8 Biggest Changes Netflix's Missing You Makes To Harlan Coben's Book

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Missing You season 1.Netflix's Missing You makes some big changes to Harlan Coben's best-selling 2014 novel, from its portrayal of certain characters to the story's ending. The cast of Missing You is led by Slow Horses star Rosalind Eleazar, whose character, Detective Inspector Kat Donovan, is investigating her father's murder when she gets embroiled in a missing persons case. The more Kat works towards finding out who killed her father, the more life-altering secrets she uncovers.

Coben has written over 30 books, with 12 of them being made into films and TV shows. The best-selling author has a deal with Netflix to have several of his novels adapted into TV shows. So far, Fool Me Once, Stay Close, and the latest Netflix limited miniseries, Missing You, have made it to the streaming platform’s library. While the TV adaptation of Coben's book has several similarities with its source material, there are still some notable differences between the novel and the show.

8 Netflix's Missing You Changes The Location Of The Story

The Show Is Set In England Instead Of New York

Like several past adaptations of Coben's books, Missing You is set in a different location than what is described in the book. While the novel is set in New York, the series takes place in Manchester City, England, as well as other locations in the country, like Glossop. Although O’Malley's, a bar that used to be a popular drinking place for police officers in the book, is an important part of the story, the Netflix adaptation doesn't have a place like that. Similar to the novel, the five-episode series’ setting plays a crucial role in the story and characters’ lives.

Despite the series having a different setting, it has the same atmosphere as the novel. For instance, in Coben’s book, Kat is a police officer in New York who attends yoga classes in Central Park. While New York and Manchester are not the same place, they are both big and busy cities. Glossop in England, where the series has Titus running his operation, is similar to the Amish farm he stays at in the novel. They are both remote and serene places rarely visited by outsiders, even if they're across the world from one another.

7 Netflix's Missing You Gives Kat A Different Partner

Cat & Nia Are Partners In The Show

Another significant difference between Coben's novel and Netflix's Missing You is who Kat’s partner is. Coben's story has Kat partnered with Chaz Faircloth, a rich man from the Upper East Side who becomes a police officer with the hope that it will help in his political career. Kat and Chaz do not get along, and she actually asks for a different partner. However, they eventually start liking each other after they work on Dana’s case together.

In the Netflix adaptation, Kat's partner is Nia. Unlike her relationship with Chaz, Kat and Nia are great co-workers. Although Chaz isn't Kat's partner in the series, the show introduces Charlie Pitt, who is similar to Chaz from Coben's novel, although they have different skill sets. In a way, Charlie replaces Chaz since he is the one that helps Kat with her investigation after she is forced to go on leave. In fact, the series has Charlie playing a bigger role in Kat’s life by having him help her with her father's investigation, something Chaz didn't do in the novel.

6 Kat Is Well-Adjusted In The Netflix Adaptation

Kat's Book Counterpart Struggles More With Her Grief

When Kat's father died in the novel and her fiancé left shortly afterward without a proper explanation for why he was breaking their engagement, Kat had a difficult time adjusting to her new reality. Her failure to find out who was behind Clint’s murder made her emotional state worse. Coben's story sees the detective often drinking at night in order to numb her pain. It is during one of the nights when she is drunk that she texts her ex-fiancé on the dating app that Stacey signed her up for.

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The Kat in the Netflix series is better adjusted than her novel counterpart. Although she struggles with her father's death, she doesn't let her grief stifle her. She is equally obsessed with figuring out why her father was killed, but she also has an active dating life, a good relationship with her mother, great co-workers, good friends, and a thriving social life.

5 Some Characters Who Are In The Book Are Not In The Netflix Series

Characters Like Dimitri & Detective Schwartz Are Missing

One of the most noticeable things about Netflix's Missing You is that some characters who are in the novel were left out of the series. Dimitri, the hacker who works for Titus, is not present in the Netflix show. Other people missing from the show include Detective Schwartz, the police officer who initially investigates Dana’s case; Kat's two brothers; and Martha, another woman who is kidnapped by Reynaldo. While these characters are important in their own way, they are not really a huge part of the overall story, which explains why they are not in the Netflix adaptation.

