The Missing Hours: A Novel
The Missing Hours: A Novel book cover

The Missing Hours: A Novel

Hardcover – September 14, 2021

Price
$13.99
Format
Hardcover
Pages
288
Publisher
Minotaur Books
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1250083722
Dimensions
5.7 x 1.03 x 8.47 inches
Weight
13.1 ounces

Description

Praise for The Missing Hours OXYGEN: SEPTEMBER BOOK CLUB PICKGOODREADS: INCLUDED IN THE BIGGEST MYSTERIES & THRILLERS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR ROUNDUP NEW YORK POST: BEST NEW BOOKS TO READ“An adventure thriller . . . a great reckoning with the moment we find ourselves in.” ― New York Times Book Review “ The Missing Hours is a smart, thoughtful, and gripping book. You'll find it hard to put this novel down.” ―Oxygen, September Book Club Pick“[A] fast-paced, piercing evaluation of the aftermath of sexual assault. . . Dahl, who wrote the phenomenal Edgar Award-nominated Rebekah Roberts mysteries, writes brilliantly about how violence impacts victims and their communities.” ―Medium"This is a dark, gripping study of vengeance and of what it means to live in a woman’s body." ―The Guardian “A provocative and timely standalone novel.” ―Oline Cogdill, South Florida Sun Sentinel "A fast-paced thriller with multiple perspectives.. [Dahl] provides a timely story about an always relevant topic."― Library Journal "[ This Missing Hours ] is a provocative standalone... Credit [Dahl] with ambitiously tackling a broad canvas." ― Publishers Weekly "[Dahl] is known for her fast-paced writing, but this one moves at breakneck speed and stays with you long after the last page."― Booklist “Julia Dahl has crafted a satisfying and thought-provoking revenge thriller in The Missing Hours.” ―CrimeReads"Claudia’s story will resonate." ― Mystery Scene “A dark thriller about the meaning of vengeance, survival, and justice.” ―Alafair Burke“Does exactly what the best crime novels should.” ―Ivy Pochoda"Fast-paced and fierce.” ―Elizabeth Little "Highly recommended." ―Lou Berney“A swift, heart-pounding novel about money and power and violation.” ―Steph Cha“Remember to breathe, because Dahl has crafted a wickedly intense thriller that never lets up from the first page to the explosive finale.” ―Jennifer Hillier“Timely, taut, and gripping―an absolute must-read." ―Laura McHugh“I couldn’t stop thinking about this haunting, propulsive novel, and it will stick with me for a long, long time.” ―Alex Segura"A riveting tale of abuse and revenge that explores the dark underside of New York's privileged class.” ―Alison Gaylin“ The Missing Hours grabs you from the start and never lets go." ―Wendy Walker“Utterly arresting, incredibly thoughtful, and in the end, as gripping as it is necessary. It'll stick with you long after you're done.” ―Rob Hart Julia Dahl is the author of Conviction , Run You Down , and Invisible City , which was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel, one of the Boston Globe ’s Best Books of 2014, and has been translated into eight languages. A former reporter for CBS News and the New York Post , she now teaches journalism at NYU.

Features & Highlights

  • From the critically acclaimed author of
  • Invisible City
  • and
  • Conviction
  • ,
  • The Missing Hours
  • is a novel about obsession, privilege, and the explosive consequences of one violent act.
  • From a distance, Claudia Castro has it all: a famous family, a trust fund, thousands of Instagram followers, and a spot in NYU’s freshman class. But look closer, and things are messier: her parents are separating, she’s just been humiliated by a sleazy documentary, and her sister is about to have a baby with a man she barely knows.Claudia starts the school year resolved to find a path toward something positive, maybe even meaningful – and then one drunken night everything changes. Reeling, her memory hazy, Claudia cuts herself off from her family, seeking solace in a new friendship. But when the rest of school comes back from spring break, Claudia is missing.Suddenly, the whole city is trying to piece together the hours of that terrible night.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(84)
★★★★
20%
(56)
★★★
15%
(42)
★★
7%
(20)
28%
(77)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Don’t Waste Your Money

This book was confusing with needless characters and details, skipping around to past, present and all different time frames of the characters lives. It kept building up to what you thought would be a climax in the story. But nope! Nothing! And where were these missing hours? The lead female basically knew what happened to her. There was no mystery to it. The book ended with so many loose ends and basically left you hanging on what ended up happening with all the cast of characters. I only finished the book because I was waiting for the climax and because it was such a short book. So save your money and your time.
8 people found this helpful
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A taut, captivating, timely thriller

The Missing Hours is a rare gem that combines lean and intricate plotting, bold and efficient characterization, and all-too-relevant subject matter into one gripping and hard-to-put-down feast. Dahl takes a deep dive into a brutal subject - the rape of a young woman - and is unsparing, but never didactic, in her examination of every facet of the of injury that it inflicts on the main character and those close to her. At the same time, it relentlessly pulls the curtain back on the systems that the perpetrators utilize to protect themselves, and the blindness they have toward the implications of their own power and status.

