4.5 Stars

I read a gripping book about who did it in just one sitting. It kept me guessing the whole way through. Even when I thought I had figured out who did it, I'd change my mind minutes later.

There is excellent narration on the audiobook, however, the pause between chapters is excessively long.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape for the audio arc in exchange for my honest review.

Doll's Eye Lake would have been a great title for this book.
I was defiantly hooked from the very beginning! I had 6 suspects till the very end!
I had to keep pausing to tell my coworker what was going on all day!

Publisher's summary
It’s 1998, and female students are going missing at Southern State University in North Carolina, but freshman Jessica Fadley, once a bright and responsible student, is going through her own struggles. Just as her life seems to be careening dangerously out of control, she suddenly disappears.
Twenty-four years later, Jessica’s sister Lindsey is desperately searching for answers and uses the momentum of a new chart-topping true crime podcast that focuses on cold cases to guide her own investigation. Soon, interest reaches fever pitch when the bodies of the long-missing women begin turning up at a local lake, which leads Lindsey down a disturbing road of discovery.
In the present, one sister searches to untangle a complicated web of lies.
In the past, the other descends ever deeper into a darkness that will lead to her ultimate fate.
This propulsive and chilling suspense is a sharp examination of sisterhood and the culture of true crime.

Thanks to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for the ALC of this book!

The Lake of Lost Girls
By: Katherine Greene
Narrated by: Helen Laser, Frankie Corzo, Sara Young, Haley Taylor, David Bendena
Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
Release date: 11-05-24
Publisher: Dreamscape Media

✨This was an edge of your seat rollercoaster ride of a thriller from start to finish.

✨I really enjoyed the unique format of this novel with its mixed media elements that were masterfully woven into the narrative including podcast transcripts, social media and blog posts, newspaper articles and interview notes. This really kept me engaged with the story throughout.

✨I loved the alternating timelines, dual points of view and was blown away by that ending that I did not see coming.

🎧I listened to this book on audio and was completely transfixed. The full cast narration was incredible, and this is one of those books that really lends itself to audio. I highly recommend you listen to this one if possible.

🌿Read if you like:
✨True crime culture
✨Audiobooks with full cast narration
✨Family drama
✨Mixed media elements
✨90s nostalgia
✨alternating timelines
✨dual points of view
✨a mystery to solve

Don’t miss this one, friends.

A twisty dark cold case/true crime thriller involving four missing girls from a college campus whose story gets renewed interest thanks to a popular podcast. Lindsey is the younger sister of one of the missing girls and her life has never been the same since the birthday when her sister disappeared. Shocked when she gets caught up in the new investigation, Lindsey can't help trying to figure out what happened.

Full of a number of suspicious male suspects, this book touches on the important topic of how common violence against women is and the way that police investigations often don't do enough to seek justice. Great on audio with a full cast and an end I did NOT see coming, this was my first book by author duo Katherine Greene and I really loved it! Highly recommended for fans of authors like Ashley Winstead.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!!

Thank you to the publisher and author for this arc! This was a thoroughly enjoyable read for me. I found the characters to be interesting, and the plot developed at a good pace.
This is definitely a domestic suspense verging on dark academia thriller that readers will not want to miss!
4.5 stars rounded to 4

HOLY FREAKIN CRAP!!!!
An ARC that is a FIVE STAR!!?!?!?!?

Major, major thanks to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Crooked Lane Books for the ALC and ARC copies of this incredibly brilliant read.

I LOVED this book. It is SO rare for me to give a 5⭐️ Truthfully, I was at a 4.5 with this - but then it gave me literal chills during the end and I just knew it deserved the full 5.

I would not say that this is very fast paced, however it's not super slow either. I think it was paced just right, gave the perfect amount of details and honestly was just a fantastic story.

Dreamscape did an amazing job on this audio as well. Really brought these characters to life and made the story that much better.

HIGHLY recommend!!! OUT 11/5!!!!

