Missing Persons

by D.K. Smith, Kimball Smith

This is the story of Harry Bailey and his attempts to restart a life that has come to an emotional standstill. He has been living with his father since his mother walked out on them six years before, and together they have sunk into a lonely routine. But their humdrum habits are suddenly disrupted when the elder Bailey begins dating a woman half his age. As Harry gets drawn back into the surprises of a rediscovered life, he becomes increasingly preoccupied both with his father's happiness and with Mona, the woman responsible.

324 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Donald Kimball Smith was born in Rochester, NY and studied at Yale and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He has worked as a short-order cook, a Kodak film processor, a dish-washer, a London stringer for Newsweek, a furniture mover, a reporter, a secretary, and a telephone receptionist. He has cooked duck a l’orange for thirty-five people and hors d’oeuvres for a hundred. He teaches Medieval and Renaissance literature at Kansas State University.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun, easy-reading novel about a young man wrestling with the emotional consequences of his mother's sudden departure and the several years he spent in a state of suspension with his father. Both are mourning but just move forward, eating their vintage 50s casseroles (which provide fun culinary side notes). The character is wry and funny but stunted in his grief, and then he meets Mona, a private detective, and a couple of interwoven mysteries shed light on his own. I won't spoil the plot, although an astute reader is likely to guess the major "twists" here. That's OK, because the tale doesn't really hinge on solving a mystery in the conventional way--it's more about how a person recovers, or doesn't, from an emotional catastrophe. If the book has a fault, it's what I call "Iowa Writer's Workshop Syndrome"--the tendency to pack every clever thing the author ever thought into the novel. But on the whole, the cleverness gives the story emotional depth, and, where needed, some bite. I enjoyed it.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A special thank you to Goodreads, Cedar Point Press and the author, Kimball Smith for providing me with a free copy of this book.

When I first started this book I was wondering what the point of it was. It became clear as the story continued; emotional vulnerability, blocking emotions, humans doing whatever is necessary to survive, family bonds, and friendships, were all parts of this story. I would laugh at times as the sense of humor was somewhat wry and self deprecating during certain points. A very well written story that really made you feel you were living the life of Harry Bailey.

People go missing for many reasons, sometimes just to survive their lives. The story described human vulnerability, abandonment and loss perfectly. A very moving and fun (at times) story. A story that was very difficult to put down once I began to feel a connection with the characters. The ending was a little too abrupt though, and left me wondering. Thank you for giving me the honor of reading this great story!

[Dina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book and I had a really hard time reading it. It was just too slow for me. Sorry