Review of The Missing

[Mtibza eM]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Missing" by Leon Skrywer.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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The Missing is a crime thriller novel written by Leon Skrywer. It follows an investigative journalist who tries to find out why black people, more especially girls, keep missing at this high rate than any other racial group in the country. He primarily works alone, but he does have a friend on the side who works in the police department who helps him with information from time to time.

The book opens up with a prologue where Susan, the wife of DeShawn, is picking up her daughter, Nabilha, from her parents' house. Driving back home together, Susan gets involved in a car accident that kills her instantly, except Nabilha. Someone clad in black clothes comes and grabs the unconscious Nabilha from the crashed car and throws her in a van, driving away with her.

In the first chapter, we are introduced to John, who is an independent investigative journalist with a mass following on social media. John uses his voice online to raise awareness about black people’s struggles. While in his apartment, writing an article about the number of black girls that are reported missing in the country, the headline on the TV news catches his attention. This is when he learns about the accident, and he decides to investigate it. He works with his friend, Lauren, who is a police officer.

The investigation leads them to find the body of another black boy in a lake. The cops believe he has drowned himself, so they rule it as suicide, but Lauren and John are not convinced, especially when the police don’t want to release an autopsy report to the family of the boy. Where could Nabilha be? Who abducted her? Is there anyone in the police force who is involved in this; that’s why they always block any manoeuvres that Lauren takes in trying to find the truth? Are Lauren and John willing to go to extra lengths to find the truth, even if it means putting their lives at risk? You will have to read this book to find the answers.

What I liked about this book is that its plot never ran out in the middle. It started well from the beginning to the end. I have never read anything like it. The social issues that the book was centred around were written in a good way that the author should be applauded for it. It is not everyone who decides to write a fiction book that can make one introspect themselves and want to do better in the future.

I also loved the fact that the characters were realistic. The mistakes that John made in his investigation were so believable. And when he learned that someone was following him with a black car, I felt his fear. When he sneaked inside the CHRSI building, trying to find out what he can about this institution, I had my fingers crossed that he doesn't get caught. And what I also loved about this book is its ending. I never saw it coming. It was satisfying, and it made me emotional.

What I didn’t like is the fact that the book lacked suspense. The author immaturely gave away too much before I could try to piece things together myself. The author gave me 4. He didn’t give me 2 plus 2. And for that, my reading experience wasn’t that enjoyable. Everything was told, not shown to me, especially because there was never a balance between the narration and the dialogue. The book leaned more on the former than the latter.

The descriptions were vague to the point that I couldn't picture the scenes in my mind. I felt like I was outside looking in. The book also felt rushed. One thing John is investigating about Nabilha, the next thing Brice’s friend is dead, now the focus is on him. I felt like I was yanked backward and forward. For that, I didn’t find any pleasure in reading this book.

It could also do with another round of editing. I came across more than 10 grammatical and typographical errors before I reached page 100. This made my reading experience further excruciating.

Taking everything into considerations, I have no choice but to rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. It could have gotten 1 star, but the plot redeemed it. The book contains profane words. Young and immature readers are not suitable for this book as it contains an explicit sexual scene. The book doesn’t discriminate. Overall, it was okay. I wouldn’t strongly recommend it to anyone because of the many errors.

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The Missing
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Ruchi Raina]

I am already in love with John's character for taking such a great initiative. He seems like a kind brave soul. I would love to read this book to know the whole story! Thanks for the great review.

[marta baglioni]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Missing" by Leon Skrywer.]

What I didn’t like is the fact that the book lacked suspense. The author immaturely gave away too much before I could try to piece things together myself. The author gave me 4. He didn’t give me 2 plus 2. And for that, my reading experience wasn’t that enjoyable.

"Show, don't tell" should be tattooed on every author forehead
It seems Leon Skrywer did a good job with the plot, though.
Thank you for the review!

[Elisa Joy Ocasla]

A captivating work of investigative narration. Your review gave me an idea of how awesome the book is. Thanks for your honesty!

[Astral Magi]

This book will have me chewing my nails to shreds with tension. I hope Nebilha is found safe. Thank you for an excellent review.

[DyanaFl]

The plot sounds pretty interesting. Shame about the negatives though. John's character seems really nice. Thanks for the great detailed review!

[Unosthetic]

The plot is captivating. I'm already in love with John, I wanna be part of his investigation! Your review is great.

[Kaushiki Parihar]

It seems an intriguing novel with a captivating plot. The poor editing is a shame though. Great review!

[derialist]

Despite the shortcomings of this book, the author did a wonderful job on the plot, and I love it. For that, I hope to get the chance to read his other books and hopefully, he'll have developed the other aspects of his writing that fell short.

[NetMassimo]

This seems like a crime thriller with good potential that was not properly developed. Some more editing and proofreading might improve it significantly. Thank you for your honest review!

[PeterRabitt20]

It's too bad, and I hope that the author goes over the plot development because the idea seems thrilling. I like the way you used arithmetic to explain what the author gave. Thanks for you wonderful review!

[Asma Aisha Ansari]

A great thriller but requires better writing and editing. The plot really is engrossing and the characters make me root for them already.
Thanks for this amazing and thorough review.

[Humera955]

I am always into crime thriller what so ever but this book "the missing sounds like it will give goosebumps.
Definitely into my next read

[Gabriella1997]

I love the plot of this book, it sounds Intresting, but the the editing was not perfectly done, beautiful review.