Four college girls go missing 24 years ago. A mourning sister looking for answers to the mysterious disappearance of her older sister from their driveway on her sixth birthday. Three viable suspects who are connected to the victims or is there a serial killer on the loose?

Read this if you like;
-dual timelines
-multiple POVs
-dark academia
-small town college setting
-atmospheric and eerie
-mixed media (podcasts, articles, instagram posts) to add dimension to story
-twists and turns with red herrings and clues slowly revealed
-deceiving appearances, people who are not who they seem to be hiding secrets and lies
-troubled dysfunctional families
-satisfying ending

My rating 4 out of 5
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this eARC that will be published Nov 5 2024.

The first 90% of the book was a fairly solid read. The story and writing were fast paced and interesting enough to keep me going. Even so, it didn't strike me as an especially outstanding thriller book. An enjoyable page-turner. What I want and expect from a thriller/mystery. However, the ending really did it in for me. I saw it coming from fairly early on even though it was kind of an insane answer to the puzzle. I don't lower my rating solely because an ending was predictable. I've read enough that it's hard to pull the wool over my eyes. This ending was just too unbelievable for me, so unfortunately I'm going with a lower rating. With another ending it would have been 3 stars.

“And it was in the way that he loved me—a superficial kind of affection—never the deep, abiding tenderness I longed for from my father. In some ways, it felt like he was too scared to love me fully in case something happened to me, too. Or at least that’s what I told myself.”

The Lake of Lost Girls by Katherine Greene
🖤🖤🖤🖤

Wow wow wow. THANK YOU NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this copy of #TheLakeOfLostGirls

I can’t remember the last time I’ve read a book that had me guessing right to the bitter end!

Lindsey’s sister Jessica went missing of their driveway over twenty years ago. She never knew what happened. But a new podcast focusing on her disappearance and the disappearance of three local college girls and then discovery of bones by a local lake has made Lindsey crave the answers of what happened to her sister.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Nov. 5, 2024
When Lindsey was a child, her older sister, Jessica, disappeared without a trace. Now, twenty-four years later, a podcast hits the airwaves that inspires Lindsay to look into the disappearance of her only sibling. But, as Lindsey discovers, it wasn’t just Jessica that went missing- three other young women from the same college campus went missing around the same time. So far, the police have discovered three bodies in a local lake, but none are Jessica. Lindsay has to rely on memories of a sister she barely knew to try and find out the truth, before another body is discovered.
“The Lake of Lost Girls” by Katherine Greene is a dual timeline story of sisterhood, misogyny, grief and mystery that holds you in its firm grip from page one. Since their previous novel, “The Woods are Waiting”, I was an immediate fan of the writing duo, and it looks like these two aren’t slowing down.
The novel is narrated by Lindsay in present day, and by Jessica back in 1998, when she went missing. Both sisters are very different in many ways, but their dedication to each other is fierce. Right away, there are a few suspects that come into play; however, Greene’s plot is full of twists and turns and “Girls” is a non-stop guessing game until the final pages. Without giving anything away, there was one moment (involving Jessica’s roommate’s I.D card) where a lightbulb went on over my head and I immediately knew most of the outcome but, even then, I needed to finish reading to see how it all ties together.
There are shady men everywhere you turn in this novel and not one of them can be trusted. This component of the novel highlights the dangers for women, in the 1990s and now, and how we need our own brand of “sisterhood” in order to keep each other safe.
Greene’s novel is engaging, thought-provoking, suspenseful and compelling from beginning to end. I did not know what to expect from this writing pair’s sophomore novel, but “Lake” delivered and I can’t wait to see what else Greene comes up with.

Oh boy. This was just the mystery/thriller I needed. I was completely left guessing throughout the story, and I was completely enthralled by all the way it unfolded. I loved pretty much everything about it - the dual timeline perspectives of Lindsay and her sister, the angle of the podcast turning over some rocks - I thought this one was a lot of fun, and I highly recommend it!

