Collect Missing Pieces Illustrated By Heather Gudenkauf E-Text
would like to thank Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review,
If I could sum up this entire book in one word it would be this meh, While the plot was enough to keep me from giving up, it wasn't anything spectacular as I figured out all the "answers" before the halfway mark.
For such a short book it felt like something was missing but simultaneously felt too wordy and repetitive at times.
Constantly something would be revealed in real time and then Sarah would rehash it all over again as "thinking out loud".
Every. Single. Time.
The characters were ok I think I had a hard time getting past how shallow these decades long relationships seemed and how all conversation seemed, well, awkward.
It seemed the author couldn't decide if she wanted this story to be domestic drama or psychological thriller and never committed fully to either.
I have read the rest of her books and while I've never felt her writing style was my favorite, I've always enjoyed her books enough to read the next.
This one seemed to not live up to her other works,
While not a horrible read it just seemed a bit bland and predictable, This was one that I had planned on purchasing to share with my sister in law but I'm relieved I didn't spend the money.
This was a Traveling Sister group read with Brenda, Norma, Lindsay, Kaceey, Linda, and Holly, It was so much fun reading with the group we all agree the discussion was astar experience, even though we didn't all agree on the book :
This was my first book with this author, and I've read reviews from fans that it wasn't their favorite so perhaps I'll give one a try someday.
To be honest, this read to me like a debut author who got super lucky getting published,
The book just didn't work for me, I knew who did it from the start as soon as that character was introduced, but that's not what ruined it.
What did ruin it was the believability factor, There were too many instances where my eyes rolled none of it was believable right from the start, starting with Jack and Sarah's marriage.
I realize it's fiction but it's not a good thing when your eyes roll so much as you're reading your head hurts.
The unbelievable things kept piling on top of each other, I don't even care enough to post them hidden as a spoiler,
Unfortunately, I can't recommend this one,
You can find the group review here:
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Parti para a leitura deste livro sem quaisquer expectativas, Nunca tinha ouvido falar da autora, nem sequer da sua obra, pelo que a surpresa ao desfolhar de cada página ia crescendo cada vez mais.
À medida que a história avança vamos descobrindo que o passado de uma das personagens principais foi completamente ocultado por ele e só o acidente de uma parente dele é que faz reviver tudo de novo.
A história, contada do prisma de Sarah Quinlan, mulher de Jack, tem contornos que se tornam cada vez mais obscuros.
Jornalista freelancer desde que teve filhos, Sarah sempre guardou consigo o bichinho da investigação jornalística e isso vai servirlhe para desvendar os mistérios, que vão surgindo ao longo da história.
opinião completa aqui: sitelink blogspot. pt/ Traveling Sisters Group Read by Brenda, Norma, Lindsay, Kaceey, JanB, Linda Sisters Mom and Holly
We love how everyone experiences the same book in such differing ways and we really value each others opinions.
So with that being said this getsStars for this sister reading experience!
So we were split on our feelings and ratings on this one for some of us we rate.
tofor others it gets a rating ofto,stars. So for the purpose of this review we have a combined rating ofstars!
We really enjoyed gathering the missing pieces from this story with our group of sisters and wow were we ever split on our feelings towards this one.
It made for some fun laugh out loud moments and interesting “book talk” among us, A term from Holly that we will now be using as a sister term, This book also inspired another new sister term and we also gave a title to Lindsay the “believability police, ” We sure had the believability police out on full force while we were reading this one, Striking up quite the conservation for us,
HEATHER GUDENKAUF has taken a different direction here with her who dunnit plotline with MISSING PIECES from her usual stories that centre around children and family dynamics.
It still had a lot of family dynamics to it which kept the conversation going and had some of us questioning the believability to the story.
The story was told from our main characters point of view Sarah who swings from a quiet supportive wife to a suspicious one with many thoughts and questions sparking quite the conversation with us.
We follow along with Sarah as she tells us the story and we gather clues by her thoughts through the many questions she asks herself.
This became repetitive and unnecessary for some of us and just didnt work for them, For others it did work and appreciated the lightness of being told instead of being showed and it was a nice break from some of the heavier thrillers that they have read.
All of our suspicions were all over the place with this one as the mystery shifted a few times.
Kaceey had us laughing out loud with her comment my radar is pointing in direction today anyway, In the end we pretty much suspected everyone with a few of us picking out the suspect quite early on.
For some of us the setting to MISSING PIECES stood out and the creepy old house was like a character and added to the atmosphere of the story for them, giving them an ominous feel.
