Book Review: Songs for the Missing

A girl goes missing. Family and friends struggle to deal with the thought that they many never see her again. A suspense story with family drama and loss mixed in? I don’t think the author was able to pull this one off. This is a slow moving book that will put you to sleep at different points in the story.

Kim has a boyfriend, a job and a good family, but one day she goes missing. Her friends and family gather to go out and find her on their own when the police leads go cold. Kim’s dad feels he must lead the search and has to keep looking until she is found. Her mom stays home and does the media and web site work to keep Kim’s name out there. Kim’s younger sister seems lost in the whole experience, unsure of what to do. The story leads you in to their lives and those of her friends to discover the secrets and feelings they are having throughout the search for Kim.

I was at a loss for words and unsatisfied by the time I finished this book. Where was the suspense or thriller part of the book that the synopsis described? The characters in the book seemed to be skimmed over and you never really got to know many of them in depth. I felt lost most of the time with certain thoughts being alluded to, but nothing was ever explained. The story falls flat in the second half of the book where we get more surface reactions from the family and friends about what has happened to Kim. The worst part was the ending. I was reading along and all of a sudden I felt like I ran in to a wall. I kept looking to see if I was missing some pages at the end, but I wasn’t.

“The Songs for the Missing” was missing a big chunk of depth to the story. I can not say I would recommend this book, but you be the judge. I would recommend having another book ready to read because this one will leave you wanting to read a better book.

Received book from Barnes and Noble First Look Club

Rating: 2/5 stars