The Missing One

By: Lucy Atkins

Narrated by: Buffy Davies

In her gripping debut novel, Lucy Atkins takes us on one woman's journey to the beautiful and rugged Pacific Northwest to discover the dark secrets of her family's past so she can understand and accept herself. Kal McKenzie was never close to her mother, Elena, whose coldness toward her spoiled any chance of a good relationship. When Elena dies of cancer, Kal feels forlorn: How do you mourn a mother who, inexplicably, just didn't seem to love you?

While clearing out Elena's art studio, Kal finds a drawer packed with postcards, each bearing an identical one-line message from a Canadian gallery owner named Susannah Gillespie: "Thinking of you." Who is this woman, and might she hold the key to Kal's ruined relationship with her mother?

Conflicted by her grief and shaken up from recently seeing a covetous text from an old girlfriend on her husband's cell phone, Kal impulsively sets off with her toddler, Finn, to Susannah's home on a remote British Columbian island, a place of killer whales and storms.

Soon Kal quickly realizes she has made a big mistake. The striking and enigmatic Susannah will share only a few scraps of information about Elena. Kal discovers that her mother was a pioneering orca researcher--an activist trying to save the powerful and dangerous creatures.

©2015 Lucy Atkins (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Lucy Atkins's engrossing debut immediately immerses the reader in intrigue." (Publishers Weekly)
"Beautifully written and compelling...a wonderful thriller that is also such a strong portrayal of motherhood." (Sabine Durrant, author of Under Your Skin)

A Best of 2014 Books Pick
Best Mysteries of 2014 by The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Part mystery, part feminist tome, part story of parental love, part animal-rights narrative, The Missing One is like nothing I've read before...[a] poetic page turner." (The Plain Dealer)
"This novel is brilliantly gripping." (Closer)
"A moving and suspenseful tale of the secrets a family keeps." (Rachel Hore, author of The Silent Tide)
"A gripping page-turner." (The Sunday Times)
"A page-turning and suspenseful tale.... I read it in three sittings...a compelling emotional mystery." (Lucy Clarke, author of The Sea Sisters)

A very enjoyable book

I really enjoyed this book. If I had anything bad to say is that quite a few of the chapters were very long (like over a hour or a hour and a half ). But over all I really enjoyed the story and the narrator did a wonderful job.
DonnaMarie

this story was boring too many boring details

Would you try another book from Lucy Atkins and/or Buffy Davies?

maybe

What could Lucy Atkins have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

cut out all the long boring details, main character i found to be very irritating and
quite dense.

Did Buffy Davies do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

yes ok, but towards the end the lines blurred a bit, probably because i lost interest

Did The Missing One inspire you to do anything?

yes, to find out more about Orca's

Any additional comments?

It is the fist Audible book that i constantly felt i wanted to return & get my credit back!

Gorgeous, Engaging, Too Long

I absolutely loved this book.
I learned so much along the way too.
However, despite the captivating aspects it lags at times.
This could’ve been much more concise and expertly told with better editing.
I was strongly attached to the story, I loved the protagonist and found her to be extremely relatable.
I also had the unexpected pleasure of learning so much about Orcas.
As an animal lover and activist I couldn’t believe how much I didn’t know about Orcas and the structure of their pods.
The mystery of this book is fascinating, rich and deep but it is a bit too long.
That’s the only thing I’d change.
The narration is exceptional.
Lucy Atkins continues to prove herself as an extraordinary talent and she writes with such empathy and love for her characters.
These characters leap off the page and the story brings you on a journey worth taking.
If you have a heart you will really FEEL this story.
It’s incredible.
I would encourage anyone reading this to read “The Night Visitor” because it is truly astounding and a great example of LA at her best.
I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Thoroughly enjoyed!

Will be sure to recommend this one ... This had all the elements I enjoy most... Great story... Combination of adventure/quest and suspense.

Wonderful story

Was sad that it ended, the characters were very easy to become part of the story! Sorry to finish the story

American accent Marge Simpson

The British narrator's American accents are so unsettling - she's got the vowels all wrong and she's not representing any American accent but all of them at the same time. Why is one of the characters Marge Simpson?

Otherwise good story, a bit long in many parts.

I read other Lucy Atkins books before this and I am glad she improved her writing from this debut story. I look forward to more.

Long, but worth every minute

Would you listen to The Missing One again? Why?

Yes for sure. The writing is lovely. Beautiful descriptions of the wild North Pacific, and the whales and their behavior. The characters are very individual and real. Very believable. Everything about the book is believable, but it still leaves you wondering what will happen as grows more mysterious, by the minute.
It is slow paced, so some readers may get bogged down by that, but for me it just reconfirmed the plot and landscape. Instilling the remote location, tension and mystery of what was going on, and also Suzanna's unstable personality. How it slowly unfolds, with Buffy Davies perfect voice, and the luscious writing style.
The only thing that was a bit annoying was Cali's mothering style and constant saying "no" to her son. This is truly how it is with a toddler though, so I understand, and was able to look past it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Missing One?

When Cali jumped into the freezing water to get onto the boat with her son.

Which scene was your favorite?

They are all good but the best parts were when it went back to her mother's life- her marriage, her move from California to the "Float house" and, of course the day they took the family out on the boat with a storm coming was very memorable and tense. Her mother's life was so romantic in a wild way.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I also wanted to make it last too. These are the best ones.

Any additional comments?

Human behavior, the best kind of mystery. More please.

Listen in double time

Or you'll go stark raving mad wondering how anyone can even think so monotonously slowly. I finished it but with great effort. A small little story which should have been an essay.