The Girl in the Missing Poster by Barbara Copperthwaite

This book will be published on February 23rd 2021.

This reeled me in from the first page and kept me under its spell until the last page. This is a poignant story about a family’s enduring agony over losing loved one and the anguish followed by it.

This starts with Stella sticking missing posters of her identical twin sister Leila around the town. Twenty-five years ago, Lelia was on her way to her apartment from her parent’s party, vanished without a trace. Police search led to nowhere. Stella has agreed to be part of a true crime documentary in the hope of finding the fate of Leila.

I connected with Stella from the get go. She is strong and at the same time vulnerable. The Poignant writing stirred up a lot of emotions in me. The loss Stella suffered, not knowing what happened, wasn’t able to move forward in life without having a closure, and the anguish she was put through made my heart heavy. I had to stop reading a lot of times to pull myself together.

This event has changed Stella’s life irrevocably. She couldn’t even look at herself in the mirror since it reminded her of twin sister. You would think she has gone through the worst times already but you are wrong as the worst fate is awaiting her.

The story is narrated in chapters alternating between Stella’s story in present day and documentary transcripts consisting of interviews with family, friends and the cops involved in the investigation.

 It’s clearly visible Copperthwaite poured her heart into these characters who can’t get more realistic than this. Her brilliancy is evident in creating super tight plot, revealing bit by bit and keeping readers at the edge of their seats. She has maintained suspense throughout the book and ended with action-packed scenes.

You MUST read this to find out how the perpetrator has been pulled out of the woodwork. I must say it’s mind-blowing scheme and the revelation is truly astonishing.

Copperthwaite also depicted how social media brings people together, and on the other hand what a cruel place it is, terrible people hiding behind screens passing cruel judgements, conjuring up conspiracy theories, have opinion on everything under the sun, without an iota of kindness, not bothered to consider other people’s pain. 

Overall, I would recommend this captivating, engrossing, and riveting psychological thriller to all thriller fans.

Thank you Netaglley and Bookouture for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.