I purchased the print copy for my personal collection.
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: January 27, 2026
Summary:
From bestselling author Thrity Umrigar, a thrilling and haunting story of an Indian-American woman who becomes the prime suspect when her wife goes missing.
When Aliya and Samantha have a fight one night, Samantha goes for a run early the next morning—and doesn’t come back.
Aliya reports her wife Samantha as missing, but as a gay and Muslim daughter of immigrants, she’s immediately suspected by her neighbors in Samantha’s disappearance. Scared and furious and feeling isolated as everyone around her doubts her innocence, Aliya makes one wrong choice after another. All the while, Samantha is being held captive, strategizing how to escape before things escalate even more. Meanwhile, Aliya must fight to prove her innocence in the public eye and save her wife. But is safety ever truly possible for these women even after Samantha is rescued?
A provocative examination of suburban mores, Missing Sam captures the terror manifested in today’s political climate, and the real dangers, both physical and psychological, of being Brown and queer in America.
My thoughts:
This is one of my most anticipated reads and it did not disappoint! I loved her last book, The Museum of Failures, and this one — a missing person case involving the trauma that ensues sounded right up my alley.
Sometimes we pick up a book at just the right time. Little did I know when I started reading this book just how timely it would prove to be. Take this sentence:
”But at some point, I will wonder, as we have all wondered the past two years, whether we are still the land of the free & the home of the brave.”
This sentence hit me hard…probably a little harder than it would have at any other time. And there have been other sentences just as hard-hitting & again, maybe if I had not read this right at this moment, I might not be having such a strong reaction, but damn, if this book isn’t on point. I have no doubt I would still love it…I was 100% invested in what has happened to Sam, a gay Irish/American woman, & everything that happened to Aliya, a gay Muslim woman. The way Thrity has written this, I felt as if I was able to walk in their respective shoes…something as a privileged white woman, I am only able to get through reading.
I love how much the author was able to pack into this novel. I knew we were getting a mystery about what happened to Sam, but I didn’t know how much else we would be getting. I love that it’s a quiet, thought-provoking read that packs a punch…these are the ones that tend to stay with me long after I read the last page. There are so many layers here and I was there for each and every one. This book would make an incredible book club pick…there is just so much to unpack and discuss. It’s a book that touches on racial and gender injustices, the effect of trauma, cultural differences, family dynamics and so much more. The mystery drives the book but at the heart of it we are able to explore these issues, all while following characters that you really end up feeling a deep connection to by the end of the book.
There’s a reason Thrity Umrigar continues to be a must-read author for me…and this is it. Her ability to tell a story that engages me, makes me think and feel, all the while giving us beautiful prose, never fails. This will for sure be a top read of the year.
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