The Missing

by Jane Casey

'Jane Casey's police procedurals go from strength to strength!' Sunday Times
'If you have not read Jane Casey, start immediately' Marian Keyes
'The most dangerously addictive series in crime fiction. . .' Erin Kelly
_______________

Jenny Shephard is twelve years old and missing.

Her teacher, Sarah Finch, knows better than most that the chances of finding her alive are diminishing every day.

As a little girl Sarah's older brother went out to play and never come home. The strain of not knowing what happened to him tore her family apart.

When Sarah finds Jenny's body, beaten and abandoned in the woods near her home, she is drawn into the heart of the investigation and a media storm.

Her presence at the scene arouses suspicions. But it is not just the police that are watching her...

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Ebooks

486 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 4, 2010

About the author

She studied English at Jesus College, Oxford, followed by an mPhil in Anglo-Irish Literature at Trinity College, Dublin

Reviews

[Jayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't miss "The Missing".

It's a smart, intricately plotted, heart-wrenching thriller about dysfunctional families and child abduction.

It's fast-paced, twisty, character-driven, and unputdownable.

I especially enjoyed the police procedurals.

This was Jane Casey's debut novel (2010) and the second title that I have read by this talented author.

It's truly a testament to author Jane Casey that a book penned in 2010 (almost 13 years ago!) was both riveting and compelling and never felt "old hat".

I listened to the audiobook read by Penelope Rawlins, one of my favorite UK narrators.

4.5 stars rounded up.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I discovered this book by reading a review of one of British author Jane Casey's other novels, The Burning. Because I like to read authors (especially mystery authors) in chronological order, I sought out her first book. It needn't have mattered in this case, as it does not have the same protagonist.

Unfortunately, this book did not live up to my expectations. I found it to be very readable, but much of what happened seemed unrealistic and unlikely to happen. I also guessed who the murderer is long before it was revealed, which I rarely do. (I'm one of those rare mystery readers who does not try to guess the perpetrator, but in this case it could not be ignored.)

As the protagonist, Sarah Finch is not entirely likeable and a bit too overcome with problems. She is a lost soul, lacking anyone she can confide in or trust, and in the end things just spiral downward in her life. Soon she is left with no one. She also makes some bizarre choices, and a few plot elements seem unlikely (such as the policeman on the case falling in love with her, and the highly convenient coincidences that keep occurring, to name a few). Life seems to just happen to her, and because of this she is not very sympathethic. For example, after she truly hates school and appears to have no motivation to succeed because of what happened to her brother, she somehow becomes a teacher herself, and does not seem to enjoy her job.

I also found it unlikely that a character who is completely obsessed with her would attack her and harm her outside of her home. And why on earth did she stick with her mother when she treated her so horribly? Of course, Casey ties it all up with a happy ending, also implausible.

I have The Burning checked out of the library, and I will give Casey one more try...I'm hoping her second novel is an improvement over the first.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read and enjoyed some of the Maeve Kerrigan series by Jane Casey and intend to read the rest shortly so when I eagerly started to read this stand alone novel. I think this book was her debut novel and maybe not quite as well written but certainly still a good read.

School teacher Sarah Finch finds the dead body of one of her pupils Jenny Shepherd, a twelve year old who has been missing. As a young girl Sarah's brother also went missing and never returned causing the break up of her family and changed her life forever. Now as an adult she is living at home with her mother who is a heavy drinker and has never gotten over losing her son.

The latest disappearance and discovery lead to Sarah reliving her bad memories and she tries to find answers to both Jenny's death and the mystery surrounding her brothers disappearance. She finds herself both the focus of investigations and also in danger.

Overall a good read and if you have not read her more recent novels would suggest the Maeve Kerrigan series.

[Tûba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bu kadar salak bir karakter ancak bu kadar yaratilabilirdi sanirim :)) Yine de oldukca hizli giden bir konusu var. 3.5 mu 4 mu versem bilemedim bundan dolayi 3 verdim. Pff!

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

This got better and better as it went along. It was an audiobook from the library and at first I found the reader slightly irritating, however as time went by I was won over.
This is a classic missing murdered girl mystery, told by one of her teachers who has found the body. There is a big back story which is explored at the same time as the current murder. If you put your sense of disbelief on hold and forget the protocols of schools, the unprofessional behaviour of the police, this is a decent murder mystery.

