Missing!: Mysterious Cases of People Gone Missing through the Centuries by Brenda Z Guiberson

Abstract

Reviewed by: Missing!: Mysterious Cases of People Gone Missing through the Centuries by Brenda Z Guiberson Elizabeth Bush Guiberson, Brenda Z. Missing!: Mysterious Cases of People Gone Missing through the Centuries. Holt, 2019 [240p] illus. with photographs Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-250-13340-3 $19.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-250-13341-0 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 5-8 A half dozen illustrated tales of real-life mystery whet reader interest in persons whose disappearances have never been—and might never be—definitely resolved. Three are high-profile cases that continue to draw speculation: Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa (presumed murdered, body not recovered); aviator Amelia Earhart (presumed dead somewhere in the Pacific, body not recovered and plane not confirmed); and the child princes missing from the Tower of London (presumed murdered, bodies not positively identified). Three were once news headliners but have since lost currency: airplane hijacker D. B. Cooper (who may or may not have parachuted from a plane); author Barbara Follett (who walked away from home and was never seen again); and disgruntled ex-Mason William Morgan (possibly murdered or exiled in Canada by disgruntled active Masons). The narratives are decidedly uneven, with the Hoffa and Cooper stories thoroughly compelling, the Morgan tale amusingly quirky, the princes’ plight buried in a tangle of abstruse genealogy, and the Follett disappearance devoid of follow-up or even speculation. Readers can pick and choose and recommend their favorites and then follow Guiberson’s paper trail (heavy on print resources, light on online ones) or head down Google wormholes for further information. [End Page 255] Copyright © 2019 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois