Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett

Breanna has been dating Ty for three months, and it’s going well. When he invites her to join him in Jersey City for a romantic getaway, she is thrilled. Ty rents a four-story row house with a view of the Manhattan skyline, arranges train tickets and organises a sightseeing itinerary. Bree could not be happier, but from the start of the holiday nothing goes right. Ty  seems distracted, and groups of White residents huddled together on street corners make Bree feel uneasy. Worst of all, Ty prioritises work over their together time.

One dreadful morning, Bree wakes up to find missing dogwalker Janelle dead in the foyer of their Airbnb. Only Ty can help her – but he has vanished without a trace. With the police closing in, and a social media mob demanding #Justice4Janelle, Bree realises the only way to save herself is to find out what really happened on the night of the murder. The only person who can help her do this is her ex-best friend from back home. Adore is now a successful New York attorney – but can she and Bree get over their complicated past?

In Missing White Woman, Kellye Garrett brilliantly describes the frightening experiences of a young Black woman, alone and under suspicion in a strange city.  I enjoyed Garrett’s pacy narrative style, and her funny, perceptive observations. For example, Bree describes how she adopts a persona she calls ‘perky Black girl’ to get through to some White people. As well as being a great story, Missing White Woman has raised my awareness of how differently Black and White citizens are treated by criminal justice systems and the media.

Thank you, Simon Schuster UK and Random Things Tours, for giving me a copy of this novel in return for an honest review.