A tense domestic thriller about trust, toxic friendships and family secrets, One of Us is Missing by B.M. Carroll will have you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails, and questioning what dangers lurk in plain sight.
In 2019, Carroll organised for her family to attend a U2 concert but couldn’t get four seats together. Her children, who were 14 and 17 at the time, begged for field tickets and insisted they would be okay on their own, so Carroll relented – but it was a worrying scenario for a self-confessed helicopter parent.
On the evening of the concert, Carroll and her husband located their stand seats, and their children were quickly lost in the masses as they joined thousands of others on the field.
“I spent the whole concert worrying that the kids would become separated and lost,” says Carroll. “When there are 50,000 people packed into a stadium, it is very easy to disappear, and every worst-case scenario ran through my head. I tapped into that parental fear when writing the novel.”
In One of Us is Missing, Rachel and Rory Sullivan decide to celebrate making it through a difficult year by taking their teenagers, Emmet and Bridie, to their first-ever stadium concert. By the end of the night, one of the four has vanished without a trace.
As the police investigation intensifies, suspicion is cast on the remaining family members, their friends, and the enemies they didn’t realise they had. Everyone has been deceiving one another, but who is to blame for what went wrong?
The passing of each hour amplifies their terror that life will never be the same again. Perfect for fans of Sally Hepworth and Liane Moriarty, One of Us is Missing will make you hug your children just that little bit tighter when they leave the house.
Ber Carroll was born in Blarney, Co. Cork and is one of six children. Ber moved to Sydney in 1995 with her boyfriend, Rob, who is now her husband of twenty years. She spent her early career working in finance but resigned when she realised that she couldn’t hold down a demanding job, be mum to two young children and write books to contractual deadlines.
Ber is the author of twelve novels. Her last five novels have been written under B.M. Carroll to reflect that her writing has become darker and more twisted (which is also a reflection of her state of mind!). You Had It Coming was shortlisted for the 2022 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction and the 2022 Davitt Award for Best Adult Novel.
One of Us Is Missing is published by Affirm Press and is available from all leading book sellers including Booktopia.
Image: One of Us Is Missing – courtesy of Affirm Press