This was a really great read , although it have me chills to read it. I wish there was a follow up chapter to how messed up or not they were as adults. I definitely look forward to reading more from Jess Lourey!!

I am not often freaked out by books, but this one was a doozy! Based on actual events, Unspeakable Things tell that story of 1980s Minnesota and chilling circumstances that are begging for a binge-able tv series.

Enthralling story set in a small town back in the 80's based on a family with two girls in seventh and ninth grades. The story is narrated by Cassie, the seventh grader and her take on their life. Her mom is a well-liked teacher and her dad is an artist who really has no boundaries and no set job except growing and selling pot and throwing huge parties. He is a war vet with many underlying issues. The town is full of interesting characters. Everyone knows everyone and everything that is going on. Well, almost everything anyways. Just before school ends for the summer, boys begin to disappear and then reappear changed in a sad sort of manner and the townsfolk are scared. Cassie decides to start investigating the crimes. Also around the same time her older sister Sephie starts acting weird as well.... Cassie is confused as to why the police haven't tracked down the pedophile on the loose yet because there are several suspects and several clues she puts together and her detective work starts to get her into some hot water. Then her main crush Gabe disappears and she is crushed. This a dark kind of thriller that is slow to get started but about two-thirds of the way through really picks up. Cassie alludes to the fact of abuse in her home and misbehavior on the part of her parents but never really talks about it honestly until the end of the book. Reading the epilogue (which was apparently cut from the book, why I can not imagine because it was a fabulous ending to the open-ended story) on the author's website really helped with closure for the book and I am glad I found my way to it through other's reviews on GoodReads. Definitely read it after finishing the book. Or just put it back in the book before it is published!!! Dark but interesting read! Thanks to NG for the ARC!

The author's bio in the back of the book says it all...

"Jess Lourey writes about secrets"

And this creeptastic book is filled with tons of them. Although this book is fiction, the author's note in the beginning says that "the story is inspired by real people and events," which only helps to make the book darker and creepier.

The book is about a small town with a lot of awful things going on - which reminded me a lot of Stephen King's Derry. At the heart of the book is a series of sexual assaults that are happening to the towns boys. This leads to a disappearance. And while the book is about identifying that horrible person responsible, there are a whole cast full of strange and slimy characters.

I was hoping that the book would sift through the cast of slimy characters and end up neatly sorting them out. Maybe there would even be a Boo Radley...you know, a guy that ACTS weird and sleazy, but proves himself to really be a nice guy. But nope, this doesn't happen. In the end, the creeps are still creeps, just with some of them worse than others.

Like many of the other reviewers have said, there are many things that are not addressed in the book. And yes, this is a book with a young adult protagonist, but it is billed as a "suspense novel - a thriller for adults." So we can handle a little more detail. I think I understand what was going on even though things were unsaid, but gah! The main character, Cassie, hasn't even had her period yet! Let's give her some guidance and love and just a little bit of hope? please?

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book.

If you are a fan of true crime, the eighties, or f**cking politeness then this is a book for you! Unspeakable Things is set in the summer of 1983 and is told from the point of view of Cassie who is 12 going on 13 and finishing up her last week of school before summer break. Cassie is excited to spend her summer playing on the farm with her sister Sephie, riding her bike around town, and working on her writing. All of that excitement changes when some of the boys of Lilydale start being taken by a masked man. The boys are returned but they're never quite the same.

The story is suspenseful, you won't trust a single adult that is introduced, and you'll second guess who the monster is until the very end. I also enjoyed Cassie's spunk. She was afraid of everything and nothing all at the same time. The author's note in the beginning also provides a callback to simpler times when kids could ride their bikes around town until very late in the night and parents didn't have to worry until stories of "Chester the Molester" emerged onto the scene.

The story does end abruptly but thanks to Chandra, AKA, @wherethereadergrows I knew to google the epilogue once I had finished.

TW: sexual assault, incest. murder, rape, kidnapping

2 STARS

"Inspired by a terrifying true story from the author’s hometown, a heart-pounding novel of suspense about a small Minnesota community where nothing is as quiet—or as safe—as it seems."

I really struggled to find an appropriate star rating for this book. I wanted to love it - it's based on a true crime incident that happened in the authors hometown - and the synopsis sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately this one just didn't click with me. I had trouble connecting with Cassie, which left some of the shockingly horrifying things that happened to and around her to fall flat for me. Our protagonist is very young which creates a bit of an "unreliable narrator" situation in several parts. Now, usually I enjoy books like this but I felt that almost too much was left up to the imagination of the reader. I felt t a bit disconnected from the story and was honestly expecting something much grittier.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC!

