Elizabeth is Missing is a mystery novel with an unreliable narrator, Maude Horsham.   She is in her late 80’s and has dementia.   She is convinced her friend is missing, although she has no short term memory and is often confused.   She sticks to her belief and the case of the missing friend becomes mixed with a 70 year old mystery, the case of her missing sister, Sukey.

Everyone dismisses her concerns and she ventures out to solve the mystery, getting lost, forgetting, and frustrating her daughter and those who care about her.    We find out that she has repeated the same enquiries several times, repeating herself and forgetting.   Maude is aware of her shortcomings and she is unreliable to herself, not just to the readers.   But the author tells the story with empathy and sensitivity.  We get to see the world from Maude’s eyes and we know that it is not easy to be elderly and semi-competent.

Elizabeth is found, but she is lost again soon afterward to Maud.    The mystery of Sukey is partly solved, but there is no one left to provide closure, including Maud as her capacity fades into her last stages of life.

I watched my own parents go through these phases, so I found the author’s storytelling to have both gravitas and compassion.   And, it was nice to have another unique twist in the mystery genre.

A recommended book.   My rating – 4.7 out of 5.0 stars4.7

An excerpt: