Book Review: Missing by R.L. Stine

Welcome back to Musings of an Arthritic Artist! Today I am going to be doing another book review, this one a review of Missing by R.L. Stine.

This review will predominantly be spoiler-free, however, there will be a spoiler section toward the end of this post.

With that aside, let's get into the review!

Missing is the fourth Fear Street novel. It's a YA mystery horror book. This book follows two characters, Mark and Cara Burroughs. Chapters are told in alternating perspectives, both in first person. The siblings' parents have gone missing. They haven't called or come home. This event kickstarts the entire plot, wherein Cara and Mark try to find out what happened to their parents. Of course, in typical R.L. Stone fashion, Cara and Mark's lives are in danger. It seems as if the cousin who lives with them is also spying on them.

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I really liked Cara and Mark. This is the first Fear Street book I've read that follows two siblings. Mostly, it's just a group of friends. I don't have any problems with that, I just like stories with siblings more. I find them to be more relatable. I really liked the relationship between Cara and Mark. 

It felt realistic. They annoyed each other on purpose, but they also cared about one another. They weren't constantly fighting, which was nice to see. The two of them tried to work together to find their parents.

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💥🔥SPOILER ALERT🔥💥
Anything below this is a spoiler
You have been warned

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Honestly, half of the mystery in this novel could have been solved if Cara's and Mark's parents just communicated with them. The whole thing at the end where they are revealed to be FBI agents and Roger is revealed to not be their cousin but instead be the best agent they had could have been resolved much quicker. 

If Mark and Cara had at least known Riger was an FBI agent, then they could've spent less time on Roger and more time on finding their parents. Some of the stuff with Roger just bogged the pacing down a bit, especially once the revelation came at the end.

I was also expecting a bit less mystery thriller and more paranormal-esque horror. With the monkey heads, I was actually expecting more of a Say Cheese and Die type thing. I expected that the monkey heads were a paranormal thing that had just sucked up their parents. I wasn't expecting a cult and for Mark's and Cara's parents to be members of the FBI. 

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I was disappointed when Roger died. I was genuinely interested in him and his story. Once the end came around and his identity was revealed, it just made me want him to be alive. He was an interesting character. Why exactly did he live with the Burroughs? Was he there because he and the the Burroughs worked on cases together? Was he there to protect Mark and Cara in case their parents weren't there? It's never explained, and I kind of wish it had been.

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✔👍SPOILERS OVER👍✔

Overall, this was a really enjoyable book. Is it perfect? No. Are there things about it that don't make sense? Yes. But in general, I really liked this book and I rate it 4 out of 5 years. Character-wise, I think this is the best Fear Street novel I've read out of the five I've read thus far. I enjoyed reading about Cara's and Mark's journey to find their parents.

That's it for this post! I hope you enjoyed it! 

Until next time, 

Lexi K🖌