Every little town, neighborhood, home and person has it's secrets, it's weird side...it's sinister side. Lilydale certainly shows it's sinister side as boys begin to go missing. Fortunately they do come back, but damaged. Then as summer arrives one boy disappears and does not come back. This boy is special to our narrator, Cassie. Cassie has plenty to deal with already. She's on constant alert for the signals that dad will be reaching for the alcohol and that means hiding in her room, praying that he does not come up the stairs. She finds her stomach turning at her parents legendary summer parties...parties where adults quit bring their kids to a few years ago...parties that are truly "adults only", except for the fact that Cassie and her sister Sephie have to bartend. Now summer is here, the parties start, the special boy Gabriel is missing and Cassie wants to solve the mystery and, hopefully, save Gabriel. There are so many people to suspect. The creepy, leering police officer, the scary neighbor, the band teacher who still lives with his parents and everyone thinks is gay....Cassie even suspects her own father. We suspect all of these people right along with Cassie and find clues and answers as she does.
This is part coming of age, part surviving a dysfunctional home, part mystery and all of it works out to one terrific climax. I didn't want it to end. Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review. #Netgalley #UnspeakableThings

A dark, intense read. I like Jess Lourey's series of mysteries. If you enjoyed her mysteries I think many will be surprised how much better this book is than anything else she has written. It pulls you into a very intense and overwhelming story. At times it is unrelenting in it's grasp.

This was literally unputdownable.

I consumed it over 2 days (this would have been one but I needed to sleep).

Combining nostalgic 80s vibes with excruciatingly dark themes, this is a book I will be recommending to all of my friends this year. I loved the way it was written and the author did an incredible job at keeping the reader guessing and in getting them hooked from the first page.

This is a dirty and dark book, with some really awful subject matter.

I loved it and can't wait to read more from Jess Lourey.

1980's Minnesota. Cassie is a 12-year-old girl living with her sister and her parents on a farm.
One day news gets out that young boys in her town are getting molested by a stranger wearing a mask. There are a few possible suspects, including Cassie's dad...

I kept seeing great reviews of this book, so I thought I'd give it a go, but I'm disappointed to say that the book didn't live up to all the hype surrounding it.
Looking at the story through Cassie's eyes was a nice change from the usual perspective but it was the only positive thing about the book.
I hadn't been aware it was based on a true story until I finished it, but even if I had, I'd have expected more suspense. As it is, it offered none. I was constantly waiting for something to happen, but once I was deep into the second half of the book, it became apparent that nothing would.
The ending left me with many unanswered questions and no sense of closure.
Luckily, I discovered that the author published an epilogue on her website, so I headed over there. While it did provide some answers, it seemed like it didn't belong to the book. Perhaps it was because it was the voice of an adult Cassie, but either way, it seemed like a good idea to leave it out.
My initial thought was to give it only one star, which is a very rare thing for me to do, but because in the end, I did get some sort of a conclusion, I rate it 2 stars.
My recommendation would be not to bother with this book, but given that it got so many good reviews, I imagine it might be to someone's taste, so if this book was on your radar, then check it out for yourself.

I enjoyed this book. Although it was slow at times, it was very interesting to "see" the events unfold through the eyes of the young female protagonist. The plot thickens gradually throughout the book and it speeds up in the last few chapters. I do not know if I would recommend it to a fellow reader, but it kept me entertained for a few days.

This book is very disturbing. I like the story being written from Carrie's point of view. Books in the first person are my favorite. That being said, child molestation is something I don't enjoy reading. I know it's reality and I do appreciate that it was not too graphic. I was squeamish at gutting the chickens. I thought the character development was good. I think I could cast the movie. The end was not a good wrap up. Thanks #netgalley for the digital copy.

Set in the 1980s in small town Minnesota, this creepy story is told entirely from twelve year old Cassie’s perspective. This is a whodunit story. When young boys are attacked, raped, and beginning to disappear, Cassie becomes personally invested in solving the case. The suspects are the creepy recluse neighbor, the homosexual teacher, the shady cop, and Cassie’s father, the drunk swinger. While exploring the suspects, we also get to experience a bit of middle school drama and coming of age for Cassie. It is a very quick, fast-paced journey. If you love a small town, mystery, this one will keep you guessing. I just wish I had more closure at the end! .

Great book! This compelling thriller pulls the reader in from the first page! Themes of child abuse and sexual deviancy is a small town are driven by the voice of Cassie, a young girl trapped in a dysfunctional dangerous family situation.

Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey is a crime/mystery story influenced by actual events.  Lourey writes about secrets. She is the bestselling Agatha, Anthony, and Lefty-nominated author of the critically-acclaimed Mira James mysteries, which have earned multiple starred reviews from Library Journal and Booklist, the latter calling her writing "a splendid mix of humor and suspense."

There are several likable things in this novel, like the 1980s setting and pop culture references.  Secondly, Cassandra, the narrator and central character in the story, is very likable.  Not quite thirteen, there is still quite a bit of innocence in her interpretation of events, even though she is an adult when telling the story.  It gave me the same feeling as the narration in the movie "Silver Bullet."  The inserts of  "Ripley's Believe It or Not" throughout the book also brought back memories.  There is a good deal of nostalgia in the story. 

Other parts of the book are too obvious or unexplained.  The parent's parties are pretty obvious, even though it is not explained until later in the book.   Other things like the number of stairs the father climbs add an extra layer of creepiness to the story.  Although the implication it's not difficult.  Other repeated events like the clipping of nails is a weird aspect of the story and not explained at all. 

There is a level of creepiness that runs throughout the book.  It doesn't build or subside as the story progresses but remains constant.  The mother is a teacher that seems like an old hippie with healthy food, home remedies, and openness on some issues.  The father is a creep and a drunk but is often left in charge of both daughters. The sheriff and some of the other townsfolk are just as bad. 

Creepiness aside, this felt much more like a young adult novel than the promoted Adult Fiction tag.  Parts were too simplistic for an adult reader, and other elements that might be accepted by younger readers are questionable to adults.  The prologue would have the reader believe the narrator is an adult. Still, the telling of the story is undoubtedly that of a young teenager without any adult clarifications or added hindsight information.  The writing well done as it draws the reader into the story, and Cassandra is very likable.  The story has some twists, and although it is not predictable, there are plenty of unanswered questions that could have added to the account or created a bit of complexity.

I read a lot of dark/thriller books and this one....this one was almost too dark for me.

Written from a 12=year old's perspective, this story is about a girl in 1980's Minnesota. She love school, lives on a farm and has a crush on the nicest boy in her grade. Her parents, however, have frequent odd parties with parades of strange people.

Then---local boys go missing. They return, but something is missing. They are moody and angry. Rumors surround the town. Then Cassie's own sisters transform into the dark and angry....and Cassie has to try and save her.

WHEW.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of Unspeakable Things.

This was an okay read. There were a lot of untold details and vague info that would've been nice to have earlier on to make the story make more sense. Unfortunately I felt the story could've been so much more.

Unspeakable Things is a work of fiction based on the disappearance and assaults which were happening in the authors home town in Minnesota in the 80’s.

I knew I was going to really like this book from the first couple of pages. The writing just pulls you in and I loved hearing the story unfolding through the eyes of 12 year old Cassie. Oh and I love anything set in the 80’s and small towns.

This book was heartbreaking and haunting in the literally “unspeakable” way. You were never exposed to graphic violence or terror but given hints along the way to form your own conclusions/assumptions.

I so wanted to give this 5 full stars but I was left with so many unanswered questions. The story came to an end too quickly for me and left me frustratingly checking if there were more pages somewhere. There weren’t! That is my only gripe, I feel I didn’t get enough closure.

Overall great read and would recommend! 4.5 ⭐️

I enjoyed reading this book but at the same time it was sometimes hard to read. It is very suspenseful and kept me on edge. Even though it is about incest, kidnapping, abuse and swinging it is very well written and the fact that it is based on true events makes it even better. The only negative for me was the holes I felt were left in the story and a rather abrupt ending. However I think it is a great book and I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Jess Lourey, Thomas & Mercer, and Netgalley for providing me with a digital advance copy of this novel. As a someone who was in middle school and high school in the 1980s, who also loves mystery novels, I was very excited about the premise of this novel. Lourey does an excellent job narrating from the point of view of a young girl in the 80s, and the pop culture references (which were plentiful) were appreciated. She is also skillful at setting a very unsettling, creepy scene. I was creeped out by the second page!

That said, I did not love this book. As the book wore on, I found that I was skimming. I thought the ending/resolution was quite rushed and left too much hanging. Also, there was something about the overall tone of the novel that didn’t work for me — the fun 80s references and teenage/middle school social issues seemed jarring and almost inappropriate when set against such horrific subject matter. Perhaps that was the author’s intent, but for me, it just didn’t sit right.

Still, there was a lot here that worked. I’d be interested in reading more from this author in the future.