Although I liked Tim, and felt compassion for all he has endured-I struggled whenever the narrative switched to The premise is what I liked best, the suburban mom who is on parental leave and trying to solve a disappearing girl case is brilliant.

Overall it was an okay read, but I felt that as a lawyer Mary should have been a little more savvy than to go blindly into this and Tim, while being the best character in the book, was I felt under explored in his story. It is possible that my perspective may be unpopular, but I am convinced that honesty should always be the guiding principle. The two meet when they venture outside of their respective houses in the middle of a sleepless night after “witnessing” what appears to be “violence” in the attic room of a boarded up house across the park.There are two main narrators of this story: Tim and Mary. As the story starts they are complete strangers, but soon they will be united by their present circumstances. The story is set mainly in the outskirts of London during a boiling hot summer. A local nineteen-year-old girl called Samantha has been abducted in the dead of night, walking home from her shift as a care assistant in the Care Home. The local police have been overwhelmed by sightings. The atmosphere created by Claire McGowan in this, her latest novel, replicates the life of the chief protagonist, Mary. Mary hasn't had any proper sleep for what feels like forever, she is a mother to two young children and anyone who has been in her shoes will recognise the claustrophobia and resentment to the partner that the trials and tribulations that go alongside this magical time. I do like Claire McGowan's books, but this took a while to grab hold of me. It settles down into what feels like quite an old-fashioned adventure whereby Mary and Tim, finding the police less than helpful, set about their own amateur investigation into the disappearance of a nineteen-year-old girl, Samantha. There are plenty of twists and turns along the way and ultimately it's all a bit far-fetched, but enjoyable enough. It didn't WOW me, but it did keep me reading, and did keep me guessing all the way through. The payoff at the end was pretty simple, considering all of the build up - but I enjoyed the reading experience nevertheless.

Mary's two young children won't let her sleep; Tim, a journalist, just can't, following recent trauma. When these two sleepless people witness something concerning in the dead of night, perhaps linked to a recent crime, the unlikely pair - both experiencing their own form of desperation - come together to investigate. I normally enjoy the author's work, but this book just didn't do it for me. Definitely an interesting premise, but the main character (Mary) is soooo aggravating. I found it not so believable that she was a lawyer, since she didn't really seem to know anything about the law. I also found the way everyone treats Mary really off-putting... they just kind of dump on her and treat her terribly, and she doesn't stand up for herself. Like I said, aggravating. I figured out the ending pretty early on and I enjoyed the journey but couldn't stand Mary. So sadly just a 3 star read for me I really wanted to like it more it had some funny moments and I think that’s what kept me reading till the end. The characters are conflicting. I like them, but not all of them. When I think of it, the flaws in them should make them feel more realistic, but some decisions did not appeal to me, which explains why I am not a big fan of the main characters.One thing to know about these two, because it will be repeated incessantly for the first quarter of the book: They’re tired. Really, really, reeeally tired. It’s amazing that they can function at all, they’re so tired. Despite their unending tiredness, these neighbors both end up in a park near their homes at 4 AM peering up at a lit window of a home where they both believe they’ve seen a young woman, Samantha Ellis, recently reported missing in the news. As I read on though, some things really got to me. Mary is supposedly an attorney, but she asks the simplest questions about crime and evidence. Also, Mary’s husband is actually kind of the worst and I just could not stand reading about how terribly unhelpful he was. I actually wanted to slap the man through the book. What a dud. Two amateur investigators are the case of what could be the local young woman who has gone missing. I have read a few of Claire McGowan's books before and enjoyed them. Nothing has wow'ed me, but they have been OK.

I like the characters in this book. It's told from Mary and Tim's POV as you get to know each. I was a bit disappointed in the ending though. To me it seemed to just happen and then that was that. No real closure maybe. Or explanation. Something was just missing. Mary hasn't slept in what feels like years. Her two young children never let her rest, and so one exhausting night, in the middle of a London heatwave, she escapes to a nearby park for some air. Tim and Mary both see unusual lights, like signs of a struggle, from a house near the park. They get to know each other and become sleuths, fearing it is to do with a missing girl. As the investigation continues, the case becomes complicated, with lots of twists. When Mary & Tim realise Samantha's disappearance could link to the disappearances of several other young women in the area over the years, things snowball. It's the usual case of amateur detectives somehow being able to outwit the police & get witnesses to talk, for example, the person they initially think is behind Sam's disappearance conveniently has a 'Road to Damascus' conversion & spills everything. The plot was okay but stretches credulity in some parts, it was interesting though & it mostly kept my attention. 3 stars Very different people but bonded by what they think they saw, insomniacs Mary and Tim join forces to try to solve the disappearance of a local girl. But can they solve the mystery without putting Mary's family in danger or implicating themselves to the police? What is real and what is in their heads?Dual POVs between Tim and Mary. And ocassionally we get a POV from the missing girl, Samantha. I also loved the dynamic between Tim and Mary. I enjoyed their journey of sleuthing. Now, the title of the book just doesn't live up to the name. Granted, the first few chapters featured our sleep-deprived main characters but then it went off in a new direction - especially when the character Eric Johnson popped in with his big reveal. Whoa. These two Amateur Detectives succeed where the Police have failed, finding lead after lead that Detectives have apparently missed! 🤦🏻‍♀️