This alternating timeline thriller by Katherine Greene will keep you guessing until the very end. Lindsey Fadley has spent decades wondering what happened to her older sister, Jessica, who went missing from college during her freshman year. When a true crime podcast decides to explore the "lost girls" of Southern State University, Jessica included, Lindsey is approached by Ryan McKay, an investigative journalist, to work together and solve this buried mystery.

Readers are going to be shocked at some of the secrets that are uncovered in this book!

Thank you to @crookedlanebooks and Netgalley for my #gifted copy

I loved the way The lake of Lost Girls way reads with different times lines, multimedia, and so many things to be suspicious of. One of the multimedias is a pod cast where the younger sister tells what it’s like to grow up with a missing sister and all the complicated emotions that brings. I was so invested! Once I started I couldn’t stop, I had to know the next thing that would happen and who I could trust. The atmosphere in the small college town was so tense. Women are going missing and no one seems to safe.
4.5

First off, thanks to the publisher, authors, and NetGalley for the chance to read and give honest feedback

Happy Pub Day to this new adventure by the combo authors. Sadly, while entertaining, it felt extremely underdeveloped to hold my attention. I saw who the killer was by chapter 3, and the "plausible" replacements hadn't been given enough cause to make me think, "well maybe he did it." The younger sister was very 1 dimensional - perhaps that was the intent, but it was such a shallow amount of time to get to know her.

The sorority life is overdone lately for thrillers -- I was looking for huge suspense, and this was not it.

As mentioned, I WAS entertained by the podcast (true-crime) element and all of the social media and paper clippings!

I would like to give this duo another chance.

24 years ago, Lindsey’s sister Jessica went missing when she turned her back for 10 seconds. She was the last of four college girls who disappeared from the same school and none were ever found. In present day, a podcast is using their platform to bring attention to the case to find new evidence and amidst all the momentum, a body is found in a nearby lake. Is this finally the break Lindsey and her family have waited decades for? Or will they never get answers?

This was a fun read. I liked how it really kept me guessing up until the very end! I’ve heard the audio of this is great with a full cast - I imagine that to be fun during the podcast portions of this book. I would recommend checking this one out if you enjoy dual timeline mysteries, podcast tie-ins, and stories set at a college.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for a free digital and physical ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for the advanced copy of The Lake of Lost Girls! I really enjoyed this thrilling crime fiction. I was constantly guessing who did it until the very end. This was a fast-paced novel with multi-media aspects was fresh and compelling. Will definitely read this author again.

This is probably one of my top reads for 2024

20+ years ago Lindsey’s older sister Jess disappeared. Now with social media and podcast the story is reawakening. Was it the boyfriend or the teacher.

This was such a great book! I was engage the entire time. This is definitely a book you need to read not listen to, as there is podcasts and social media post mixed into the story. Reading it is the best way to soak it all in and feel involved with the storyline.

The twists were twisting and by the end of the story my jaw was on the ground!

Genre: Thriller
APK: Ebook
Pages: 317
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series or Standalone: Stand-alone

Thank you Crooked Lane Books for sending me a free copy of the book for an honest review.

Saw that ending coming from a mile away. And honestly there was very little development of Lindsey or Jess. I got bored halfway through and thought the plot “the little we get” just is a whole mess with too many unresolved answers. I also am begging authors to stop introducing podcasts into these type of thrillers. It just wrecked the flow of the chapters I was reading. It didn’t help that there were also photos and other things that just made it hard to even read/see.

This book follows the mystery of the disappearance of Jessica Fadley. She disappeared in 1998 along with three other girls at her college. Fast forward 24 years later and the police have found a body in the so-called Doll’s Eye Lake which was a special location to Jessica. With Jessica’s younger sister Lindsey still living in their hometown and with their parents, she starts trying to figure out who her sister was and who could have harmed her and the other missing girls. The book jumps from Lindsey in the present day, to Jessica back in 1998, and two podcast hosts in the UK musing (poorly) on the cold case and current investigation.

Lindsey was barely developed. I can get having a character wanting to figure out what happened to their sister. But all of the reveals we get shows that Lindsey has to be the most unaware person on Earth. Her “relationship” with Ryan, a reporter has also been done to death in similar thrillers so I was just bored by it at this point. Speaking of Ryan, I got nothing people. It wasn’t necessary and if Greene had cut him and just had Lindsey amateur sleuthing alone that would have worked better.

The character of Jessica. Look, I can’t say much about out it without spoilers, but there are some as a lot happening there that wasn’t subtle.

