually happened! The book gives you many suitable reasons to suspect a range of characters. But never a firm answer until the end. And omg what an end! Talk about speed reading because people we were FINALLY told the truth. The real truth. And wow. It did not disappoint at all. I started to worry the ending would be a disappointment and I was getting a little nervous for it. That it would be a let down after the rest of the book being a clear 5 stars. BUT then we as the reader are thrown yet again into another twist and that ending I was getting nervous for, stood up to be worthy of all those 5 gold stars!
This is not a book that I will ever forget. It's one that will stay with me until I'm 100 and I'll be all, "what's that book called that was about a girl named Maddie" (of course I won't forget the name of it but, hey, im 100 years old, I forget things for a moment).
I seriously strongly recommend this to everyone who loves a good Mystery Thriller story. You wont regret it.
5 stars.
Wow. Ohh. Wow!!!
Seriously LOVED THIS!!! If you chose to read only one Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense type book this year then this HAS to be the one!
Ok. I gotta admit. When I saw that this book was 512 pages, it made me have second thoughts as I don't like large ebooks (but I do LOVE paperbacks of the extremely thick type) but I thought I'd give it a go because it sounds good and I thought that I might enjoy it so much the size wouldn't bother me. Ohh wow am I glad I thought that because I flew through this!!
I lost count of the amount of turns this book dished out. What happened to Maddie? The whole time I only had a couple ideas but, yeah, I was so off. This book literally sent me into a cyclone of emotions. I actually cried at one stage and that almost NEVER happens for me with books. Yeah I can get sad feelings and happy feelings on the edge of actual tears but not many get the kind that roll down my face and grabbing for the tissues.
What happened to Maddie? What actually happened! The book gives you many suitable reasons to suspect a range of characters. But never a firm answer until the end. And omg what an end! Talk about speed reading because people we were FINALLY told the truth. The real truth. And wow. It did not disappoint at all. I started to worry the ending would be a disappointment and I was getting a little nervous for it. That it would be a let down after the rest of the book being a clear 5 stars. BUT then we as the reader are thrown yet again into another twist and that ending I was getting nervous for, stood up to be worthy of all those 5 gold stars!
This is not a book that I will ever forget. It's one that will stay with me until I'm 100 and I'll be all, "what's that book called that was about a girl named Maddie" (of course I won't forget the name of it but, hey, im 100 years old, I forget things for a moment).
I seriously strongly recommend this to everyone who loves a good Mystery Thriller story. You wont regret it.
February 10, 2019
Received this in the mail over the weekend. Could not put it down. Fast paced with lots of twists. Loved it!
January 9, 2020
This book has such high rating that I wanted to give it a try.
What I learned from that? Don't trust reviews! I have no idea how people are rating this 4-5 stars.
It commits the great crime of being boring. From beginning to end, it just plods along with no real escalation and tension. The characters lacked any depth. They expressed having emotions (grief, regret, sadness), but there was a complete absence of those feelings on the page and the characters all felt disingenuous. The author tried to paint everybody as a suspect, but it felt forced and the writing as a whole was trite.
What I learned from that? Don't trust reviews! I have no idea how people are rating this 4-5 stars.
It commits the great crime of being boring. From beginning to end, it just plods along with no real escalation and tension. The characters lacked any depth. They expressed having emotions (grief, regret, sadness), but there was a complete absence of those feelings on the page and the characters all felt disingenuous. The author tried to paint everybody as a suspect, but it felt forced and the writing as a whole was trite.
August 27, 2025
Suspenseful • Emotional • Family Drama
Missing Daughter is a fast-paced, emotionally charged thriller that kept me hooked from the first chapter. The story follows a family’s worst nightmare when their teenage daughter vanishes. In the frantic search for answers, dark secrets and shocking twists come to light.
Mofina builds tension with skill. The alternating perspectives between family members, investigators, and those connected to the case show how quickly lives can spiral when tragedy strikes. I appreciated the realistic look at how grief, suspicion, and desperation affect each character in different ways.
The plot is not entirely unpredictable since seasoned thriller readers may notice some clues early, but the writing makes up for it with strong pacing and an emotional core. The family dynamics felt raw and believable, and I often asked myself how I would react in their place.
