The Missing

Sometimes when I write a review I often wonder how much to share and how much to hold back on. Such is the case with C.L. Taylor's novel, The Missing. I guess since there is no official rating scale for books, that is where reviews come into play. Mine might be a bit harsh but I want readers to know what they are truly getting into before they pick this one up. If they're fine with the subject matter, than they won't be as surprised as I was when I read this novel. The premise is simple, a young 15-year-old boy Billy Wilkinson goes missing without a trace and his family is left to deal with the aftermath.

The novel is divided into a series of events being seen through the eyes of his mother, Claire, who truly believes her son is alive even though she doesn't know where to begin to look for him. The book begins 6-months after his disappearance, and the family is going back to the public for an appeal to help them find out what has happened to their son. The family is beyond fragmented as each of them attempt to deal with things in their own way. Claire thinks she must stay busy because trying to go back to normal can't happen until she finds her son. She begins to see him everywhere and follows them to almost tragic ends without considering her own safety. I would too, if I was Claire. Her older son, Jake is almost forgotten by her husband, Mark. Seeing as he has turned to alcohol as his way of dealing the pain of being cast aside, while dealing with his live-in girlfriend, Kira who has escaped an abusive upbringing.

Claire suffers from black out episodes where she has no recollection of how she arrives in any location and soon her family believes she might just need to see a specialist dealing with mental disorders. The majority of the book deals with the family trying to figure out what happened to Billy but in the midst of all of this are homosexual encounters between a group of teens, Claire happens to follow that lead to an apartment where she walks in on two men have sex. Also her best friend, Liz is dealing with her own son having a boyfriend. I felt that neither of these issues needed to be built into the novel and found them distracting from following along with Claire trying to find her son. That being said, it wasn't quite the novel I had hoped for.

I received The Missing by C.L. Taylor compliments of William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins Publishers. This novel capitalizes on every parents worst nightmare. Not knowing if your son has simply chosen to walk away from adult responsibilities and seek his future without his divisive parents or he was truly a victim of suspicious circumstances. The novel does toggle between Claire's hunt for the truth and text messages between two individuals who have a tormented relationship that involves underage drinking. Is this a clue or another diversion? You'll have to read the novel to find out how it all turns out. I rated this novel a 3.5 stars in my opinion based on my own review criteria.

For more information about The Missing, C.L. Taylor or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

The Missing by C.L. Taylor

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To read more reviews on The Missing, please visit Harper Collins Publisher's website.