[Rita Costa (Lusitania Geek) · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW just wow, didn’t expect the ending at all, very unpredictable this mystery novel. Very clever the way how this author wrote the whole mystery, it makes you understand the past about the disappearance of a little boy in 1992 and how it might influence a cold case with the recent death of a teenage girl in the present day. Sarah lost his little brother when she was little, 15 years later, she is a teacher and discovers a body of a little girl, who turns out to be her student. Does she knows the secrets that this neighbourhood might had over the years ? Does she will ever find who killed Jenny and what really happened to his little brother. It is a must read, im sooo glad I found this book on a antique fair and definitely will try to catch up reading more mystery novels of Jane Casey ! 5 🌟

[Original Doll (Lea Martinuš) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah predaje u školi gdje nestaje njena dvanaestogodišnja učenica Jenny. To je jako pogađa te probuđuje sjećanja na tragediju njenog brata Charlieja koji je nestao kada je bila mala djevojčica. Majka ju je, u dubokoj boli i isfrustrirana, oduvijek krivila za nestanak svoga sina za kojeg nikada nisu saznali što se s njim dogodilo. Ubrzo joj se roditelji rastaju, majka postaje teška alkoholičarka a otac pogiba u prometnoj nesreći.

Istog dana navečer, Sarah odlazi na trčanje te u šumi pronalazi leš djevojčice. Potresena takvim razvojem događaja, odlučuje pomagati policiji i ožalošćenoj obitelji kako bi barem oni ostali na okupu te saznali tko je ubio njihovu kćer. Kako smatra da su njeni motivi intimni i ne želi nikome pričati o prošlosti te objašnjavati kako živi s poremećenom majkom, svoju obiteljsku tragediju čuva kao najsvetiju tajnu. No, policija nalazi tragove koji bacaju sumnju na Sarah te ubrzo istražitelji i mediji sumnjiče mladu učiteljicu da je počinila ubojstvo ili bila suučesnik.

Sam kratki sadržaj djeluje zanimljivo što je i razlog zašto sam odlučila uzeti ovu knjigu u ruke. Moram pohvaliti stil pisanja koji isprva upućuje da se radi o klasičnom krimiću, a na moje veliko iznenađenje, postupno se pretvori u pravu psihološku dramu. Likovi su detaljno razrađeni što je i temelj dobrog trilera pa tako mnogo saznajemo o svakom upletenom u slučaj.

“Dobri ljudi ne razmišljaju o takvim stvarima. Zli ljudi ne mogu razmišljati ni o čemu drugom.”

Poglavlja se izmjenjuju – jedno u sadašnjosti, a jedno, kraće, posvećeno prošlosti i Charlijevom nestanku te događajima koji su slijedili. Na taj način dobivamo uvid u događaje koji su oblikovali Sarah te je postignuta vrhunska psihološka karakterizacija. Tematika sa sobom povlači izvjesnu dozu težine, jer ipak se radi o ubojstvu djeteta te se kroz cijelu knjigu propitkuje pedofilija i ostali zločini koji mogu ljudski poremećeni um nagnati na takav čin.Time ne samo da su likovi kompleksni, već i sama težina zločina igra ulogu u tome koliko je detaljno ova priča razrađena.

“To je to. To je sve što trebam reći. Nitko ne postavlja dodatna pitanja. Nitko ništa ne sumnja. Tako je lako lagati, tako je lako biti jedino dijete, bez prošlosti, netko koga se prihvaća zdravo za gotovo, netko tko se sviđa drugima. S lakoćom sam ostavila deset godina iza sebe. Osjetim da mi je nešto kliknulo u glavi, nešto za što mislim da je sloboda.
Tek kasnije, mnogo kasnije, prepoznajem to kao gubitak.”

Završnica ovog napetog romana uistinu je šokantna. Sam rasplet događaja autorici nije bio dovoljan te je odlučila čitatelje šokirati napisavši dojmljiv kraj. Iako sam isprva ostala zatečena, upravo taj kraj dao mi je dosta razmišljati o knjizi pa se ne može izbjeći pitanje je li nas autorica cijelo vrijeme na to pripremala. Tako je odličan triler, na moje oduševljenje, ispao fantastičan.

