Missing Person

In 1996, a dead white male with a cranial fracture is found on the outskirts of Millar, Minn., in this disappointing thriller from Lotz (The White Road). The unidentified murder victim, who’s wearing “a pink prom-style dress,” is nicknamed the Boy in the Dress. Ellen Caine, a stay-at-home mom who lives close to where the body was discovered, takes an interest in the case; she belongs to an online forum devoted to identifying “the remains of missing people.” But no progress on giving him a name is made until 2017, when a stranger tells Shaun Ryan, who works in an Irish bookstore, that Shaun’s late uncle, Teddy, didn’t die in a car accident two decades earlier, as Shaun believed; instead, he traveled to the U.S. before dropping out of sight. Shaun’s online request for information reaches Ellen, who works with her forum colleagues to determine whether Teddy is the Boy in the Dress. Early on, it’s clear that one of them is hiding some dark secrets, but Lotz fails to generate much suspense en route to the flat climax. In previous books, she’s been better at giving her characters depth. Hopefully, she’ll return to form next time. (Sept.)