3⭐️ Thank you NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for an early release of College Girl, Missing.

This story is absolutely heartbreaking and my heart goes out to the family. I do feel like the audio version was very monotone and I felt like some of the things discussed were repetitive. I also did not like that the author spoke about his own life and career during this-it should have strictly been about the case.

This is probably macabre, but I got such a sense of nostalgia throughout this book. I haven't heard anyone else so accurately describe the insanity that was college partying in the 2010's. Whether that's because it's so unprecedented or because there won't be a time like it again, I don't know. But man, Shawn Cohen does a phenomenal job of picking you up and planting you right into Bloomington, IN. There are fictional stories that don't even paint as clear of a picture of their settings as this book does.

I thought I could sense bias/tension between the author and the main person of interest at times, but Cohen quickly reassures readers - with the help of his internal monologue in those moments - that even if he did have feelings one way or another, he was very cognizant of the need for impartial research and reporting.

The whole of the story seems to be included in this book, of course aside from who did what to whom. I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in true crime, especially if you remember seeing/hearing about this case in the news. The additional information exclusive to this book just adds to its mystery.

My rating would have been 5/5 had this been a little shorter, some of the repetition of info wasn't needed and hindered the easy-to-follow flow. I listened to the audiobook at 2x, though; I don't know if I would have been bothered by it more had I read a print edition.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advanced audiobook

The premise was certainly interesting--revisiting the disappearance of a college student almost a decade after the fact (her case still unsolved), to see what those who were there that night might have to say after distance from the time and moment. The end of the book felt a bit disappointing, not because the case remains unsolved, but it felt unclear exactly why the writer spent all this time trying to re-engage the girl's friends, who rarely have more to share.

Whew. Okay. I want to address something from the very top because I want to do you a curtesy that the author did not. it is WILD that the he dropped in the middle of the book that he was fired from being a journalist at the New York Post for sleeping with a former source and as a result he decided to write a book. That immediately made me so skeptical. That should be a page one disclosure so the reader can decide whether they trust your journalistic integrity or not.

As far of the content of the book is concerned, I do not want to seem insensitive or dismissive or uncaring because this case, just like any other missing person’s case, is so tragic and more needs to be done to find the hundreds of thousands of people that stay missing. That being said, it really feels like this book could’ve been a podcast or dateline episode. And in fact this case has been featured on multiple prominent true crime podcasts including Crime Junkie and True Crime Garage. When she first went missing, Ryan Seacrest, Kim Kardashian, and Stephen Colbert among others, tweeted about her disappearance as well. This case got national coverage and her family had every resource at their fingertips including multiple private investigators and a massive missing person reward offer.
It just really emphasized for me that missing Black and Indigenous women and children continue to have little to no resources given to their cases and of course the absolute incompetence of police investigations for even high profile cases is incredibly discouraging.

In most cases where a woman goes missing, the significant other is to blame but I’m not sure that is the case here. Lauren’s boyfriend was described as protective and it was obvious that the more the boyfriend tried to “protect” her, the more Lauren pushed back against that as if he was her parent. Because truthfully, it seems like Lauren’s parents put the boyfriend in that position. Lauren had a history of substance abuse and a heart condition and her parents put the onus on her boyfriend to be the watchdog while Lauren was away at college. And it was clear that her friends were not at all aware of the extent of her issues because to most college students, partying is completely normal.

I think the theory that she overdosed and her body was dumped somewhere is the most likely scenario. What is abundantly clear is that none of the men Lauren spent time with that night had much respect for her and were not at all concerned with her safety or well being. Lauren’s disappearance is an absolute tragedy. I hope her family gets answers.




Content warning: missing person, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, grief, Zionism/birthright trip, police encounters, toxic relationship, brief mentions of suicide and rape

I really appreciate you letting me read this book. It was interesting and did start to pick up pretty quickly after the first chapter.. I honestly didn’t know too much about this case prior to reading the book so this book did educate me more on Lauren Spierer. I liked that the book was straight forward with the facts and laid them out in an easy to understand way. Overall, this was an interesting read.

I appreciated the honesty of the author through out the writing. However it did feel a bit monotone. The facts of this case are chilling and I hope one day she is found.

