#BooksOnTour – LITTLE GIRL MISSING By J.G. Roberts

I’m so excited to be doing my very first #BooksOnTour blog tour for Bookouture – one of my favourite publishers! Thank you so much for making me part of your tribe!

Imagine putting your beloved child safely to bed at night, only to discover in the morning that she’s completely disappeared! This is what happens to Naomi Bailey. She tucks her adorable five-year-old Cassie into bed late one night, and the next morning that bed is empty and Cassie has disappeared without a trace.

To complicate matters further, Cassie’s Dad, Charlie isn’t living at home at the moment due to a recent indiscretion. Naomi hasn’t allowed Charlie or his mom Hazel access to Cassie in the five weeks since she threw Charlie out. Having no family of her own, she’s relied heavily on her best friend Kate for support. And now it looks like she’ll need her more than ever.

DCI Rachel Hart is brought in to investigate. With past demons of her own that bring this case very close to home for her, she’s not quite sure what to make of things at first. Watching Naomi and Charlie closely, she tries to decipher their behaviour and figure out if there’s something going on that she just can’t put her finger on, or if this is purely the reaction of highly distraught parents who will do anything to have their child found. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking and as everyone knows, in a missing child case, every second counts!

With loads of twists, plenty of red herrings and lots to keep you guessing, this is one that will have you reading late into the night. Although I did start to suspect who the guilty party was, I was already way past halfway through the book – so, not that obvious and very craftily disguised – and the actual reason came as a complete surprise! The writing is clever and fast-paced, and the characters are very well rounded. This is the first in a series that will feature more of DCI Hart, and I look forward to reading more about her, and learning more of her story.

I admit I might have hugged my kids just a little bit tighter after reading this one – although they’re much, much older than Cassie! But then, it makes no difference really how old your child is, does it? The horrific thought of anything unforeseen happening to them is just more than any parent can contemplate. The book also begs the question: How well do you really ever know anyone; even those closest to you? We always think that danger lurks in the unknown but Roberts reminds us that unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.

This is a five-star read that I couldn’t put down!

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