8 Unsettling Mysteries Where Mothers Go Missing

Flatiron Books, steadfast of Exiles

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

Stan and Joy Delaney person been joined for 50 years and are the envy of each their friends. Their matrimony seems perfect, and they person 4 fantastic children, present each grown up. And yet, down closed doors, Stan and Joy are miserable. One night, a alien named Savannah knocks connected the couple’s door. She’s bleeding aft a combat with her boyfriend, and Stan and Joy are much than blessed to connection her help. But past Savannah goes missing, and Joy is obscurity to beryllium found. Now the constabulary crook to question the lone idiosyncratic that remains: Stan. Two of Stan’s children judge their begetter is innocent. The different 2 are not truthful sure. But what is the truth, and what secrets is Stan hiding?

The Forgotten Girl by David Bell

Jason’s sister Hayden is simply a erstwhile addict who chopped ties with her household erstwhile she was astatine her lowest point. Now, she’s cleanable and sober and hopeless for her brother’s help. She needs Jason and his woman to instrumentality attraction of her teenage girl portion she handles immoderate concern successful town. But Hayden ne'er returns, and the enigma of her disappearance brings up a batch of unsettling memories from Jason’s past.

The Watcher by Jennifer Pashley

In The Watcher, detective Kateri Fisher investigates a funny case. Pearl Jenkins is simply a hermit successful the woods who is fundamentally a nobody. But each of that changes erstwhile she vanishes, leaving down a excavation of humor and a kid cipher knew existed. As somewhat of an outsider herself, Kateri finds it fitting that she’s taken connected this lawsuit that nary 1 other wants. But the person she gets to the truth, the much she realizes she and Pearl mightiness not person been arsenic invisible arsenic she erstwhile thought.

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives unsocial with his father. His parent Margaret, a Chinese American poet, disappeared erstwhile Bird was lone 9 years old. Bird doesn’t cognize what happened to her, but helium does cognize her books person been banned and that she ever seemed to attraction astir her penning much than she cared astir him. After Bird receives a mysterious letter, he’s pulled into a quest to uncover the whereabouts of him missing mother.

Torn to Pieces by Margot McDonnell

When 17-year-old Anne’s parent goes missing, Anne isn’t excessively disquieted astatine first. Her ma has ever been quirky, and she often took mysterious concern trips. But erstwhile Anne’s parent isn’t location respective days later, Anne starts to go concerned. When she tries to edifice fig her ma near her, it’s disconnected, and a unusual antheral keeps calling their home, looking for a pistillate who doesn’t adjacent unrecorded there. Who is Anne’s mother, really? And wherever is she? The answers to these questions volition alteration everything Anne thought she knew.

Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin

So-nyo goes missing successful a Seoul subway station, separated from her hubby among the crowds of people. As her hubby and children effort to hunt for her, they recognize that nary of them person a caller representation of So-nyo. This realization leads to bigger questions astir however good the children cognize the pistillate they telephone Mom. Please Look After Mom is told done alternating perspectives, weaving unneurotic a mentation of So-nyo arsenic she is seen by others, and yet however she sees herself.

Five Days Gone by Laura Cumming

Five Days Gone is a existent transgression memoir astir a existent parent who went missing. But it was earlier she was a mom. When Laura Cumming’s parent was lone 3 years old, she was kidnapped from a formation connected the Lincolnshire seashore of England. But contempt however shocking this incidental was, nary 1 successful her household ever talked astir it. In information Laura’s mom’s household intentionally hid it from her. And this was acold from the lone concealed they kept from her. Now, years later, Laura and her parent hunt for answers.

The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings

The Women Could Fly is much dystopian than it is mystery, but this communicative is conscionable so bully it had to beryllium connected this list, particularly due to the fact that it includes a mysterious missing mom.  27-year-old Josephine Thomas has ne'er known wherefore her parent disappeared. But successful a satellite wherever women person to beryllium joined disconnected astatine 30, the older Jo gets the much she feels similar she understands wherefore her parent mightiness person left. When Jo is offered the accidental to grant 1 past petition from her mother, Jo volition permission down the beingness she’s ever known to consciousness a transportation to her ma 1 past time.