Overall Rating:
“Finding her might be your biggest mistake.”
Reading a new McAllister Book always feels like coming home, and JAMP was just as I’d expected – completely addictive and full of surprises! The story is told from the POV of Julia, Emma and Lewis, all connected as parents, but in the most unimaginable way. It’s so intricately plotted and an utter masterpiece. Well, nothing new for Gillian in that regard! So happy to be sharing my review of (yet) another of my top reads of the year!
About the book
22-year-old Olivia has been missing for one day…and counting. She was last seen on CCTV, entering a dead-end alley. And not coming back out again.
Julia, the detective heading up the search for Olivia, thinks she knows what to expect. A desperate family, a ticking clock, and long hours away from her husband and daughter. But she has no idea just how close to home this case is going to get.
Because the criminal at the heart of the disappearance has something she never expected. His weapon isn’t a gun, or a knife: it’s a secret. Her worst one. And her family’s safety depends on one thing: Julia must NOT find out what happened to Olivia – and must frame somebody else for her murder.
If you find her, you will lose everything. What would you do?
The beginning
Julia is a detective whose job is absolutely everything. Granted, it makes family life a little complicated, but it’s what she signed up for. She wouldn’t change it for the world. Olivia is a girl about her daughter’s age who enters a dead-end alley and never comes out again; a new missing persons case. If you start this book and you aren’t completely drawn in by the book’s prologue and first chapter, then I’m at a loss. The author’s engaging writing style has you hanging onto every word from the first page, which, if you’re already a big McAllister fan, will be nothing new. I felt like I got to know Julia instantly and with such ease, so when she returns to her car after work with a balaclava-ed someone in the back seat, telling her to “drive”, I couldn’t help but feel a chill, a subtle sign that her entire life was going to change. She has her own secret. A secret she shares with her daughter. But this man knows more than he should. Who is he?!
“He has serious intent. He’s broken into her car, he’s sourced DNA for her, he’s found out her most damning secret. Julia’s back is against the wall, with nowhere to go, and no time to make a decision, either.”
I found myself spending so much time thinking about Olivia. How the author makes her such a huge character when we haven’t even met her was so impressive. It didn’t take long to feel like we knew her, to put ourselves in her shoes, to try and fathom out how a person can enter a dead-end alley and fail to re-emerge. People don’t just disappear out of thin air. Certain details are shared with the reader to cleverly keep us as informed as we can be, whilst also ensuring we stay as curious and as intrigued as possible. And my god it worked. I felt as though I had permanent residence in Julia’s brain to not only try and find out what happened to Olivia, but now to try and work out how to frame someone else for her murder. If she didn’t agree to the mysterious note handed to her by Mr Balaclava, her secret would come out. And having her daughter charged with murder is not an option. Already, the book was chilling and completely absorbing, but let’s be honest – it’s what Gillian excels at.
The middle
The book dives into Olivia’s case; evidence and alibis, different POVs and instances that really make you think. I feel the term ‘addictive’ is an understatement; reading this felt like something more than an addiction! Olivia’s story, Julia’s drive to protect her daughter, as well as framing someone else for Olivia’s murder when a body hasn’t even been found was such an absorbing plot, one that had me thinking and questioning everything. Parenthood is explored in so many ways, so many avenues, the power and emotion tied to it clutching my heart. Good god. Plus, if I had kids of my own, I just know these feelings would be even more overpowering. Gillian’s absolutely mastered this. You’d literally do anything to protect your child, wouldn’t you? Julia is on edge. Her detective work is slipping. Are her colleagues picking up on something amiss? Will they notice she planted evidence? That she’s trying to frame an innocent man? Is he even innocent? Characters are developed so intricately. They feel so realistic, so genuine, so flawed. I loved all of them!
“Julia’s heart seems to zoom around her chest. She brings a shaking hand to her mouth. It’s over. It’s surely over. She’s a goner.”
Things start to get weird as Julia struggles to balance her professional life as a detective with her personal life and her maternal role. But there’s soon a couple of reveals and a few surprises that would change everything and take this case in a whole new direction. Things weren’t going to be solved any time soon. If anything, this whole web of secrets was only going to get more and more tangled and span a hell of a lot wider than before. I absolutely loved getting deeper and deeper into all this and I loved how much of a complex thriller it was becoming. The detail and how we go back in time slightly to put some pieces of the puzzle together had me reading and reading and reading. It completely sucked me in and gave my brain a decent workout. But then it hit me. That twist! The one I’d been waiting for, but holy sh*t I was not ready for it! The cleverness of this huge bit of information I’d been craving was so so well executed, so satisfying. The book felt SO different now. I needed to know all the details!
The end
Hearing from Lewis and Emma in particular at the end of Part II and absorbing everything they shared as parents was both surprising and so compelling, especially after recently learning so much more about the whole misper case. When we catch up with Julia again in Part III, the book almost felt new, like we were looking at everything with a fresh pair of eyes, But even so, it isn’t long before things get really dark and uncertain. My opinions on different characters had changed and I was left wondering what certain people were capable of. Truly capable of. McAllister continues to shock, intrigue and impress with twists and reveals left, right and centre, and I always feel this part of her books are the most compelling, the time where I literally cannot put the book down. There’s more information revealed, more juicy cliff hangers, more reasons to find out the truth. Time really was ticking for Julia. There was no way I could predict how things would turn out for her and her daughter, but I hoped and prayed they’d be safe.
“And that’s when she sees it. A twitch, just in the living room. Somebody in all black. A hot flash runs up Julia’s arms and down to her hands. She has no time.”
I was not expecting my eyes to tear up with emotion one minute, then fear and panic to set in the next, but everything Gillian has done in the ending few chapters was done so effortlessly and with meticulous detail. The power of parenthood is put across so strongly and it’s so incredibly thought provoking. Despite so much happening in those final chapters, the author certainly doesn’t end the book softly. We see the lengths people will go to protect, to love, to support to get justice. And this ensured the ending of the book would stay in my mind for days… probably weeks! I don’t think Gillian could ever write a bad book, or even an okay book. With each new story comes such growth and so much excitement and mystery, and I will forever love this author for blowing me away each year with every new release. Another book to add to my top reads of the year, but if I’m honest, I really wasn’t surprised by how truly brilliant this one is. Eagerly awaiting the next!
Overall thoughts
Just Another Missing Person is an incredibly strong follow up to Wrong Place Wrong Time. It’s filled with twisty goodness that only a McAllister novel can bring, a plot to completely lose yourself in as well as a handful of characters to obsess over. I completely fell in love with Julia; a mother, a hard-working detective who will do anything to protect those she cares about. The story had me constantly guessing, questioning everything and leaving me unsure of who I could trust. I couldn’t get enough! This author truly gets better and better with each book. Intense, unnerving and perfectly paced. I loved it – please pick it up!
Huge thanks to the author, Gillian McAllister, for writing yet another perfect thriller! You can grab your own copy of Just Another Missing Person right now over on Amazon or wherever you buy your books. Make sure you’re following the author over on Twitter and Instagram for updates!
Looking for book reviews?
If you’re in need of reviews for your own book, do get in touch to get on my submissions list! All the information you need is on my book reviews page. If you enjoyed this review and would like to support my blog, you can buy me a coffee
