This twist filled and suspenseful read that kept my eyes glued to the page. Dual timelines kept the story from losing momentum. I was shocked by all that was revealed at the end of the story. Katherine Greene never disappoints.

his is one of those books that you will either love or hate. Told on alternating timelines and from different viewpoints it centers around one woman who lost her sister 24 years ago. I honestly had one of the characters pegged as the killer and I was partially right. I did not see the other part of the ending coming….and I’m not sure if I liked it or not. But I will say that it kept my attention and I was intrigued enough to say 3.5/4 stars for me. Rounded up to 4 here.
I received an ARC of this title, all opinions are my own.

This was my first book by this author. I really enjoyed the mixed media aspect, especially the podcast. I also liked the alternating POVs and dual timelines. I wish we had spent a little more time in Jess’ POV. At different times I suspected everyone and liked the twist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This novel by @katherinegreeneauthor will be published on 05 November 2024. I recommend adding it to your TBR list if you love true crime fiction focused on missing girls and serial killers.

What I loved about this book:
💚 the setting - a fictional North Carolina small town
💚 the twists - it will keep you guessing who the killer is
💚 the dual timelines
💚 the different POVs
💚 the character, Lindsey Fadley - she is flawed, sympathetic, and strong all rolled together for fantastic character depth

Thank you @crookedlanebooks for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review. I have added this same review to the Barnes & Noble website.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of The Lake of Lost Girls by Katherine Greene. This atmospheric thriller pulls you into a small town filled with secrets and suspense. Greene’s writing style creates a haunting setting around the mysterious disappearance of a girl, keeping the tension high throughout. The pacing is steady, though some twists were a bit predictable, and I found myself wanting more depth from a few characters. However, the protagonist’s emotional journey and the eerie lake setting added layers of intrigue that kept me reading. Overall, The Lake of Lost Girls is a compelling read for those who enjoy dark, small-town mysteries.

Jess has lead a sheltered, charmed life and has a close bond with her father. She heads to college and gets a taste of freedom and the party life. After learning of a dark secret, she starts changing and unraveling a bit. After three female college students go missing, Jess too is missing. Years later a podcast airs that’s determined to find the truth. This unlocks a lot of information and secrets that are shocking. A great read!

I really enjoyed this one!! We have a perfectly paced, captivating whodunnit. This story gives us a cast of unreliable characters. It was really hard to figure out who you could trust. I read this one so fast! I would definitely recommend.

Wow, this was quite the messed up “true crime” story.

The Lake of Lost Girls recounts the story of college girls who go missing and the podcast that details their story 24 years later. We follow the sister of one of the missing girls as well, on her hunt for the truth.

It has the feel of a small town mystery with multiple, very sketchy persons of interest. There’s a lot of us vs them mentality with the college and town, which also adds a fun layer of intrigue.

Katherine Greene really knows how to string along a reader without you feeling like she’s doing it to extend the plot. Truly a fun mystery to follow.

Stick around for the ending - I was kept guessing the whole time!

Pᴏᴅᴄᴀsᴛs, Iɴsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ ᴘᴏsᴛs, ᴀʟᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇʟɪɴᴇs, ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴏʟɪᴄᴇ ᴛʀᴀɴsᴄʀɪᴘᴛs. Eᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ's ᴍᴀᴋᴇs ᴀ ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ ᴛʜʀɪʟʟᴇʀ.

I ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏᴇᴅ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ, ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ɪs sᴇᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ 90s ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴏʟᴅ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴏɴᴇ sɪsᴛᴇʀ ( Jᴇssɪᴄᴀ) ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀsᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʏᴏᴜɴɢᴇʀ sɪsᴛᴇʀ Lɪɴᴅsᴇʏ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴇsᴇɴᴛ.

Tʜɪs ᴄᴏʟᴅ ᴄᴀsᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ sᴜsᴘᴇᴄᴛɪɴɢ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ. Tʜᴇ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ ᴅʀᴏᴘs ɴᴜᴍᴇʀᴏᴜs ʙʀᴇᴀᴅᴄʀᴜᴍʙs ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴘɪᴇᴄᴇ ᴛᴏɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀᴛ "ᴀʜᴀ! " ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ. I ɢᴜᴇssᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴠᴇᴀʟ ᴇᴀʀʟʏ ᴏɴ, ʙᴜᴛ ɪᴛ ᴅɪᴅɴ'ᴛ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴀᴡᴀʏ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ, ᴀɴᴅ I sᴛɪʟʟ ɴᴇᴇᴅᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀs ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴ.

I ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴛʜɪs ᴛʀᴇɴᴅ ᴏғ ʙᴏᴏᴋs ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴘᴏᴅᴄᴀsᴛs ᴍᴀᴋɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ ғᴇᴇʟ ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ.
Iғ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋ Lɪsᴛᴇɴ Fᴏʀ Tʜᴇ Lɪᴇ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ ᴛʜɪs sᴛʀᴏɴɢ, ᴀᴛᴍᴏsᴘʜᴇʀɪᴄ, ᴀɴᴅ sᴜsᴘᴇɴsᴇғᴜʟ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀɴ ᴜɴᴇxᴘᴇᴄᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴡɪsᴛ.

I'ᴠᴇ ʜᴇᴀʀᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏʙᴏᴏᴋ ɪs ᴍᴜᴄʜ ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʜʏsɪᴄᴀʟ ʙᴏᴏᴋ. Tʜᴇ ɴᴀʀʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ɪs ᴇxᴄᴇᴘᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ, ᴀᴄᴄᴏʀᴅɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴀɴʏ ʟɪsᴛᴇɴᴇʀs.

Tʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ Nᴇᴛɢᴀʟʟʏ ᴀɴᴅ Cʀᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ Lᴀɴᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋs ғᴏʀ ᴍʏ ɢɪғᴛᴇᴅ ᴄᴏᴘʏ. Mʏ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ ɪs ᴠᴏʟᴜɴᴛᴀʀʏ.

Reviewed on Instagram as well
/sheilasenchantedbookshelf

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book. This book takes you on a bit of a rollercoaster ride, letting you believe you have the mystery figured out, but then throwing in a twist that no one was expecting. I enjoyed this book, and thought that the inclusion of the podcast transcript was very clever and relevant. While there were a few aspects of the plot I found completely unrealistic, it still kept me engaged and invested enough to make it worthwhile.

3.5 stars rounded up. This was a mostly fun, semi-twisty mystery that kept me guessing. I had it partially figured out by the end, but there were enough red herrings to hold my attention. I liked the podcast element, even though I didn't think it was really necessary to the story. The dual timelines were also fun and equally interesting, which is always a good thing. It was the kind of book that was entertaining while I was reading it, but keeps giving me the squinty eye-head tilt feeling when I think about it now.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

The Lake of Lost Girls lacks depth. The idea of a cold case involving four missing girls being investigated by the younger sister of one of the victims is intriguing. However, the book is littered with too many tired tropes of the bumbling police force, a local college administration that obstructs justice, dysfunctional families, and inappropriate relationships with young women and older men. If I listed much more it would be a spoiler. I did like the resolution and the twists at the end, but it wasn't a very fun journey to get there. Thankyou to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Such a fast read! The past and present perspectives made it even more fast paced and kept you wanting to read the next chapter. I also liked the multimedia aspect with the social media posts, podcast transcripts, etc. This book gave you just enough evidence to keep you guessing which suspect is the killer. I’ll say that it was a bit predictable at some of the twists. The ending was not what I expected, but it totally made sense in the overall plot.

Overall, this was a solid thriller that ya’ll should definitely check out next month!

I really wanted to like this one as I had just finished I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai, loved it, and this synopsis had all the elements of things I love on mysteries! Unfortunately it didn’t work for me.

The podcast and social media stuff feels like it doesn’t contribute to the story and as if it’s added as an afterthought. I love mixed media in books but these added no new info and just repeated what we already knew. Also I hated the podcast, which we are supposed to, they’re a parody of My Favorite Murder and just how low true crime podcasts can stoop to be more about entertainment as opposed to inform and bring awareness/justice

The social commentary about true crime and how unethical it can be at times is not there. It’s alluded to in the synopsis but it’s surface level and doesn’t dive deep or make you think like I Have Some Questions For You (the comparison is so far off because Makkai executes it well whereas TLOLG barely scratches the surface of true crime podcasts, police incompetence, and grooming)

Slow paced with too much telling over showing, minute overly descriptive details (I don’t need to know why Lindsey drives a Toyota). The writing feels more like women’s fiction mixed with some romance the way the men are being described 😒 there’s barely any tension or suspense for a mystery.

Lindsey and Jessica’s POVs sound exactly the same, both are one dimensional. Lindsey constantly talks about how she doesn’t want to be treated as just the sister of a missing girl and yet she doesn’t give us anything else to her character. We don’t get any info about her OTHER than her sister’s case and how she feels about it?!

I was so bored and annoyed that I just decided it wasn’t worth it to keep reading just to find out the twists/killer but instead skipped ahead to find out that 2 of my predictions were right, after guessing them 15% in

I started this book last night, just intending to dip my toes in and see what it was about. Cue hours later and I finished it in one day and I could not stop thinking about it.

