The
Night She Went Missing
Author:
Kristen Bird
ISBN: 9780778332107
Publication
Date: February 8, 2022
Publisher:
MIRA
Book
Summary:
Months after she disappeared, a high school senior is found
floating in the town’s harbor, alive but unconscious. Where has Emily been, and how did she
get into the water? In Kristen Bird’s “gripping” (Publishers Weekly)
debut The Night She Went Missing, three friends-to-frenemies
mothers in a close-knit, wealthy Texas community decide to investigate after
the police hit a dead end. While each woman has secrets to protect, they’ll all
be forced to look at their own children – or each other’s – to uncover the
truth.
With the relentless pacing and complex female
characters of Big Little Lies and an expertly crafted small town
setting, The Night She Went Missing introduces Kristen Bird as a
new force in the world of domestic suspense. Her novel goes well beyond that,
exploring complex questions about mothers and daughters, loss, and the line
between taking chances and living dangerously.
Buy
Links:
Murder by the Book
(Houston, TX)
Excerpt
EMILY
They find me faceup in the murky water of the harbor on the day
of my funeral. Or memorial service. Whatever. It’s not like there’s much
difference. Dead is dead.
Except I’m not. I. Am. Not. Dead.
I would pinch myself if I could move.
“Can you hear me? Hey, what’s
your name? Can you open your eyes?”
My eyes are as dense and heavy as
basalt. Basalt: rich in iron and magnesium, Mr. Schwartz penned on the
board during our volcanic rock unit in eighth grade. I fight to come out of the
emptiness that has held me for the past…the past what? Hours? Days? Weeks?
I
attempt to whisper my name even though my eyelids remain anchored. Emily. That’s
right. Emily. I can’t remember the last time I voiced those three syllables.
“Pull her up.”
Hands yank at me, jerking me from
the arms of the water. Two hands wander up my body—over my feet, my legs, the
arch of my hips, my arms, onto my neck, stopping at my forehead. This touch is
not like the familiar plying of the boy I love, so fiery that it almost stings.
This touch is necessary, cold, perfunctory. Perfunctory, Mrs. Abbot, my
sophomore English teacher had pronounced for us students as we learned the word
for the first time. P-E-R-F-U—
The voice cuts in. “Tell them we
have a girl, a teenager. No broken bones as far as I can tell but looks like
she’s been out here for hours. Unconscious, but breathing on her own.” His
voice muff les as he turns his head. “I think she might be Emily.”
Suddenly, a brilliant choir of
tenors and baritones and basses burst forth. “The Emily?”
Emily. Yes, that’s me. What a
comforting thing to hear one’s name spoken by those who can point the way home.
I breathe in gratitude and descend into the lightness of sleep before a hand
touches my cheek again.
“You awake, Emily?”
The swooshing of the waves calls
to me, a reminder that the song of the deep is steady despite all the new
sounds: The bustle of work boots, the hum of the boat waiting to churn to life
and set out across the open sea.
“Your
mama’s been looking for you, Ms. Emily. You gave us all a fright. You hear me?”
The man seems to sense that I can hear his words while my body remains frozen
despite the warmth of the water and the sun overhead. “You’re gonna be okay,
sweetheart. Yes, ma’am, you’re gonna make it just fine. Got a daughter about
your age, and I woulda been worried sick if my girl had gone missing for weeks
on end. Your mama sure is gonna be happy.”
A nasally voice now. “Where you
think she’s been all this time? Turned into a mermaid?” The boy chuckles.
“Hush, Beau.”
The man’s hand touches my
forehead, his fingers sandpapery with callouses. “Now, sweetheart, if you can
open your eyes for a sec, I can introduce you properly to the crew. We’re
getting you help as fast as we can, but you can go ahead and open them eyes
before all the medics arrive. They’d be good and relieved to see you looking
around.”
I
try. Oh, how I want to f licker them open, but my head aches and oblivion pulls
harder. The siren call of the void is too tempting to resist.
Excerpted from The Night She
Went Missing by Kristen Bird, Copyright © 2022 by Kristen Bird. Published by arrangement with Harlequin Books
S.A.
About the Author
Author
Bio:
Kristen Bird lives
outside of Houston, Texas with her husband and three daughters. She earned her
bachelor’s degree in music and mass media before completing a master’s in
literature. She teaches high school English and writes with a cup of coffee in
hand. In her free time, she likes to visit parks with her three daughters, watch
quirky films with her husband and attempt to keep pace with her rescue
lab-mixes. THE NIGHT SHE WENT MISSING is her debut novel.
Social
Links:
Twitter: @kbirdwrites
Facebook: @kristen.bird.writes
Instagram: @kristenbirdwrites
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