I love true crime and had never heard of this case before. I found it very intriguing but sad that it was a cold case. I would recommend this to anyone who likes true crime.

I have written a few reviews for this book on the NetGalley site and it keeps appearing on my give reviews list, so here we go again...
This book discusses the disappearance of two teen girls in the 1970s. While driving to a party Pam and Sherri seemed to have vanished. While some believe they ran away, others believed that they were victims of foul play, and the family just wants answers. This book takes you through the investigation from 1971 until it was solved in the 2000s.

I’m not really a true crime person but something about this one sounded so interesting that I really wanted to learn about the case and I’m so glad that I did because it was a heartbreaking, and interesting, story.

This was a case that I had never heard of before, and the entire time I was reading I was so enthralled because I had no idea how this story would end. Reading about these two girls and their families and lives was so heartbreaking and I think that it was all handled with such care and understanding.

Getting to the end of the book and finding out what happened to these teenagers was infuriating, I was left in absolute shock and my heart broke all over again for everyone involved.

A worthwhile read, if only to learn about these girls in a compassionate and well researched way.

While listening to this, my phone stopped working. Once I received my new phone and downloaded the Netgalley app I lost all my downloaded audiobooks. I was unable to finish.

An interesting cold case mystery with lots of local flavor. And the twists! Dead-ends, sure bets that turn out to be innocent coincidences, information withheld, and conflicting stories.

This was a mystery of two missing girls, good girls in a distinctive car, who couldn't have run away and shouldn't have been so hard to find.

The audio book takes listeners through the twisting, dark roads the girls traveled that fateful night and inroduces you to the families who were devastated by their disappearance. And their two families weren't the only ones affected as suspicion and blame began to seep into the cracks in the community.

A great true crime listen.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy.

This really wasn't for me but I still gave it a 3.5 stars. I know there is someone out that this is the perfect book for them. I do recommend this for someone who is starting with true crime or non-fiction. It was just little slow for my liking,

Thank you Netgalley for letting me give my honest review

Very Well written book and very interesting. Still after listening to the story I still have doubt in weather the lickings had something to do with it and just covered it up.

This was a fascinating dive into a new case to me, but one of the most infamous in South Dakota's. The author evidently did a ton of research, which really showed and made this a worthwhile read; I think for both those with some knowledge of the teenagers' disappearances and those with none. The narration was a bit dry and the book stagnated at times, but the author's interested shined through nonetheless and it was quite enjoyable overall. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I must be in a cold case reading mood, except this one is a true story. VANISHED IN VERMILLION, by Lou Raguse, and read by the author.

In 1971, two teen girls are cruising around town and decide to follow friends to a party, and before they could get there they vanished. This is a story about an apathetic sheriff, families and friends being disregarded, a cold case unit determined to make the possible crime fit a suspect, and 42 years before having any answers.

This was a great and informative dive into a missing persons case, and investigative tactics through the years. I truly hope things have improved since then. 5 stars!

Thanks NetGalley and Tantor Audio for allowing me to review this audiobook.

Vanished in Vermillion: The Real Story of South Dakota’s Most Infamous Cold Case was a good true crime story by Lou Raguse. This is a cold case story that reveals the biggest law enforcement embarrassment in South Dakota history. In May 1971, Pam Jackson and Sherri Miller were seventeen years old. They are driving to an end of the year party in Studebaker Lark when they seem to disappear off the face of the earth. The police then didn't seem to do enough to find them. Thirty years later, investigators did too much. The two families endure decades of pain while they wait for answers. A third family seems to be pulled into the mystery and they learn their nightmare is beginning. I enjoyed reading this book and can't wait to read more by the author.

I live in South Dakota and didn’t know much about this case until I listened to Vanished in Vermillion. The author did a great job telling the girls story.

Nearly a decade ago, I recall reading an article about a car that had been recovered from the bottom of a lake. In it were the the remains of two teenage girls who had disappeared in the early-1970s, long believed to have been abducted and likely murdered. This was a discovery as incredible as it was disturbing: the girls could now be lain to rest and their families finally had closure, but only after over forty years of wondering what terrible fate they may have met. The story was fascinating enough for me to pick up a copy of Vanished in Vermillion: The Real Story of South Dakota's Most Infamous Cold Case, but I was admittedly unsure of how it could be stretched out to fill a full book. What made the cold case noteworthy was how mundane the resolution was--anything else would surely be padding.

