This boooooook! It completely obliterated my heart into shreds! And I loved it.

This book was highly praised on my Instagram and as always, that makes me apprehensive. I decided to bite the bullet however and read it anyways. And it was the best decision. I admire a book that is original or that has a plot or point of view that hasn’t been overused before. The main character is a young girl of 11 or 12 (I think) that is growing up but still rooted in her childhood. Seeing the world and other people through her eyes was enlightening. She was so smart and so courageous! She tried to be normal and happy despite the nightmare she was living in.

The topic of the book is disturbing. It’s the sort of thing that leaves a black stain on your soul. I hate the fact that this child had to even know about it. Her strength and resilience reminded me of myself as a child. We all had a feeling of wanting to help and thinking we were, not necessarily invincible, but strong enough to overcome anything and stop all the horrible depravity in the world.

The ending was bittersweet for me. I loved how the author incorporated the necklace and it’s final destination. ALSO, the author had me guessing who the bad guy was. It was the most obvious choice but because it was so obvious I didn’t suspect them! Very nice move by the author.

I’d like to thank Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this digital advanced reader’s copy.

Unspeakable Things by author Jess Lourey is a story that depicts the lives of many children out there today. Those that live in fear, fear of abduction and/or molestation. Sometimes it’s a stranger, maybe a neighbor or it can even be from a parent at home. There were parts of this story that were hard to read. The life that these 2 girls lived was awful in my opinion. I felt really disgusted with the mother and her lack of actions to protect her children. Cassie, the main character, showed tremendous strength and loyalty towards her friends. Her bravery is an inspiration. I’d like to thank NetGalley for the arc to read and review. All opinions are my own. I enjoyed reading this but not sure it’s a story for everyone. It might be upsetting to some. I rate this at 4 stars.

DISCLAIMER : I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I read the synopsis of this book and was very much excited to read the story. Because it was inspired by true events that happened in the author's town I thought this book is going to be so good. I really had high expectations when it came to this book. I was disappointed in the execution of it and the number of questions the story leaves unanswered made it hard to accept the ending as well. Was it thrilling? Yes, it was thrilling and there were these events that were foreshadowed in the book to keep the mystery going, but just left them without bringing clarity to the intention behind those events. There were a lot of creepy and weird happenings and the characters were really creeping me out. The mentality of small towns, prejudices against homosexuals, abuse, maintenance of a perfect facade on the outside, corrupt police officers are all brought attention to. I felt the story could have gone in a better direction with a lot more clarity when it comes to certain events. Overall I felt the story was OK and it was interesting enough and engaging enough to keep the reader going. I gave it 2 stars.

If you are interested in a quick read that focuses on some really heavy and dark events, try this one out.

I loved the concept of this book, but I didn't care for the way the story was executed. There were so many unanswered questions about so much of the story. Maybe this was intentional as we are being told the story through the eyes of a 12 year old girl but it didn’t work for me. I felt like I sent too much time trying to piece the story together to ever really get immersed in it.

The book description was a bit misleading as well. I picked this book up and began reading thinking it would be focused on the kidnappings but they are only mentioned in passing. The books main focus was Cassie, her family, and their secrets rather than the abductions.

The book has great pacing and the story would be one that would be easy to get immersed in if there wasn't so much to try and piece together throughout. It is a good book and worth a read.

This book catches your attention immediately. We first meet Cass and her family. The book is from Cass’s point of view and anything that is hinted is from her perspective. I like the mystery behind her thoughts, that’s one of the big parts that keeps me interested and wondering.

Cass is a pretty average teenage girl. She does stuff that you think is normal and things that makes you smack your head. Teenagers make stupid decisions sometimes and she isn’t an exception to that rule. That makes her an extremely likable character, she’s normal, flawed and doesn’t seem to have any Mary Sue tendencies.

The big mystery in this one is about young boys being assaulted which the author does a good job of keeping you guessing the entire time. I will say that there are certain aspects of the book that I still have questions about. This is a good book and I definitely enjoyed it.

R E V I E W - Unspeakable Things - Jess Lourey
⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Unspeakable Things takes place in a small town in the 80s. School is about to break for summer but instead of this being a time that students look forward to, they're scared. Scared because they've been advised not to spend time outside alone. Scared because a curfew has been put in place. Scared because boys are going missing.

Unspeakable Things is a unique story in that it is adult fiction told through the perspective of a child. The narrator of our story, Cass, is a 7th grader who's home life is pretty tricky. There are a lot of things going on that are alluded to but never explicitly said. Does this mean they're happening or that the fears Cass has are in her head?
I immediately sympathised with her as she is a young girl with a pretty uncomfortable home life. She has a loving relationship with her sister but she doesn't have many friends at all. Even though her life isn't ideal, she gets on with things, she's adventurous and she has a little spunk that comes out now and then.
Unspeakable Things is a quick read and a page-turner. It's a breath of fresh air in this genre as it's inspired by true events from the authors hometown and because of our young narrator. The story progresses well and has good pacing. I did feel that the story ended very quickly and that one of the lines wasn't closed off however I found out later that there is a deleted epilogue which can be downloaded here: www.jesslourey.com

If you read it, definitely download the epilogue but also go back to read the prologue too.