4.5 stars, I was absolutely hooked by the twists and turns in this book. With so many people having secrets, you don’t know who to trust! Lindsey is trying to uncover what happened to her missing sister all those years ago, and along the way discovers her sister may be connected to other missing girls. As the plot continues she finds more and more people who may have motive to keep things buried. The characters were fantastic and the plot was well timed. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ok I am really digging these books that feel like a Netflix documentary or murder podcast (ie. Listen For the Lie)

There was so much information given to the reader, but which narrator do we trust? Who is giving the truth and who is skirting around the edges?

I was truly hoping for some major SHOCK, but there really wasn't. My prediction was over the top compared to the truth (BUT only because it felt like it was setting us up for it.)

All in all, I enjoyed it and when I put it down I couldn't wait until I had more time to read so I could figure out it what happened

While I found the premise of this book interesting and intriguing, the actual mystery fell a bit flat for me. The start of the romance was very unnecessary to me. The dual storylines were a good concept but I cared about the past so much more than I cared about the present. I also know a lot of the story was about the incompetence of the police but I feel like it was incredibly unbelievable that NO ONE connected four girls who went missing from the same school. Like, come on.

I found the ending to be interesting but also quite predictable. Overall, I found this to be quite a skippable mystery.

A captivating "whodunnit". Some aspects of this book really sunk it's teeth into me... I loved the dual timelines and POV's, I also loved the mixed media aspect with podcast transcripts and interview notes sprinkled in. I think that on audio this would be 10/10 with multiple narrators but via print something was missing. I am unsure where it fell a little flat for me but it was close to being a 5 star read! Thank you #netgalley!

This was okay. It intrigued me at the beginning but then took me forever to finish. It irked me how the dad said something about Lindsey's screen time when she is in her 30's for crying out loud. There are tons of red herrings trying to get you to not know who did it and they worked to an extent. I agree with a previous review that where a body was kept was unbelievable as was the Dr Daniels storyline.

While I enjoyed the dual POV timeline, the ending was so quick and didn't give the closure I felt the story needed. Overall, the ending felt like the ending was rushed and there wasn't a ton of substance to the story as led to believe from the description. I appreciate being able to read this early, but the book didn't leave a lasting impression- hence the review coming weeks later.

Spooky Season is on with this new thriller! This is a great who did it - the pervy professor? The dad that's a little bit off? The boyfriend with anger issues? I certainly did NOT see the reveal coming, though it definitely ended abruptly.

I also enjoyed the commentary on whether or not true crime podcasts do nothing more than sensationalize crime at the expense of the survivors. It's one of the reasons I stopped listening to My Favorite Murder. At some point, it just felt icky to use someone else's tragedy as entertainment.

Bottom line: Solid thriller that's worth a spot on your spooky TBR.

Unfortunately there wasn't an abundance or lakes, nor were there many lost girls in this one. An intriguing premise gives way to loosely built characters and a thin plot.

Overall this was just a bit too inconsistent for me. The dialogue felt very stinted and unrealistic making difficult to connect with or feel anything for the characters.

There isn't enough meat on the bones with the characters or plot. We hear about missing girls but learn nothing about them or their lives and mostly experience the book with the POVs talking about how they feel (rather than showing or experiencing).

I'm so thankful to Crooked Lane books and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book prior to its release but it didn't quite come together for me.

Thanks for my ARC copy.
Hit and miss for Miss for me.
Liked the alternating timelines and different points of view. Podcast stories are becoming bigger and bigger also, so nice to see that in there too.
Unfortunately that’s where the hits stop.
The red herrings were predictable and lots of twists to try and throw you down different lines, that actually didn’t add to the “mystery”.
The reveal was also expected.
Good try, just missed the mark.

A cold case mystery, alternating timelines/POVs, and an atmosphere that will make you want to curl up under a blanket and hide? THE LAKE OF LOST GIRLS has everything I want. This book felt perfect for the fall weather as the leaves start to change and the air starts to crisp up here in Denver.

