The 2011 disappearance of college student Lauren Spierer continues to baffle investigators and true crime aficionados to this day. Was she abducted? Was it death by misadventure, especially considering her heart condition and substance use, and someone covered it up? It's a case that's a study in victim blaming and, personally, the way her friends clammed up in the wake of her disappearance is troubling to me.

Although I was seeking more information and a new perspective on this case, I might have skipped this book if I had done a bit of research about the author. Cohen presents himself as a "friend" of the Spierers, which I suppose I don't know is true without knowing the family myself and knowing their true feelings about Cohen. He seems like a bit of a seedy character to me, having been fired from a tabloid after it came out that he dated a former sex worker who was a key witness in a bribery case. He defends himself fervently in this book, which seems like a weird place for it, but I suppose it's an elephant in the room that needed to be addressed since everyone brings it up. For me, his personal drama detracts from his reporting on the case, however. And that's unfortunate.

Cohen does his best to seem impartial, but it's clear that he believes Corey Rossman was responsible. He also craps all over the idea of serial killer Israel Keyes being a suspect in the case. "Oh, he's been dead since 2012, so I guess that theory is out the window." (I'm paraphrasing here.) Lazy.

I recommend this book if, like me, you are curious. But be prepared to get the ick from Shawn Cohen and his smug attitude. I listened to the audiobook, but the physical book might have been better for this title because I sometimes had trouble keeping up with all of the "key players."

2.5 stars.

This was a wonderful book. The story is sad and heartbreaking. Every parents nightmare of sending a child to college. I do love the way the author presented the facts and his investigation of the whole incident,

This is a horrifying true story and I believe the author stated that he partially wrote it to put pressure on the various suspects surrounding this case as the investigation is still open. This book gave me more questions than answers. Someone knows something about this case and hasn't come forward. While as a rule I enjoy the true crime genre, I would have enjoyed this book more I think if it was shorter, or maybe a podcast.

I really hadn't heard of this case before the book, and it reminded me very much in certain aspects of the podcast Serial. That being said, it is horrible and awful for the families and the people involved, especially as it seems there is so much information missing or that no one will share.

I felt the author said a lot of the same things over and over, just in a slightly different way, and it could have been a lot shorter. I think that was my main complaint, I sometimes felt like there wasn't that much to say about the case so it had a lot of paragraphs that weren't necessary. I had never heard of this case before so I can't comment on accuracy or details.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for audioarc.

This was a very interesting story that I had never heard about until this book popped up here on NetGalley. The only thing I didn't love here was the narrator. I think I would have enjoyed this one more if I read the physical book rather than listening, so maybe I'll try that one day. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4!

I know this case from the podcasts listed at the end of the book so it was nice to have an extended version of the story. This case is frustrating as there aren't a lot of answers and I feel for Lauren's family.

3.5

This was definitely an interesting audio. I wasn’t aware of this true crime case prior to listening to the book. It was obvious the author has done. A lot of research and work to lay out the abundant amount of details that went into this book. It’s a sad story and one that likely could have been avoided if her “friends” would have been more aware and helpful in her drunken state. The only part I really didn’t care for was the ending. I feel like the book ended very suddenly without any build up or preparation for the end. Other than that, I enjoyed listening to this true crime story.

***Thank you Netgalley and High ridge audio for an ARC copy***

I really enjoyed this listen! I had never heard of this case and thought the author did a really good job of making it easy to follow along. I think he also did a good job of making you really care about the victim. What made it really enjoyable was it read a lot like a story and not like fact which made me want to keep going.

✨️💚✨️Audio Book Review✨️💚✨️

Book: College Girl, Missing
Author: Shawn Cohen
Rating: 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I actually really enjoy true crime stories, but I struggle a bit when it's unsolved in the end.

With that being said, I really enjoyed this story.

This was my first true crime audiobook and it definitely won't be my last.

I feel for all the families involved and I hope one day everyone will get the answers they deserved. Hopefully bringing more light to the situation will give her family the answers they deserve.

You get:
• True Crime
• Unsolved Case
• College Students
• Unanswered Questions
• Drug Abuse
• Partying
• Disappeared In Plain Sight

If you like unsolved true crime stories, pick this one up. Available on ebook, paperback, and audiobook!

I feel like this book jumped around a lot but also didn’t give me much information. I hadn’t heard of this case before seeing this on netgalley, so I was hoping for more information that I couldn’t just google. I was hoping her poor parents would have been given more answers. Sad story about a young college girl.

