This is a fantastic story that follows Maud during two separate times in her life, from her teens shortly after the War when her sister went missing to her eighties as she and her family struggle with the dementia that is slowly eating away at her memories and sense of self. The two stories are intertwined as Maud is determined to find her friend, Elizabeth, who she believes to be missing but nobody else does. But is it really Elizabeth who is missing, who Maud is on the trail of (however convoluted and confused) and who is really in danger or is it someone else. It is not until the final pages that both Maud and the reader gets to find out the answers to these questions as reality mixes with itself in Maud's mind taking the reader on a confused untrustworthy story from the past and the present. This is superbly written, I am amazed that Healey managed to keep everything as straight as she did given the confusion that reigns in Maud's mind, even with her notes and flashes of clarity. Thoroughly engrossing and one that you just need to read to fully appreciate.

I am so very very glad that I have been able to read this tremendous debut novel by an incredibly talented young author. Healey writes with a great deal of sensitivity and maturity and manages to demonstrate the creeping, devastating effects of dementia whilst maintaining strong character identity. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Ms Healey, and will continue to rave about 'Elizabeth is Missing' until then.

I was lucky enough to be sent an advance copy of this, and I can honestly say it's fantastic! Maud's losing her memory, but she's sure her friend Elizabeth is missing and she tries to look for clues, writing everything down so she remembers what she's discovered. I think this book was brilliantly written and I was hooked from start to finish. Maud's lapses of memory were very believable, not at all contrived or annoying, and I felt like all the characters were really well fleshed out. A top-notch crime/drama/family novel, I can't recommend this enough - read it!

Emma Healey’s debut sets itself a remarkably ambitious task. A mystery told in the first person by a character suffering from dementia. It is a task which Healey has completely with astonishing levels of accomplishment. Maud is an old lady whose memory is fading. One thing she knows for sure, however, is that her friend, Elizabeth, is missing. Quite what has happened to her, she cannot say, but the answer lies somewhere deeply buried in what remains of her mind. There is also an intriguing parallel storyline relating to the disappearance of Maud’s sister shortly after the Second World War. Maud’s voice is always believable, sometimes funny and often poignant. The story is intriguing and the concept ingenious. Elizabeth is Missing is one of the finest first novels to have emerged in recent years and marks the arrival of a major new talent.

Maud's mind holds the key to a decades old mystery, but as the lines between her past and her present blot together, can she unlock the clues before they're gone forever? Emma has expertly woven a tragically moving story, exploring dementia with sensitivity and intrigue - I did nothing else until I'd reached the final page! Maud is, ironically, an unforgettable heroine, and I can't wait to see what Emma has in store for us next. A beautiful debut from a wonderful, exciting new voice in fiction.