Reminiscent of Girl on the Train and Gone Girl, Elisabeth Carpenter’s novel 11 Missed Calls is a psychological tale spanning three decades, filled with intrigue, betrayal, and paranoia.
Reminiscent of Girl on the Train and Gone Girl, Elisabeth Carpenter’s novel 11 Missed Calls is a psychological tale spanning three decades, filled with intrigue, betrayal, and paranoia.
For Anna, the hunt for her mother Debbie, who vanished when she was just weeks old, has never faded. Whilst her family have seemingly moved on, she has always wondered what happened on that fateful night. When an email arrives, it throws the whole family, and Anna’s entire life, into turmoil, uncovering old wounds and creating new scars.
Carpenter creates a story filled with turns that makes even the savviest of thriller readers second-guess themselves. The character of Anna is relatable in that she isn’t pushed too far into madness, but rather just enough that you start to question your own reality. The dual narratives of past and present begin to blur as the story progresses, and on more than one occasion I found myself double checking whose mind we were in – this, for me, illustrated the psyches of the two women becoming intertwined, as mother and daughter go through their connected troubles.
Fundamentally, this is a novel about mental health, and the ways it was misunderstood – or rather entirely unaccepted – in the eighties, and one woman’s journey to discovering the truth and her sense of place. An energetic and enthralling read.
They receive an email reputedly from Debbie. Is she alive or is someone playing a hoax? This should be the start of a great tale.
The premise of this book was so good, but sadly this novel did not match up to it.
It was written in the first person. But to me as this story involved two time lines, this vehicle did not work for me.
It is the story of two women; Debbie who disappears on a holiday to Tenerife and at the start of the book is presumed dead. The other woman is Anna/Annie her daughter who has never known her mother. Her father is now married to Monica, Debbie's best friend. They receive an email reputedly from Debbie. Is she alive or is someone playing a hoax?
This should be the start of a great tale. But for me no. For various reasons. I found the first person narrative grating, I also thought the two characters of the women did not ring true. I was disappointed in the quality of the writing which surprised me considering the strength of her debut novel. For me this was a stop start novel and did not engage me. Others may like this book. Sadly not me.
A clever thriller about a daughter's quest to discover the truth about her missing mother. Superb!
11 Missed Calls is a clever and original thriller about a daughter's quest to discover the truth about her missing mother. I really enjoyed this book and felt that the way that the story was divided into chapters from the viewpoints of mother & daughter added to the suspense. It is a testament to the author's skill that the reader's interest was maintained throughout the dual narratives - it made the book even more gripping. If you enjoy thrillers then this should definitely be added to your summer reading list.
From the first chapter I was hooked on this book!
Debbie disappears whilst on holiday with her family and friends in Tenerife………
30 years later Anna is still consumed by what happened to her mother, did she die, is she alive, has she forgotten them? The answers to these questions seem to plague her and has coloured her life growing up. Then a letter arrives and her Dad and Monica (her step mum and Debbie’s best friend) start Anna on a journey of discovery
All Anna knows for sure about her mum is:
“She has dark hair like mine”
“She wasn’t very happy at the end”
The story that weaves itself around you is masterful and thought provoking – a fantastic page turner