The Missing
By
C.L Taylor
When fifteen-year-old Billy Wilkinson goes missing in the middle of the night, his mother, Claire, blames herself. She's not the only one. There isn't a single member of Billy's family that doesn't feel guilty. But the Wilkinson's are so used to keeping secrets from one another that it isn't until six months later, after an appeal for information goes horribly wrong, that the truth begins to surface.
Claire is sure of two things – that Billy is still alive and that her friends and family had nothing to do with his disappearance.
A mother's instinct is never wrong. Or is it?
Sometimes those closest to us are the ones with the most to hide…
The story begins with messages between two people. We don't know if the characters are male or female or their ages as they are using screen names. They appear all through the book gradually teasing the reader with a little bit more information.
The book then moves on to Claire Wilkinson. She is getting ready to attend an appeal on the six month anniversary of her son Billy Wilkinson's disappearance. Billy went missing one night and has not been heard from despite appeals, posters, fliers, Facebook pages and a website. Mark - Claire's husband and Billy's Dad - is distant. He compartmentalises stress into boxes and can only cope with one problem at a time. Jake Wilkinson the older brother of Billy lives with his parents along with his girlfriend Kira.
It is obvious from the start that this family have secrets from each other. Claire doesn't know who she can trust and whether or not everything she sees or hears is in fact reality.
I honestly had no idea how this would end. There are many theories that went through my head as I was reading, all of them wrong I have to say! The ending actually threw me completely and was very well written. I think the characters were rounded and the anguish of the family shone through. I can only imagine what it must feel like to not know where someone is, how do you move on with your life? How do you sleep? How do you carry on with the mundane everyday tasks?
I would highly recommend this book and will definitely be looking out for more titles by this author.
5*
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