This book delves into a dark subject - well actually several dark subjects! I pretty much guessed the secret that underlies the whole plot (which I won't ruin by mentioning!), but felt compelled to continue reading as I couldn't quite believe it could be that. Most, if not all, of the characters are edgy, and it was hard to feel much empathy with some of them. The book made me feel sad and also angry - things could have been different if certain people had the courage to speak up and change them. It made me think that similar things are no doubt going on in the real world - and that made me even sadder and angrier. A thought-provoking read alright...

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book (Kindle edition) in return for my unbiased and honest review.

Oh My God - I loved this book, It was a little creepy and disturbing but brilliant with it. I was so content to let the storyline flow I wasnt questioning the whys, hows, or whodunnits - or even the genetics. this is a real page turner that makes your toes curl!

would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for allowing me to read an review this book
this one wasnt for me...i gave it a go but i just couldnt get on with it...i think the format of the then and now chapters that then left you thinking where am i now...
the subject matter didnt bother me i just couldnt get on with the flow of the book to disjointed for me...sorry

This book is absolutely phenomenal! Probably my favourite read of the year so far.

Amy Engel has created a well ravelled mystery (although I guessed the ending and several plot twists) and I loved reading about Roanoke. Even though I guessed right a lot of the time it didn't take away from my enjoyment of this incredibly well written story.

Every character felt vibrantly real, especially Lane and Allegra. They are explored in such depth and their stories are totally heartbreaking. I loved the snippets we got of each of the girls in the flashback chapters so much too. Gran and Grandpa are so well crafted it's ridiculous. Cooper is lovely and perfect and I love him. Tommy is an incredibly character and not at all what you first think.

I honestly think you have to read this and experience it first hand to even slightly appreciate the genius of this novel.

Opinion sent direct to the publisher to explain why I will not be posting any reviews about this book.

So much hype surrounded The Roanoke Girls: "the most addictive thriller of the year". Well, it did not keep me enthralled. This tale of small town America and one family cloaked in a long running secret spanning decades. It is a disturbing story line but all too soon it became obvious what had occurred in the Roanoke family. The constant switching between 'then' and 'now' began to irritate and I breathed a sigh of relief when I had completed the book, particularly as I had figured out who had been doing what well before the end. A bunch of characters with no redeeming qualities, save perhaps Cooper and, at a pinch, Lane Roanoke. Amy Engel writes well and I am sure there are readers who will enjoy this more than I did.

With thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for an ARC.

A disturbing and yet irresistible read. One that will haunt your thoughts long after you reach the end of the novel.

A beautifully written book that deals with some extremely difficult issues in a sensitive way. There's no dawning realization for the reader as to what's going on, we are slapped in the face with the truth quite early on. The realization of the depth and horror of what is going on in the Roanoke family comes more slowly however. There are no heros in this book, every character is weak and damaged in their own way but even so I felt uplifted and hopeful at the end. A great read that I devoured in one sitting.

This book really does push boundaries, but you know what? I love it when an author is brave enough to approach subjects that others wouldn't dare touch. And there were so many other unique elements too, such as Allegra's tendency to carve words into word - and while on the subject of Allegra, what a beautiful name! Both Allegra and Lane are so flawed as people, but I don't think this book would have been the same without their flaws, which do make sense as the book goes on. I did at the beginning wonder what the point of introducing Lane's mother into it was and thought it should have started with her turning up at Roanoke and purely using flashbacks, but by the ending I could really see the need for her to be shown. The only reason I marked this book as four stars instead of five is because I found the clues too obvious, so the family secret wasn't a particular shock to me, as I'd suspected it throughout.

