Why a Booktrail?
1930s. 2000s: A baby missing. Has she been found many years later?
The Missing Sister
What you need to know before your trail
Belle Hatton has embarked upon an exciting new life far from home: a glamorous job as a nightclub singer in 1930s Burma, with a host of sophisticated new friends and admirers. But Belle is haunted by a mystery from the past – a 25 year old newspaper clipping found in her parents’ belongings after their death, saying that the Hattons were leaving Rangoon after the disappearance of their baby daughter, Elvira.
Belle is desperate to find out what happened to the sister she never knew she had – but when she starts asking questions, she is confronted with unsettling rumours, malicious gossip, and outright threats. Oliver, an attractive, easy-going American journalist, promises to help her, but an anonymous note tells her not to trust those closest to her. . .
Belle survives riots, intruders, and bomb attacks – but nothing will stop her in her mission to uncover the truth. Can she trust her growing feelings for Oliver? Is her sister really dead? And could there be a chance Belle might find her?
Travel Guide
Travel BookTrail style to Rangoon
Now called Yangon, this is a very different city compared to what it was in the 1930s, but there are many sites in the book you can still see and appreciate today.
As always with Dinah’s novels, this one is filled with spice and colour of the country of Burma. Rangoon is a bustling port city, where the British influence is strongly felt. The Strand Hotel and the Royal Lakes are places to party, Phayre Street is named after the 1st Councillor of Burma and is the best business address in the present day.
Shwedagon Pagoda
“The Pagoda, now a deep burnished copper, enchanted her and seemed as if it were a living thing, changing colour absorbed by the spectacle.”
This is an historic 99-m. Buddhist temple plated in gold, offering tours and it’s the most stunning building in the city. Belle is mesmerised by it.
The Royal Lakes
There’s a party here in the novel and the descriptions of brightly coloured lanters, the shimmering waters and the procession of illuminated boats sound gorgeous.
The Strand Hotel
The author stayed here and she says it was easy to imagine how it would have been in the 1930s. It was as luxurious as it was in the story she says.
Bangan to Mandalay
The author took a boat from Bangan to Mandalay up the Irrawaddy river.
There are chapters set in and around Cheltenham where Diana’s story takes place, but the locations are merely names and not evoked in Dinah style.
Booktrailer Review
There are some authors you can always rely on to create magical stories with twists and turns. All set in the most stunning and captivating locations! Dinah Jefferies is one of those authors. Her way of writing and evoking locations, together with the interweaving stories are a fascinating and very successful mix
Read TheBookTrail’s bookreview of The Missing Sister by Dinah Jefferies
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Missing Sister
Destination: Rangoon, Cheltenham Author/guide: Dinah Jefferies Departure Time: 1930s, 2000s
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