I had trouble putting it down between the first page and the last. A few days since having finished it, I'm still impressed by its craftsmanship and its gravity, and by the unexpected turn at its end. It's a sharp page-turner, and one you'll definitely be passing along to your friends, whether they're literary aesthetes or fans of crime novels and thrillers.
6 people found this helpful
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Haunting, thought-provoking page turner

I didn't want to put this down...but I also wanted to make it last, it was such a thoughtful and interesting read! The characters are well developed and onterws, and she treats a difficult topic with intelligence, nuance, and heart.
4 people found this helpful
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Gripping and Powerful - It Will Stick With You

This is a propulsive, compelling story that I read in one sitting. It begins with a mystery - what happened to Claudia during the "missing hours" that she can't remember? But it rapidly turns into a thriller - asking not just what happened to Claudia, but what she's going to do about it. We get a glimpse into the lives of not just Claudia but all the people around her who are affected by her assault and trauma. One of the highlights of the book for me is that in the midst of the darkness, it was also a wonderful story about sisterhood and the bonds between sisters that are so powerful. It ends on a complex, but ultimately affirming note. I really loved it.
3 people found this helpful
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Dahl writes consistently good mysteries

All of Dahl's books are among the better contemporary mysteries. Her characters are interesting, the plot moves along at a nice pace, and there is always good detail about place and atmosphere. I probably liked her earlier books a bit better but this is still a good read.
2 people found this helpful
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Missed the mark

There were some good ideas and moments here, but I felt like this book was all over the place.

Two major issues:

1) This book couldn't decide what it wanted to be. Is it an emotional story of an assault victim and those around her? A thrilling tale of revenge? An exploration of class, wealth, and privilege? A family drama?

2) This book was too short, with too many characters. There are three characters that we spend the majority of our time with Claudia, Trevor, and Edie, and they were all underdeveloped. The characters in this book had more backstory than they did personality. And this also applies to several minor characters that would randomly take over the narration for a time, only to be largely never heard from again.

Altogether, it didn't read like a cohesive story and I had very little connection with any of the characters. I think this could have been something special, but it got lost somewhere.
2 people found this helpful
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Nice Premise, But Execution Fell Short

“The Missing Hours,” a #me2 thriller, by Julia Dahl, begins with a strong chapter that quickly pulls in the reader. Unfortunately, the story slows down after that and I soon lost interest. The middle part of the book was difficult to read. Fortunately, the action picked up in the last third of the book, but the ending was a dud.

Basically, the story is of Claudia, a young college student, whose rape is filmed and sent to her friends by the rapist. What happens afterwards is quite predictable. None of the characters were likeable. Most are privileged, spoiled, rich kids whose parents are on standby to get them out of any trouble they get into. The parents feel they can pay off everyone to keep quiet. When that fails to work, violence certainly will. Even Claudia’s sister, who is pregnant and having a baby just as Claudia disappears is angrier that her sister missed the birth of her child than she is concerned that something terrible might have happened to Claudia. It is difficult to relate to or feel sorry for people like this. Many crimes are committed, but no one ever seems to get into trouble for them. They certainly live in a different world than the reader does.

As far as the writing goes, it is decent, but difficult to follow at times. There are POV shifts, even in the same paragraph. The “head-hopping” is a distraction to the story, and it often occurs in a single paragraph.

I was most disappointed in the ending. There are lots of loose ends not wrapped up and the story ends abruptly. Claudia seems willing to forgive those around her as she realized she put herself in a bad place, but then turns around and seeks revenge. Is she really forgiving or not?

The premise for the book has promise, but the execution fell short.
2 people found this helpful
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Highly Recommend

Great writing on a topic that all too often holds our attention for a short time. Thought provoking with plot twists until the end. Highly recommend!!
2 people found this helpful
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Messy

My first and last book by this author. This is a predictable story with little tension or mystery. Won't go into the weak plot, as I'd lose interest trying to describe.
1 people found this helpful
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Riveting and timely!

I found myself unable to put this book down. I marathon read it in two days. I was impressed that the author didn’t try to tie up every detail at the end — life doesn’t happen that way. “The Missing Hours” gives us the opportunity to share the book and create our own opinion of what happens next. Makes for great conversation and open dialogue about the crucial issues of money and privilege.
1 people found this helpful