The Missing Years by Lexie Elliott

 I have been waiting to read The Missing Years literally from the second I heard it was coming out. I loved The French Girl and I couldn't wait to read Lexie Elliot's next one. So imagine how excited I was to get my hands on this advanced copy!

This creepy mysterious story revolves around Ailsa Calder and her grand but perhaps haunted Scottish manor that she inherited. The manor which is referred to as The Manse has been left to Ailsa and her father Martin Calder. The problem is Martin has not been seen in 27 years!

As Ailsa returns to her once childhood home The Manse, she has to deal with the disturbing questions that have torn her apart for years. Did her father abandon her family 27 years ago or did something far more sinister happen to him?

Lock the doors and check them twice with this one! There is a slow burning creepy story line that builds with intensity as the story goes on. Mysterious things begin to happen that make you question if The Manse is in fact haunted as legend has it or does someone want Ailsa to go back where she came from? As she reconnects with people from her past I was not sure who to trust. Everyone seemed to have a motive to not want Ailsa back in town.

As Ailsa struggles to figure out if her father is still alive and what is going on at The Manse, she uncovers details of the past she may not want to hear. A quite interesting character named Fiona McCue is introduced that has a very interesting history that ties in with The Manse. She has a condition called dyschronometria which as a nurse I have never heard of. I had to take to google to determine if this was in fact a true condition, which it is! Bravo to Ms. Elliott on her creative plot line that managed to carry a creepy undertone the entire story! It kept me guessing all the way to the end!

I read this as a group read with a group of Traveling Sisters so we all could chat about this much anticipated second novel by Lexie Elliott!

Thank you so much Berkley Publishing, Goodreads and Lexie Elliott for this ARC!!