For others it brought nothing to the story,
Of course the ending had us split with some rushing through it just to get it done, some disappointed, and for others they were completely satisfied.
So if you are looking for a quick and easy read with no real guess work and lots of questions we would recommend this book to you!
All of our Traveling Sisters Group s can be found on our sister blog:
sitelink twogirlslostinacouleereadi Missing Pieces, by Heather Gudenkauf, is a good, eerie murder mystery with several twists and turns,
Sarah and Jack Quinlan return to Jack's home town when his aunt is seriously hurt after taking a fall.
During their visit Sarah learns that Jack has been lying to her throughout their marriage, not only about his mother's death, but about many other things as well.
Sarah investigates Jack's family history and is determined to find the reasons behind the lies, She quickly realizes there is something not quite right within the Quinlan family, And it involves murder.
This story kept me guessing and the murderer was a complete surprise!
This is myth novel by Heather Gudenkauf and I hope to read more of her work in the future.
Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this novel,
I never was able to get on an even keel with this story, The premise sounded interesting, but in the execution it ended up coming across as hammy, No real depth to the characters, and the relationship between Sarah and Jack was paper thin, These two have been married for over twenty years, raised two daughters, yet the dialogue between them was as awkward as a couple on their first bad date.
ARC copy furnished to me by Net Galley in exchange for a review, Thank you. sitelink TopBooks of!
A longtime fan of Heather Gudenkaufs books, she returns following sitelink Little Mercies Stars with her best book yet, MISSING PIECESa multilayered, gritty, dark, mysterious, and suspenseful edgeofyour seat actionpacked domestic crime psychothriller.
I could not put down, Top Mysteries of!
A woman discovers dark chilling secrets about her husbands family past.
There is suspicion, mistrust, and nothing is as it appears, Two accidents or falls turn, into intriguing murders and a devilishly evil game of "three blind mice",
A whodunit mystery, which will leave your head spinning, while trying to guess the identity of the murderer with twists and turns you do not see coming.
Once you think you have it figured out, you suspect someone else,
There are Missing Pieces of a strange puzzle hovering just beyond your reach,
As the book opens we meet Lydia Tierney, Iowa farmshe has sent her two children, Jack fifteen and Amy eleven off to school.
She appears to be a happy homemaker planning a special dinner to celebrate their last day at school, prior to summer vacation.
She is downstairs, to collect some things for dinner, from the cellar, She and her husband John had lived on the farm for fifteen years, She hears something and turns around, before being stuck down by someone she appears to know,
Flash forward to present day,
Jack is now married with a family in Larkspur, Montana, A happy family, Jack is a physical therapist, and wife Sarah is an anonymous Dear Astrid advice columnist for the Midwest Messenger, a prominent newspaper in Montana.
A step down from her prior position, She had been a hardnews reporter traveling all over the world, covering major international news stories, After the girls were born she stayed close to home and the job had worked out well for the last seven years.
Only a handful of people knew Astrids true identity, Her daughters did not know, The twin daughters in college, at the University of Montana were too busy with their own life, Some of her letters were from weekly people looking for unbiased opinions and a fresh perspective, But some were odd, disturbing, dark, violent, and needy, If so, she had been known to contact the police,
Jack receives a phone call from Amy, his sister regarding his aunt Julia, She was the one who found her, Julia had taken a bad fall, and he needed to come home, Jack has not returned to his home place in twenty years, Penny Gate, Iowa does not hold fond memories for Jack, A threehour flight from Montana, and the couple are on their way to a town of dark secrets, Hold on for a roller coaster ride,
A past he has not shared with his wife, Plus, Sarah soon learns his last name was Tierney, not Quinlan Why was he taking his aunt and uncles last name Jack told Sarah his parents died in an automobile accident with the dad driving.
This is what she has believed to be true for twenty years,
Until now.
Aunt Julia and Uncle Hal raised Amy and Jack after they became orphans, Sarah soon learns, Lydia was murdered and Jacks father John has not been seen since, An investigation eliminated a variety of suspects, Jack being one of them, and it was assumed John was the killer however, there was no such evidence and he has not been found.
In this small town of Penny Gate there are many secrets, From parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, to siblings, Amy is troubled, and resents Jack for leaving, She calls their old home place a house of horror, Sarah begins to uncover all sorts of lies, Not only did her husband lie about his parents, he also was dating Celia, in high school, She now is married to Dean, Hals son, and Jacks cousin, Sarah had never met Celia, previously, The last time he came was for their wedding and she had stayed home with the twins, Jack is in noncommunication mode, He says he wants to forget it, Sarah is livid!
