A small town in Minnesota. Girls that keep on DISAPPEARING. Information being written OFF by the police. “The Quarry Girls” by Jess Lourey is a book that I will be thinking about for a LONG time. TWISTED, DISTURBING, SHOCKING and STRESSFUL … this book is based on true events and is indeed one hell of a page turner! My nerves are shot after reading this one 💥

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

It is the Summer of 1977 and best friends Heather, Maureen and Brenda are growing up quickly. They are enjoying a summer of being in a band together, going to parties at the quarry and hanging out with boys.

Where the girls live in Pantown, the houses are connected by tunnels underground from their basements. They love playing tag down there in the tunnels. Until one night Heather and Brenda open one of the basement doors and see something SHOCKING inside! They swear to never tell a soul what they saw that night 🫣

When a local girl goes missing after her shift at the diner, the local police writes her off as a runaway. Then another girl goes missing shortly after … and the police are hesitant to fully investigate the disappearances 🤔

Is WHAT they saw in the basement connected to the missing girls in town? And WHO can they actually trust? It is becoming obvious that it’s NOT the police, NOT their other friends and NOT their parents.

Thank you kindly to @jesslourey @netgalley @amazonpublishing for my advanced digital copy! This masterfully written book releases on November 1, 2022!

Jess Lourey has the fantastic skill of taking events from the past that are already creepy and dialling the creep factor all the way up. Being set in the late 1970’s, which seemingly had a serial killer around every corner, there’s an undercurrent of menace throughout the story. You have this horrible sinking feeling right from the start and it just gets worse as you turn the pages eagerly, trying to find out what happens to Heather and her friends. I thought Heather was fantastic, and loved that we see her grow through the story, from blindly believing what her father tells her, to being brave enough to break the silence that curses Pantown. I thought that the feeling of being a teenage girl was perfectly captured - while there’s times you just want to be a kid, there’s also times you want to be older, which brings situations that you’re not equiped to deal with. This coming of age story is dark & creepy, but also provides hope for the characters involved. It had me on the edge of my seat - it’s tense & terrifying but just so easy to read. I can’t wait to see what Jess Lourey does next!

A 70's coming-of-age thriller set in St. Cloud, MN, The Quarry Girls held my interest, was well-written, and accurately reflected the times. As a long-time reader, I appreciate the details the author sprinkles throughout her tales, and she has a keen sense of the human condition.

Highly recommended!

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After reading all of Jess Lourey's recent novels, she's become one of my favorite authors.

"Quarry Girls" is another well-written thriller with an amazing protagonist. Heather Cash is smart yet vulnerable, scared yet brave, a teenager who is grown up more than most adults.

As girls in her town are disappearing and no one seems to care, it's great to see Heather realize the truth of what's happening around her while trying to figure it out yourself.

This book took me back to my teen years and all the feelings that come with it. A fantastic read!

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced e-copy.

This one took me off into a retro town in Minnesota and this particular town is filled with tunnels that play a huge part in the plot. It is definitely an atmospheric thriller with the narrative constantly making you feel there is something very wrong happening right when these kids are living their lives and as a reader, I could feel it and I also guessed it partly but the plot concentrated on the regular lives of people in this town with their secrets. It focuses on three girls and Heather's family takes centerpiece as they are deeply entrenched in the investigation of missing girls of this town. It is partly a mystery and also a feministic take on girls fighting the system in their own way in the 70s.

A disturbing book about a town filled with dangerous secrets, a town where girls and some boys are not safe and those we trust turn out to be the same as the ones we are afraid of. The book is very very slow at the beginning, I almost gave up and it would have worked better if that part was shortened. Overall glad I read it but it is a hard read

I think I'm in the minority when I say that this book took waaaay too long to get going!

I had a hard time keeping my attention focused to read this one. The story overall was good. Very atmospheric, it felt very dark and disturbing, even when you couldn't quite figure out what was going on or what would take place next.

But I never really got attached to the story unfortunately.

This would be a good read for people who like dark, slow burn mysteries.

This one comes out in November 2022. Let me know what you think if you read it. Thank you to Thomas Mercer and Netgalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Jess Lourey's book The Quarry Girls is fiction based on chilling true events. This is a gripping story that took place in Minnesota in 1977 when teenage girls disappeared and the police were hesitant to fully investigate the crimes. Heather is determined to find her missing friends, but will this place her in the path of danger?

The Quarry Girls is atmospheric and mysterious. Teenagers having a fun summer become involved in a scary world of deception. Knowing this is based on a true story adds credibility to the intriguing plot. If the police are unwilling to help, to whom do you turn?

The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey is available on November 1st. This is an embracing story that needs to be told. Kudos to Jess Lourey for writing this twisty account of the events that transpired.

Thank you, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer, for sharing such a shocking book with me. Your kindness is appreciated! (4.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫)

This might be my favorite Jess Lourey book to date!! And the one that will definitely keep me up at night... blankets clutched to my chest.

Jess has this knack for writing younger characters, especially those thrust into very dark, adult situations. This time around, it's teenage girls in the later 70s (rural Minnesota, because again, that's a Jess Lourey trademark). What a scary time to be a teenage girl! On top of the major creep factor - which this book has in spades, I really enjoyed the 70s nostalgia. The nod to women who rock, the snacks, etc.