It’s kind of hard to rate audiobook on true crime but I’m rating it 3 just because it was hard to get into.

Thanks to NetGalley for an audio ARC of this book. Really well researched and clearly laid out. It feels weird to rate a true story or an unsolved disappearance.

Although a very interesting crime, I felt like this was very slow moving and jumped around a lot. I lost interest at some points, but did continue listening. The narrator was not anything special.

I was hoping that this book would provide some answers to this unsolved case, but unfortunately it really didn't. If you have followed this case, there's not a lot of new information here. This book was evidently written to put pressure on those that may know what really did happen to Lauren Spierer and I hope for the family that more information does eventually come out.

Note: I received a copy of this to read, for a review. It was an exciting read. Though the title kind of gave away the investigation that the author and journalist, Shawn Cohen, wrote. I give him props for continuing the search as long as he did. Some of the characters in this book made me mad. There were the unhelpful college students, and so-called friends of the College Girl, Missing. And then there was the police department. Agencies were not working together. The people from the university were not very helpful at all. And sadly, it appears that everyone forgot that the missing girl had parents and a sister that loved and missed her. The fact that it’s been over a decade and the parents have no idea what happened to their daughter, or where she’s at, is heartbreaking. You have to give Shawn Cohen credit for going back through all the information, for re-interviewing people, etc. This book for nicely written. We learn about the initial investigation. Then we find out more about a decade later when Mr. Cohen goes back, hoping to find more. I do hope the parents receive an answer one day. But sadly, in this case, I wouldn’t hold my breath. Please read it.

It read like a podcast episode which I really enjoyed. It’s a solid 3.5 ⭐️ for me.

I do feel terrible for Lauren’s family, and I do hope/wish the crime will be solved. I feel like at times in the book some paragraphs felt a little repetitive.

I admire the author and all his hard work in trying to piece it together and bring peace to the family.

Thank you, NetGalley for this audiobook.

This story is important but unfortunately the author was annoying. I’m glad he called out the Missing White Woman Syndrome but he also talked about himself far too much — enough that I was annoyed with his character and shouldn’t have picked up a book that he wrote.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. I struggle with audiobooks; however, this one pulled me in and kept me engaged for my trip to see my parents. I loved the voice of the reader. I was able to visualize everything throughout the story due to the detail. Definitely recommend.

College Girl, Missing details the disappearance of Lauren Speer. The book gave many details I hadn't heard and detailed the timeline of the events leading up to her disappearance. Over the book was good and well laid out and I enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for this ALC and the chance to give my honest opinion

I am a huge true crime fan and was so eager to dive into this book. I was not familiar with Lauren Spierer's case so hearing about it for the first time was captivating and heartbreaking. Shawn Cohen really brought details to her case that you cannot read in a brief article or hear in a short tv episode. It was evident how thorough his research was in this case. He interviewed or attempted to interview anyone who knew Lauren well at the time of her disappearance. He followed through with investigating many leads on her case and tracked these in great detail. Shawn Cohen's desire to bring justice for Lauren shone through his research and writing.
I wish the layout of the book had flowed a little better. I felt like there was some back and forth rather than a steady timeline in chronological order. There were a couple of times I felt like the story strayed away from the important parts of Lauren's case. The ending felt lackluster and sort of rushed. Overall interesting case, so terribly sad as it is obvious someone knows something they are not coming forward and saying.

I listened to the audiobook so will touch on narration as well. The narrator sounded like a crime reporter. It was nice at first but for the length of an entire book became redundant. I wished there had been more relaxing in his voice as the narration went forward. Anunciation was perfect. Volume and speed were great. What lacked were tone and inflection for me. 3/5 on narration.

I am always interested in trying new crime fiction. However while this one had an intriguing premise, I just couldn't get into. I found the details too dry for the audiobook and didn't hold my attention enough.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

This book covers the very intriguing case of Lauren Spierer who went missing after a late night of partying and has never been found. I have always been interested in this case, so I was very excited to receive an advanced audio copy in exchange for a review.

The case of the missing Lauren Spierer is tough to swallow for sure. It's hard to fathom that she simply walked off into the night with no shoes or phone and that her male friends didn't bother trying to see her to her door. However, it's certainly possible that she was abducted by an unknown. as everyone had been drinking heavily and likely consuming drugs. I think this case is solvable and I applaud the lengths the author went to - calling witnesses and knocking on doors to get interviews. The book is well-written without too much fluff. It gets right to the point. Hopefully Cohen's efforts will lead to solving this case!