This book was an exhilarating journey; I adored the mystery, the shifting timelines, the inclusion of podcast enthusiasts, and a narrative that kept you on your toes. I thoroughly enjoyed "The Woods are Waiting," but Katherine Greene surpassed herself with "The Lake of Lost Girls." If you're a crime aficionado like me, this one is a must-read.
When female students disappear from a university in North Carolina, the police and everyone else presume they've just run off. However, Jessica's family is certain that isn't what happened to their daughter, who disappeared while fetching her sister's birthday cake from the car, leaving the trunk open.
Twenty-four years on, Jessica's younger sister Lindsey is desperate for answers. When a podcast named "Ten Seconds to Vanish" spotlights her sister's disappearance, Lindsey finds herself compelled to listen, despite it feeling like a violation of her family's privacy. As bodies start to surface in a nearby lake, each discovery sends the family into a state of dread, fearing it might be their beloved Jessica. This tale will leave you suspecting everyone and pondering the depths of human malevolence.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Well that was unexpected! This story had so many twisty sidelines that felt blatantly misleading, I really thought I knew where this story was going. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The Lake of Lost Girls really pulled me in. The dual points of view along with the transcript of an ongoing podcast kept me engaged from beginning to end. Each flip from one to the other was clearly defined. I have to admit that as a true crime junkie, the addition of the podcast and the survivor’s response to it gave me a different perspective than one I’d ever thought of before.

I really enjoyed this book and found myself feeling a little on edge at times and had to remind myself it was just a book. The characters were all well developed and while I wasn’t a huge fan of most of them, I felt connected to those that mattered. Definitely one I’d recommend to anyone who could enjoy a fictional story written to give it the feel of a true crime drama.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The authors did such a great job making me suspicious of everything and everybody. Some clues are left throughout the book though, if you know to look for them. This thriller was so much darker then I thought it would be and I liked the ending, but was actually hoping for a different one. A great read!!

Unfortunately, this was a miss for me. I love thrillers, so the premise sounded intriguing, but there were several things that bothered me about the story.

1. The inclusion of the true crime podcast felt underdeveloped. At first I thought it would offer social commentary, juxtaposing the wine-guzzling girls with the devastated victims of the family, to highlight how disturbing our society's obsession with true crime is. Instead, the podcast seemed to offer absolutely nothing to the story. It was lazily written, corny, and did not advance the plot. I felt the same way about the random social media posts at the end of the chapters - instead of affecting the story at all, they were merely props to "age" the book to this exact decade.

2. The twists were too predictable. Ryan being Jess' boyfriend was immediately obvious, and I am not usually able to figure out thriller plots in advance. The identity 0f the killer was also too predictable for me. Ryan and Dr. Daniels felt like clear red herrings, whereas the entire time I knew that the story would end with Jess and her dad and their twisted relationship.

3. I don't think we need any more books about creepy adult men preying on pretty college girls. It's been done - too many times. And the only thing that made this one different, is that we are somehow supposed to see Jess (a victim) as the "monster" in the end? And feel some amount of empathy for her disgusting father? For a book written by women, I was shocked to find the tone so misogynistic.

I do genuinely appreciate the chance to review this book, and I apologize for writing such a negative review. I felt the need to be honest, because it is just so EASY to write a thriller these days that echoes exactly what is happening in the real world, with no added creativity or nuance or social reflection.

I loved Greene's The Woods are Waiting with its creepy, atmospheric vibe, so I had high hopes for The Lake of Lost Girls. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite match that same eerie feeling, but I did enjoy the way it captured some aspects of university life. It’s a solid thriller that revolves around Jessica, a college freshman who vanished without a trace in 1999, and her sister Lindsey, who’s determined to uncover what really happened.

The story alternates between different POVs and timelines, with little breaks for podcast transcripts, Instagram posts, and news releases about the case. I didn't particularly like the structure, and some of the twists felt too obvious— I saw parts of the final twist coming within the first couple of chapters.

Greene does call out how some true crime podcasts can sometimes be more about the drama and less about respecting the victims and their families. It’s a quick read, and it’s set to drop on November 5. Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC.