MISSING

Roxy Raines went missing in 1986, but that won’t stop Mona Perry from investigating her disappearance decades later.

One summer night, young singer Roxy disappeared from the sleepy Delaware island town of Sandown Bay. Years later, 17-year-old Mona travels to the island, determined to find out what happened to Roxy—and to report the findings on her podcast, How To Disappear. Mona started the podcast after her older sister, Celeste, mysteriously vanished while the pair were on a hike in the woods. Lying about her age and posing as a seasonal summer employee, Mona dedicates her free time to poking around Roxy’s former haunts. She befriends 15-year-old Ellis, a local boy who shares her interest in finding out more about Roxy’s disappearance. Can Mona and Ellis piece together what really happened? Vivid, poetic language builds the picture of a quiet beach town that’s never recovered from its tragic past. Mona is a complex character whose drive to discover the truth shines through her many, very human flaws. Side characters largely lack the same depth, although one of the story’s strongest figures is Celeste, who looms over the central plot as a mythic figure whose disappearance spurs Mona’s passionate interest in “documenting…all the ways a life can pause.” Most characters are cued white.

A rich, complex story about the secrets that a small town is determined to keep.