Preporuke svim ljubiteljima dobrih i kvalitetnih krimića i trilera – ovo je štivo koje se ne ispušta iz ruku!

http://citajknjigu.com/nestali-jane-c...

[Kwoomac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting plot. A 12-year-old boy disappears, leaving his younger sister behind to watch her family crumble. Fast forward 16 years and the younger sister, Sarah, is now a teacher. When one of her students disappears, she becomes caught up in the investigation. While this is perfectly plausible, and understandable, it's still hard to root for Sarah as she makes one stupid decision after the next. She's really not likable. Yet, two men fall in love with her. Three, if you count the teacher (whose name I forget) Greg? Apparently she's beautiful but doesn't know it.

Of course, it's not hard to figure out who the killer is. What makes this story closer to a four star book is how the author has Sarah deal with her feelings as she learns more of what happened to her brother and her student Jenny. I finished the book feeling really satisfied with how things wrapped up. Maybe I even ended up liking Sarah a little bit.

[Rodrigo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Regular.

[Yassemin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bored me to be honest and written in a very juvenile way. Its very apparent through the way its written that its a debut novel. The characters also annoyed me, didn't seem to do a lot to further the plot and it moved too slow for me!

Moving on to hopefully better things hopefully! Will pass on any of this authors future stuff I think1

[Sibel Gandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 / 5

[Marleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah Finch, English teacher, is about to start teaching her class of 12 year old girls when the father of Jenny Shepherd, one of the girls, talks to the class about his daughter who has gone missing. The man is clearly worried and distraught but the other girls have no idea where little Jenny could be.
Later that day, when Sarah is out running she finds Jenny's body in local woods.
This is not the first time Sarah has to deal with a missing child. 16 years earlier her older brother Charlie disappeared and not a trace of him has been found since then. The disappearance has led to the emotional breakdown her mother still hasn't recovered from, the break-up of her Sarah's parents marriage and to Sarah feeling an obligation to look after her mother, although the woman is impossible to live with.
The new disappearance and subsequent discovery lead to Sarah reliving her memories of the years since her brother's disappearance and she finds herself trying to find out what exactly happened to Jenny while also figuring out more about her brother's disappearance.
Her curiosity will make her a suspect as well as put her in danger. Could it also bring her a chance to live her own life at last?

This was a well plotted thriller with quite a few twists and heartstopping moments. The story is well written with a nice build up of tension and I found myself compulsively turning the pages.
However, I found Sarah to be something of a frustrating heroine. She kept on making the same mistakes again and again, putting herself in dangerous situations as well as throwing suspicion on herself. The tolerance the police showed towards Sarah and her antics was way beyond realistic if you ask me, and I also felt that the book could probably have been a bit shorter.
Overall though, I think this was a very promising first novel and I will be checking Casey's second book, The Burning, out of the library soon.

[Violet · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard talk about such a book without giving anything away. This definitely deserves 5 stars,i wanted to give it 4.5,and only because the main character,Sarah,annoyed me just a tiny bit half way through, for about a chapter..there is no halves so it had be the 5 stars.

The plot is great, the characters are well drawn and you easily associate with them,and they are all likeable characters, even Sarah's mum who is quite bitter but you can understand why..

The book flows,and it's very readable, i devoured this in about 12 hours,i was gripped and really wanted to know what was going to happen next. I can honestly say,i didnt expect the end,i didn't see that coming at all,and there were plenty of twists and turns,and it made you want more.

This is Jane Casey's first book,i have her second, The Burning ready to read next and her 3rd is due out in a few months,i'm really looking forward to it.

[Tanya Farrelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first venture into Jane Casey's work - and I did deliberate between 3 and 4 stars, ultimately deciding on 4 for entertainment value. I thoroughly enjoyed this story - it kept me turning the pages, even if there were some very cringe-worthy moments, such as the Mills & Boon romance scene. That I could forgive, but the crossbow? Really? I don't know what the editor was thinking to allow something so utterly improbable and unnecessary into an otherwise great plot. I also felt like slapping Sarah, the protagonist, several times for her stupidity. All that said - and it may sound critical - for a 480-page thriller, I flew through it. For the most part it was well-written and the story with its back and forth between two crimes, one past, one present was utterly compelling! I will certainly check out more of Jane Casey's books. At the end of the day, there is nothing more enjoyable than a good who-dunnit!