Wow this book was absolutely fantastic. It took a while to actually get into it but once I did it floored me. It's one of those books that you think of even when your not reading it. It's always on your mind as to what is going to happen next, how it's going to happen and with who. Definitely a 5 star read. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. It is brilliant

I actually started recommending this book to friends about 5% of the way through. The gothic horror that pervades the contemporary mystery is just fantastic. It's well written and compelling, blowing contemporaries like The Girls out of the water. Roanoke is vividly drawn, and the characters are distinctive and well drawn. The one down side for me was that there is a list of Roanoke girls and they're quite hard to keep track of, I kept confusing which one was Sophia and Lillian, and when we had their chapters I had to double back and try to remember who was who. That's a quibble though because the book is mesmerising enough to forgive a few flaws. I read most of this in a single sitting, just could not stop.

Thank you NetGally for this book.

Although it is very clear from the onset what is happening here, it was a very interesting book to read. I liked the characters and the description of the horrible little village. I wouldn't want to live there so I can fully understand why people are trying to 'flee' from to other parts of the country.
The story is a sad one and what I missed in this book was a little more explanation about why the Yates does what he does.
But all in all, a compelling book and I'm happy to have read it.

A deeply disturbing psychological drama. I would not consider this a conventional thriller as it was understandable that the ending would play out in such a way. But it is a harrowing, horribly grim perspective on intergenerational sexual abuse and incest. It raises questions about how such acts can continue to happen over long periods of time, how abusers manipulate their victims to make them feel they are to blame in their trauma as well as the complicity of outside factors such as the other parent and the outside community. A horrifying look at patriarchal structures.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a review copy of The Roanoke Girls, a stand alone thriller set in rural Kansas.

Lane Roanoke was 15 and living in New York when her mother committed suicide and her grandparents offered her a home with them and her cousin Allegra in rural Kansas. She only lasts a few months there before she runs away but 10 years on Allegra has gone missing and her grandfather begs her to come back.

Told in the first person by Lane the novel switches between "then" and "now" as it unfolds a chilling tale of family secrets and what makes 3 generations of girls in the family "special". The secret is revealed early in the novel so it's more the ramifications of the secret and a few others that Lane is keeping that meld it together. Normally I prefer a linear timeline but the mixture of past and present works well here.

It is a beautifully paced novel and extremely well written but I, personally, would find it hard to describe it as a thriller, more a family saga. Having said that I was glued to the pages wondering what was coming next. This is surprising as very few of the characters are likeable but I think it has to do with Lane trying to make sense of the insensible. She is damaged and self destructive but determined to do her best by Allegra whom she feels she let down.

I particularly liked the portrayal of Yates and Lillian Roanoke, Lane's grandparents who are a study in manipulation with their twisted view of family.

The Roanoke Girls may not be the thriller the blurb promises but it is a page turner which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this review copy.

The story begins with Lane Roanoke, a 15 year old girl whose mother has just committed suicide. The only family Lane has are her maternal grandparents and a cousin, Allegra. Lane’s mother left the family home pregnant and has never been back. Lane has never met her grandparents before, but they want to welcome her back to her family home. The Roanoke home is a grand and mysterious place with her grandparents and cousin equally mysterious. It doesn’t take Lane long to realise that this place and the whole family, both present and past, hold many dark secrets. Lane leaves suddenly after one summer of living there vowing never to return again until 10 years later when she hears that Allegra has gone missing. Lane returns to the family home searching for answers into Allegra’s disappearance.

I was intrigued to read this book. Marketed with the tag-lines “unsettling and thought provoking” and “Provocative and compulsive thriller” certainly pricked up my ‘must read’ radar! I have to admit, going by some of the tag-lines, I did think the book was going to be some bloodfest – gory and frightening. It wasn’t as bad as that, but it certainly was a creepy, unsettling read. It will be very hard to review without giving away too much of the plot, but I don’t think it will spoil any prospective readers to say that the book is built around incestuous relationships, and this is hinted at and revealed quite early on in the book. It is set in different time frames but mainly from Lane’s perspective in present time and 10 years previously. There are also some other musings from older Roanoke girls interspersed in-between Lane’s story, which don’t really go into detail but give you some clue as to what has been happening in this family for many years. When Lane returns to try and find out what has happened to her cousin Allegra, she finds her grandparents not really that worried as to what has happened, assuming that Allegra has run away and will come back home at some point. Lane remembers what she was told about the girls of the family “Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die.” Lane was one of the lucky ones, she ran when she could – what has happened to Allegra?

