Summer 1980: Three girls go into the woods, only one comes out.

Summer 2022: A woman is buried alive and found clutching something that goes back 42 years to the Summer of 1980.

Are these crimes connected? Can Van and Harry and their team figure everything, despite mountains of obstacles in their way?

This book was VANtastic! I honestly loved everything about it - the pacing, the characters, their backstories, their relationships. Everything struck a wonderful balance that kept me turning pages late into the night. While I did find Van to be impulsive and childish at time, her backstory made me understand a lot and I thought she was a very well-written character. I love that this is going to be a series and I cannot wait to see what is next for Van and Harry and Kyle.

I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Great read!
If I didn’t have to adult, I could have easily read this in one sitting. Fantastic pace, great character development. I did vibe with Van, even though I understood her past and trauma I found it very difficult to support some of the things she did, therefore losing some respect which made if difficult to vibe with her at times. I did admire her tenacious nature, which made her a great cop/investigator at times which is what you want when it comes to hunting a killer, but still…
I really loved where the author took the killer in terms of his development. I loved that she had obviously done her research and gave us something a little different than usual when it came to him. I like it when I have to google 😂 I also really loved Harry’s character, i especially loved that last two sentence he gave us, which make me suspect we’re going to get another instalment of these two detectives, and I’m down for that!

Wowza. That was dark! It was also incredibly unique into storyline. I won’t go into details, because that would be a spoiler, but it was very unique and not one I have seen before. The writing was excellent and the plot was nicely paced. This was chilling and a great spooky season read!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

• cold case thriller/procedural
• multiple POVs & timelines
• excellent writing

I didn't want this book to end. I loved it. The author creates a fantastic atmosphere, amazing characters, and the story sucks you in. I was so disturbed while reading! I really enjoyed the forensic & police work... it's presented in a way that's digestible and easy to understand. And that Epilogue? Ummm I need more Steinbeck and Reed!!! I also highly, highly recommend this author's other work. Especially Bloodline and Unspeakable Things.

🗣️ Thank you to Jess Lourey for the opportunity to read and review your book via gifted eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

First in a new series from Lourey, where the female lead reminds me a lot of Carol O'Conner's Mallory. When a woman found to have been very recently buried alive turns out to be one of a pair of missing girls missing for for several decades, the obvious question is the other missing girl still alive. Agent Reed from the BCA's Cold Case department has shift through a lot of red herrings, many from her own past. Reed's own tragic childhood has left her suffering traumatic visions, sometimes leading her to amazing (almost psychic) guesses, but leaving her colleagues to treat her with disdain and distrust.
Reed is very much the flawed hero on a quest for redemption.
While the case is solved, the readers learn there is much for Reed to hide from her fellow Agents. Looking forward to the next case.

I enjoyed this book and found the concept of a supernatural twist on a police procedural to be a good suspenseful read. The book started off with a bang and somewhat lagged in the middle but finished strong. I look forward to more books by Jess Lourey.

3.5 ish stars...

I think these type of police procedurals are just not for me. I find there are too many characters (past and present) to keep track of, in addition the back and forth (1980, 2001, and 2022) timelines just made this confusing. I was halfway through, and realized I wasn't feeling invested at all. I read her previous book [book:Bloodline|50416762], and also wasn't that into that one. Perhaps it's me, and this author just isn't for me.

I can see how others would devour and binge this. Being around 300 pages, it was at least a quick read.

Thank you to netgalley & the publisher for my e-arc.

Cold case investigators Van Reed and Harry Steinbeck get pulled into an investigation when a recent murder has ties to a unsolved missing girls case from 1980. Van is an interesting character, with a traumatic childhood involving growing up in a cult. Her and Harry could not be more different, which makes their partnership quite interesting. She is chaotic and messy, with psychic dreams that help her to solve crimes. Harry is buttoned up, by the book and extremely detail oriented.

To be honest, the psychic dreams threw me at first, but as I kept reading I got into them. I like the idea of a relationship eventually happening between Harry and Reid, but in this book I just didn’t feel the chemistry.

The setting around the twin cities in Minnesota was interesting, as were the crimes and investigation.

Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable and fascinating read.


Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for providing me an ARC of this book to read and review.

This was an awesomely densely packed police procedural with a female investigator. It ended on a huge cliffhanger so I am dying for the next book and I want to scream I KNEW IT.

There were a lot of layers to the plot, which made me really stay focused so as not to miss any important details.

I definitely couldn’t predict where the story was going and “who did it” and I think my mind will be reeling over it/muddling for a while.