An interesting take on a story/crime I knew nothing about. The narrator/author was great. Kept the story flowing and kept me engaged and interested in the outcome. I do think it also helped take a very personable feel of the story and grief. I think the parts about the authors personal life and career could’ve been left out completely

Thank you to the publisher and author for this ARC! I devoured the audio. As someone from Indiana, this case hit home and I remember hearing about it during that time. I appreciate the work the author put into this book. He really did a thorough job trying to touch everything and everyone attached to this case. My heart breaks for this family and that they still don't have answers. Someone knows something and isn't talking. I'd love for her family to get the peace they need by finding out the truth. The only way this book could have been better is if it had all the answers. The truth will come out.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book.

As someone who has never heard of this case before, I think the author presented the case in an easy-to-follow way. It was written in a way that allowed the reader to go back to 2011, when she disappeared and get a glimpse of what was going on in the life of Lauren and her group of friends.

A very sad story of a missing girl and everyone that was impacted by her disappearance.

Thank you NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook early.

As someone who was entirely unfamiliar with this case, this book was really interesting to me! The author did a really good job of providing details of the case in a clear, interesting, and objective manner. The case was clearly well-researched! Especially listening to this in audiobook format, I felt like I was engaged in a long true-crime podcast episode and listened to this within a day.

I'm rating the audiobook 3 stars because the story did lose some of its focus in parts where it talked about the author's career rather than the storyline. This seemed out of place in the story. Additionally, I found the narration made the story feel a bit like a news report rather than storytelling. However, I think this is a great audio listen for anyone interested in true crime and especially anyone unfamiliar with the case!

Thank you to NetGalley and Highbridge Audio for early access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Shawn Cohen has covered the story of the disappearance of Lauren Spierer from the moment her parents asked for media publicity when they were in search for their missing daughter, to today, as the 13th anniversary of her disappearance has been mourned in June. I appreciate how thorough Cohen has been in his journalistic endeavors while also keeping the writing extremely objective and easy to read.
As a woman in my 30s, I experienced college during the same years Lauren attended IU. It’s heartbreaking how the catastrophic events that happened at young woman’s life, become a smudge on the past of the male colleagues who were last seen with her. The dynamic of this story reminds us very much of sexual assault cases reported on campuses and how far universities are willing to go to preserve the frat culture intact.
I appreciated that Shawn Cohen has alluded to the media eagerness to report on the disappearance of white blond upper class women and completely neglect other less affluent victims. I wish his regard for the unfair underrepresentation would also extend to his past relationship with a sex worker, which he seemed quick to categorize as someone he “… wasn’t ready to introduce to his family.” The way he decided to depict his firing from the NY Post is the reason I’m giving this book 4 stars instead of 5. It sounded to me like he was overemphasizing her profession, as opposed to why ethically speaking, he was the one who should not have gotten involved with his source.
Overall this audiobook was hard to put down, by lining all the facts and evidence, while also conveying the tragedy of a family that never got the closure they need after losing their loved one. It is also another awful case of police disinterest in solving crimes. The way law enforcement gets to fail upwards, while neglecting their duties is truly baffling.
As a final note, the narrator of this book Kyle Snyder made this experience very engaging. I will be looking for other works he has narrated.
Thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for the opportunity to listen to the advanced audiobook.

This book is exceptional in showing Shawn's point of view of the unforgettable and unfortunate events as one night becomes a parents worst nightmare when their youngest daughter disappears. The true events and story telling of this book allows the reader to relive these events in time as they occur through over 10 years of this unsolved disappearance. Hopefully this case can be solved one day, and this book reaches audiences to restart the conversations that have not occurred yet or have not been shared.

This case is obviously devastating, and I hope Lauren gets additional coverage because of this book; prompting someone to come forward. However, the book itself seemed more about the author than the case. This book could have been a Crime Junkies episode (and probably would have gotten more hype that way, especially if the author worked with the Crime Junkies girls and did a two-part episode or something). In fact, if he started a podcast talking about all the cases he reported on, that would have been better than this book with absolutely zero answers, zero pertinent info and nothing prompting the reader to help.

I was already familiar with the Lauren Spierer case prior to being approved for this audiobook, but this was a good refresher into the case which I listened to in one sitting.
I thought Shawn Cohen done an excellent job with this, it’s very well researched and written, and you can really feel his deep connection to the case.
My heart goes out to Lauren’s friends and family.

Narrator Notes: I thought he did a great job in getting Lauren’s story across, I was engaged the full time.

