Member Reviews
The Lonely Girls is the 4th book in the Lucy Kendall Series. It was originally published under the name All Fall Down. Lucy has a new job with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Then Lucy's closest friend and teammate is kidnapped and Lucy is in a race against time to find her. She has 48 hrs to find Kelly.
Lucy is someone we've all wanted to be at some point. We here about wrongs committed against children and want to be vigilantes. I think that's why she's so relatable. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC.
This was the fourth book in the Lucy Kendall series.
I was drawn in from the start of this book after reading the section titled "Unknown", taken in by the uncertainty of wondering what might happen regarding this unknown character.
This book felt slightly different, the reason being that the case Lucy was investigating seemed to have more personal significance for her. Having read all the books in the series, by this point I was starting to feel almost as though I had been on a journey with this character, and it was emotional to read this book.
Since I enjoyed all this series, I may be interested in reading other books by this author too. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.
What a fantastic ending to a great series! The whole series was action-packed and an amazing thrill ride. I didn’t think it could get any more twisted than the previous ones but this was over the top in the best way possible. The writing flows so well that you get wrapped up in the story and lose all sense of time. I highly recommend the whole series (must be read in order)!
Lucy Kendall has now flown her safe space of Philadelphia and is now working in Washington D.C., at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. However, Philadelphia is not done with Lucy. A young girl has been found murdered and she has been mirrored to resemble Lucy’s sister at the time of her death. Not only that, there is also a message on the bathroom mirror, specifically addressed to Lucy. Not only is a sinister message sent to Lucy at murder scene of this young girl, but her best friend also becomes deeply endangered as the story continues. Lucy has limited time to save Kelly and decipher who is out to punish her. This novel embodies many of the necessary characteristics of a psychological thriller. There are significant plot twists with unexpected events popping up that I never saw coming. The character development was on point. I recommend reading this series in order, as there was important information that I knew from the prior books which accelerated my understanding of this book. However, even if you haven’t read any other books in this series, due to the easy to read format, you will understand enough about the plot, twists and turns, and characters. I highly recommend this author and this series of books. Thank you the NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy in exchange for my honest review.
3.5★s
The Lonely Girls, also titled All Fall Down, is the fourth book in the Lucy Kendall series by best-selling American author, Stacy Green. Now living in Alexandria, Virginia, Lucy Kendall is a case manager with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children when she is sent a pair of 1986 Liberty silver dollars. Immediately thereafter, a Parks Police investigator reveals that a young woman has been murdered in a xx in Maryland, and her name written by the killer at the scene.
When she sees the crime scene photos, Lucy is shocked at the resemblance to her sister, who took her own life twenty years earlier. She begins racking her brains for just who could know or discover the details so exactly, an exercise in clutching at straws, given what she learns about her mother’s actions. She is immediately concerned for her friend and IT expert, Kelly Shaw.
Returning to Philadelphia, intent on investigating potential suspects, she learns that Kelly has been keeping secrets: not only has she initiated a relationship with a man, but she has also .been searching out her past abusers. Worse still, she is missing, and the message from her abductor is that Lucy has forty-eight hours to find her.
Once again, the level of Lucy’s arrogance in deciding she is the only one who can save her friend is breathtaking: her step-father does make an insightful observation: “Even now, you’ve taken the weight of saving her life onto your shoulders, and you’re letting that cancel out your better judgment. Common sense, even.”
This is a series best read in order as there are huge spoilers for the first three books in this one. There’s lots of action in this final instalment, plenty of red herrings and distractions, but the astute reader will have picked the massive twist by the final lines of the prologue. Most loose ends are neatly tied, except for who looked after Mousecop when Lucy upped and went to Philly.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Bookouture.
The Lonely Girls in the 4th book in the Lucy Kendall Crime Thriller Series. You'll need to read the other 3 before this one as it is not a standalone. I absolutely devoured books 1-3 over the weekend and then had a hard time getting back in the zone to get into this one. But once I did... oooh the twists and turns! One thing that ended up happening I did have a thought in the back of my mind that it may end up happening, sort of. It kind of went above and beyond anything my own imagination could come up with. But a young girl that Lucy helped when she worked for CPS goes missing and the crime scene is absolutely staged to look like the death of Lucy's sister and Lucy is absolutely being targeted by someone. When her best friend goes missing next, she'll do anything it takes to find her... and then things just start getting wilder and wilder! Definitely a great ending to this series - it ends with closure! Looking forward to reading some more books by Stacy Green in the future.