It was certainly a disturbing read, obviously the subject matter is never a nice one to read about. It was dark, twisted and chilling. I never saw the twist coming – I was so wrapped up in the story that I didn’t get chance to think about how it was going to end. The story built the suspense at a steady pace, but I did get a little confused with the jumping back and forward in time. It’s definitely a compulsive read, one which I would recommend but obviously bear in mind that it may not be everyone’s cup of tea!

This book was dark, pretty twisted, and parts were highly controversial, or it probably will be to most readers. Another thing about this book--it's fantastic! I was hooked and totally enjoyed the storytelling style and characters. Five stars.

I read this in two sittings, which could be considered a good review in itself. The 'secret' is revealed early on but I was compelled to read on to find out what the rest of the story would reveal. Not much else, as it turned out. Still, it was an easy read, despite the tough subject matter. Other reviewers have commented that they thought the subject was brushed over a little too lightly, but I thought that was the point - that it was the consequences that was the story.

This is a heartbreaking story that you can't put down. It's dark and gripping. It's almost like passing a road accident, you should look away but it gets you in it's horrible grip. I kept thinking, this could be real. We never know what goes on behind closed doors.

'Not an easy butterflies and sunshine kind of love... a dark, twisting horror show of love'

It's not doing this book any favours by describing it in terms of a twisting thriller - it's not. Yes, there is the mystery of the disappearance of Allegra but there's so much more to the story than that, and what I presume is meant by the 'twists' is made clear very early in the narrative. Instead, this is a gorgeous, disturbing and true story about the different forms that love can take: tender, raw, brutal and brutalising, devastating, debilitating, acutely destructive, perverse, exploitative or innocent.

The crooked heart of the book is Roanoke, a large mansion in Kansas where the eponymous Roanoke girls have lived and died or from where they have fled. The narrative moves between 'then' when Lane, just 16, is sent there to live with her grandparents after her mother's suicide; and 'now' when Lane who ran away after one summer there, returns after 10 years following the disappearance of her charismatic but troubled cousin Allegra.

The book plays with literary influences: the old house with its inbred secrets of Southern Gothic; the Persuasion plot of a second chance at lost love; the 'new girl in a small town' trope - but it gives them all a feeling of freshness and naturalness so that they don't feel reused.

What makes the book is Engel's emotional delicacy and sensitivity: she takes a dark and difficult subject and treats it with emotional nuance and subtlety. Her characters leap off the page: Lane the tough survivor but with a yearning edge she's never lost; Allegra the charismatic wild child who keeps her secret anguish hidden; Tommy the good guy trying to do the right thing; Cooper whose own troubled background belies his golden appearance. The book drips with the heat of the Kansas sun, and the sexual chemistry between Lane and Cooper is palpable.

Most of all, this is a book which avoids either sensationalism or black and white stereotypes: there's an understanding here that is generous while still being absolutely clear about where moral boundaries lie. This is not a book for anyone who wants cosy, comfortable reading - it's extreme in parts, though never graphic, and takes us to some very dark places. For all that, this completely captured my imagination: I found myself carrying this everywhere and reading slowly, partly to make the experience last and partly because so much of the real story happens in the spaces that open up between what people say and what they mean.

Overall, then, a fine piece of writing from Engel, and one of my favourite (though I realise that's an odd word given some of the subject matter) books of the year.

Devastatingly Dark

I had heard a lot about this book before I even turned the first page, I'm pleased to say that it deserves the hype and definitely did not disappoint! It's subject matter is beyond harrowing yet it is dealt with in such a way that it is a joy to read. Compulsive and utterly compelling, I devoured it within 24 hours, it would've been a much shorter time frame if real life hadn't have got in the way!

Thank you so much to the Publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Highly recommended.