The Night She Went Missing

[onlyfiction]

The Night She Went Missing
By: Kristen Bird
Release Date: February 8, 2022 (First published February 8, 2022)
Publisher: MIRA
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Summary: An intriguing and twisty domestic suspense about loyalty and deceit in a tight-knit Texas community where parents are known to behave badly and people are not always who they appear to be.

Emily, a popular but bookish prep school senior, goes missing after a night out with friends. She was last seen leaving a party with Alex, a football player with a dubious reputation. But no one is talking.

Now three mothers, Catherine, Leslie and Morgan, friends turned frenemies, have their lives turned upside down as they are forced to look to their own children—and each other’s—for answers to questions they don’t want to ask.

Each mother is sure she knows who is responsible, but they all have their own secrets to keep and reputations to protect. And the lies they tell themselves and each other may just have the potential to be lethal in this riveting debut.



Review: High school senior Emily comes from a renowned family in her Texas community. One night, she goes missing after watching a movie with friends.

Catherine, her mom, is very worried, which is understandable. She believes that Emily may have been harmed by an acquaintance. There are two other women in town who suspect as well.

Which of them is true?

Finding Emily at the beginning of the story causes the loss of suspense. Considering the tale, I debated whether that was the right choice. A story told from the perspective of multiple characters: Emily, reminiscing about what led her to the present, when she is rescued but lying comatose in the hospital. The other points of view are those of Catherine, Emily’s mother, and Leslie and Morgan, mothers of students Emily attends school with. As the story unfolds, the characters reveal secrets, lies, concealment, and denials.

The story starts well. It tells the story of a family that moved from Oregon to Galveston after a scandal. Emily is a senior in high school and attends a prestigious private school owned by her grandmother. + One night, she disappears at a party. At the halfway point in the book, she disappears, and things go south.

There is strange behavior that people do, as if straight out of a terrible movie. It makes little sense why these things are done. In retrospect, it seems even more outrageous. I kept reading to find out how things ended.

Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this one.