The Missing Years By Lexie Elliott

 

The Missing Years

By Lexie Elliott

 Ailsa Calder's artist mother has died, leaving Ailsa as part owner of a large house in rural Scotland called the Manse. Ailsa wants to sell the house she had lived in as a young girl with her parents, but her missing father is a co-owner, and Ailsa has to prove his disappearance had resulted in death before she can sell the Manse.

Ailsa brings her half-sister Carrie to stay at the Manse while she sorts it all out. While staying there strange things start to happen: doors banking open, windows open when they should have been closed, flies in a smoke detector, dead animals left on her doorstep, and live animals that refuse to set foot on the grounds. Then there's the feeling that the Manse is watching her. Carrie doesn't see or experience most of these things, but the Manse has a reputation in the community.

As they try to settle in they make some friends with a group of neighbors and locals, a mix of personalities that each play important roles in Aisla's parents' pasts and in the past of the Manse, Aisla's father's disappearance, and her present dealings with the house. As things become more and more strange, almost dangerous, Aisla starts to suspect some of these people of being the cause of her troubles. Then a shocking twist reveals what is actually going on and the Manse shows itself to have a reason for existing, a time-bending force that works on anyone who was born, or perhaps died in the house and on the property. Ailsa finds out what happened to her father and she can finally grieve the loss of both of her parents.

This was a book full of tension and questions. I was on edge through most of it as I tried to figure out what was coming and how it was all going to be revealed. Usually I have a good sense about what the real threat or twist is going to be, but The Missing Years was not one of those books. I was genuinely surprised at the twist and how it all came together. This book was reminiscent of Jennifer McMahon's novels, with the paranormal element that is mostly the result of human actions in disguise. However, the Manse did have its own agenda in this book. The writing was taut and compelling, the Scottish setting was new for me and I really enjoyed being in that landscape, the characters were compelling with interesting personality traits and issues. I enjoyed the backstory and how all of the characters' lives wove together.

The structure of the book was my favorite element, I think, with Ailsa's story intermixed with her imaginings of what happened to her father. She gives him different personalities and reasons for leaving that were really effective and affecting, and made her sadness and wonder palpable. The effect of these sections really aided in the book's emotional resonance.

The Missing Years was a 5-star thriller for me.