There are so big twists that I think will lend to a great series as they unfold.

Have I mentioned I love female lead procedurals??? The FMC is likeable but I also sometimes wanted to shake her and be like WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS ALONE when she would go to question suspects or witnesses.

There is so much to unpack with this book and I think it would make for a great book club read.

This was my first Jess Lourey book and thanks to this novels cliffhanger, it won't be my last! Why must you make us wait for answers! Joking aside, I quite enjoyed this cold-case police procedural. I'm quite a sucker for police procedurals, even more so when there is a forensic scientist included as a main character!

While I enjoyed Van and Harry's relationship and work to solve the cold-case, I did have some hang-ups while reading this book. There were just way too many subplots for me. While they did all come together, I felt a lot of them weren't necessary to move the book along. I found myself audibly sighing at the addition of yet=another-storyline. Perhaps they are necessary to continue the series? I'm not sure. I guess I will find out though because while I had some issues keeping me from LOVING this one, I am invested in Harry and I overall enjoyed the pace and writing of this novel.

3.5 rounded to 4.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for the advanced copy of The Taken Ones. This is the second book by Jess Lourey I’ve read and I can say with confidence it won’t be the last. When 3 girls go into the woods in 1980 and only one comes out after hearing the legend of The Bendy Man, well I’m freaked out already. Unfortunately the case of the missing girls went cold until a new crime, which is something out of my nightmares, being buried alive, happens which prompts the reopening of the case if the taken ones. This book has an overall creepy vibe, but mix in solving a mystery crime, forensic science and a touch of paranormal and you have a recipe for an amazing read. This is the first in a new series and I cannot wait for book 2.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own opinions.

It took me a few chapters to find myself invested in the story, but once the gentleman without a home was trying to save the woman I was hooked. I found myself getting more emotionally involved in the mystery, but just as interested in the detectives, their back and future stories.
Good book with interesting characters, can't ask for much more.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
“The Bendy Man, the Bendy Man, if he can’t get you, no one can!”

THE TAKEN ONES, the first book in the Steinbeck and Reed Series, blew me away! This is only my second book by this author and I’m a fan. She has a talent for creating unique characters that get under your skin.

Van is an intense and complicated character with serious flaws that should make her unlikable but I loved her. She’s a cold case detective teamed up with Harry, a forensic scientist, who she describes in a very flattering way. Currently investigating a 40-year-old case involving two young girls who vanished and a local superstition about a man who haunts the forest they disappeared in.

This book provides quite a bit of background on Van. She had an unconventional childhood that has taken her down some dark paths. Not so much on Harry. And it has barely touched the surface of their developing relationship and respective secrets.

After reading the epilogue, I’m dying to get my hands on the next book!! I’m not a fan of series but this one has captured my attention. Not sure when the next book is due to be released, but it’s NOT soon enough!

Sincere thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing this complimentary ARC through NetGalley. As always, all opinions are my own and are left voluntarily.

#TheTakenOnes #JessLourey #netgalley #kindleunlimited #thomasandmercer #justfinished #giftedARC #thriller #honestreview #thrillerbookloverspromotions #thrillerfriendsunite #mysteryandthrills #thrillerobsessedbookishclub #suspense #mystery #lovetoread #bookworms #lovebooks #lovetoreadbooks #fortheloveofbooks #booknerd #bookreviewer #newrelease #Superstition #OctoberRead #CreepyRead

Some crimes are open-and-shut cases, where the police manage to find the perpetrator and bring him or her to justice in a timely manner. Others, however, remain unsolved for years. And the crime drama The Taken Ones by author Jess Lourey follows a troubled investigator as she races to solve a decades-old mystery.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery.

OMG this book is so good. It had been a really long time that I had read a good ol' bone chilling thriller. The Taken Ones just had me forget all my priorities and want to find out what the heck actually happened.

I had heard great things about Jess Lourey's Unspeakable Things but I haven't gotten the chance to read it yet. After reading The Taken Ones, I'm a 100% sure I'm reading everything this author has ever written.

^^ Those were my initial thoughts. Now it's been a few days since I've finished The Taken Ones and I still have only good things to say!

The Taken Ones was a unique blend of thrill and paranormal that I was not expecting going in, I already cannot wait to read more of Steinbeck and Reed!! I hope the second book comes out soon.

