Maud has dementia. She’s forgetful and confused, her thoughts slipping between the present and the past, and sometimes – often – mixing up the two.
In order to remember, Maud writes herself notes, and her notes tell her that Elizabeth is not answering her phone, and is never home when Maud visits, and through the story we get the exasperated conversations with Elizabeth’s son, who refuses to tell Maud anything. She’s convinced he is involved, desperate to get his hands on his inheritance.
This disappearance triggers memories of Sukey, Maud’s sister, who disappeared without a trace 70 years earlier.
I loved this story! ‘Elizabeth is Missing’ is Emma Healey’s first novel, and is so skillfully done – Maud is the protagonist, and the story is told in first person, so her life and experience of the world unfolds before us in all it’s confusion, and yet the story is so well written that the reader is never (or rarely) confused, and the synchronicity of events that leads to both mysterious disappearances being solved doesn’t feel contrived. Highly recommended!
If you’d like to read it yourself, you can buy a copy here.
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Heather Ewings 