Beautiful. Blonde. Missing. Murdered.
It was supposed to be a romantic getaway to New York City. Breanna's new boyfriend, Ty, took care of everything – the train tickets, the sightseeing itinerary, the four-story Jersey City rowhouse with the gorgeous view of the Manhattan skyline.
But then Bree wakes up one morning and discovers recently missing dog-walker Janelle Beckett dead in the foyer. Ty is gone, vanished without a trace.
A Black woman alone in a strange city, Bree is stranded and out of her depth. There’s only one person she can turn to: her ex-best friend, a lawyer with whom she shares a very complicated past.
As the police and a social media mob close in, all looking for #Justice4Janelle, Bree realises that the only way she can stay out of jail is if she finds out what really happened that night.
But when people see only what they want to see, can she uncover the truth hiding in plain sight?
I'm delighted to be hosting the blog tour for Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett today. Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me and for sending me a copy of the novel.
Missing White Woman syndrome was first described by American news anchor, Gwen Ifill in 2004. It describes the disproportionate attention that the media and law enforcement pay to missing white women compared to other missing people, particularly those who are Black or indigenous. Kellye Garrett explores one such case in her latest book, Missing White Woman and as much as it's a compelling murder mystery, it is also a tense, unsettling exploration of the syndrome in action.
Early in the book, while Breanna's boyfriend isn't quite a dream man – their romantic break is disturbed too often by his work and the calls he receives – he is kind, loving and funny. However, although Bree thinks they are nearing the time when they express their love to each other, it is also clear that this is still a relatively new relationship and there's a lot they don't yet know about one another. She has her own secrets, most notably regarding an incident in her past which changed the trajectory of her life but after she discovers the violently battered body of a woman in their Airbnb and Ty missing, she begins to realise just how little she knows her boyfriend.
The book is narrated in the first person which gives us a really personal insight into how Bree is feeling and the sense of immediacy is gripping. Her sense of fear and apprehension is particularly strongly depicted, even before she makes her gruesome discovery, and when she first arrives at the Airbnb, she is starkly conscious that as an unknown Black woman, she will come to the attention of the mostly white residents in the prosperous neighbourhood. Her early traumatic experience has clearly scarred her and she is mindful not to appear suspicious or threatening in any way. The neighbours are already on high alert as their dog walker, Janelle Beckett has gone missing and Bree herself becomes fascinated by the media attention around the case.
After she finds the body of a woman who matches Janelle's description, the storyline quickly becomes darker and more intense. As well as the first-person narrative, there are also transcripts of a TikTok influencer's posts about Janelle. The @ABrushWithBillie account usually focuses on makeup but Billie Regan is an astute woman who uses her platform cleverly and before long, she is controlling much of the discourse about the missing woman. As her viewing figures rise, she emotionally cajoles the public to seek #Justice4Janelle but it's a hashtag which becomes increasingly sinister, as Kellye Garrett's searingly perceptive book explores how the public's appetite and media's salacious exploitation of crimes like this can result in other innocent people becoming victims too. Whether through misidentification – especially when Black people are named and would-be vigilantes only see colour – or the terrifying practice of doxxing someone, the cries for retribution and angry death threats are only too believable.
Bree is forced to reconsider everything she thought she knew as more evidence comes to light and there's a terrific sense of foreboding engendered as her anonymity becomes ever more fragile. She is supported by her ex-best friend, Adore, who is now a lawyer but their complicated history together, as well as the relationship she has with her critical mother, means her sense of isolation and betrayal is almost palpable at times. Although featuring a brutal murder, Missing White Woman isn't really about the investigation itself; it's an important, thought-provoking look at the vulnerability felt by the Black community when they cross paths with the law, and the sometimes dangerous demand for performative responses to such tragedies. It is also a cracking thriller; an addictive, pacy read which twists and turns until its dramatic conclusion.
With its complex, convincing characters and timely, razor-sharp plot, Missing White Woman is a superbly crafted, compulsive novel and one I highly recommend.
Missing White Woman is published in the UK by Simon & Schuster. Purchasing links can be found here.
Follow the bog tour, details are below.
About the Author
She’s also the author of the Detective by Day mysteries about a semi-famous, mega-broke black actress who takes on the deadliest role of her life: Private Detective. The first, Hollywood Homicide, won the Agatha, Anthony, Lefty and Independent Publisher “IPPY” awards for best first novel and was named one of BookBub’s Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time. The second, Hollywood Ending, was featured on the TODAY show’s Best Summer Reads of 2019 and was nominated for both Anthony and Lefty awards. Prior to writing novels, Kellye spent eight years working in Hollywood, including a stint writing for Cold Case. She is a former member of the Sisters in Crime Board of Directors and is a co-founder of Crime Writers of Color, which received the 2023 Raven Award from MWA.
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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