Thanks NetGalley for the free Advanced Reader’s Copy of “The Lake of Lost Girls” . I leave this review voluntarily. I loved this book and whole heartedly recommend. The case of missing Jessica and 3 other girls from Southern State University in Mt. Randall North Carolina is reopened due to a true crime podcast shedding light on the inept investigation by police. There is a dual timeline so we can learn more about the missing girl and her time at University. There is a cast of students, a faculty member and Jessica’s dysfunctional family. The present timeline focuses on Lindsey (Jess’ sister) and what she is able to find out. There are twist and turns as more information is revealed and the reader tries to determine who is responsible. I was able to figure out much of the climax but still encountered one wrinkle in my theory. I did find there was a lot of grabbing of arms and fingers digging in - seemed to be a phrase used too much. It also felt a little more lengthy than necessary. These are minor and did not stop me from liking this one.

Four college students went missing at the same university in the 90s, and the case has never been solved. Now 24 years later, the bodies are slowly being uncovered and the case is opened again. Who killed these girls and why?

I really enjoyed how this story was told in the past from the perspective of one of the missing girls, in the present from that girl’s sister, and then in a true crime podcast. It made the book a lot more enjoyable since it had different timelines.
I felt like the story revealed the main culprits too early. I also found the similarities between the suspects to be a little unrealistic.
Overall, I liked the way the book ended up. I was hoping it was going to go in that direction. I didn't have any questions left over. Part of me wanted Jessica to be a deeper, more fleshed out character, but I did enjoy this academic thriller.

I posted my review on my Instagram August 30th. https://www.instagram.com/p/C_S0x8DAT9U/

Lindsey Fadley wants to know what happened to her sister. Over two decades ago, Jessica vanished from outside their family's home. Along with three other female, college students, Jessica has long since left the minds of the small town. When a podcast brings her case back to the light, Lindsey gets pulled into a hunt for the truth. Who was Jessica really? What happened that night? As bodies begin to be found, old information is twisted into something new. The question left for Lindsey is who was Jessica?

The Lake of Lost Girls takes the podcast trope and spins it with college students. I didn't feel that this was a fresh perspective. I enjoyed how the main characters were interlaced and small breadcrumbs left you guessing. The end felt rushed and just left something to be desired. Did I read it super quick yes, but I definitely could have had more. Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.

I loved the premise of this book; I also love the mystery/thrillers that take place in the 90's. I also really enjoy a solid missing persons plot. This one had me pulled in early and held me there until the last few chapters. Based on nuggets dropped earlier in the book, I had a feeling I knew how it was going to end, and it did end that way. Unfortunately, something just did not sit well with me and the ending. That's ok, I actually appreciate a book that unnerves me a bit. I would absolutely still choose to read this knowing that going into it.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Katherine Greene, and Crooked Lane Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Lake of Lost Girls follows Lindsey Fadley as she investigates the cold case of her sister and three other missing girls. The case has long gone overlooked by police, but it suddenly brought to national attention when a podcast begins to cover it just as an unidentified body is discovered in the town where the girls were last seen. With the new coverage and police attention, Lindsey finally believes the case can finally be solved. The readers follow along with the case through three perspectives as we hear from the podcast, Lindsey, and flashbacks from Jessica’s freshman year of college.

First, the good. I really loved the premise of this novel. A group of missing girls from a sleepy college town? Sign me up. I’m a big fan of small town dynamics, and this didn’t disappoint. Second, I appreciated the way Lindsey was portrayed. She was genuinely very torn in her grief for her sister and her grief for the life she could have had - she has some resentment about the cards she was dealt, and she doesn’t really pretend otherwise. It’s refreshing. Finally, I LOVED the ambience of the novel. I couldn’t trust anyone, and that’s all I want from a thriller,

Now, the not so good. Unfortunately, a lot of the suspense was sort of ruined by the flashbacks from Jessica. There were a few key reveals that would have ultimately been better had we only experienced them through Lindsey’s eyes - hearing about them first from Jessica as she experienced them really removed the reader from Lindsey’s shock as she discovered them. The rotating perspectives also led to me guessing the ending about 1/3 of the way through the book. It’s not a fatal flaw for a book, but it took a lot of the enjoyment out of it for me.

Overall, this wasn’t a bad read. I was very intrigued by the story, and while I did guess the ending, I did want to keep going to make sure I was right. The small town vibes were amazing, and Lindsey is a great lead character - just a little bitter, but still refreshingly reliable. This was a solid 3.5/5 for me.

A very good mystery book, lots of twists and a good plot. Well written.

The characters were great and I read this book very quickly as I couldn’t wait to see what happened!!

I had a slow start to this one. Likely a me issue and not necessarily a book issue.

I absolutely love the multiple POV’s, alternating timelines and use of “mixed media” to tell the story.

Classic thriller. Four young women go missing from a NC University. 24 years later a body shows up in a lake. Who did it? Why?

You’ll have to read to find out.

24 years ago Jessica Fadley and other female students at Southern University were coming up missing. In present day Lindsey Fadley is looking into her sister’s disappearance with Journalist Ryan McKay. Bodies start showing up in the river. Family lies and dark secrets come to light.
This was a jaw dropping read with many twists and turns.
Thanks NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this eARC that will be released November 5, 2024!

This book was so intense with mystery and with so many red herrings, readers will be hard pressed to guess the twist! Males are portrayed horribly in this book; be prepared for a few disturbing descriptions. While I felt the title gave the book away initially, I now realize that was not the important part of the book. The podcasts and different viewpoints throughout really made the story come together in a unique way. I really enjoyed this book! Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first time reading this author and I can not wait to read more. This book was very well written and full of surprises and twists that kept me hooked. I couldn't put it down.

I like small-town murder mysteries, multiple POVs, alternating timelines and the use of mixed media. I thought this read was entertaining. My downside for this book is that I am not sure the mixed media added to the story, or provided insight for the story/mystery, so sometimes I just skimmed them and while there were some twists I wanted some more detail because I am not sure I felt connected to the story, the mystery or the characters. Having said that, when I picked it up, I wanted to keep reading it, and I think there were definitely parts which built up the suspense.

In 1998/99, four young women disappeared from a college in a small North Carolina town. Twenty four years later, the body of one of them is discovered in a secluded lake. Which one? Lindsey is the younger sister of one of those girls; her family has never recovered from their loss. When a journalist wanting to write the story appears, he approaches Lindsey for assistance solving the mystery. As she digs down into the case, secrets are revealed and suspects identified, but does Lindsey really want to find out the truth?

Set in dual timelines and different POVs, the story is interspersed with podcast transcripts, interview notes, and newspaper articles. I have seen this technique used in other novels. It works successfully here. There is the danger of male predators as well as the effects of their behaviors on their many victims, including their families. Twists, turns, and red herrings lead the reader on a suspenseful journey in this engrossing, fast read.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the arc!

What a fantastic who dunnit!!

Jessica is a college freshman home for her little sister's 6th birthday party when she vanishes into thin air. She had went outside to get the birthday cake from her trunk. Her sister was the last person to see her, and when she turned her head, she was gone.

Lindsay, Jessica's little sister, has been thrown back in to the mystery when a podcast launches call Ten Seconds to Vanish, the Jessica Fadley story and reopens the hurt and questions residing around Jessica's disappearance.

Told is dual timelines, and multiple POV, this thriller kept me on my toes. I literally couldn't figure out who the killer was because nothing added up.

4 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing this title in exchange for an honest review!

This could have been good…

“The lake of lost girls” by the writing duo under the penname of Katherine Greene is a murder mystery with the thriller part scratched out. The premise is this: in 1998-1999, four girls go missing at their North Carolina university. Their families never got any answers but, 24 years later, remains are found at a local lake and the cases are reopened, garnering public interest thanks to a true crime podcast. We get a dual POV: of Jessica Fadley, during the months leading up to her disappearance, and of her sister Lindsey in the present, trying to find out the truth about her sister by teaming up with a charming but shady reporter.

I recently binge-watched “Only murders in the building”, so I was particularly interested in the podcast element. Unfortunately, this served absolutely no other purpose than decoration. Short transcripts of the beginning of the episodes were used as interludes between chapters, along with stuff like social media posts, but we actually didn’t get any information from it, it didn’t factor at all in the investigation, and the hosts were obnoxious - on purpose, but again, I didn’t think it added anything to the story, so it was just annoying.

Even putting that aside, the book was lackluster on the whole. The ending was both predictable and out of nowhere, if that makes sense. Predictable in that you could easily suspect it halfway through; out of nowhere in that it just wasn’t consistent with the characterization we’re given. And I mean, obviously, you don’t want to show your hand too early in a murder mystery; the killer reveal has to shock you. But it also has to make sense, and I can’t say that I bought it.

I enjoyed the authors' first work, “The woods are waiting” (2023) better than this one, but I felt like the issues I had with it were also present here in ways that were harder to overlook. There was a slightly cartoonish veneer - in the character motivations, in the themes, in the actions, in the messages, that made it not feel realistic enough or just wasn’t done deftly. In addition to that, there was a repetition of statements that felt unnecessary - I don’t need to have everything spelled out and reiterated!

This was a pretty fast read and not a terrible one if you enjoy murder mysteries and want to be entertained for a while. I enjoyed Lindsey and her perspective as a sister who didn’t get to be her own person because she was marked by this tragedy for so long. But I thought that it could have used more work. The theme of older men abusing their power to prey on younger women had potential, but I felt like it was undermined by the resolution. I get what the authors were trying to do, but it needed a lot more buildup for it to work, imo.

Very well written. The author(s) tied up all the loose ends very nicely without it feeling rushed. I had no questions and the end and it truly shocked me. 5 stars.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

6.5/10
Before I begin I want to say a huge thank you to Netgalley for letting me read and review this book early!
It’s 1998, and Jessica Fadley is your typical college student, until she goes missing. 25 years later, her sister Lindsey is still looking for answers. This book kept me on edge the whole time I was reading it, and I didn’t see the twist at the end coming at all. You’ll be suspicious of everyone and everything from the moment you pick this book up. However, I found some of the writing and dialogue to be a bit clunky. The end of the novel also felt pretty rushed, I wanted more than I was given in the wrap up. This book touches on heavy topics and complex family dynamics. Greene also discusses the double edged sword that is true crime podcasts. I would recommend this book to fans of true crime, suspense, or any other type of thriller.
The Lake of Lost Girls by Katherine Greene comes out on November 5th, 2024

I have mixed emotions on The Lake of Lost Girls. I think overall, the premise was there. I really enjoyed the mystery and thought Katherine Greene wrapping it in grief as well was a smart move. I also really enjoyed the split narrative; using both sister's point of view was a great way to give insight into the characters.

But, unfortunately, I felt like the writing itself brought the level of the novel down. I love simplistic, straight-forward writing but it didn't feel intentional. It just felt like there wasn't enough time developing the language and giving it a closer read through to see if it felt clunky or even natural—especially some of the dialogue.

There were also aspects that were brought into the mystery that never felt fully...resolved. I don't need everything to have a neat bow on it, but if there are certain things that are mentioned, I feel like there should be at least a bit more resolution.

Overall, I did still enjoy it and it kept me engaged. But it's not the strongest novel I've read.

i usually love the mixed media format in thrillers, but for some reason it didn’t work here. it didn’t really grab my attention and made me just want to skip it and go ahead to the next chapter. i did like that the book felt thrilling and made you want to know what happened because i feel a lot of thrillers these days fall short and more on the dull and boring side, however it still didn’t really click with me unfortunately.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Twenty-four years ago, four female students at a small North Carolina college go missing. A cursory investigation by the police yielded no clues to their whereabouts. Present day, Lindsey, the younger sister of one of the missing girls, is still searching for answers when a new podcast reveals some tantalizing clues that generates new interest in the missing girls. The Lake Of Lost Girls started off on a high note, but then quickly nosedives and never recovers. There’s just too many plot holes, implausible scenarios, and overused plot devices to overlook, and the story just falls flat, with an all-too-predictable ending. Unfortunately, this one just never finds its footing and was a disappointment. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Did I completely devour this book in one day and stay up way too late to finish? Why, yes. Yes, I did. Reminiscent of the TV show The Sinner and the movie Abandon, Katherine Greene does a remarkable job of sprinkling just enough bread crumbs to keep you engaged and guessing while also leaving you absolutely shocked when the big reveal finally comes.

I enjoyed the premise of integrating a True Crime podcast along with primary sources as a way of making the world of Lindsey and Jessica tangible to readers. This truly felt as though it could be a story ripped from the headlines and sensationalized just like it would be in real life. The characters are flawed yet relatable which leaves you understanding their actions and motives as if they could be your friends and family. There are several moments where you are left to wonder what you would do if found in these situations.

If you are a fan of suspense and psychological thrillers, I highly recommend The Lake of Lost Girls.