Great buildup to an ending I wasn't expecting. Loved the characters and the way the relationships worked between them.

This is a nice albeit slow burning mystery about a group of college friends in NY and night that changed the main character's life forever.

The main character struggles with her memories about the night her friend died, thus starting a chain of events where she questions her own memories and whether or not you truly know those closest to you.

The plot is intriguing with interesting characters, but the middle of the novel became burdened with too much descriptions which affected the flow of the pace. However, towards the end the pace picks up with several twists leading to a surprising end which I never saw coming.

Thanks Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC, I voluntarily reviewed this title.

After Stuff Hipsters Hate, a Murder Mystery Inspired By the McKibbin Lofts

Bushwick finally has its own murder-mystery novel—and it’s a good one, too! Journalist Andrea Bartz, who established herself as a scholar of hipsterdom as co-author of mock-guidebook Stuff Hipsters Hate, has deftly placed a group of plaid-shirt-wearing characters in a whodunit set at the intersection of the media and art worlds. Set between 2008-2009 and the present day, her novel The Lost Night follows literary essayist turned head fact-checker Lindsay Bach as she tries to piece together what happened the night her impossibly beautiful and charismatic former best friend Edie was found dead by apparent suicide; the “Calhoun Lofts,” a dump-meets-arts-haven in Bushwick, is its sandbox-like backdrop.

For those who are into following a group of self-absorbed and pretentious twenty-somethings as they unravel, The Lost Night elicits the same gleeful pleasure as subculture-specific thrillers like Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. with its classicists, and Tara Isabella Burton’s Social Creature, which follows literary types with rich-people hobbies. These novels seamlessly combine the “thriller” element with acute remarks on a particular kind of people, and could almost sustain themselves even without the obligatory dead body.

I caught up with Bartz ahead of the Feb. 26 release of her book to talk about then and now. It’s about time for some aughts nostalgia.
The full Q&A can be found here:
http://bedfordandbowery.com/2019/02/after-stuff-hipsters-hate-a-murder-mystery-inspired-by-the-mckibbin-lofts/

The Lost Night is a slow-burning mystery involving a group of friends in the past and the supposed suicide of their best friend. It has been ten years. Only now Lindsey realizes Edie may not have killed herself after all. She might have been murdered! The characters are strong. The unreliable narrator keeps readers guessing. If you enjoy mysteries in a New York setting, be sure to pick up The Lost Night today!

I absolutely love any sort of book that deals with old murders and unsolved cases and this one appealed to me even more so because it’s unknown whether Edie was even murdered or if she committed suicide like the cops assumed. There was a lot of unknown factors in the one across the board and while it only left me guessing for about half the time, it maintained my interest throughout.

The bulk of the narrative is shaped by Lindsay with a handful of chapters from her old friend group scattered about. Lindsay is a tough character to describe, on the one hand she’s not likable at all, but it’s not really in a fun way, like a love to hate character. Instead she was pretty immature and whiny for a thirty something grown ass woman. It even kind of felt like a YA novel at times due to her lack of maturity, she got on my nerves quite a bit. Edie herself was actually pretty terrible too, she wasn’t portrayed as a very kind person and it was kind of difficult to toss any sympathy her way.

While the characters were pretty awful I was drawn in by the authors writing style, though it was slightly verbose. Full disclosure, I’m not a fan of long chapters, especially in a mystery. I much prefer the fast paced, cliffhanger type chapters that propel me forward and urge me to keep reading just one more chapter. But Bartz’s style was captivating, almost poetic at times and she did bring me back to NYV circa 2009 with surprising ease. I would suggest this one to anyone that’s new to thrillers or someone looking for a lighter style mystery, it was lacking that punch and darkness that I crave when I’m wholly invested in a thriller.

I just could not get into this book. The main character was so shallow and boring that she couldn't keep my interest. The storyline could have been good, but it seemed to just sit there. I have to give this one a pass

"This must be what it's like to be a sociopath."

And to be honest? I'm not completely sure if Lindsay is one or not.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Lindsay Bach, mid-thirties, has a visit with Sarah, an old friend from back when their friend, Edie, committed suicide. At the mention that Lindsay wasn't at a concert moments before Edie killed herself, Lindsay cannot help but investigate this further. She knows...<b>KNOWS</b>...that she was there. And this girl, Sarah, who <i>claims</i> she and Edie were besties is just ridiculous. Even though Lindsay didn't live in the same apartment as them does not mean they weren't the closest. Was it an unhealthy friendship? Yes, indeed it was.

- - - - - - - - - - -


A lot of reviewers consider Lindsay to be very immature. Maybe she was, but considering where she comes from, the issues she's had in the past and the type of people she hung around with, I can see why the character would be as such. She is high-drama for sure and a bit off her rocker. She has a bit of an obsession with Edie. Along with that, several spots throughout the book, she would be written in the script as crying but the wording was such that indicated she used her tears as manipulation. But within the context, it was never clear how genuine those tears are. Was this intentional?