Thank you to NetGally for letting me get a sneak peak into this book. I got to listen to the audio version

The lake of lost girls. Such a good read! What is supposed to be a fun college experience turns into missing girls.

More then 20 years later becoming the subject of a podcast.

Younger sister looking for answers of her missing sister only to find out more than what she was looking for.

I definitely did not see the ending coming. Just when I thought I had it all figured out I did not. The ending will shock you.

This book had some of my favorite elements; dual timelines and multiple POVs. I was luck to have both an e-arc and advance listening copy. The narrator kept me intrigued throughout. Some of the twists were predictable but still kept me reading. Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
4/5

This was a good thriller in the sense that I kept thinking I knew the twist at the end and I was wrong. i've never read a katherine Green book before but that will definitely change because I liked her writing and how it kept me entertained the whole time.

⭐️⭐️Review⭐️⭐️
📖: The Lake of Lost Girls
🧍‍♀️Author: Katherine Greene

About? Two sisters. One went missing in college, and as the younger sister approaches her mid 20’s, she begins a persistent search for the truth. She is accompanied by two women who have a true crime podcast following a cold case of the disappearance of the older sister, Jessica Fadley. And, a journalist that won’t give up-who just so happens to be handsome and seems to like Lindsay.

How it’s told? Dual-timelines. Plot device: podcast

Characters: Jessica Fadley: the sister that went missing. Lindsay Fadley: the younger sister desperately searching to find Jessica. Ryan - a persevering journalist Lindsay meets 24 years after her sister goes missing who is just as motivated as she to find Jessica. (For reasons that will be revealed)!

Makes you feel? Like a twisty, clever, well-done whodunnit. Chock-full of psychological toxic family dynamics !!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @dreamscapemedia for providing me with an advanced audible copy in exchange for an honest review!

If you like:
🐌 Slower Burn Thrillers
⏳ Past and Present Timelines
#️⃣ Couple POV
🎙️ True Crime Podcasts
⛓️‍💥 Interconnected Missing Persons Cases
🏫 Freshman College Experiences
🍻Lots of Partying

This book is told in two timelines, one in the past when responsible Jessica turns party girl during her freshman year of college in 1998 and then present day from her sister’s POV, Lindsay who is now in her 30’s, who was only 6 when Jessica mysteriously disappeared from their family home and was never seen again and her famous words about her sister’s disappearance is now the title of a brand new true crime podcast that is trying to figure out what happened to Jessica all those years ago and several of her classmates who also went missing around the same time.

And in comes a boyfriend Lindsay never knew Jessica had, who also is trying to get to the bottom of what happened to his lost girlfriend.

Between the podcast excerpts, the past from Jessica, present from Lindsay and a few other one off POV’s this book truly was so immersive especially on audio and I just had to know what was happening!

If you like thrillers with podcast aspects and lots of pointing fingers and misdirection you will definitely enjoy this one!

Thank you so much to the Dreamscape for my ALC and ARC in exchange for my review! I will definitely be reading more from the writing duo that is Katherine Greene!

The first 65% or so of this book had me hooked! We bounce between timelines, with Jessica in 1998, and her younger sister Lindsey in the present day. Lindsey, along with several of her other female classmates, had disappeared from her college campus in the 90s. Now, Lindsay is more determined than ever to find out what happened. Both sisters’ personality shone through in their chapters, and the momentum and tension was incredibly paced through each swap.
Unfortunately, the ending did not live up to the beginning for me. Between the podcast elements that were crammed into each of Lindsay’s chapters, Jessica’s oddly close relationship with her father mentioned every 10 minutes, and the five suspects that were all an equal possibility, I began to feel like my brain was melting.
And as with all murder mysteries, the killer’s reveal is a big part of the storyline. Without spoilers, I think so much time was spent on making everyone a suspect that the killer’s development was lackluster and thrown together. Sure, I had assumed who it was pretty quickly, but the ending didn’t make the choice believable or give a satisfying resolution.
However, this is a classic “podcast about an unsolved murder” mystery, and it definitely held my attention. Without the podcast’s recap every few chapters, I definitely would’ve gotten the minor characters and short timelines confused. The multiple narrators in the audiobook also really helped keep things interesting!
Thanks to Netgalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Blackstone Publishing for the free advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Title: The Lake of Lost Girls
Author: Katherine Greene
Format: 🎧
Audiobook Narrators: Helen Laser, Frankie Corzo, Sara Young, Haley Taylor, and David Bendena
Publisher: Dreamscape Media /Crooked Lane Books
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date: November 5, 2024
My Rating: 4 + rounded up
Pages: 320

