Book Review: Missing by Ruby Speechley

Please join me in welcoming Ruby Speechley to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Missing. 

Single mum Ellie is shown a missing person post on Facebook.
It’s of her three-year-old son, Tyler…
But he’s right there, holding her hand.

Surely this is some kind of prank – she knows her friend Louise can go too far with her jokes sometimes. And Ellie is used to the other mums gossiping at the school gates…

But now the other parents are questioning whether Tyler is really her child.

Ellie does everything she can to prove the post is fake, but the longer it goes on she knows it is malicious. Who would do this to her? And why?

It could be her ex, Darren, but deep down she knows it must be linked to what happened all those years ago – the night she’s been doing her best to forget…

All she knows is that she has to keep her son safe – no matter what.

*****

Ellie is trying her best to raise her young son alone after her ex split with her, adamant that he’s not Tyler’s father.

When a poster is distributed in her neighbourhood, Ellie is shocked and frightened. The poster claims a child has gone missing and the picture looking back at her, is a picture of her own son.

It is going to be hard to talk about this novel and not give a lot away. I am going to try but I will issue a spoiler alert just in case.

The first thing I will say is wow! From page one, this compelling psychological thriller had me gripped and on the edge of my seat. The plot throws you straight into the action and, in my opinion, the twist and turns don’t stop.

Ellie is a bit of a tragic character in my eyes. She’s not had the best time of it. Having moved closer to her ex in the hope that she can get him to admit he is a father, she struggles to make friends with the other mothers at Tyler’s pre-school and the only shining light is her son.

So, when strange things keep happening and private details about her life are revealed, it’s not difficult to feel utter empathy for her.

She felt like a realistic character who would do anything for her child – someone a lot of people can relate to.

The tension and suspense that builds in the novel is non-stop and I really did end up suspecting everyone, even the small circle of Ellie’s female friends.

This novel does deal with a lot of hard themes, such as s****** assault, alcohol dependency and recovery, s*** shaming and violence. It doesn’t shy away from them. I feel that Ruby Speechley deals with the aftermath with sensitivity.

There were a few uncomfortable moments that I did find a bit hard to get through I must admit but not unexpected when reading about these types of topics.

This novel really had me guessing until the end. There were many surprising moments and it also didn’t go the way I thought. This story has grit, mystery and it’s a must for any psychological thriller fan. As I was reading, I couldn’t help but think it would adapt really well for TV.

I look forward to seeing what Ruby Speechley  does next.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and Rachel’s Random Resources for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

About Ruby Speechley –

Ruby Speechley is a bestselling psychological thriller writer, whose titles include Someone Else’s Baby.

Previously published by Hera, she has been a journalist and worked in PR and lives in Cheshire.

Say hello to Ruby via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Click here to sign up to Ruby’s newsletter. 

Missing was released by Boldwood Books on 27th September 2023. Click to buy on Amazon UK and Waterstones.

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.