Or so I thought. Written by reporter Lou Raguse, Vanished in Vermillion is not merely a story of two young women who disappeared without a trace and the families who grieved for them. It's also a story about false leads, negligent police officers, the corruption of the criminal justice system, the pitfalls of psychiatry, the long-term effects of domestic violence and, most alarmingly, the unreliability of memory. Raguse maps out how a lack of due diligence derailed what could have been a short investigation, and how a combination of well-meaning psychiatrists, stubborn officers, and conniving inmates destroyed one family's life and nearly incriminated an innocent man. Think it's impossible to feel sympathy for a serial domestic abuser serving life in prison? Think again.

Raguse does struggle with pacing to a degree (the investigation doesn't really get going until after the halfway mark), and the resolution may seem anti-climatic to someone unfamiliar with the case. But Vanished in Vermillion serves as a prime example of how small decisions can create massive problems, and as a chilling reminder that sometimes instincts can blind us to the truth.

This was a "can't put it down" book for me. It was a very interesting true crime case that I had not heard of before. It was well researched and written in a way that had enough twists and turns that it kept me guessing about how it would end. One of the best books I have read so far this year!

**Disclaimer: I recieved a free advanced reader's copy of Vanished in Vermillion: The Real Story of South Dakota's Most Infamous Cold Case by Lou Raguse through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this opportunity.

The Real Story of South Dakota's Most Infamous Cold Case by Lou Raguse is a true crime book.  It related the story of two teenage girls who disappeared without a trace and the investigation that followed into the crime.  I rated it 4 stars on Goodreads.

Here's the summary from Goodreads:

The result of hundreds of interviews, Vanished in Vermillion is a cold case story that flips the script on a typical investigation narrative, revealing the biggest law enforcement embarrassment in South Dakota history.
In May 1971, Pam Jackson and Sherri Miller were two seventeen-year-olds driving to an end-of-the-school-year party in a rundown Studebaker Lark when they seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. Police back then didn’t do enough to try and find them. Investigators thirty years later did too much. Two families endure decades of pain as they await answers of what happened to their girls. When a third family is pulled into the mystery, they quickly learn their nightmare is just beginning.

Vanished in Vermillion was a really interesting investigation of what happened to two young girls who went missing. It was well developed and laid out. The author included a lot of information about the different theories that were explored throughout the years, and I found it really interesting to see how the investigation was handled quite poorly, though it must have been awful for the girls’ families.
The audiobook was narrated by the author, and I really enjoyed his narration. He had a good narrating voice, and made the story really engaging to listen to. I also really enjoy the personal touch of an author reading their own work when the book is nonfiction.
If you like true crime and stories about police investigations, you will probably enjoy this story. It’s well detailed and quite engaging.

This audiobook was well researched, well written, and well performed. The author reads the book for the audiobook production. I thought I knew a lot about this case but Vanished In Vermillion definitely opened my eyes to how twisted and off base the cops were with their investigation. Two girls disappear on their way to a party. No trace of them is found until much later. In the intervening years the cops try to pin the disappearance on a local troublemaker. However, the truth is no one made them disappear. I really enjoyed this audiobook.

This is has everything a true crime book should. Raguse leaves no stone unturned, and delivers the information in a very digestible way. This was such a crazy story, and I’m glad we have answers.

4 fabulous stars
Raguse is an experienced reporter who writes of a cold case in Vermillion south Dakota in which 2 teen-aged girls disappeared. I found his journalistic writing style refreshing. (Mystery writers go back and forth , sometimes excessively.) Thoroughly researched information is presented in chronological order, making the story easy to follow. The story is intriguing and getting to know the families and friends of the girls pulls you in.

The pacing is solid, except after ‘mystery’ is resolved, the book bogs down a bit with technical details. Raguse dives into how law enforcement didn’t do enough after the two teen girls disappeared in 1971 and did too much when investigating the case as a cold case decades later, linking it to a known sex offender in the area.

Author Lou Raguse is a journalist, not a professional reader. His voice is engaging, easy to understand and listen to. I did not need to speed up the recording like I usually do with audiobooks. If you like true crime and solid reporting, I think you’d enjoy Vanished in Vermillion.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a story. I was on the edge of my seat. Great narration. I was googling information as I listened. I was very invested in the case.

This was an interesting story. I like these type of cold cases that are solved years later. I skipped a lot of the middle revolving around David and his potential murder of the girls - simply it was boring. I would recommend a little more research, specifically a map. Having grown up in NW Iowa and my mom's family from the Ft. Dodge area, I know it is in WESTERN Iowa, not EASTERN Iowa. The author narrating the story was a little underwhelming also. Otherwise, I enjoyed the story, just not all of it. Thus, I am giving it 2 stars.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.