Genre: Mystery, Romance
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publication Date: October 2022
Once known as Bainesworth Manor, the psychiatric hospital on Bane Island shut down amidst a cloud of suspicion as women vanished and rumors of questionable practices swirled. Decades later, it has reopened as Halcyon Hall, an exclusive resort on the Maine coast. But murder has arrived on its doorstep once again.
Investigative reporter Edie Stone wants answers — both to what happened forty years ago and in the present day — and she’s determined to start with Dr. Elijah Cooke the new proprietor and the grandson of the former owner. She soon discovers that the hall’s secrets are almost as impenetrable as its walls. But when someone tries to kill her, Edie realizes she’s closer to the truth than she realizes.
Atmospheric, suspenseful, and gripping, Lisa Childs’ The Missing hooked me from the first page. For that matter, I devoured all three Bane Island Novels within a month and have suffered from withdrawal ever since. I desperately want to go back to that world and its characters.
The isolated spa and island delivered the perfect backdrop for a gothic mystery. The author masterfully created a setting as beautiful as it was dangerous, evoking in me a sense of being just as cut off from the world as the island and its inhabitants were from mainland in the dead of winter.
Each installment in the series has its own protagonists and mystery to solve, but it does contain on overarching thread. I would recommend reading all of them, and in sequence, to fully grasp the characters and story.
I especially loved the characters, the gothic setting, and the writing. My one concern is that I have seen it described as a trilogy, which would make this book the final chapter. If that is the case, too many threads and questions remain unresolved. As is, The Missing reads like a great installment within a series but not as a satisfying conclusion. I really hope this is not the end.
Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!