THE MISSING ONES BY PATRICIA GIBNEY #BLOGTOUR #REVIEW - This Chick Reads
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THE MISSING ONES BY PATRICIA GIBNEY #BLOGTOUR #REVIEW

Hi amigos and amigas, today I have the absolute pleasure to be the tour host for THE MISSING ONES blog tour, Patricia Gibney’s debut & newest Bookouture author. My hands are shaking as I’m typing this cause I FUCKING LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH & I really hope my review (and the gushing) will get you interested enough to pick it up. Just do it! And it’s only 99p/99c for the kindle and C’MON…do I need to give you more reasons? Of course not! So, read my review and RUN to amazon! I promise, you won’t be disappointed. Massive thanks to the fabulous Kim Nash from Bookouture for the chance to be part of the blog tour and get an early review copy.

Cheerio, sweethearts!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Missing Ones by Patricia Gibney
Series:Detective Lottie Parker #1
Also in this series:The Stolen Girls
Published byBookouture
Published on 16.3.2017
Genres:thriller, crime
Pages: 424

The hole they dug was not deep. A white flour bag encased the little body. Three small faces watched from the window, eyes black with terror.

The child in the middle spoke without turning his head. ‘I wonder which one of us will be next?’

When a woman’s body is discovered in a cathedral and hours later a young man is found hanging from a tree outside his home, Detective Lottie Parker is called in to lead the investigation. Both bodies have the same distinctive tattoo clumsily inscribed on their legs. It’s clear the pair are connected, but how?

The trail leads Lottie to St Angela’s, a former children’s home, with a dark connection to her own family history. Suddenly the case just got personal.

As Lottie begins to link the current victims to unsolved murders decades old, two teenage boys go missing. She must close in on the killer before they strike again, but in doing so is she putting her own children in terrifying danger?

Lottie is about to come face to face with a twisted soul who has a very warped idea of justice.

Fans of Rachel Abbott, Karin Slaughter and Robert Dugoni will be gripped by this page-turning serial killer thriller, guaranteed to keep you reading late into the night.

HOW can this be a debut? I mean here I am double checking if this is actually Ms Gibney’s first book. OMG can you tell I am impressed? Actually I am BEYOND impressed! She’s super talented, created a perfectly suspenseful thriller with loads of characters (something I usually don’t like) and perfect past to present switch. Seriously guys, this book can’t get any better!

The book opens with a crime in the 70s. We don’t know much where it’s happening, why or who is the victim. Fast forward to 2014 and a woman is killed in a Cathedral. Just when we meet 51 year old Susan, she’s already dead. She’s off to meet someone and ends up strangled. DI Lottie Parker and her partner, Detective Mark Boyd get immediately on the scene looking for clues as to why she’s been murdered. However, Susan is one big mystery and an awfully contradictory character. Of course this doesn’t help the police force, so after going through her apartment and not finding any clues (except some prescriptions), they’re off to question her employee. Seems they’ve hit another dead end in the investigation (excuse the pun). And then another body is found and seems these two cases are somehow connected. The old handmade tattoo both victims have on their thigh seems not only to connect them but holds the secrets of their history. Many years ago they were connected by something, something which was so strong that bind them together always.

But Ms Gibney doesn’t stop here, some people also go missing and believe me, you won’t know what will happen next. This whole book felt like watching this super suspenseful police procedural that pulls you in from the start and once you’re done, it seems everything finished in a blink. Yes, be prepared to lose track of time and postpone all your activities cause you won’t be able to put it down.

Ms Gibney is another of Bookouture’s gems and seems they have a hell of an amazing list of thriller authors. Angela Marson and Robert Bryndza to name a few and now Patricia Gibney as the newest member of the team…honestly, sky is the limit. I am absolutely in love with this book and have so many reasons, too many to mention in a review and I know that once I hit ‘post’ I will come up with some more to add. But anyway, in no particular order I’ll mention some of the things which blew me away.

THE STORY is absolutely brilliant, there’s something so mysterious and intriguing about these books revolving around old crimes. The author managed so gracefully and skillfully to connect these strange and horrible crimes with some new ones, intertwine their stories and mutual history. Everything is simply flawless and despite the fast pace you won’t be distracted even for a second.

THE CHARACTERS are brilliant, from the main DI Lottie Parker, to her partner Detective Mark Boyd but also all the other side characters. If you’ve read Angela Marsons’ DI Kim Stone series, you might see certain similarities, but that’s only because both Kim and Lottie are kick ass, independent, bloody amazing at their job, women. But that’s where all the similarities end. Lottie is a mother of 3 and has lost her husband few years ago due to cancer. It’s a tragedy the family is still coping with and Lottie is really doing her best to juggle between motherhood and being in the force. She’s got her usual ups and downs, fights anxiety and takes meds. But she’s a tough cookie and is definitely one of the strongest leading characters I’ve ever read about.

THE PACE is perfect! I mean I’m telling you, it’s action, action & more action. There are so many twists right till the end of the book that I really couldn’t predict what will happen in the next chapter let alone the ending.

THE SETTING is amazing! Small town in Ireland during winter, it really can’t get any chillier than that :). I absolutely loved it!

While I didn’t find too many scenes of graphic violence, the book talks about some rather sensitive and awful topics, such as child abuse and pornography. At times it wasn’t the easiest book to read because I would feel this awful rage towards beasts who commit such crimes.

The Missing Ones is undoubtedly one of THE BEST thriller/crime books I’ve ever read and a start of an amazing series I’ll follow. I honestly can’t wait for the #2 and can’t hide it, I do have big expectations for it. If you’re a fan of Angela Marsons’ gripping thrillers, you’ll definitely LOVE The Missing Ones. You’ll simply devour it in one sitting, it’s that gripping and fan -fucking-tastic! Oh and don’t be scared by the +400 pages cause they will fly, baby! 

About Patricia Gibney

My name is Patricia Gibney and I’m from Mullingar, County Westmeath. Right in the heart of Ireland. Surrounded by lakes, Mullingar is damp and wet most of the year but when the sun shines it is a little piece of heaven on earth. I’ve lived here all my life. I’m widowed, seven years in May, but was married to Aidan since 1982. I’ve three children who keep me sane, or maybe keep the madness at bay, just a little bit! I say that because I am an artist and a writer. I started writing, for therapy, when Aidan died.

I secured an agent in January 2016 and she is fighting my corner in an effort to get my debut novel published.

Three years ago, I decided to get serious about it. I joined The Irish Writers Centre. Started doing courses. I love reading crime thrillers so it was obvious to me to start writing in the crime genre. And let me tell you, it is not easy. A crime novel needs to be tightly plotted and plotting is the bane of my life. I prefer to write straight off the top of my head. Oh, Oh. Feels good when writing but then comes the editing. I lost 20,000 words in the process. But at least I am proud to say I got it done.

I am now writing the second novel in the series, featuring Lottie Parker and a host of credible characters. They are all part of my extended family, you know the kind – people you love one minute and want to kill the next!

So join me on this journey and lets see where it leads us.

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