The podcasts hosts came across as insipid and uncaring and I assume Greene was using this book to take on that whole media of true crime podcasts, but it just had me annoyed every time they popped up because it was wrecking the flow. Also again, super similar to a book I just read a few weeks ago.

The other characters are not very well developed. The women just seem to be these beings that have no common sense in the men just can’t help themselves with their rage and emotions.

The writing wasn’t very great. I thought a lot of the dialogue just didn’t even sound right and I thought at times Jessica being back in 1998 just had a whole tone and back-and-forth and sounded like she was from the 80s or something. I don’t know it just felt wrong the whole time. I already told you that the flow was really messed up and it was I think going back-and-forth between Jessica and Lindsey and the podcast just made the entire book drag. I was getting really really tired of things by the 50% mark. It also didn’t help that I had already had that point figured out who did what to who so I was just bored and waiting for everybody else to catch up.

The setting of the book was confusing. It’s supposed to take place in North Carolina and I for some bizarre reason kept thinking this was taking place in upstate New York. I don’t know so that’s just let you know that the setting of a small town was not really well done.

The ending was just kind of a mess and a half, and I honestly don’t believe that some of the characters would have went along with things. I do have to say this, I really just need thriller/mystery authors to just write a good book. Please quit trying to turn things into the next Gone Girl or the Girl on the Train, and just write a good book. That’s all we need as readers. Please write something that’s good that does not have plot holes and makes you want to go into a corner and scream for several hours.

A must read book! The story is gripping and the dual timeline is perfect for this book. Lindsey’s sister Jessica went missing from Lindsey’s driveway on her 6th birthday. Jessica was getting Lindsey’s birthday cake out of her trunk and 10 seconds later she was gone. Years later a body is found in the small town lake and interest in Jessica’s disappearance is reignited along with a true crime podcast. The author includes multimedia including social media posts, podcasts, and news articles. I absolutely loved this approach. This is one of the best books I’ve read this year!

Jess disappeared 24 years ago, but her case is now cold. That is, until human remains are found at a local lake.

Lindsey, Jess’s younger sister, is now grown up but still living in her sister’s shadow. She meets journalist Ryan, and together they discuss the case. There is also a new viral podcast about Jess’s case. Soooo much is unveiled.

I loved the dual timeline and dual POV, interspersed with the podcast’s episodes. It created a lot of suspense, and kept pacing and interest. I was able to guess some reveals before they happened, but not the final twist.

I really appreciated the commentary on how, with missing persons, murder cases, or other crime stories, these are about real people. Their families and friends are grieving a real person. While it can be interesting or sad, and true crime junkies become very invested, we must continue to respect the people at the heart of these events.

Thank you Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Jessica goes missing, her sister Lindsey decides to try to get to the bottom of what happened. But she isn't going to like what she finds out...

Wow, what a story. Give me all the twists and I'm a happy gal when it comes to thrillers. This book did exactly that! Superbly narrated on audiobook with the alternating podcast episodes, social media posts and storyline, I guarantee you will be as engrossed as I was with this one.

This book is now out so be sure to get yourself a copy!

What a gripping read! This story kept me guessing until the very end.
One of the aspects I most enjoyed were the red herrings scattered throughout the story. I was definitely kept on my toes, never certain about what was really happening. The layers of misdirection added so much to the suspense and mystery.
I also loved the unreliable narrators—they added a complex layer of uncertainty to the story, and I found myself constantly questioning what was true, what was fabricated, and what was simply skewed by the characters' perceptions. It made the journey through the book all the more unpredictable and compelling.
And the characters—wow. They were messy, flawed, and at times, unlikeable, but that only made them more fascinating.
Looking forward to more from these authors!

Plenty of action and suspense in this thriller. The podcast portions were lackluster and interrupted the flow of the book. That aside, I really enjoyed following Lindsey while she tries to find out what happened to her big sister 24 years ago. You don't know which characters to trust and by the end you realize you were wrong the whole time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Publishing. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I loved reading The Woods are Waiting. So to say I was excited for a new story by Greene was an understatement.
The Lake of Lost Girls by Katherine Greene was an atmospheric read that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The author's skillful storytelling and ability to create tension and suspense had me hooked from the very first page.
An engaging and atmospheric thriller that delivers on its promise of suspense and intrigue.