This is more than a crime mystery. It is a story about trust, resilience, and how fragile family bonds can become when tested. Readers who enjoy domestic thrillers with both suspense and heart will find this one worth picking up.
Missing Daughter is a fast-paced, emotionally charged thriller that kept me hooked from the first chapter. The story follows a family’s worst nightmare when their teenage daughter vanishes. In the frantic search for answers, dark secrets and shocking twists come to light.
Mofina builds tension with skill. The alternating perspectives between family members, investigators, and those connected to the case show how quickly lives can spiral when tragedy strikes. I appreciated the realistic look at how grief, suspicion, and desperation affect each character in different ways.
The plot is not entirely unpredictable since seasoned thriller readers may notice some clues early, but the writing makes up for it with strong pacing and an emotional core. The family dynamics felt raw and believable, and I often asked myself how I would react in their place.
This is more than a crime mystery. It is a story about trust, resilience, and how fragile family bonds can become when tested. Readers who enjoy domestic thrillers with both suspense and heart will find this one worth picking up.
October 27, 2021
Whether the book is a standalone or part of series, Rick Mofina never disappoints. 'Missing Daughter' is a super-charged, character driven, nonstop free-fall of pulse-pounding suspense. The twists are absolutely relentless. Just when I started to think all the answers had fallen in place the plot would take a 180 - again...and again...and again. It is not till the end comes to a screeching halt that I could finally start catching my breath.
Narrator Mark Owen is remarkable - the raw emotional turmoil he brought out in the character voices is palatable. He escalates the storyline to a level which I do not think reading alone could have taken me. INTENSE.
Narrator Mark Owen is remarkable - the raw emotional turmoil he brought out in the character voices is palatable. He escalates the storyline to a level which I do not think reading alone could have taken me. INTENSE.
May 3, 2024
This book had a lot of unpredictable twists and turns, yet I found it very slow and a little boring. It started off good, very interesting, I was hooked, but then a huge chunk in the middle was just.... I don't know, nothing was happening. But it really picked up again in the last 15% of the book and I actually really liked the ending!
November 23, 2020
RATING: 4 STARS
2019; Harlequin/Mira
One morning parents, Ryan and Karen Lane find that their twelve year old daughter's window is open and she is missing. While everyone tries to locate her, and suspects are looked at, the case goes unsolved. Soon time goes by, and it has been years since she went missing, and suddenly new secrets are revealed. This novel was a bit long, but I did enjoy the story - as scary and unsettling as missing children stories are.
***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***
2019; Harlequin/Mira
One morning parents, Ryan and Karen Lane find that their twelve year old daughter's window is open and she is missing. While everyone tries to locate her, and suspects are looked at, the case goes unsolved. Soon time goes by, and it has been years since she went missing, and suddenly new secrets are revealed. This novel was a bit long, but I did enjoy the story - as scary and unsettling as missing children stories are.
***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***
March 6, 2019
Twists and turns
I could not put this book down. I read a lot of Rick Mofina books but this one was his best in a while. I highly recommend it if you like mysteries.
I could not put this book down. I read a lot of Rick Mofina books but this one was his best in a while. I highly recommend it if you like mysteries.
August 12, 2020
Tak tady jsem se s GR komunitou moc neshodla:-/ miluju detektivky a thrillery, kde dojde ke zmizení dětí, beze stopy (jinak jsem normální😅). Ale tohle, přestože zápletka byla originální a rozhodně jsem žádný ze zvratů - ostatně ani závěr - nečekala, tak mi to přišlo takový nemastný, neslaný. Ani jedna postava mi nepřirostla k srdci, chyběla jakákoli hloubka jednotlivých lidí a chvílemi to bylo takový celý bezuúčelně překombinovaný. Tak 2,5...dávám tři za originální rozuzlení.
June 30, 2019
Such a great book . So many things i kept thinking to myself.
May 2, 2019
This was twisty!
I have been reading too many child abduction stories lately and I have to stop! They are just too sad. This felt so real. All the tension, heartbreak and the revealing of skeletons in closets that should have long been buried.
The writing was good, the characters were interesting. There is an element of repetition but it suited the course of the investigation.
There were a lot of twists along the way. I didn’t come close to figuring out that conclusion! This was a bit of a different take on the genre so that was good. I would read more by this author.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and HARLEQUIN MIRA (U.S. and Canada) for a copy in exchange for a review.
I have been reading too many child abduction stories lately and I have to stop! They are just too sad. This felt so real. All the tension, heartbreak and the revealing of skeletons in closets that should have long been buried.
The writing was good, the characters were interesting. There is an element of repetition but it suited the course of the investigation.
There were a lot of twists along the way. I didn’t come close to figuring out that conclusion! This was a bit of a different take on the genre so that was good. I would read more by this author.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and HARLEQUIN MIRA (U.S. and Canada) for a copy in exchange for a review.
March 7, 2019
this was okay - I felt that the ending went on and on with one particular plot that just seemed stupid. What was most interesting about this story was the damage the police/FBI investigation has on the family of the missing girl. I get that in most cases it's another family member who's guilty -but in order to investigate they rip apart all perceptions each family member has about themselves, their place in the family, and their level of responsibilities. To an innocent family - this investigation must be horrendous as they deal with terror of their missing child.
February 4, 2019
3.5
A quick read with lots of plot twists and turns and various possible scenarios a few of which don't ring true. On their own? Perhaps. But combined a little too contrived.
Book 2 was where it started to go off track a little in my view. Until then I was quite enjoying the story and the pace.
A quick read with lots of plot twists and turns and various possible scenarios a few of which don't ring true. On their own? Perhaps. But combined a little too contrived.
Book 2 was where it started to go off track a little in my view. Until then I was quite enjoying the story and the pace.
May 21, 2019
My first book by this author, good story, 3 1/2 stars
May 14, 2021
Rating 3.5 stars
People think they know people. They don't. You never know what's in a person's heart. What they're hiding, what they're capable of when they're trapped in a bad situation and see no way out. Their first instinct is to lie and most of them do.
Your worst nightmare comes true. You come home after an evening out, pay the babysitter, say goodnight to your son and daughter and wake up to a nightmare. Your daughter is missing. She is twelve years old but looks 16. She wants to date and argues with her parents on the firm no. With each passing day, the chances of seeing her alive become slim. What goes thru your mind? Why does the investigation include your past and how that wreaks havoc in your relationships, your job, your community.
It has been a couple of days since I had finished this and I have to say reflecting , I would probably gives this a solid 4. The investigation probe is pretty detailed and how it plays with the Lane family. Each family member is suspect and they are not looking good. Many rabbit trails that lead to what really happened. The first part of the book is heavy on what takes place after a crime like this and then 4 years later a development changes everything and the family goes thru yet another loss. Rick Mofina is one of my favorites so you may want to see for yourself why he is so good.
A special thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
People think they know people. They don't. You never know what's in a person's heart. What they're hiding, what they're capable of when they're trapped in a bad situation and see no way out. Their first instinct is to lie and most of them do.
Your worst nightmare comes true. You come home after an evening out, pay the babysitter, say goodnight to your son and daughter and wake up to a nightmare. Your daughter is missing. She is twelve years old but looks 16. She wants to date and argues with her parents on the firm no. With each passing day, the chances of seeing her alive become slim. What goes thru your mind? Why does the investigation include your past and how that wreaks havoc in your relationships, your job, your community.
It has been a couple of days since I had finished this and I have to say reflecting , I would probably gives this a solid 4. The investigation probe is pretty detailed and how it plays with the Lane family. Each family member is suspect and they are not looking good. Many rabbit trails that lead to what really happened. The first part of the book is heavy on what takes place after a crime like this and then 4 years later a development changes everything and the family goes thru yet another loss. Rick Mofina is one of my favorites so you may want to see for yourself why he is so good.
A special thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
April 12, 2020
Wow this book was really good. So many twists and turns
January 30, 2023
This book was written so well. The short chapters kept me turning pages quickly and leaving me desperate for more information. I loved reading a book set so close to my home as well! Definitely recommend this one for a quick weekend read!
May 21, 2024
2.5 stars (rounded up)
September 14, 2025
Loved this book. Lots of twists and turns!
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