All in all, what a fantastic read to kick off "spooky season". Thank you for the advanced copy!

The Quarrey Girls by Jess Lourey publishes November 1st. Add this to your fall TBR.

While this wasn’t the gasp out loud twisty thriller I usually go for, the slow burn kept my interest just the same. I loved the setting of a small town in the 70s, with a teenage, underdog heroine. Couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my Sunday evening.

This felt more like a coming of age story than serial killer thriller, but was interesting nonetheless. I enjoyed the Minnesota aspect, as I’m a Minnesota girl. I could relate to the Midwest thoughts and actions. I felt like the writing was a bit disjointed. The coming of age aspect was interesting, the character development lacking, and the serial killer aspect a little too obvious. Overall, a fine read that kept me entertained but didn’t leave me on the edge of my seat. 3.5 ⭐️

I’d like to thank Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Quarry Girls’ written by Jess Lourey in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

It’s 1977 and best friends, Heather, Brenda and Maureen, enjoy playing music together and partying at the quarry with their friends as they leave childhood behind and become young women. Heather takes it upon herself to care for her District Attorney father and little sister Junie as their mother isn’t well enough to leave her bed. Heather and Maureen see something that they agree to keep a secret but then Maureen disappears and Heather doesn’t know which of the adults she’s been brought up to respect she can actually trust.

‘The Quarry Girls’ is a dark and involving thriller that’s seen through the eyes of Heather as she tells of the secrets kept in the tunnels that run below the houses in the small Minnesota community of Pantown. The plot has been well thought-out and although the story is told at a slow pace it becomes more tense as the story progresses. The character descriptions are very good and I became involved with Heather as she tried to find the truth about what happened to her friends. The conclusion was appropriate and made a good and fitting ending to this involving story.

Atmospheric and claustrophobic, this novel will have you locking the doors and windows at night!

In Minnesota in the late 70's, Heather and her friends are on the cusp of adolescence. Their lives are colored with a recent disappearance of a local teen, and the fear that it brings to the community. A series of events uncovers a secret and it isn't long before they realize that there is truly no one in town that they can trust to help. If you like coming of age novels, atmospheric thrillers, and flashbacks to the 70's The Quarry Girls is for you! #Thomas&Mercer #TheQuarryGirls #JessLourey

This was a good mystery, that I enjoyed! Being an 80s baby, it was fun reading this set in the 70s. I liked the character Heather. It was hard to read sometimes because of the content and frustrated with the victim-blaming but it sadly does speak volumes on that particular time and some people still today. It was exciting and had a good twist in the end without spoiling anything. I would recommend this book!

The summer of 1977 is a terrifying summer for Heather. It’s also the loss of innocence in so many ways.
Who can you trust when girls disappear on this small Minnesota town and don’t return?
What really happens in the creepy tunnels under the homes and what secrets do the harbor?
It’s a sinister, dark and disturbing story. Some of the things I figured out but others are a shock.
Sometimes the safest of small towns produce the worst dregs of humanity.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley!
———————
this was an unexpectedly great read! finished in one sitting - the pacing is fantastic and i couldn’t put it down.

the late 70s, small town Minnesota setting is the perfect backdrop for a true crime inspired thriller with a cast of compelling characters. definitely recommend!

💜𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲💜
THE QUARRY GIRLS
𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 4 ⭐️
🤍𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: thriller
📖 335 pages
🎉 𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: 11/1/22

Thanks @netgalley for the #gifted copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review 👏🏼

Honestly this took until about 50% to get into and then BAM I couldn’t put it down. The opening garage 🎸band scene, the 70’s time period, the county fair 🎡, riding bikes 🚲 , and summer was giving me Now & Then vibes and I didn’t hate it!

This story follows the MC, 16-year-old Heather, who feels a little behind in growing up as she watches her 2 best friends blossom around her with make up & boys. ( 🙋🏼‍♀️ I related to the MC & was a late bloomer amongst my friends too). But when the town’s local waitress, Beth, goes missing, Heather knows that her under the radar personality may just mean she notices more than she realizes. This is told in alternating POV’s from Beth’s entrapment to Heather trying to solve her town’s biggest mystery while staying alive & protecting those she loves.

This is a suspenseful 😱 thriller where it’s hard to know who to trust & nowhere is safe...

⚠️ TW: contains depression/mental health issues & sexual harassment

I absolutely love Jess Lourey. This book did not disappoint. I was page turning quickly to find out who did it. I love the small town setting.

Pantown is a scary place with below ground tunnels where all the houses connect. Girls are dying. Shady stuff is going on in the town. This is a classic who done it tale based on true events.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the #gifted copy of the book.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

"Heather is terrified that the missing girls are connected to what she and Brenda stumbled upon that night. Desperately searching for answers on her own, she learns that no one in her community is who they seem to be."

I liked Heather and her tenacity. The story evolved in staticky jumps but overall an enjoyable read.

2.75☆

Jess Lourey is a must-read author me and she definitely did not let me down with " The Quarry Girls." Such an amazing book and one many will be talking about upon its release amongst booktok or bookstagram!