Elizabeth is Missing is a contemporary novel whose narrator is a completely, refreshingly, frighteningly new voice for me. This is the first time I've read a fiction wherein the narrator was losing her mind to dementia (or Alzheimer's). And it was chillingly exactly like what I fear I'll go through in 5 more decades (or what either of my parents will go through. Or my brothers. Or Fedora. But I'm the one with the existing memory problems, so it'll probably be me.)

So my own fears aside, it was wonderfully balanced (despite the recall difficulty Maude, the MC, is going through). There are two mysteries threaded throughout the narrative- Elizabeth, the friend who is missing in present day, and Sookie, the sister who went missing in 1946. While I had some suspicions (that changed as we went through), I had no answers on either mystery until the final few chapters of the book. But it didn't seem rushed, or open-ended, or neglected at all. The balance between the tension-filled mystery and the slow (and sometimes self-aware) descent into dementia were equal plot drivers.

And I lovedlovedloved that none of the characters are painted as good or bad. Each is flawed by naivety, impatience, addiction, etc but all are admirable and understandable. Even the ones I initially disliked, I grew to have a grudging respect for.

It bears noting that the audiobook version is fantastic- the narrator was utterly believable as all of the characters.

I highly recommend this one to fans of fiction (adult), mysteries, and the exploration of the self and of aging. And pretty much for everyone, because it was surprisingly poignant, interesting, and unnerving.