The Missing Years by Lexie Elliott is an enthralling mystery set in an old manse in Scotland which the central character, Ailsa, has part-inherited on the death of her mother. The other half is owned by her father who disappeared without trace many years previously. Ailsa moves into the manse with her half sister, Carrie, while she figures out what to do. Right from the start there are mysteries surrounding the manse and the people who love locally. Ailsa and Carrie get to know their neighbours and socialise with them but strange things continue to happen and it's apparent that someone doesn't want them there but who can that be. There are a few suspects but, like all good thrillers, the denouement is unexpected. A brilliant, tense read. A few small points stood out as inconsistent with a Scottish setting and a book written by a British author, the first was the use of the word 'stories' instead of 'storeys' and using the term second floor, as in the US, to describe what, in Britain, is the first floor. Distances are written of in metres and kilometres which is also unusual as, in Britain, miles is still more commonly used. None of this detracted from the enjoyment of a great story however.