There is a mystery surrounding Julias falland soon after their arrival, she dies.
A full investigation is in force, All fingers point to Amy since she seems unstable with pill popping and alcohol, walking around like a zombie and losing her job.
However, she loved Julia and Dean appears to dislike her,
Soon thereafter Sarah with her former investigative reporting skills wants to know more about Jacks mom and dads death however, he is not forthcoming with any answers.
She begins to think the two murders may be connected,
Why is Jack being so secretive How will her marriage survive this Why would Jack lead her blindly into a town filled with secrets, horror, evil and violence She begins doubting her entire life with Jack and their family.
Why What is Jack hiding Dean and Celia live in the house that Amy and Jack grew up in,
In the meantime, blame is cast upon Amy, who says she is innocent, However, Sarah becomes to suspect Jack, She is trying to get Amy a lawyer, and then she then sees Dean and Celia fighting he has a temper.
After the reports come back, appears Julia was poisoned and beaten, Who would do this to a lovely woman What about Lydia and the murder from twenty years ago, never solved.
A bloodbath in the cellar, What is Gilmore, the cops connection Could John Tierney still be alive, and could someone have murdered him too
Sarah befriends Margaret Dooley, a woman dispatcher at the police department, who likes gossip.
Partners in crime, she feeds her information and between the two, they are a riotsneaking evidence, from a twentyyearold case, copying files to flash drives, slipping into library and coffee shops, bars gathering bits and pieces from the old and current murder.
Both houses are now a crime scene,
To make matters more intense, Sarah is receiving these cryptic emails about three blind mice, She ignores them, because she has too much other to worry about here in Iowa, Work can wait and she deletes them, She has not had time to answer her editor's calls, She has not a clue they could be connected to what is going on here in Iowa,
However, when someone runs her off the road and leaves a broken watch on her car windshield, and photos of a crime scene and other texts and emails someone here in Penny Gate could be the one behind the three blind mice
There are so many suspects: The cop, the uncle, the father, Jack, Amy, Deaneach time someone goes down the steps to a cellar or basement, I am holding my breath! Who would murder two farmers wives and why Similarities between Lydia and Julias deaths.
What is the motive
Sarah realizes that nothing about the Quinlan's is the truthtrust or not Each secret uncovered adds another crack in Sarahs marriage.
Wouldnt someone capable of murdering show some signs of insanity, being unbalanced Is she married to a psychopath or someone in this family Does she even want to stay here She has to learn the truth before she leaves.
“You cant catch me, ” A text. Her cell phone.
When Sarah gets her hands on the old evidence, she is afraid of her own husband, Who is this man Nothing could prepare for darkness and evil of this town, A race against time Sarah is in the middle of danger, the closer she comes to learning the identity of the killer.
Clues surface and the missing pieces of the puzzle come to light for an explosive climax,
Wow, this was one intense mystery! Loved Sarahs character and Margaret she was a former babysitter for Jack and Amy.
The two female feisty sleuths were creative, innovative, and pushed all boundariessmart, edgy, taking risks, witty, sneaking around making excuses about the food, and uncovering the web of deceit.
they need to be PI partners, A case no one could crack years earlier, These two made the story, A number of evil players with two sides, making it difficult to determine the killer, Cryptic message, clues, beatings, murder weapons, dark cellars, poisoning,
Loved the front cover Perfect title, There are so many missing pieces, clues, and mystery surrounding the two murdersan ideal book for book clubs and discussions.
Different personalities and perspectives. Nice character development and plot planning the author hands out small clues and pieces, as the story unravels, Very clever twist with the Three Blind Mice nursery rhyme, clues, poisoning, and the eyes being covered, see how they run, etc.
There is so much unknownand each character has flaws, making more than a few likely suspects with possible motive, By the time you reach the end, you will find another huge piece,
Even though I have enjoyed all Heathers books, MISSING PIECES is my favorite, Actionpacked and a different twist
than her previous books, I hope she continues to write more of these fastpaced crime psychosuspense mystery thrillers she is in her “element,” and since this is my favorite genrea glowingstars! Cant wait to see whats next! More of this, please
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A special thank you to MIRA and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Yes, my wish was granted, with her best yet: Be sure and check out upcoming sitelink Not A Sound Coming May,.
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