7 Different Types of Missing Person Mysteries
It’s easy to get burned out, or bored, when reading too much of what feels like the same. Especially when a big element of genre reading is wanting the formula, tropes, and/or rules associated with it. But that doesn’t mean the books all have to be, or feel, similar. Voice, setting, time period, and tone, are just some of the things that can make a well-read trope or subgenre feel different and exciting.
A missing-person case is a perfect example of a trope that can lead to fans reading too many books that feel the same: you read one procedural centering on a missing-person case that you enjoy, and then all the recommendations that follow are procedurals with similar characters and plots. But there are a ton of missing-person mystery books that are all different from each other, mixing together the familiar that you like—and want—with the “variety is the spice of life” element that you need to not get bored.
So, if you’re a fan of mystery novels that focus on a missing-person case, I have seven great mysteries that vary in voice, tone, subgenre, and even in the type of missing-person cases they have.
Outsider Detective, Missing College Woman
Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove
Carrie Starr, a former Chicago detective, is grieving the death of her daughter and working as a tribal marshal for the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) in the Oklahoma reservation where her father grew up. But she’s an outsider, and the case assigned to her—of missing college student Chenoa Cloud—only brings up memories of the daughter she feels she failed, all while she’s being haunted by visions of Deer Woman…
Coming-of-Age, Amateur Sleuth, Missing Sister
When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris
Jay Murphy and his sister Nicole were raised by their grandmother, and Jay, a junior in high school, is doing his best to save his money working at Taco Bell and writing rich kids’ school papers in order to retire his grandma Mimi. But things get complicated when his sister Nicole, known to be dating the neighborhood drug dealer, doesn’t come home one night. Jay initially ignores it, then feels guilty, and then teams up with an unlikely friend to find out what happened to his sister…
Three Missing People, One Returns, Questions Remain
Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica
A decade ago, there were three missing person cases in the same town: first, a woman vanished while out running, and then a woman and her young daughter disappeared. Now, the daughter has been found, but rather than the community getting answers, there are just even more questions…
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Missing Friend, For Fans of Sadie
A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar
Cale lives in a small Nevada desert town where the grandfather who raised her is dying and her best friend is missing. Frustrated because she seems to be the only one concerned that Penny has disappeared, Cale sets out to find her—or at the very least what happened to her…
Past and Present Missing Person Cases
I Hope You’re Listening by Tom Ryan
Seventeen-year-old Dee has never gotten over a childhood trauma: Dee and her best friend Sibby went to play in the woods when they were seven, and only Dee returned. The case has never been solved, and feeling powerless, but with zero desire to sleuth herself, Dee starts an anonymous true crime podcast where she highlights cases and turns them over to internet sleuths to solve. But when a young girl goes missing from the same neighborhood as Sibby’s case, Dee can’t help but feel the past is returning…
Brontë Sisters Imagined as Detectors, Missing Neighbor
The Vanished Bride (Brontë Sisters Mystery #1) by Bella Ellis
In 1845 Charlotte, Emily, and Anne are loving and bickering sisters who learn of the disappearance of a neighbor in Yorkshire. The missing young wife left behind two young children and enough blood to cause alarm. Enter the Brontë sisters, who believe they each have skills that can help solve the case, even if society believes women should play no role as detectives.
You don’t have to be a fan of the Brontë sisters, classics, nor ever read them in order to enjoy this series.
Missing Wife, Did-He-Or-Didn’t-He Trope
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
This is a character driven family drama that opens with the matriarch, Joy Delaney, disappearing. Readers follow the family members (four now-adult kids who grew up as tennis stars), Joy in the past, and the police as they try to figure out if Joy’s husband is responsible.
Annette Bening plays Joy Delaney in the Peacock adaptation.
Browse the books recommended in Unusual Suspects’ previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2025 releases, and mysteries from 2024 and 2023. Check out this Unusual Suspects Pinterest board and get Tailored Book Recommendations! Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Goodreads, Litsy, and Substack.
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