Ripley Jones

This one was great! We're back with Cam and Blair. They are not a bit older and have a bit of PTSD after their last case. Both of them are still sorting through what happened in book 1 and how it's changed their lives.

Cam is still herself, just a bit more reserved. She is learning to look at big-picture a bit, instead of just rushing in. She's thinking through consequences and what she wants from her life. No more Podcasts for her! And Blair is looking at everyone else planning for expensive colleges trying to figure out what her next step is, since she doesn't have the money for college. Neither one of them see it coming what another girl in this small town comes to them with an accusation - my missing sister just came back. But this person who came back, she's not really my sister.

It's explosive. Cam and Blair start out with secrets and the beginning is a bit of a slow burn. It does speed up, as the mystery unfolds. Even though I guessed this one right from the start, I really liked exploring the aftermath of a true crime podcast getting a huge following and what that did to their lives. I also liked that they still had to juggle real life in between, as well as their personal relationships. Cam and Blair also had some unresolved issues and I loved seeing them grow as they sorted it all out.

All in all, this was a good mystery but, really, it was another visit with 2 characters I love, doing the thing that I loved for them the most - helping someone else sort a mystery in their life. I don't know if we'll get another one, this one felt like a bit of a goodbye, but if we do get another book, I'd absolutely be first in line to read it. I love this set of characters and this world the author has created. I highly recommend starting with Book 1 if you haven't ([b:Missing Clarissa|60784571|Missing Clarissa|Ripley Jones|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1652545327l/60784571._SY75_.jpg|95667853]) and then moving right on to this one!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.… (more)

A small town with a big mystery. Twenty years ago a young, beautiful, recent high school graduate went missing from a party in the forest. She has never been seen again and no signs of a body or a struggle ever surfaced. Her boyfriend was the prime suspect and never got out from under the assumed guilt. The town moved on but everyone remembers her story.

Cam and Blair, in the local small high school, have taken journalism this year. Cam decides her their project must be the best project ever. They are going to do a podcast on this missing high school student from 20 years ago - and they are going to solve it.

I love stories based around true crime Podcasts. I love the moral ambiguity with covering them - is it fair to the accused? Is it fair to the family and community that lost someone? Cam was strong willed and bullheaded as she pushed and shoved those that she interviewed. I loved Blair's struggle with who she was, what she wanted and where she saw herself going next.

The mystery was also great. The clues were every so slowly revealed and it kept me completely engaged and on the edge of my seat. It helps that I'm also in Washington state and could picture the forest, the parties, the protected lands, the rain. This one had so many layers, so many great questions, I asbolutely loved it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.… (more)

What do you do when your grief won't leave and nearly everyone thinks you're delusional. This is thirteen year old Mattie's lot. Their older sister vanished in the middle of the night five years ago and not a trace has ever been found. That is until a new young woman who bears a striking resemblance to Lola reappears and claims she she is Lola and can't remember what happened. Mattie's cold, distant mother, and drug-dependent brother accept the girl with open arms, but Mattie's not fooled.
They badger Cam and Blair, two girls at their school who solved another missing girl case the year before with unpleasant results. They're reluctant to help Mattie but they're not only persistent, but start finding loose strings from what happened five years ago.
If you read the book, you'll be sucked in and intrigued by what crawls out from under some of the rocks, Mattie, Cam, and Blair turn over.… (more)

In August of 1999, popular high school student, Clarissa Campbell goes missing in Oreville, WA. The response to find her turned up nothing but more questions about the people who may have seen her last. Even with national attention her disappearance becomes a cold case.

Twenty years later, two high school junior students create a podcast for their journalism class about the disappearance of Clarissa Campbell. The two friends, Blair and Cameron, set out to impress their teacher but find themselves too invested in trying to uncover the truth to stop. They proceed with reinvestigating old suspects and witnesses who were around the night that Clarissa was overheard arguing with her football player boyfriend, Brad Bennett. It seems that the two girls are starting to stir up memories about the past which could likely be putting themselves in danger. Their quest for justice not only puts themselves in danger but inadvertently cast suspicion in the wrong direction.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing a complimentary review copy. My voluntary review is my honest and unbiased opinion.… (more)