The Missing Diary, a review by Joanna

It’s mid 2000, and Caitlin “Kit” Chase is bored with life in Auckland, having been made redundant from her job, and with her fiancé Xander, so accepts a short term post with the Organisation for International Development and Coordination in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, a country battling for independence from neighbouring Serbia. Working closely with the international police team, Kit and her new colleagues aim to prosecute a notorious gangster, and learn that key information is held in the diary of one of his associates. Kit is determined to prove her worth, but is drawn to a smooth Russian liaison officer. Can she survive the twisted games of factions she barely understands?

This had great potential – an interesting premise and an unusual setting, apparently inspired by the author’s own experiences overseas. The story was good, but the narrative was full of factual errors which spoiled my enjoyment of it as I kept wondering if I’d misunderstood what year the action was happening in, and who was who – a competent editor or beta reader should’ve picked up on. For example, in the year 2000, ordinary people didn’t have cameras or GPS tracking in their phones, Skype hadn’t been invented, and you certainly couldn’t have a casual video-call on your mobile. It’s like the author kept forgetting that her story was set in the past. Apparently the next book has her dealing with cryptocurrency – which Siri tells me was invented in 2009! Then there’s the casual Americanisms – Kiwis say Mum not Mom, and fringe not bangs. And towards the end Dubrovnik is referred to as featuring in several historical fantasy TV shows – not for another ten or so years it wasn’t!

I didn’t like Kit – she’s an impulsive loudmouth, throws herself into dangerous situations, a hypocrite – getting upset that her fiancé has been seeing someone else when she’s already snogged another man,  and arrogant about her own skills, when she has no idea what she’s dealing with. I also found all the diary entries confusing – each chapter opens with a snippet from Merita’s journal, mostly about her love life juggling two men, Razor and Wolf, but I’m not clear that we ever learned who they were and what happened to them. The importance attached to the diary made no sense, the reveal was no surprise, and the ending felt rushed and incomplete. I won’t be bothering with the sequel. Having said all of this, it’s a quick easy read, and other reviewers have not been bothered by these issues, so give it a go if you like the sound of it. Thanks to NetGalley and Wish Books for the post-publication ARC.