Desaparecida/ Missing

CSU

by Caroline Terrée, Herminia Bevia (Translator)

Unidad de apoyo a la investigacion, desapariciones, asesinatos, mafias no se libran de ningun caso.

Genres: Read For School

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Caroline Terrée est auteur et graphic designer. Née à Toulouse (France), elle vit depuis 1990 à Belfast (Irlande du Nord). Depuis 2000, elle passe environ six semaines par an à Vancouver (Canada), ville dans laquelle se déroule la série CSU.

Reviews

[Marie-Ève Lacoursière · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 étoiles. Correct mais sans plus. Dénouement prévisible.

[Isabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gusto, una lectura rapida, como ver un episodio de CSI, pero no tan técnico.. sin embargo interesante.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primera entrega de una saga policíaca que me pareció un buen comienzo, con una escritura que atrae y una trama que no da un respiro al suceder una cosa tras otra.

Me gustó bastante el cómo la autora desarrolló a cada personaje, realzando a Kate, la protagonista e investigadora del caso, dando a entender que posee un pasado doloroso o turbio que hace querer saber más.

A pesar de poseer apenas 192 hojas, toda la historia transcurre a buen ritmo y no deja cabos sueltos.

Me hubiera gustado un mayor desarrollo de algunos personajes, que espero que en la segunda entrega tengan un poco de protagonismo.

4.5/5

[Sarah B · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was like a breath of fresh air to read a mystery novel that was both modern but still had an elegant vocabulary to it. The ending was predictable though and I guessed it from the start. The criminal never really had an interesting motive aside from money, and we still don't know where he learned that the victim was a rich heiress. There are some holes in the plot but there still was plenty of attention to detail.

An overall great, short book that's sure to capture your attention.

[Fran Chartrand · Rating 1 out of 5]

Le setup est bizarre (une équipe du FBI au Canada??), les personnages sont des marionnettes (on ne sait rien sur eux qui pourrait nous faire penser à des personnes auxquelles on peut s'attacher), l'histoire principale va droit au but, sans surprise, comme un train sur des rails et il n'y a pas d'histoires secondaires.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Les livres sont courts mais vraiment bons et on accroche tout de suite.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

The CSU series follow the work of a special FBI unit, the Crime Support Unit, that works to help the Canadian authorities.

In this novel, the first in the series, we are introduced to this team. They have to solve the disappearance of Rachel Ross, a student who is the daughter of a rich US senator. She was last seen in a forest near Vancouver, where her car was found. Did she run away? Was she kidnapped? Or perhaps murdered? These are the questions the CSU team has to answer.

The plot was very good and I enjoyed reading this novel. It is easy to follow and although the ending is a bit surprising, everything makes sense. The book is aimed at teenagers and it is not very long (a bit less than 200 pages), but that doesn’t mean the plot is rushed.

We don’t get to know the whole team as well as we know the leader, Kate Kovacs. But that’s normal, considering the story is told in first person by Kate.

She is a very interesting character. We know she studied Medicine, but doesn’t work as a doctor. We also see everything through her eyes. The questions she has, her fears, her disappointment when she trusts somebody and then later finds out that person hasn’t been completely honest, her frustration when they don't find any clues... But a mysterious and probably dangerous past is hinted. Her medical records are sealed by the FBI, she seems to understand difficult situations as if she had lived them herself and some parts of the investigation trigger memories she tries to forget.

We don’t learn much of her past or her family and we don't even see all those memories, but I hope more will be revealed in the next books.

As far as I know this series has only been published in French (the original) and Spanish (only the first three books).

[Victoire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Je pense que c'est un bon livre pour commencer les romans policiers.

[Sliverofsilver · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read it in the language in which it was originally published in: French. It was really hard to read, especially since it read strangely like a direct translation from English. I had to stop because it was so badly written in French. If I had read it in English, it probably would have flowed more nicely and my interest would have been captured for it probably had a good story.

tldr: if you're gonna read it, read the translated English version.

[Océane]

Insipide.