I received a free e-copy of this book from Net Galley in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.
The Lonely Girls (A Lucy Kendall Crime Thriller Book 4)
by Stacy Green
Pub Date 30 Jan 2023
Bookouture
General Fiction (Adult) | Mystery & Thrillers
I am reviewing a copy of The Lonely Girls through Bookouture and Netgalley:
As I looked at my names scrawled in blood-colored lipstick on the mirror above the girl’s broken body, the room spun and my legs gave away. Was this young girl dead because of me?
After the body of of a vulnerable teenage girl is found on a remote farm in the Maryland hills, Private Investigator Lucy Kendall knows her past has come back to haunt her. Lucy's sister died when she was a young girl, and the dead teenager she's looking at looks exactly like her her dark hair dyed blonde, her wrists slashed.
On the bathroom mirror above the girls body, Lucy's name is scrawled. The dead girl is clutching a silver coin in her small, fragile hand, identical to the one which has just been mailed to Lucy. Lucy is shaken to her very core, determined to find out why a cruel murderer wants her to feel responsible for this girl’s death.
Lucy makes a vow that she is going to track down this twisted killer who seems to know so much about her family’s tragic past. But after her closet friend Kelly is abducted and Lucy receives a phone call saying she has forty-eight hours to find her, she knows the evil perpetrator won’t stop until she comes face to face with him. As the minutes tick by turning to
hours she is sent messages showing her friend growing weaker and weaker. Lucy cannot let another innocent life be taken. But can she find Kelly in time? And what will her abductor want in return?
I give The Lonely Girls five out of five stars!
Happy Reading!
Just when I thought it couldn't get any better I read book 4 and finished it in one sitting. Gripping, unpredictable and an absolute oage turner. I loved it
This installment may perhaps be the best of the lot. However I would not recommend it as a standalone. The metamorphosis the characters have gone through is very interesting. Full of twists, this book kept me turning pages and finish this book in one sitting.
I don't think this series was really for me. The characters didn't grow on me and I just found myself struggling to motivate myself to read it. It's not a bad series just didn't grab me.
This is really annoying when sleep and work come in the way of reading a final instalment of a brilliant series of books!!!!!
I have absolutely loved this series which is coming round a full circle.
Our beloved protagonist Lucy Kendall finally decides to resume her PI/Vigilante/Avenger days and start to her new role at the FBI work in the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children which is the perfect position for her! Lucy is now facing another challenge when her best friend and partner in crime Kelly, has been kidnaped. She is also facing a murder potentially linked to her deceased sister years ago.
I could not recommend the whole series strongly enough. This needs to be read from the beginning in my opinion as this develops in a crescendo which is nail biting!
Simply amazing :)
This last installment of the series was one of my favorites! The entire story gets flipped on it head and changes the dynamic of what is about to happen.
For a long time I questioned the motivations behind characters, but after the second book I let go my apprehension. This story added to all those thoughts and problem solving. I’m not sure if there will be another installment but I will immediately pick it up if it happens like I do with all of her other novels.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC of The Lonely Girls. This is the fourth installment of the Lucy Kendall series and it may be my fave. Very rarely does a series have each book be consistently good! But this series is one of those where each book was thrilling, suspenseful, and unput downable! I loved the premise of this Dexter-esque vigilante killer and I loved seeing Lucy evolve in each book. In The Lonely Girls we get answers to who “unknown” is. It wasn’t a total surprise but I really enjoyed how everything came together. Great book and series!
The fourth book that I have read in this series which I read one after another they were that good. I am hoping the series will continue in the next chapter of Lucy's life.
I have read and enjoyed the first 3 books in this series so far so was looking forward to reading this one. I wasn’t disappointed, a great but difficult subject but very well written. A very tense and suspenseful storyline that I couldn’t read quick enough and an ending I wasn’t expecting. I highly recommend this book and author. Can’t wait for the next book.