The Netflix series doesn't just leave some characters out, but it also changes some of the names. For instance, Kat's dad is called Henry Donovan in the book, but his first name is changed to Clint in the series. Rishi Magari replaces Gerard Remington, one of the people who is kidnapped and then killed by Reynaldo. This could make things a bit more confusing for book readers, but it doesn't really change the characters' roles in Netflix's Missing You.

4 Kat And Odette Have A Good Relationship In The Series

Missing You's Book Shows A More Strained Relationship

Following her father's death, Kat and her mother began drifting apart. Odette was often critical of Kat and her life choices, something that caused a rift between mother and daughter. Kat, on the other hand, didn't like how her mother had the habit of sweeping things under the rug and acting like everything was okay, even when it wasn't. All this resulted in the pair having a strained relationship, with Kat rarely visiting her mother in Coben's version of Missing You.

The Netflix thriller makes a change to their relationship. In the series, Kat and Odette are close. Kat seems to rely on her mother, often going over to visit her. And although they have disagreements, they seem to get on well. Even after she finds out that Odette knew about her father's affair with Parker, she takes the news better than she did in the novel.

3 Titus Is A Dog Breeder In Netflix's Adaptation

Harlan Coben's Character Is Much More Private

Coben's Titus is a very private man who is strict about maintaining his privacy. One of the reasons Titus was able to run his operation for so long is because he ensured that very few people knew about his existence. He ran the majority of his scams himself, including being the one who talked to potential victims on the dating site. He controlled everyone who stepped foot on his farm, and he had Reynaldo kill them after they served their purpose, ensuring they wouldn't broadcast what he was actually up to.

Related 7 Harlan Coben Books That Should Be Adapted Into TV Shows Next Author Harlan Coben has had many of his novels adapted into television shows over the years, and seven more books should get the same treatment.

However, Netflix's Missing You depicts Titus as a dog breeder. In fact, he actually interacts with other people who aren't his employees, something he would never have done in the novel. Since Titus ran his operation on a farm, he needed a good cover story, just in case anyone came asking questions. It would be too suspicious for him to stay at a farm that didn't produce anything, so the dog breeding business fit in with his illegal operation.

2 Aqua Is Portrayed Differently In The Missing You Series

The Netflix Show Offers Better Trans Representation

The Missing You series has made several changes to some of its characters, but none more than Aqua. The book portrays Aqua as a transgender person with a mental health condition. For Aqua, who teaches yoga, routine is key. Even a slight change to her daily activities could cause her to spiral. While Aqua’s characterization is different in the Netflix series, the role she has in Clint's death and her friendship with Kat are the same.

The Aqua in the Missing You show is remarkably different from the one in the source material. For one, Aqua isn't homeless or living with a mental health condition. She has a stable life and, like her book counterpart, is a yoga teacher. Making Aqua different in the series is probably the most important change the show makes to the book. Coben's book uses outdated terminology to describe transgender people and is, at times, offensive. The series remedies that by having better trans representation.

1 The Netflix Series Makes Some Changes To The Ending

Parts Of Missing You's Book Ending Are Altered

Some of the biggest changes the series makes to the Missing You novel affect certain parts of the ending. After Kat finds Reynaldo kidnapping Brendan, she goes to the police station and tracks his movements from there. However, things played out differently in the book. When Kat sees Brendan being taken away, she doesn't go to her workplace but instead follows the car with Brendan and Titus to the farm where she kills the mastermind behind the kidnapping and extortion.

Another change the Missing You series finale makes to the novel's ending is Reynaldo’s involvement in the last moments of the operation he and Titus were running. In the series, Reynaldo is with Titus when they grab Brendan. However, the novel has him at the farm looking for Dana after she escaped. He's the one that kills everyone who was working for Titus at their hideout before starting the fire.

Furthermore, the fight between Aqua and Clint was also altered in the show's conclusion. The novel sees Clint attack Aqua in the alley where she found him attacking Parker. But the Missing You TV show has Clint following Aqua to her apartment, where Josh meets them before he kills Kat's father.