‘Elizabeth is Missing’ by Emma Healey

Gobbled up this stunning debut novel in no time…I just couldn’t put it down! How can a mystery be solved by someone who can’t remember the clues?

Might as well quote from the flyleaf, because it sets the story up best. “Maud is forgetful. She makes a cup of tea and doesn’t remember to drink it. She goes to the shops and forgets why she went. Back home she finds the place horribly unrecognizable–just like she sometimes thinks her daughter Helen is a total stranger. But there’s one thing Maud is sure of: her best friend Elizabeth is missing. The note in her pocket tells her so. And no matter who tells her to stop going on about it, to leave it alone, to shut up, Maud will get to the bottom of it. Because somewhere in Maud’s damaged mind lies the answer to an unveiled seventy year-year old mystery. One everyone has forgotten about. Everyone except Maud…”

This is a fantastic read, brilliantly executed, highly affecting, and thoroughly entertaining. It is a darkly comedic mystery/thriller but offers also a poignant insight into the life of someone with dementia. Because the narrator has dementia herself  (like in Still Alice by Lisa Genoa) the reader gains empathy for this frustrating illness–both for the person who suffers from it and for the carer. The voice of Maud herself is totally unforgettable.