A fantastic read that pulls you in and won't let you put it down until you've finished. Three girls go into the woods even though local legend of the Bendy Man usually keeps children out and only one comes out. She has no memory of what happened. Her story captures national news but like all newsworthy stories the one of Taken Ones eventually dies down. In the summer of 2022 a cold case detective (Van Reed) and forensic scientist (Harry Steinbeck) are assigned to a case of a woman who was buried alive. The woman was found clutching a heart charm necklace that belonged to one of the mission girls. Both detectives have their own way of investigating and both have ties to this cold case. Follow along as the two figure out how the two cases are connected and who their killer is in the end.

Jess Lourey, the author of Quarry Girls, has knocked it out of the ballpark again with her new suspense novel, The Taken Ones!
Set in Leech Lake, Minnesota, a small burg west of Minneapolis, the action kicks off immediately with the riveting prologue—summer, 1980, three young girls enter the woods on their way to a swimming hole, and only one returns, in shock. Now, 40 years later, MBI cold case detective Evangeline “Van” Reed becomes involved as a gruesome new murder reveals a clue connected to one of the missing girls.
She and forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck collaborate to analyze past records and current evidence. Their crime-solving methods are dissimilar—Harry’s grounding in science versus Van’s reliance on dreams and intuition—but the two of them evolve into a strong investigative team.
While this is an excellent police procedural, it is also strongly character driven, with Van particularly fascinating, as her back story informs her commitment to the investigation. The descriptive writing is skillful and evocative—“the interior reeked of ghost cigarettes, a geologic layer of smell that had settled into the carpeting, wood-paneled walls, and the yellowed ceiling tiles” that I could see and smell the room!
The first person narration by Van makes the story compelling and more personal, while the occasional short chapters from the killer’s first person POV are suitably impactful and chilling.
The prose is dark and intense, and there are many references to child abduction, child abuse and cult behavior, but the story always circles back to the excellent criminal investigation.
I highly recommend this new thriller by Jess Lourey!

Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

The story was a thrilling one set in Minnesota. The book had two cases - a cold case and a present case. Both of these cases were intertwined and I loved how it was written.

The disappearance of the two girls in 1980 itself sparked curiousity in me. Decades later, the death of a woman prompts the police to reopen the cold case. What then continued is the collection of evidences and revealing of truths. The book was able to perfectly incorporate myth and mystery. It filled me with dread and terror as the story progressed. The ending perfectly concluded this book.

I'm so thrilled to have read this one as it had a lot of suspenseful moments and a great storyline.

This was another very good thriller/mystery by Jess Lourey.

Steinbeck and Reed together are a force to be reckoned with. I absolutely adore Steinbeck. He sounds almost too perfect. Reed is broken but fixable and such a good detective. She takes her job seriously and does not shrink in the face of adversity.

This story has a lot going on but it's easy to follow. Three girls go into the woods but only two come out. Friends Amber and Rue along with Rue's little sister Lily. Rue comes out but Amber and Rue are missing. Rue does not remember what happened.

Many years go by and Reed takes this cold case The Taken Ones. It's about the missing girls. After a body was discovered buried alive and may be tied to the Taken Ones she wants to solve it. She lived in her own nightmare growing up. In a cult with an abusive leader, Frank.

You follow these two and a few more detectives and cops throughout this story looking for the Bendy Man and the missing children. You also hear about another case along the way. I can't tell you about it but I applaud Van Reed for her gift. She saved lives in this thrilling new book. It also references back to the previous book with these two in it. I can't imagine Van doing what she did.

I hope this continues with another soon. I can't wait for Harry's secret to be revealed and for more of he and Van. They are two of the good ones in a world of a few bad cops. Also a possible love story here.

Thank you #NetGalley, #JessLourey, #Thomas&Mercer for this ARC. This is my honest thoughts about this book.

Five big stars and a high recommendation for this one.

This is an honest review in exchanged for an arc from Net galley and Thomas and Mercer publishing company. Thank- you.

This book is a rollercoaster you won’t want to get off. 2 kids went missing and years later the case has never been solved. The townsfolk refer to the bendy man as having something to do with their disappearance but no one has any evidence to prove this is what has happened.

A woman is found buried alive.

Is there a connection to the missing girls from many years ago?

One woman (Van) who heads the cold case unit , a division of the Minnesota bureau of criminal apprehension gets called out she works closely with a small team she can trust to solve this case and tie it to the missing girls.

This is a fast paced story. The characters are well developed and you find yourself rooting for the case to be solved with a happy ending but it’s not always possible not to suffer a certain amount of loss in the process.

I can’t wait to read more from this author.