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Local Gone Missing cover art

Local Gone Missing

By: Fiona Barton
Narrated by: Gabrielle Glaister, Mr Nicholas Guy Smith, Jayne Entwistle
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Elise King is a successful and ambitious detective—or she was, before medical leave left her unsure if she'd ever return to work. She now spends most days watching the growing tensions in her small seaside town of Ebbing: the weekenders in their fancy clothes, renovating old bungalows into luxury homes, and the locals resentful of the changes.

Elise can only guess what really happens behind closed doors. But Dee Eastwood, her cleaner, often knows. She's an invisible presence in many of the houses in town, but she sees and hears everything.

The conflicts in town boil over when a newcomer wants to put Ebbing on the map with a giant music festival and two teenagers overdose on drugs. When a man also disappears the first night of the festival, Elise is drawn back into her detective work and starts digging for answers. Ebbing is a small town, but it's full of myriad secrets and hidden connections that run deeper and darker than Elise could have ever imagined.

©2022 Fiona Barton (P)2022 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about Local Gone Missing

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not a patch on her previous thrillers imo

I was spellbound by Fiona Barton's previous three books - I did not like the Child or The Widow at times as they do not pull any punches and although not gory or gruesome they can cover some unsettling and dark topics. However I adored The Suspect and thought it was just brilliant.
It has been some time since I read the previous books but I think honestly I would never have guessed they were by the same author. Not that "Local Gone Missing" is bad but I just did not find myself immersed and gripped as the previous three.
I found I could not really get a good picture of the policewomen involved and I did find Charlie and Pauline a rather unlikely couple.
First off - great for once the missing person was not a woman as I expected it to be, second I admire the non ageist characterisation of Pauline as a glamorous and voraciously appetited 75 year old who is shown as a strong willed dynamic woman and not a tragically delusional figure of fun. Ditto her similarly aged husband Charlie who also is leading a very full and complex live with no apologies or allowances made for his age.
Of course they are not the average couple irrespective of age, so why shouldn't they be still seen as valid characters leading exciting lives as many 70 somethings do and have always done.
The story was told as so many are, jumping back and forth and as I was not totally enthralled I did find it a bit hard to follow and had to keep going back to make sure I had not missed anything.
I did find also two coincidences that I found hard to swallow and I gave up before the end as a pre-order I had been looking forward to arrived in and I felt I had sort of got most of what it had to give.
Narration was fine, one of the female narrators had that kind of voice that sounds as if she has just finished a digestive biscuit and washed it down with a cup of tea - it is an attractive quality but always makes me feel slightly peckish!
And that I suppose is a good metaphor for the whole book- bit of a storm in a teacup which left me rather unsatisfied and craving something I could really get my teeth into.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable

Yet another page turner from F Barton. Such a pleasure to follow her characters and to untangle the story.
Thank you very much Ms Barton!

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another excellent book.

Fiona Barton is who rekindled my love of reading.
I picked one of her books up from my late grandmas collection and it started me off with a love of reading.
I’ve been waiting a few years now for a new book from her, so I was very excited to see this one come up in my preorder list.
Another fantastic book, with a slightly different perspective than my usual crime novels.
It’s very well written and really enjoyable.
The narration on the audiobook is fantastic.
Highly recommend.

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2 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Such a shame about the narration

I loved all Fiona Barton's previous books and think I might of enjoyed this book but I really couldn't get past the appalling narration. The story itself did seem promising and I listened to about halfway through.
The narrator reading Dee, the cleaner, completely spoilt this book for me and sadly I couldn't finish it.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable plot

The story was good, it kept me listening, the cleaners voice was very Annoying like she needed winding up. Overall easy listening

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A solid 3 stars

A good enough plot to not make me give up on it and characters that could be developed in future books should Fiona choose to make this into a series. I liked the fact that the lead detective was returning to the job after months away for cancer treatment. This is so much more relatable and real than the typical cop suspended for being a maverick Trope you usually get in crime thrillers! If a second book came out I'd definitely give it a go.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

Not in the same league as her previous books which I thoroughly enjoyed so very disappointing overall

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable tale with some nice complexities

I've enjoyed this authors previous work and, while I perhaps didn't quite like this one as much, I found this a good story that had enough complexity and depth to keep you guessing and learning about the characters histories throughout. Perhaps a little stretch of the imagination that they all arrived in the same town, but I'll let that go. Good engaging performances bringing the text to life.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, shame about one of narrators

Another good Fiona Barton story but a word3 choice for one of the narrators who is supposed to be 27 but sounds much older.
Worth a listen though.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Another good listen from Fiona

I have enjoyed the previous 3 books by this author, and although this one is not a continuation of the others, I found it an enjoyable read, not too heavy going, as it had a few amusing touches. I did guess the end and possibly there was too many coincidences for comfort. My main gripe is about Dee’s narrator, she sounded like an old woman, when she was supposed to be late twenties

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