Before She Disappeared

This is the 2nd book I have read by Lisa Gardner (see post on When You See Me) and I am once again impressed by this compelling writer.  The protagonist in this stand-alone mystery is Frankie Elkin, a nomadic free agent who scours missing persons websites and then picks a cold case to pursue. Apparently, Gardner was inspired by a BBC article that highlighted an informal community of amateur detectives, dog handlers, pilots, etc. who undertake to help solve old missing persons cases in order to bring some closure to families. 

Frankie has just landed in Boston and, not being a big city girl, is a little overwhelmed by the crowds, the traffic, and the transit system. But she eventually makes her way to the largely Haitian neighborhood of Mattapan. And, in spite of being a recovering alcoholic, her first stop is Stoney's Pub, where she persuades owner Stoney to let her tend bar in exchange for staying in a vacant efficiency apartment on the 2nd floor--which apparently is sparsely furnished but includes a resident homicidal cat, Piper. And then Frankie digs in to find a missing 15-year-old girl, Angelique Lovelie Badeau, who disappeared from school 11 months ago without a trace. Angel wanted to become a doctor, was a bright and dedicated student, so no one believes she just walked away. After convincing the girl's aunt and younger brother that she doesn't want any money from them and that her only goal is to find Angel, Frankie must also convince the local community liaison and the detective who has been working the case. Frankie has found 14 previously missing persons, but not one of them alive; this time, she is determined to change that outcome. It's a dangerous neighborhood of Boston, torn by gang wars and drug dealers competing for turf, but Frankie persists in asking her questions and manages to uncover new leads that move the case dangerously forward.

Publishers Weekly  says, "Frankie...is a nuanced character whose unflinching honesty and lack of self-pity allows the reader to empathize, if not completely sympathize, with her struggles. And cat lovers are sure to fall for Piper, Frankie’s equally dysfunctional feral companion. Gardner pulls no punches in this socially conscious standalone."

The Philadelphia Inquirer concludes by saying that this is a "sharply written, tension-filled yarn full of twists readers are unlikely to see coming. The most compelling element, however, is the character of Frankie, a recovering alcoholic whose obsession with the missing is a penance of sorts for the burden of guilt and grief she carries over a past trauma that took the life of a man she loves."