★★★★
———————
I want to thank NetGalley and Highbridge Audio for the opportunity to review this book.

2.5⭐️ rounded up simply because it’s nonfiction.
I am thankful to have gotten the audioARC for free from Netgalley and HighBridge Audio so I can leave my voluntary and honest review.

This was hard to rate as is all non fiction as how can you assess factual information and such? However, there were issues with this book. I consumed the audio book which also impacted my feelings on the book.

The narrator did a decent job just reading the content. It was neither remarkable or anything wrong with it. However it did help the understanding of some things.
The book seems to be not well edited at all. There was nothing new from the case as any person who followed along with basic news reporting got the same information. Usually when a book like this is published rhetorically audience can have that “aha” moment and have some thoughts of how things may have played out or hearing some new info, etc.. but this did not offer that at all.

The prose also seems a bit disjointed. A few times I was listening and thought I had zoned out as my thought was “wait how did we get here?”. So I would rewind only to find that I had not missed anything.

I feel so much for all involved in the situation and hope a resolution of some kind can happen to give folks peace of mind.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Thank you to the publisher and author for this ARC! As a fellow Hoosier and as someone who lives just about 90 minutes away from Indiana University, I was intrigued by this book on first glance.
It has been several years since I have read/heard any updates on this tragic missing person’s case.
I enjoyed this overview of the case from the author/journalist perspective. If you’re a true crime fan, this is definitely a book you won’t want to miss on the mysterious case of Lauren Spierer.
From an investigative standpoint, I think I would have enjoyed more of the author’s theory on what happened to Lauren; but I respect the intention to remain objective nonetheless.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook version and for access to this title. All opinions and feelings are purely on my own.

This well-researched true crime book is heartbreaking. It chronicles the story of a young woman who disappeared one night, an incident that gained national attention. However, certain people remained silent, and the police investigation was short-lived. Prior to reading this book, I was unaware of the case, despite being an avid true crime fan. My heart goes out to the parents who never learned what happened, as well as the friends who may feel racked with guilt. The inconsistencies in witness accounts are frustrating, but the most maddening aspect is that she was never found, and her fate remains a mystery. While there are many theories, no one knows for certain what occurred.

As for the audiobook narration, I had some difficulty keeping up and ended up rewinding at times to stay focused. The overall tone could have been more storytelling-oriented, rather than feeling like a news report or lecture.

Despite these minor issues, I would still recommend this book to any true crime enthusiast, in the hope that one day, justice or answers will be found for this tragic case.

I listened to the audiobook.

Review of the audiobook: 5 stars
The narrator is expressive and makes the text feel alive, which is particularly important when relating people's direct quotes and with such an emotional topic.
Everything is clear at speeds x05.-x2.

Review of the book: 4 stars
As someone who has never heard of this case before, I think the author presented the case in an easy-to-follow way, starting with a chronological retelling of the night the victim went missing, then going over the initial reactions and search efforts, and ending the book with how things are now, putting an emphasis on how obvious it is that people know things and aren't speaking.
That said, I am a bit confused by how much the author talks about their personal life, when no part of the description or summary mentioned this being a memoir or about the journalist's journey? It did make me question whether it was useful to mention it, and why the author made that choice.


Thank you NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook early.

This book is like the real-life version -- of Ruth Ware`s The IT Girl. How the wealthy are more capable of hiding the truth, working to find the truth at the same time. The book shows the discrepancies, and prejudice in the justice system- as well as how those involved are affected, whether from hiding the truth or trying to get closure by finding the truth. The investigation definitely shows that something is fishy with the witnesses and events flow of the night this girl went missing.

I enjoyed the narrator's voicing of the story and recommend this book to anyone interested in true crime and the effects it has on everyone involved.

Thank you to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio/RB media for this ALC. This is my honest review.

narration 4/5 stars
information in book 3/5 stars

This is such a sad case and my heart goes out to the family. I was familiar with this case from various podcasts that I have listened to. While I didn't learn much that was new from this audiobook, it was still an engaging listen. It is a quick listen. If you are looking for a case that has a conclusion to the story then this is not the book for you since as of this recording her case is still cold.

The narrator was engaging to listen to.
If you know a lot about this case you probably won't learn anything new, but if you are not familiar with it then you will learn the details and mystery surrounding this case.

Thank you NetGalley and RBmedia for the ALC of this audiobook. I voluntarily listened and gave an honest review.