The Missing Sister

Enjoyable, if a little predictable. A book to escape into while nursing a cup of tea and a piece of cake.

Although I found the story quite predictable it was still an enjoyable read, and the descriptions of Burma , the people, and places were very evocative. Belle is searching for that missing piece, the truth that will help reconcile her feeling of being incomplete, and once and for all help her understand how and why her mother left her, how she never recovered from losing a child, and how not knowing the truth ripped her family apart. It’s not an easy journey, you are swept along as a host of characters step in to help her, or throw her off the path, at first not knowing who she can trust. She is naive, despite her independence, and at times I wanted to shake her for not seeing what was right in front if her. Ultimately I felt her character changed as the story unfolded, and her independence left her as she became reliant on men to help her, which was a shame. If you are looking for a book to while away a few hours in this is perfect, enjoyable, if a little too obvious at times, still a good read.

Lou Woods

Belle gets a job as a hotel singer in 1930s Rangoon and delves into the disappearance of the sister she never knew. An intriguing story which paints a vivid picture of the hustle and bustle of Rangoon.

“The Rangoon Post 10 January 1911: Stolen from the Garden – the Case of the Vanishing Baby”; this old newspaper clipping, discovered by Belle after the death of her father, was the first time she even knew that she had a sister & helped to explain why her parents had left Rangoon before she was born. Now Belle has got a job as a hotel singer in 1930s Rangoon and she can’t resist delving into the mystery. She is befriended by several of her new acquaintances but soon realises she doesn’t know who she can trust and what the motives are of those who are supposedly helping her.

Dinah Jefferies’ paints a vivid picture which transports the reader into the hustle and bustle of Rangoon. I loved the feeling of this book and enjoyed unravelling the mystery whilst also getting an insight into that period of history – both in Rangoon and in the sections about England in the 1920s. The parts about Belle’s mother are handled sensitively and help to explain the backstory, without giving too much away. After the beautiful descriptions, gripping action sequences and the gradual unfolding of the mystery I felt that everything was tied up a little too neatly and swiftly at the end of the book – perhaps a good sign that I wanted more!

Tracey Poulter