Wow! I’m not sure what I expected from this debut author but it wasn’t this evocative tale of a girl whose sister goes missing one autumnal day in 1982.
Anna Flores’ sister, Gabriella went missing, in fact we only see her reflected through her younger sister’s adoring eyes but it’s now thirty years later and Anna’s mother has died and it is time to clear the house and sort through the family possessions. Anna sadly returns from Athens to attend the funeral but finds herself needing to confront what happened all those years ago.
Split between the present day and 1982 this is every family and uniquely the Flores family. Somehow this author has summoned up the 1980s without resorting to constantly naming the brands of the day or key events of the time but rather more exceptionally, by evoking the attitudes of those times.
We have Esther Flores, mother to two daughters, Gabriella and Anna and wife to Albert Flores who owns a second-hand shop which offers house clearance services. Now I don’t know about you but in another life I can think of no better way than to go poking around through the books, photos and sentimental items collected by a homeowner – I have to admit, I’m not up for the heavy lifting of furniture or cleaning up but the building a picture of a life lived, sorting the valuable from the rubbish, would be perfect for the nosiness I have about other people’s lives. Esther doesn’t like it when Albert does a house clearance as he is away from home far too much as but she has her friend Rita who brings her crime thrillers to read and offal from her husband’s butcher shop to feed her family.
At first any conflict in the family is seemingly benign with Gabriella pushing against her mother’s rules by dying her hair black and wearing unsuitable clothes at which point Albert steps in as the peacemaker without overly upsetting either party. Meanwhile Anna is young enough to observe all that is happening but when the whispering starts between her mother and father her attempts to eavesdrop fall far short of informing her of what has happened. Gabriella now has secrets from her and she feels she’s been pushed to the edge of the family.
And then Gabriella disappears on her way home from school one night, she’s agreed to meet Anna at the shop, House of Flores but she never turns up and in the intervening years there have been few clues to follow.
Told in alternating time periods between the events of 1982 and Anna’s present life carrying out the one last house clearance her mother had agreed to, Anna starts to put some of the pieces of the puzzle together. Reconnecting with those residents who are still alive, including of course Rita who had remained a steadfast friend Anna is able to reconcile the events of the past to some degree.
This book, despite not being the psychological thriller I had expected from its title was definitely a page-turner but of the less manic variety than the genre normally provides; indeed I would say this is on the edge of what is traditionally called women’s fiction exploring as it does families, secrets, friendship, community and love in a vivid and evocative way. I adored it all, the descriptions of Anna’s grandparents coming to visit, the two girls exchanging looks as the same old stories are told, visit after visit, the gentle love and respect her parents demonstrate for each other and their children gave me a feeling of nostalgia for what were arguably simpler times for children.
An assured debut that has me eager to see what Jenny Quintana will offer next.
I’d like to thank the publishers Pan Macmillan who sent me a copy of The Missing Girl, this review is my unbiased thanks to them.
First Published UK: 18 December 2017
Publisher: Mantle
No of Pages: 336
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Amazon UK
Amazon US
This sounds excellent!
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I loved it!
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I like the sound of this one.
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Thank you I highly recommend it
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I’ve not heard of this book before but your fab review has me wanting to read it! I’m adding it to my wish list right now 🙂
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That’s great news Hayley.
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This sounds like a really solid exploration of a family, among other things, Cleo. And I do like the premise of a sister’s search for answers. It sounds multilayered, which appeals to me a lot.
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It was far more than I ever expected and I was drawn to the family, warts and all.
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Sounds great Cleo! You are not doing my TBR pile any good!!!
Merry Christmas!
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Haha – Merry Christmas to you too!
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I love the sound of this one! Now and then, I need to read a more evocative story that offers a view of a family, while exploring the secrets and the mysteries in a less manic way. Thanks for sharing!
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You’ve said it far better than I could Laurel but the change of pace and the deeper investigation into the relationships was just what appealed to me so much.
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I am intrigued, Cleo. Missing kids I usually am too chicken to read about because as a mum, it kills me. I’ll look around for this book. I hope you and your family are doing well and you have wonderful plans for the holidays. XX!
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Thank you Stefanie – I know what you mean but the missing girl is only a part of this story – Happy Christmas to you too!
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I hate it when historical scenes, or even entire books of historical fiction, become nothing but newspaper headlines strung together or written into very stilted conversations. “Have your upgraded your Commadore 54 to a floppy drive yet? You know, they hold zillions more than your old cassette tape drive.” That sort of thing–or way worse.” Good review.
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You make a very good point – I tend to like the odd reference to items that have had their moment but it is very hard to evoke a time just through attitudes which Jenny Quintana executed perfectly.
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Pet Peeve of mine in reading historical fiction. I dumped Patrick Taylor’s previously wonderful Irish Doctor series because he got greedy and started cranking out books of headlines.
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It’s so much harder to evoke a time period through attitudes rather than things, but so much more effective. A pet peeve of mine is when a historical novel has everyone in it having modern attitudes, and although the ’80s isn’t that long ago, things have changed so much for kids. Sounds like she’s done a great job!
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I agree and I was struck when I was reading it how much the attitudes of those times have changed in respect to how much children know what is going on both in the wider world and their own family – I was incredibly impressed.
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Such a wonderful review. Don’t you love it when a book surprises you, especially when It’s an author’s debut.
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Oh wow, I’m impressed that an author is able to evoke a sense of the 1980s without name dropping, what a treat!
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I really do highly recommend this book and all the layers are beautifully put together!
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Great review Cleo! Looking forward to this one even more now, I’m on the blog tour in a couple of weeks! 😁
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Ooh I’ll be checking out your thoughts for sure – I wondered if part of the appeal was the era it was set in but my daughter read it too and enjoyed it just as much as I did.
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Thank you for the review. Sounds good.
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Thank you 🙂
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I knew this one would not disappoint! This one sounds fantastic and I can’t wait to read it, especially taking into account the author’s connection to Spain! I hope I can get my hands on a review copy soon.
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This one is going on my list – I love this kind of family story.
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It was brilliant and so very well executed
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