The writing overall is actually pretty good, especially for a debut novel in my opinion. I have read in a few reviews that people knew exactly "who dun it" but I don't see how to be honest. Not at all discrediting them, I just truly am not sure how they saw it. I had no real hint (maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention?)

To be honest, I like this book, there were spots (especially at the end) where I was on the edge of my seat. I'm pretty easy to please, especially depending on the day. I've had some pretty intense reads lately so maybe this easier read just really fit the bill. The reason for my 3-stars is that it's not a book I'm passionate about, not one I will remember much of after some time has passed. I actually had to refresh my memory on a lot of things in order to write this review. I finished it 3 days ago and it actually feels more like 2 weeks ago. Again, this is a debut novel and I think the author really has quite a lot of potential. I really am excited to see what she comes out with next.

Thank you NetGalley, Crown Publishing and [author:Andrea Bartz|3488726] for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. To be published on February 26, 2019.

The Lost Night....I'm torn on how to rate this book. The premise is what drew me in and caused me to request an ARC. I was disappointed in the story because it was so populated with unlikable people that seemed to never have grown up.

The story that eventually emerged of the crime was interesting, but by the time I got to the whodunit part, I kind of didn't care.

The author did do a great job describing the area, the people, the scenes and the era and that I really enjoyed. I would look for another book by Ms. Bartz because I think she has a lot of promise. I just think she was let down by whoever edited this novel. With some good editing it could have been much better.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publishers for the ARC given at my request. Thoughts in this review are my own.

I had such high hopes for this book...that gorgeous cover literally sucked me right in. All those beautiful colors, the blurry font--it actually truly is the perfect representation of this story. It's a shame the book failed to live up to such an artistic cover.

The Lost Night is unnecessarily long (it felt so much longer than 309 pages), overly wordy, and Lindsay, the main character, is unbelievably frustrating. The dialogue, to me, seemed unrealistic and a little...interviewish? And while I suppose that can work, since Lindsay is a researcher/fact checker, reading these conversations felt a little awkward and stilted. Further, although I had hoped I was wrong, there were quite a few fairly obvious clues regarding the ultimate conclusion, and unfortunately, my assumptions ended up being correct.

It's not all bad...I thought the author did a great job of recreating the emotions and vibes of that time period (2009), particularly the hipster ennui. And I think we all had, at some point, that one group of friends who helped define our lives and the people we would inevitably become. That part of the novel really resonated.

Overall, I feel this is worth reading if you're looking for a pretty standard mystery.

As always, thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the advanced reader's copy, in exchange for my honest review.

Ten years after Edie's death, her best friend Lindsay is still trying to find herself. When Sarah (another one of Edie's friend) moves back to New York, her presence reawakens Lindsay's memories of the night Edie died. The fact that Sarah remembers events of the night so differently than Lindsay makes Lindsay reexamine Edie's death and her role in it. THE LOST NIGHT has rich, well developed characters and an imaginative plot line. I really enjoyed and the surprise at the end! THE LOST NIGHT makes us examine our own memories and question how well, or little, we know those closest to me.

Did Edie really kill herself? That's not something Lindsay thought much about between 2009 and today but now she is. The night Edie died was not one to remember because well, Lindsay can't remember it because she was toasted. More than toasted. Now, 10 years later, she's more or less gotten her life together but she's starting to question what really happened after she talks with Sarah, who was also there. She starts poking around aided by her "friends" Tess and Damien. This one takes some patience-no spoilers- and you might be disappointed at the revelations. That said, if you're a little familiar, at least, with Brooklyn hipster culture, there's some hoots (possibly unintentional) here. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz. I've really struggled to sum up how I felt about this book, and a starred rating is so difficult for me to give this book. The first 3/4's of the book, I would give 2 starts. I'm going to give it 3 due to the ending being so shocking! If the author wouldn't have ended this the way they did, this book would have been a huge no for me, unfortunately. The writing is what I couldn't get over. This book seemed like it was written by a high-school student, at best. I understand that a lot of the book was a flashback from when the main character was in college, but the way this book is written is so cringe-worthy that I could hardly stand it. Again, I loved the ending and really didn't see it coming, but without that, this book wouldn't hold up for me at all.

A slow burning whodunnit mystery about a group of friends in their party days who lost a close friend due to suicide...or so they thought.

After the loss of their friend Edie, they all go their separate ways by moving away or getting married putting it all behind them. However, ten years later, Lindsay is stuck in the past and is determined to find out what really happened that night. Did Edie really kill herself?

This book is best to go in blindly so don’t read too many reviews as it can spoil it for you.

This book is worthy of reading however my only criticism is that a few of the characters fell a tiny bit flat for me as they seemed a little immature for their age and a little underdeveloped. A few times I thought there was repetitive statements which could have been left out and at times some of the reasoning in certain situations just went on and on. These are minor setbacks that in no way should detract you from picking this one up on 2/26 as the overall story is well written.