Thank you NetGalley, and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me the opportunity to read this eARC. The Lake of Lost Girls is a book that is perfect for fans of true crime, podcast premise, or anybody else seeking a really unnerving read. I was captivated from the first page. I was left speechless by the well-rounded sense of this gripping story of dark academia combined with suspense, from the realistic characters to the vividly rendered small town environment. I was quickly drawn into the growing tension and unsettling atmosphere that permeated the book because of the dual points of view. This is the first book I've read by this author, and I am hooked now. I will definitely be reading more from Katherine in the future. There are so many twists and turns throughout this book. Let me just say, there was one that I figured out because it was pretty obvious; now the rest... I had NO idea. They caught me off guard, to be honest; very excellent writing. I give this book 4/5 stars and will recommend it to readers looking for an unsettling and thrilling book. This book will give you CHILLS; you've been warned.

Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for an advance copy of " The Lake of Lost Girls". Four coeds murders have gone unsolved until a popular podcast picks up on the cold case of the Lake of Lost Girls. All four girls go missing from the same college with no reason resolve as to why they are missing. When Lindsay, the sister of one of the missing girls, gets involved, and starts asking questions about her sisters disappearance, the case opens up in ways no one suspected. Wow, I did not see the ending of this one coming! To say my jaw is still on the floor is an understatement.

Probably not one that will stick with me for a long time, but it's a thriller that does what it says on the tin. All a bit predictable but written very well nevertheless.

This one is out tomorrow! Thank you to NetGalley/the publisher for my e-ARC

In 1998, female college students began going missing, never to be heard from again and no resolution from police investigation. 24 years later, the case is reopened when a first body is found. Lindsey, sister of one of the missing girls, Jessica, waits to find out if her older sister was finally found, so her family can be at peace. She is approached by a journalist, who is convinced there’s more to the story that the police clearly missed, and that a killer is still out there. The journalist has some secrets of his own, but he is determined to team up with Lindsey to find out what happened to the lost girls.

This book was completely bingeable. If I hadn’t been busy, I would have finished it in one day. The book goes back and forth between Lindsey’s POV now and Jess’s POV back then. Katherine Greene did a great job of keeping me on my toes and wondering who the killer could be, among the potential options. I appreciated that while I was able to make some pretty great guesses at the book’s twist, I didn’t have it completely correct. My only complaint is how the police didn’t see the connection between the women back in the day! The incompetence was frustrating, but also put me in the headspace of all the friends and family close to the case.

What a thrilling read this was! I haven't read many thrillers where there are SO many potential guilty individuals, but Greene really put me through the ringer in this one. There were many times I thought I had it all figured out, then something new would come up and I was left recalculating all the information I had up to that point. You have a temper-laden boyfriend, a creepy professor that preys on students at the college, and a whole mess of missing young women with many things in common.

This is a story about broken families, traumatized children and that very deep need for parental acceptance and love. The main character, Jessica, had just left for college finally experiencing life on her own. But her family drama followed her everywhere and she struggled with finding her feet. Her experience was heartbreaking to say the least and the unfolding horror was understandable considering everything that she was going through. The close relationship he had with her father was a trigger point for how she was able to navigate her experiences and the resulting fall of her own doing.

I loved this story and how so many different dynamics were weaved together to create a story about a family that refused to acknowledge their own dysfunction; a group of missing girls that suffered from broken homes much like Jessica; and a young sister who's searching for answers to her own families tragedy of a missing girl.

Missing women thrillers are always for me and this added in a podcast, dual timelines and so much more. This was an easy read, perfect for when you just want to escape for a bit. There is a good group of suspects, all with motives and flimsy alibis to keep things interesting. The ending was great - I love when a book really goes for it! I went between listening (audio has a full cast) and reading and would highly recommend either format.

Told in alternating timelines and dual points of views, The Lake of Lost Girls had so much potential. I think it started out lackluster from the get-go by being labeled a thriller because a thriller it is not. This is a murder mystery. A slow moving one.


Remains are found near a lake, 24 years after Jessica went missing. Could it be her? Her family never got any answers and feel like the police botched the whole investigation.



Her sister, Lindsey, starts learning about her sister's past thanks to a new Podcast that is shedding light on similar murders that happened in the same area around that time and also via a very weird and shady reporter who is poking around.



I figured out the suspect pretty early on in the book. It was very clear. The writing style of this story is very choppy. I couldn't get into the flow. The characters are all sad and angry; there wasn't a single person I liked.



Despite the negatives, it was a fast read. Given the podcast aspect it is a modern-type mystery.



The Lake Of Lost Girls is set to be released November 5, 2024 here in the U.S. so pre-order your copy now. Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me an advanced digital copy to read and give my honest review. It was a 3 star read.



Happy Reading!