This story is told in alternating timelines, from Jessica in the past, and her sister, Lindsey, in the present. We also see a podcast transcript sprinkled throughout, as well as some articles regarding the missing women at Southern State University. Alternating timelines aren't usually my favorite but the author made this story and subsequent plotlines of Jess and Lindsey flow easily. Their voices were never too similar to the point it was confusing, and the story kept me engrossed the entire time.

Jess is gone in ten seconds. At least that's how six-year-old Lindsey feels when one second, Jess is there, and then she disappears for the rest of time. But suddenly, bodies start being discovered in a local lake, and the investigation comes back to life.

A reporter finds Lindsey at work and together, they start looking at Jess' life again, piecing together what her freshman year of college was like, and what secrets she was hiding. But there are so many shady characters: the professor, the boyfriend, and other men who came in and out of Jess' life.

This story has an underlying theme of men pursuing young women, and how this affects their lives and relationships and the culture around them. The rage that Jess feels as she realizes she can't really trust any of the men in her life jumps off the page and your heart breaks for her. It's sort of the first time she's seeing things fully and we see her having a lot of realizations about what she does, and doesn't, know.

The author also does an excellent job with Lindsey's perspective. It's interesting to hear her share her thoughts on how Jess' disappearance affected her life and the revelations she starts to have about her family and her life, as well as Jess herself. It all felt realistic to me and it felt like Lindsey was a true friend that I was hearing about undergoing a lifelong tragedy.

If you enjoy dual timelines, small-town universities with a tragic history, and podcast investigations, you will enjoy this one!

This was a twisty one, my book peeps! Every time you think you know who did it, you started having second thoughts! 🤔

I do think the big twist would have been much more shocking if one little piece of information would have been left out! It was because of that one little piece of information that I already had an idea of who was responsible! 👀

Definitely recommend this one to my thriller-loving peeps!! 👏

Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Katherine Greene for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review! ❤️

The Lake of Lost Girls was my first by author Katherine Greene and I thought it was a fantastic, fast-paced thriller that kept me guessing until the very end.

In 1998, college freshman Jessica Fadley went missing from the front of her parent's house on the night of her little sister, Lindsey's birthday. Twenty-four years later, Lindsey is determined to figure out what happened to Jessica using the momentum of a new popular true-crime podcast.

The story is told in dual timeline, dual POV between Jessica in 1998 and Lindsey in present day. The complicated web of lies unfolds slowly and over time, you have no idea who to believe and what actually happened. The plot started off a little slow for me, but by the end I couldn't put it down and my mind was continuously trying to figure out what happened with Jessica.

Besides Lindsey, I didn't think any of the characters were reliable sources of information and the plot only thickened as you begin to unwind all the lies that are told.

Overall, I think this is a great thriller that makes me want to read more by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced digital copy. My review is honest and voluntary.

A solid mystery until the big payoff. I loved where it was going with the dad, but didn’t care for the way it all wrapped up.

In 1998, Lindsay's sister Jessica went missing along with three other women at her college.  Fast forward to the present day, and a true crime podcast has renewed interest in the cold case.  As Lindsay listens, she learns things that she never knew about her sister's disappearance and decides to do some digging on her own.  Will her and her family finally be able to get some closure?

Thoughts 💭
This story jumps between Jessica in 1998 and her sister Lindsay in the present day.  Since Lindsay was only six when her sister disappeared, she didn't have many memories of her or the event that changed her life forever. This was an engaging read that kept me guessing who did it until the very end.  The introduction of the podcast was fun and current.  I had a few ideas of how I thought it would turn out, and even I was surprised by the end of it.  Be aware that this book does have some dicey content, including men of a predatory nature.  Jess and Lindsay's family also have some complicated issues.  With that being said, it was an entertaining thriller worth reading!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Lake of Lost Girls by Katherine Greene is a gripping mystery that spans two timelines. In 1998, Jessica Fadley, a promising freshman at Southern State University, disappears amid a string of missing female students. Fast forward 24 years, and her sister Lindsey is still seeking answers. With the help of a popular true crime podcast, Ten Seconds to Vanish, which reignites interest in the cold case, Lindsey dives into an investigation that leads her to some disturbing revelations as bodies start turning up at a local lake. The narrative alternates between the sisters' perspectives, one in the past spiraling into darkness, and the other in the present unraveling a tangled web of lies.

I loved this book! The dual timelines and multiple POVs drew me in right away. The true crime podcast woven into the story added an extra layer of intrigue, making me feel like I was part of the investigation. Katherine Greene keeps you guessing throughout, and just when I thought I had it all figured out, the ending completely shocked me. The twists and turns were masterfully done, and the writing was phenomenal. I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Thank you to the author, the publisher: Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for an arc of this in exchange for an honest review!