It is a slow burning mystery which picks up toward the end as I couldn’t put the book down as I had to know the outcome and reasoning. Not too many twists but overall a good light mystery read.

Thank you to @netgalley and @crownpublishing for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

The Lost Night begins with Lindsay by chance meeting a former friend from ten years ago. The last time they saw each other was the night of her best friend Edie's suicide.

In 2009 Lindsay was a blackout very angry drunk who partied and fought with a tight group of friends. One night her best friend Edie kills herself and leaves a suicide note. Devastated she walks away from those friends and gets her life together. She stops drinking and becomes a successful magazine fact checker with great friends...a good life.

Until this chance meeting. When Lindsay discovers her memory (as much as she can remember of it) of the night of Edie's death differs with what may have actually happened. She begins to have flashbacks of that time when she was friends with Edie. She decides to try and piece together what actually happened that night by using her resources as a fact checker as well as finding those friends from her previous life.

Could it be possible Edie did not kill herself? Slowly Lindsay starts to realize that not only could it be possible, but she could be an actual murderer. How can she be sure? How does she not start to slip into her old habits which got her into this mess. Can you ever forgive your friends for their past mistakes and especially, can you ever forgive yourself.

The Lost Night is a fast paced story which weaves in and out of 2009 and now. The story lines are all incredible and the characters believable. This is Bartz first book and I cannot wait to see what she has in store for her next!

The Lost Night goes on sale February 26. Thank you #NetGalley and #Crown for the advanced copy.

In The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz a close-knit group of twenty-somethings’ lives are upended when their best friend Edie commits suicide. Nearly a decade later, the group has disbanded but Lindsay, the book’s central character, is still stuck living in the past. Lindsay, as unreliable of a narrator as they come, has begun questioning Edie's death. Was it really a suicide or has this been a conspiracy the entire time? This novel didn’t blow me away, but its well-developed setting of 2009 hipster Brooklyn is its selling point and will probably inspire some nostalgia in readers approximately ten years out of young adulthood. It will be released later this month.

Preface: I read this book leading up to and right after a reunion of sorts of my own New York city crew. My crew is a bit older than the friends in The Lost Night - in fact - we would have created the 'scene' prior to the 'hipster' community portrayed in this book. SO - while reading this book of a woman reflecting on the death of a friend, 10 years prior, it was a bit of a time warp for me as well as I was in my own reflective period.

Lindsay was part of the day-glo hipster Bushwick scene of 2009. Her friends lived in a large building/network of apartments that are a long stream of parties, drugs and non-stop bass heavy electronic music. This group is shattered when Edie, the star, commits suicide one night.

Cut to 2019 - and Lindsay is still being haunted by these memories. When Edie died, Lindsay left all of her friend behind and quickly moved on. But as the 10 year anniversary comes close, she wants to know what happened and what was happening that would cause Edie to do such a terrible thing.

*sigh* here it goes. This is a big....navel gazing. We have Lindsay who is so wrapped up in her own life - her flippant attitude towards work and her friendships really bothered me - and that's probably because I'm about 10 years older than her. I'm not sure if this book was supposed to be a cautionary tale about the dangers of youth/alcohol/drug/hipsters in dirty lofts or if this was just supposed to be another run of the mill thriller. Still - I kinda liked it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book

I enjoyed this, even though I am way past the ages of the characters, but I enjoyed remembering my drinking/party days. I also loved feeling as if I was in New York. There were some slow parts, but the twist was nice and i really liked Lindsay. I would read more from this author. Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC.

While overall The Lost Night is a perfectly fine mystery, it suffers by comparison. It's a tough field out there for this kind of story, and I didn't think that this one stood out spectacularly. I think a lot of the trouble here is that readers are told information rather than shown- Lindsay hints for most of the book about how awful she is, the terrible things she's done in her past, but readers don't get to see this side of her until quite far into the story. Much of the story is Lindsay telling readers about the Google searching she's doing to track down people and information, and this just doesn't always make for a terribly compelling read. The story was saved enough for a 3 star rating for me because of the interesting web of characters the author has brought together, and the ease with which she recreated the world of those early post-college days where it felt like nothing and everything was possible for the characters, coming into the workforce at a difficult economic time. I don't want to base ratings for mysteries entirely on whether or not I figured out the case before the main character did, but in this story I felt like it was just too obvious that there was something off about the character.

Andrea Bart’s has delivered a mystery that sets itself apart from the current influx of similar books. Her writing beautifully demonstrated the energy of a young New York, while telling the story of Lindsay, Alex, Kevin,Sarah and Edie.
Years after Edie died from a gun shot to her head, but did she kill herself, or was she murdered? And if she was murdered, could it have been Lindsay herself? Lindsay starts to remember more from that time, and turns out she wasn’t as stable as she thought.
The Lost Night is a great mystery, leaving you fulfilled at the end.

I really struggled to get into this book to start with but really came to be quite intrigued by the story line and cast of characters.