If you’re a mystery and thriller fan, you’ve probably read your share of missing person stories. But Just Another Missing Person has a unique twist. Check out my Review of Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister, author of Wrong Place, Wrong Time and Famous Last Words!
Just Another Missing Person by Gillian McAllister
- Published on August 1, 2023 by William Morrow
- This was a library book that I read in August 2023.
What Else Has Gillian McAllister Written?
I thought the 2022 Reese’s Book Club Pick Wrong Place Wrong Time was McAllister’s debut book.
But this British author has also written eight mystery-thrillers, starting with Everything But the Truth (2017) and Anything You Do Say (2017), then The Good Sister (2018), The Evidence Against You (2019), How to Disappear (2020), That Night (2021), and Famous Last Words (2025).
Review of Just Another Missing Person
I love an author who experiments and can surprise me, most of the time. I really liked the time-jump format of Wrong Place Wrong Time, so I was very excited to try Just Another Missing Person.
Just Another Missing Person has a traditional narrative style, alternating between four POVs: that of Julia, the police officer trying to find the missing Olivia, Lewis, father of the missing girl, Emma, whose son’s girlfriend is missing, and Olivia, through her social media posts.
If you read a lot of my reviews, you might remember that I am not a fan of too many POVs or epistolary elements. But used for the right reasons, these techniques can work, and I think they were not only necessary to make the story work, they improved it.
As the synopsis indicates, there’s someone who doesn’t want Olivia found, and the reason was fascinating. I really enjoyed the twist in this one, which was inventive and also made complete sense.
If you liked Wrong Place Wrong Time, then I think you’ll like Just Another Missing Person. Both books had strong family elements. Both brought something new to the table.
Spoilers for Just Another Missing Person and the Ending Explained
So I am always happy when I read a twist I have not seen before. One of my reading friends was not as impressed by the twist as I was. Here goes:
Olivia does NOT exist. She is a catfish/fake persona invented by Lewis, the father of another missing girl, who is certain that his daughter’s boyfriend is responsible for her disappearance. His daughter’s case has gone cold and he feels that if the police believe that the boyfriend might be responsible for “Olivia’s” disappearance, he might get some answers about his own daughter.
Meanwhile, Lewis also blackmails Julia, the detective to make sure the boyfriend gets convicted. Lewis is quite the crusader for justice!
I haven’t seen this particular twist before, but if you have, tell me in the comments! I read and respond to all comments!