Three weeks after giving birth to her baby daughter Natalie, Stephanie Henderson goes missing, taking her daughter with her.

Her husband Adam is obviously worried and calls the police and sister-in-law Jess. The police are trying their best to locate Steph and with her taking Natalie the search becomes a priority.

Jess is normally the one being looked after by her sister so isn’t comfortable with the situation and she feels out of her depth. However, there is something niggling at Jess hat Adam isn’t telling the whole truth about her sister’s disappearance and she is determined to find out if he’s hiding something and bring her sister home.

My Sister is Missing is an intriguing and complex story. It is told in three parts and mainly from Jess’s POV but we do get to read some chapters from Adam and diary entries from Steph. The chapters are dated and include how many days Steph and Natalie have been missing.

From the beginning, we find out that Steph had been having an affair before she had her daughter and that she is sure that Natalie is her lover’s daughter, something that he agrees with as he’s threatening to tell Adam about their relationship and is pressing for a paternity test. He’s also started making threats towards Steph – Did this make her run, or has he done something to her?

I found the story a little slow in parts and at times repetitive but I still managed to read it in just three sittings. The characters were all enjoyable to spend my time with all had their own different personalities which came across clear.

This is one of those books where you start to suspect everyone – Did Steph runaway? Did Adam do something to her? Has her lover taken her? All possible scenarios and all interesting to fathom out as the plot unfolds. There are a few twists and turns and red herrings to throw you off the scent. There are also lots of secrets uncovered as the story progresses.

Family dynamics and mental health are all welcome and big players in books recently and this one handles them both with sensitivity, especially Postpartum Depression. My Sister is Missing has been written by a debut novelist and had I not know that fact I would never have guessed as it is a great plot that has been written superbly. My only little one niggle was I wanted more from the ending.

About the Author

Julia Barrett began her working life as a primary school teacher. She has worked in Public Relations for the NHS and as an in-house journalist for Queen Mary, University of London. She has a BA in English Literature from the University of Hull. She is a Faber Academy alumna and is currently working towards the completion of an MA in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London.

She grew up in Yorkshire and now lives in Essex with her husband and two children.