Story is told via flashback chapters from primarily the POV of Jessica Fadley and her sister Lindsey – in dual then and now time periods.

Then ~ 1998 - Four female students attending Southern State University in Mt. Randall, North Carolina, all vanished without a trace.
Jessica Fadley Although Jess started out not being a typical first time away from home freshmen. However she soon turned into a party girl.
She went home to celebrate her little sister Lindsey’s sixth birthday. Jess tells Lindsey that she has to go to her car to get something ((a surprise special cake) but in 10 seconds she is gone- and the trunk is still open.


Present day- A new popular true crime podcast, ‘Ten Seconds to Vanish’, that focuses on the cold cases, and leads the podcasters to do their own investigation.

Lindsey is now thirty and one evening while working the front desk at a up-scale hotel she ia helping a handsome man named Ryan. He tells her she looks familiar –which she tells him is ‘an old pick-up line. Turns out he is journalist who has been investigating this case for years and actually knows a lot about Jessica as well as the other three girls. Lindsey finally weakens and joins him in seeking the truth behind Jess' disappearance,

As they investigate – things get more and more involved.

I read a lot of psychological thrillers so know to suspect everyone. Do I know that authors like to lead us down the wrong path but in this case Ms. Greene gives clues that are true and everyone draws their own conclusions! I was sure I knew who didn’t do it but ---Whodunit was a surprise!
In addition to a great story, the audiobook performers were ALL great as well!!

About the Author ~ Katherine Greene is the pen name of authors, A. Meredith Walters and Claire C. Riley. They love true crime and create stories that are dark and twisted with a strong female voice that will leave you guessing. .
This is the author’s second story and my second as well. I read " The Woods are Waiting" which was their first.
I now call myself a fan! Anxious for their next thriller!!!!

Want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media LLC for granting me this early audio Galley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for November 5, 2024.

A fascinating dual-timeline thriller about 4 college students who go missing in 1998/99, and the attempts to solve the mystery of their disappearances decades later. I liked the podcast episodes and social media comments that flanked the stories of sisters Jessica (in the months leading up to her disappearance) and Lindsay (as an adult, in the present). This provided a variety of viewpoints and conflicts, and a chance to see all of the different theories unfold. The lives of the main characters are filled with secrets and lies, and some of the twists are quite unexpected. I really enjoyed this on audiobook—thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review it!

I find the combination of books with podcasts absolutely captivating, especially when they're diving into unsolved mysteries and chilling old murders.

Take "The Lake of Lost Girls," for instance—it's a thriller that checks all the boxes for me! I was beyond thrilled to get my hands on both the ebook and the audiobook. Following along with the audio really adds a rich layer to the story. It unfolds through dual timelines and multiple perspectives, which is my jam! And with multiple narrators bringing the characters to life, this audiobook truly hit the mark for me.

The plot centers on a cold case involving several missing college girls, which gets reignited when one of their bodies turns up near Doll's Eye Lake—the place initially suspected to be the dumping ground. Intrigued by the lake's eerie name, I couldn't resist looking up the Doll's Eye plant, and wow, it's real! Its strange appearance would make a perfect spooky decoration for Halloween!