This is the fourth book in the Lucy Kendall series by author Stacy Green. It has taken me awhile to get to grips with this series but I am finally really enjoying it.
A body of a vulnerable teenage girl is found on a remote farm in the Maryland hills with her wrists slashed and Private Investigator Lucy Kendall feels that her past has come back to haunt her. Lucy’s sister died when she was a young girl, and the dead teenager is the spitting image of her.
Above the girl’s body is a bathroom mirror with Lucy’s name scrawled on and the dead girl is clutching a silver coin in her hand, identical to the one which has just been mailed to Lucy. Lucy is desperate to find the murderer and why a they wants her to feel responsible for this girl’s death. The murderer appears to know all about Lucy’s dark and tragic past and when her closest friend Kelly is abducted, Lucy receives a phone call giving her forty-eight hours to find her. Another race against time as Lucy is faced with tracking down the killer and saving her friend.
I really enjoyed this novel and for me was the best one in the series so far.
I would like to thank both Netgalley and Bookouture for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
After the events of the last book Lucy has decided to turn her back on her past in Philadelphia & take up a position at the FBI. She is gradually getting her life reorganised when she is informed of a murder that references her name & the photo is staged to look exactly like her sister Lily's suicide. She is determined to find out more. When Kelly- her only real friend, goes missing & a note tells her she has forty eight hours & to keep police out of it she is frantic. Who is behind the murder & who has Kelly?
This series has just got better & better & this final instalment kept me reading till the early hours- so much suspense & so many surprises. I am sorry to see the end of this series but cannot help feeling a sense of closure. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this brilliant series of books.
Perhaps Lucy Kendall’s life has come full circle. She had been a PI/vigilante turned murderer, but Lucy has the chance to change the course of her life. She has taken on a new job, now she is working at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. This is indeed a perfect job for Lucy, because she still gets to work for the benefit of children, but this will give her a chance to stay on the right side of the law. However, when her dear friend, Kelly has gone missing, Lucy again feels that she has to take matters into her own hands.
For years, Kelly and Lucy have worked closely together when it came to Lucy looking for men who escaped justice for harming children. She is now in a race against time as Kelly’s kidnapper has given her only 48 hours to arrive at a certain location and order to save Kelly.
In addition to finding out about Kelly, Lucy is also finding that a recent murder nearly mirrors a tragic event when she lost her sister when they were children. Although desperate to figure out the past, Lucy is also desperate to find Kelly. What an incredibly tense read as Lucy’s past and present begin to collide at amazing speed. This last book in the Lucy Kendall series was just as compelling as all three previous books. In fact, I read all four books back to back in just a couple of days as they were impossible to put down.
Stacy Green has done a remarkable job with each and every book in the series, and has made Lucy a relatable character. The conclusion of this amazing series could not have been done any better.
Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
Please enjoy the following combined series video review - https://youtu.be/9HRYyYWMtIY
Not sure how it could be possible but The Lonely Girls (A Lucy Kendall Crime Thriller Book 4) by Stacy Green is even more nail biting than the previous three. Perhaps because characters that the reader had gotten to know and understand somewhat become the hunted and caught in this story. I will say that the three book ended on a hopeful note but with one chilling detail. It comes into clear understanding why I felt something was missing. The stuff of nightmares.
I will say that the description says, “The Lonely Girls will keep you up all night, unable to put it down until the final heart-pounding twist.” I found that to be exactly true. It is once again a read that leave me off balance with an unsettling ending that I have replayed time and time again in my mind. One of the most provocative series I have ever read with me still on the fence concerning what I think of Lucy. She is an antihero that this reader could never decide what her choices will continue to be in the future. I would like to see the Lucy, Kelly along with their loves twenty years from when this book ends. Read today and makeup your own mind.
Previously published as All Fall Down.
An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Oh my goodness, what an ending to these 4 books that I binged. I didn't see it coming though I thought them odd.
The plot was brilliant, charactes all brought together in a horrifying way. The race before time ran out was crazy. I was annoyed to put my kindle away when I arrived at work.
I've loved this series, Lucy both annoyed me and yet I loved her. Her morals were skewed but for all the right reasons. Plenty of emotions in this tale.
I highly recommed this story but strongly suggest you start from the beginning.