Review : All the Missing Girls by Morgan Megan Miranda
All the Missing Girls by Morgan Megan Miranda
Pages : 384
Genre : Thriller
Stand alone
My Rating : 4/5
About the Book :
The decade-old investigation focused on Nic, her brother Daniel, boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne’s boyfriend Jackson. Since then, only Nic has left Cooley Ridge. Daniel and his wife, Laura, are expecting a baby; Jackson works at the town bar; and Tyler is dating Annaleise Carter, Nic’s younger neighbor and the group’s alibi the night Corinne disappeared. Then, within days of Nic’s return, Annaleise goes missing.
Told backwards—Day 15 to Day 1—from the time Annaleise goes missing, Nic works to unravel the truth about her younger neighbor’s disappearance, revealing shocking truths about her friends, her family, and what really happened to Corinne that night ten years ago.
My Thoughts :
What an interesting thriller! And I almost skipped this one…
I had my doubts going in. The narration “told backwards” is always intriguing, but in my experience, it seems to very often lead to a poorly elaborated plot or a shallow story. It’s a fun narration device, but it doesn’t suffice to create a good book.
Luckily, I found there was much more to enjoy in All the Missing Girls than a simple narrative exercise. Would the story be as interesting told in chronological order? My answer is : “almost yes”. I enjoyed so much more about it than the suspense created by the twisted narration. There is a lot to uncover in there; in Nicolette’s past, in Cooley Ridge, in her friends and family’s lives. Secrets, lies and more twists, of course.
Two things stood out to me : the town itself, which was small and a tad gloomy and perfectly atmospheric, and Nicolette. She’s the type of character I like : not quite likable, but not unlikable either. Imperfect, rough around the edges, but interesting. Strong, too, in her own way.
On top of going from end to beginning, the story also goes back to the past, with Nicolette remembering important scenes from her teenage years. These flashbacks added depth to both characters – Nicolette and the town of Cooley Ridge – but also added another layer to the mystery. I love books that explore the theme of teenage friendship, whether it’s about its strength or its (sometimes) devious aspects, so that was another plus.
It’s safe to say I really enjoyed All the Missing Girls. It’s not even about the reversed narration for me, which was well done but not necessary. I felt that Megan Miranda has something really good with the characters, the town and the story itself, and just for that, it gets a big thumbs up from me!
I think the story told backwards is hard to pull off but when it’s done well, I just love it. This sounds good to me.