[Pınar Sarıkaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah’ın hayatı kayıp kardeşinin geride bıraktığı kraterde savrularak geçmişti.Hayatını nasıl sürdüreceğini bilememiş,bir daha eskisi gibi olamamış annesinin yanında elimdekiyle yetinmeyi öğrenmeye çabalıyordu.Ta ki yıllar sonra sınıfında aslında çok da dikkatini çekmeyen bir öğrencisi kaybolana kadar.

Hikaye böyle başlıyor.

Dürüst olmam gerekirse bu konunun usta yazarları Patricia Cornwell,Ted Dekker ve Tess Gerritsen okuduktan sonra bu tadı zaten fazlasıyla biliyorum.Daha önce bir çok kere yapılmışı tekrar denemek aslında daha büyük bir risk.Buna ragmen anlatım dilini gayet başarılı buldum.

Dokunduğu konuyu net bir şekilde anlatırken,karakteri açıkta bırakmamış ve neden böyle olduyu gayet güzel anlatmış Jane Casey.
Bazı soru işaretlerim olsa da iyi bir deneme ve yanılmıyorsam yazarın ilk kitabı.O yüzden mutlaka başka kitaplarını da okumam lazım.

Karakterlerin hayatları,büyüdükleri çevre ve diğer tüm etkenleri o kadar gerçekçi tasvir etmiş ki elimden bırakamadım.Sadece ille net bir kusur bulmam gerekiyorsa final.Ah şu finaller,finallerimiz !

[Klara · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the beginning, I had trouble putting this book down; it was always interesting and kept me engaged. The writing is easy to follow, and I enjoyed the brief flashbacks to when her brother went missing. I liked that the main character is Sarah, and the story is told from her perspective. Initially, she has no connection to the missing girl other than being her teacher, but later she finds the girl's body.

The book has a lot of twists, some expected and some surprising. Sarah's past—her brother's disappearance and the toll it took on her family—adds depth to her character. However, it was a bit odd that she was always so involved in the investigation. She found the body, uncovered information from the detective, talked to Jenny's friends and other people, and was always somehow present. If she wasn't involved in the investigation, she was a suspect. Even though I knew she couldn't be the murderer, it was a bit fun to entertain the idea that she might be.
As for the ending, it remained uncertain who the killer was until the very end. My speculations were almost correct; I thought the killer had something to do with it but might not be the actual killer.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good book by Jane Casey, the plot being about a school teacher whose brother disappeared from their street, without trace, when he was 14 years old and she was 8 years old. She has a difficult life thereafter with her mother, who hits the bottle and shuts everyone out, although Sarah, stays with her out of a sense of obligation. So, 15 years later, Sarah finds the body of one of he 12 year old students while she is out in the woods for a jog and a series of events lead her to be suspect in the girls death. The story is told in present day and flash back by Sarah, the flash back being a count-up from the day her brother disappeared, through the years that followed. She gets involved in the investigation in the murder of her student, which leads to the past and present colliding. It's a good story, sad, dark and the climax doesn't go too nuts like some thrillers do. Well worth a read, I have "The Reckoning" already on my shelf to read soon.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed both of Casey’s books in the Maeve Kerrigan series, so though this book is not out Stateside, I ordered it from the UK - excited and curious to see Casey’s debut novel. And I was not disappointed at all! I enjoyed this book immensely! The characters all sprang to life and though the plot took a few familiar turns, Casey still managed to fit in a few surprises. And the author really displayed her knack of weaving in romance into the plot without it feeling extraneous or forced. She is definitely a mystery author that I will be keeping my eye on!

[Kelsey Hanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was pretty disappointed with this one. The story wasn't completely predictable, but it wasn't anything that I haven't read before. This seemed more like the novelization of a CSI episode than a mystery novel. Also, I'm not sure if this is because I'm American and the author is English, but the actual writing was difficult for me to understand. I'm not sure if I'm losing something in the "translation" (Even though we technically speak the same language, the two can be a bit different). Overall this was a bit underwhelming for me.

[H C · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually love Jane Casey. Not this time. Sarah, typical enabler. Bah. So much of the dialogue is juvenile writing trying to create tension and so much of the decisions made make the characters seem stupid and unrealistic and there to move the plot forward, which is cheating in my mind. To top it the plot was easy to figure out long in advance. First book syndrom?

