The Missing Years

An eerie, atmospheric mystery thriller that's full of suspense and mysterious events that leave you wondering if it's a trick of the imagination or if a paranormal element is to blame.

Ailsa Calder is a journalist who has partially inherited her childhood home following her mother's death, a Scottish manor known as The Manse which is nestled in a small town in the Highlands. Due to the peculiar disappearance of her father twenty-seven years ago and the fact that he is co-owner of the Manse, she has to file a presumption of death to sell the manor and move on with her life.

So, Ailsa and her half-sister make a trip of it planning to spend a few months there giving her enough time to settle her affairs while also reconnecting with her half-sister. However, the Manse has other plans. Upon arrival, a series of strange events begin to unfold pulling Ailsa to the edge of her sanity calling her to question everything she thinks she knows.

This story uncoils itself slowly with each event and revelation building on the other til it reaches its climactic finish.

While I found the pacing to be a tad slow in the beginning I learned to appreciate it because its purpose was to build solid, complex characters while crafting an atmosphere of suspense and mystery.

I was able to connect deeply with the characters so much so that I felt the confusion and panic that Ailsa experienced with each bizarre incident. This left me completely unaware of the final reveal and I was properly shocked.

I also found Ailsa to be a strong female character. She was vocal in expressing her suspicions and quickly sought to uncover the truth. No waiting around and pretending that things weren't happening or acting aloof. She was on it from the get-go. I appreciated her fastidiousness and astute observations.

I appreciated the complexities of Ailsa's relationship with her half-sister and how they began to learn to reconnect with each other and move forward letting go of the past. I also found the uncertainty that Ailsa was experiencing regarding the direction of her life. How it humanized her and made her more relatable and added another layer of ambiguity to the overall story. Will she or won't she?

This was a perfectly lovely read that I enjoyed my only disappointment was not having the plot take the turn that I was expecting it to take. Which is why I didn't rate it higher. However, the ending was perfect for this story and the twist isn't what you imagine it to be at all.

3.5 stars.

In het begin hield ik niet van de bijna fluisterende stem van de verteller, maar dit wende vrij snel en ik begon er zelfs van te houden, vooral wanneer een Schots accent werd gebruikt of voor de stem van kleine Callum.

Dit verhaal vond ik behoorlijk akelig, waarbij het huis een volwaardig personage is. De benauwende atmosfeer sijpelde uit het verhaal en ik had bijna het gevoel dat ik dit las terwijl ikzelf in dat spookachtige huis zat.

Het tempo is langzaam, er wordt een rustig momentum opgebouwd waardoor er constant een dreigend en angstig gevoel heerst. Dit wordt perfect gebalanceerd met de no-nonsense houding van het hoofdpersonage, die niet terugdeinst om haar eigen intuïtie te volgen.

Het einde vond ik geweldig. Hoe de auteur alle vreemde gebeurtenis een plausibele verklaring kan geven, maar de vraag of er iets bovennatuurlijks gaande was toch blijft knagen.

Geweldig mysterie en een auteur die ik in de gaten ga houden!

This is one of those where the people really frustrate me throughout. Much more interested in the sister and Fi than the mc. Though the ending definitely saved it for me. I also appreciated the light use of Scots.

Okay but it was so irritatingly obvious that the sister was with Fi. What was even the point of stringing along with that. Was that honestly meant to be a surprise in any way. Annoying and dumb.

On a personal note, the half sibling distinction is a huge pet peeve.