Book Review: Local Girl Missing by J.A. Baker

I am so pleased to be welcoming J.A. Baker to Novel Kicks and the blog tour for her novel, Local Girl Missing

Missing without trace…

When local woman Deborah goes missing, her colleagues Adrian, Yvonne and Merriel are all left in shock. Gossip around the office begins to swirl – what could have happened to Deborah? Is she dead or alive? And who could be responsible for her disappearance?

Everyone is terrified that they could be next…except the one person who has all the answers. The last person people expect.

Because Deborah is being held captive by a monster, a psychopath. But not a stranger… it’s someone she knows all too well…

*****

Deborah is being held against her will by a monster. However, this monster isn’t a stranger, it’s someone she knows well.

Whilst her work colleagues are reeling from her disappearance, someone knows the truth.

This was the first novel I’d read by this author. The premise of this book really caught my attention so I was happy to be invited onto the blog tour for Local Girl Missing.

Seriously, I know this term is banded about a lot but this book had me hooked from page one. I had to know more. I needed to know what becomes of these characters so one more page became one more chapter and before I knew it, I’d read it in one sitting.

The characters are a puzzle to solve. Each one of them gave me the feeling that they were hiding something so, at some point in the story, I suspected all of them and I couldn’t figure out how the story and the characters all slotted together. It was driving me crazy and therefore I got completely immersed in the book.

Suspense and tension is present throughout and it gradually builds to create an heated atmosphere.

This is such a hard review to write as I am not sure what else I can say about this book without giving too much away and I REALLY hope this is a book you’ll add to your lists and read.

If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers/crime fiction that grip you from beginning to end, this book is perfect.

I have become a huge fan of J.A. Baker and look forward to reading whatever comes next.

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

About J.A. Baker

J.A. Baker is a successful psychological thriller writer of numerous books, previously published by Bloodhound.

Born and brought up in Middlesbrough, she still lives in the North East, which inspires the settings for her books.

Her first title for Boldwood, Local Girl Missing was published on 7th December 2022. Click to buy on Amazon UK and Waterstones.

Say hello via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Bookbub.

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.