[Linda Branham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The novel explores what happens to a young girl, Sarah Finch, after her brother goes missing. The story goes back and forth between the past and the present. The past - the time when Charlie went missing. The present - Sarah is a teacher and discovers the body of a young girl who had gone missing

[Laura Daly]

Awful I did not finish it, the main character was so annoying I just had to give it up. One for the charity shop!

[Dark-Draco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I did get to the end of this book, because I really wanted to find out what had happened to Jenny and Charlie, but that was despite really, really, really not liking Sarah, our narrator. I'm sorry, but she was so annoying and got herself in ridiculous situations - the whole thing with Geoff was almost laughable - I can't imagine any woman allowing a man to carry on like that!

But that aside, I did like the two mysteries that ran alongside each other. They were cleverly written and it was interesting to see how they were linked. I tend to prefer mysteries and crimes that the reader has a chance of solving alongside the detective, but it was quite nice just to sit back and let the story unfold. The twist at the very end wasn't hugely surprising, even if Sarah's actions were again slightly questionable, and her Mum seems to have been completely forgotten after she leaves the house to finally fetch her car (which I don't believe the police wouldn't have noticed abandoned outside the parent's house!).

But the odd plot hole aside, I enjoyed reading this and would probably pick up other books by the author, even if I wouldn't rush out to get them now.

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 sterren - Nederlandse paperback

Sarah is acht jaar wanneer haar broertje van 12 jaar spoorloos verdwijnt. Haar moeder kan het verlies niet aan en raakt aan de drank. Haar vader verlaat het gezin.

Als Sarah volwassen is zij werkzaam als onderwijzeres Engels aan een middelbare school voor welgestelde meisjes. Op een dag wordt een van haar leerlingen vermist.

Tijdens het hardlopen vindt Sarah het lichaam van het vermoorde meisje. Door haar inmenging in het onderzoek wordt ze verdachte van de moord.

Gaandeweg het boek komt ze steeds meer er achter wat er met haar broer is gebeurd. Ook ontdekt ze wie de moordenaar van haar leerling is.

De schrijfster weet de spanning er goed in te houden. De twists in het plot en de angst en euforie van Sarah goed weergegeven.
De opbouw naar het plot verveelt geen dus moment.

Verrassend is wie de moordenaar is, van haar leerling, voor mij dan. Had duidelijk iets, iemand anders in mijn hoofd.

Een pageturner dus.

[Zweite · Rating 1 out of 5]

On n'arrivera jamais à me faire croire qu'une fille de 12 ans accepte (pire, que c'est son idée ???) de tourner des vidéos pornographiques avec des hommes qui ont 4, 5 fois son âge, sans rien demander en retour (ni drogue ni argent), simplement parce qu'elle 'aime' son 'copain' de 30 ans. C'est grotesque.

Pour le reste - une protagoniste qui multiplie les mauvaises décisions, et une écriture misogyne qui décrit toutes les femmes du récit comme déplaisantes, bruyantes, jalouses, froides et mesquines. Perte de temps.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a dark mystery, indeed. What would happen if the person who is a key witness in a murder investigation is the product of a home broken by an earlier violent crime? It was interesting to see how her former experiences shaped her responses to what happens as the case unfolds. However, I have to say I need to read something light and fluffy at this point. Not my best choice to read this book in tandem with "The Crucible."

[Chloe Stokes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the Maeve Kerrigan series by Jane Casey however after about 50% of this book I just couldn’t wait for it to be over. Don’t read this before reading any of her others in case it doesn’t make you want to continue with her style of writing!

[Esrafurkanyigit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yine katili tahmin edemedim!

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maeve Kerrigan it ain't! Decent enough though. Something north of 3.5. A few too many convenient coincidences and I guessed the killer way before the end, but still enjoyable.

[Louise · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolutely ludicrous. I assumed for 90% of the book that she had to be an unreliable narrator, or some twist would explain all of the enormous plot holes - but no. The world's worst police force really do just let a highly suspicious civilian in to every single crime scene in the book, and let her interview key witnesses and suspects. One of the police officers really does fall in love with her apparently at first sight and risk his entire career to pursue her. One of the worst crime novels I've ever read. Is it AI? Surely AI can do better than that? I can't believe anyone would recommend this.