What I loved most about this story were the red herrings that kept my mind racing, weaving an intricate web of suspense. The characters are richly developed and interlinked, and I was completely hooked from the first moments of listening. While I managed to piece together some clues, the final twist left me utterly stunned—it was like a punch to the gut! Seriously, it's one of the best plot twists I've encountered.

Katherine Greene, the collaborative genius behind this delightful pen name, has truly knocked it out of the park with this latest novel! Having thoroughly enjoyed their first collaboration, I was absolutely blown away by how they raised the bar this time. I'm eagerly counting the days until their next spectacular story hits the shelves! The two dazzling women hosting the podcast in the book are absolutely captivating—I'd love to hear more from them and dive deeper into their world!

Thanks to the author, Dreamscape Media, and Crooked Lane Books for these gifted ARCs! All opinions are my own and left voluntarily.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the E-ARC Audiobook.

A whodunnit thriller that suffers from shallow exploration of the characters. The characters in the book lack dimension and come off very one note. Dr. Daniels is a creepy old man; Ryan is a volatile, aggressive man; the dad is also a creepy old man; etc. While we as the reader are supposed to keep guessing between the main male characters as to who murdered Jess, we aren’t given enough information and exploration into their characters to really have clear distinctions between them other than they exist to make us think all men are trash. I think early on most readers can guess who was responsible for Jess’s disappearance. As for the “big” twist that lowered my rating for this book. It felt forced, and it ruined the rest of the story. I found myself getting bored around the 70% mark and finished out listening to the audiobook at 2x speed.

I am conflicted on the interjections of the podcast throughout the book. I do like how they are intentionally conveyed as being tone deaf and obnoxious while discussing a missing woman’s case. I can’t stand a lot of popular true crime podcasts because the hosts tell jokes and make quips that feel insensitive to the victims and their families *side eyes the My Favorite Murder podcast*. This book does a great job of pointing that out while Jess’s younger sister Lindsey is listening to one of them covering her sister’s disappearance. While at time those breaks feel very out place in the narrative.

In summary, this book is okay. There were good and bad parts to the writing, and none of the flaws were so immense that I wouldn’t recommend this book, as some of what I count as flaws are personal nitpicks. I would say if it’s not keeping your interest at the halfway point, just go ahead and look up spoilers because you won't really miss much on the buildup to the reveals. To end on a good note, the narrators did a fantastic job, and a large part of what kept my interest in the book as far as it went was excellent narration.

Female students are missing from Southern State University and over 20 years later, the mystery of their disappearance remains. Katherine Greene’s “Lake of Lost Girls” tells the story of four vanished young women by deftly moving from past to present. The changes in points of view add to the drama of the tale, particularly in the audiobook format. The narrators realistically give voice to the podcasters and you always know who is speaking. This book will keep you awake and guessing as the mystery of these cold cases unfolds.

I definitely enjoyed the way this audiobook was done. Different POVs as well as a small portion being podcast style. I will say, the podcast girls were annoying and didn’t provide much information at all.

The ending didn’t come as a shock. I guessed who the killer was for each girl early on. The relationship with Jess and her dad was gross, but it added to the storyline.

All in all, this was an entertaining audiobook.

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 ALC of this title, all opinions are my own.

Freshman in college Jessica finds herself caught up in the case of a series of missing girls. Twenty-four years later, Jessica's younger sister Lindsey starts unearthing the past with the help of an attractive journalist.

This was such a good thriller. It's hands down one of the top thrillers I've ever read! Here's what I loved:

The thought behind it all: This book was so well developed and laid out. You can see the care in which Greene put into crafting this book. All of the ends are connected and the story moves along so smoothly.

Lindsey: I found myself very attached to her story. I loved how she put herself into finding out what happened to her sister while still navigating her own adult life. You see a growth in her by the end of the book.

The twists and turns: There is so many twists in this one. A few of them I didn't see coming at all.

The audio: I loved the multiple narrators in this one. It really helped separate the narrations of Jessica and Lindsey.

All in all, a really good thriller!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!