UNSPEAKABLE THINGS
Jess Lourey
Thomas & Mercer
ISBN-13: 9781542008785
Trade Paperback
Mystery/Thriller

UNSPEAKABLE THINGS is the perfect title for Jess Lourey’s latest work. It is a perfect read, though an uncomfortable one due to the subject matter. Lourey takes a real-world incident that took place in her Minnesota hometown in the 1980s and spins it into a tale that will shock and haunt the reader long after the final page is turned.

UNSPEAKABLE THINGS is a coming-of-age story about Cassie McDowell, who is thirteen years old and on the cusp of puberty as the events in the story, narrated by the adult Cassie, unfold. Lilydale is the small town in Minnesota where Cassie resides, or to be more accurate, in the rural part of her very rural small town. As with any place where two or more are gathered, there are the haves and the have-nots, and the McDowells are numbered among the latter of the two groups. Cassie’s mother is a schoolteacher and the primary earner of the family, while her father fancies himself as an artist of the starving persuasion. Sephie, Cassie’s older sister, is complex in the ways that teenaged girls tend to be, but there are depths of sorrow to her that only gradually make themselves known. We meet all of the McDowells within the first page or so of UNSPEAKABLE THINGS, and if we might have mistaken them for having the domestic tranquility of the Waltons at first blush Lourey chips away at that misapprehension all too soon enough. The center of the evil that quietly permeates Lilydale does not lie only with the McDowells with their extremely interesting and popular parties, however. It is abruptly manifested by a series of abductions involving local boys who each go missing and then come back emotionally damaged and closed-mouthed about what happened to them. The rumors as to who may be responsible may begin to fly, catching the totally innocent to the possibly guilty in their net. Meanwhile, what goes on with the McDowell household is just as bad if not worse. It simply occurs in a smaller sphere of influence. What is occurring in Lilydale, however, has a connection, however tenuous, to what goes on within the McDowell house, particularly in those areas that Cassie’s father has declared off-limited to the rest of the family. Secrets, however, always seem to have a way of revealing themselves. So too, here.

There are some extras that come with UNSPEAKABLE THINGS. One is a series of illustrations from a book that Cassie treasures titled Nellie Bly’s Trust It or Don’t. The title of that book is an ironic twist on what occurs in UNSPEAKABLE THINGS. Another extra is on Lourey’s website, which contains the Epilogue to UNSPEAKABLE THINGS as a bit of lagniappe for those who read the book. No peeking. You won’t be able to entirely appreciate it until you read UNSPEAKABLE THINGS all the way through anyway. Even with UNSPEAKABLE THINGS and its Epilogue, however, there are just enough loose threads (as well as a hint in the Epilogue) which indicate that Lourey may not quite be done with either Lilydale or the McDowell family. If Lourey does see fit to revisit either that journey will no doubt be mesmerizing and unsettling. Hopefully, she will bring her talent for creating similes and metaphors, which by themselves would have made this tale worth reading. Recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2020, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

"Small-town kids are pebbles in a river, pushed around by the flow, forming pockets and piles, reforming when the current picks up and we find ourselves in a whole new cluster."

I was given an ARC of this book by Thomas & Mercer in exchange for an honest review, though this was already on my ever-growing TBR list.

Jess Lourey tells the story of life in a small town in the 80's through the eyes of a girl on the verge of her teen years. A story about a dysfunctional family and town with secrets, broken innocence and tragedy. This was a dark coming of age story that was loosely based on a true abduction that took place during that time frame. That was only the cusp of cumbersome issues addressed throughout this trigger heavy book (rape, murder, abuse, homophobia).

Cassie's voice as the narrator was convincing. There were parts of the story, however, that seemed to be missing. Certain details were brought up, such as the strawberry incident with Sephi, that didn't make sense. It linked back later on in the story, but specifics early on were confusing. I had actually gone back and reread a couple of times to make sure I hadn't missed something.

Minus the few spots that read a bit like a jigsaw puzzle with pieces that didn't quite fit into place, this was a well-written account from a child's perspective. While the ending left much to be desired, I was satiated with the author's online epilogue: http://jessicalourey.com/survey-two.

Whew, what a read!
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the story; yes it was incredibly soulful, thoughtful and awful all at the same time. I think for me, the difficulty was because of what the children had to deal with. It wasn't an easy, unemotional read, that's for sure!
Perfectly written to encapsulate the 80's era of what it was like to be a young teen during that time, I felt the story kept you hooked in all the right ways. In fact, I felt like I could have been Cassie riding my bike during the hot summer months to meet up with friends or investigate something that beyond my years. We all know we've been there!
Cassie, a young lady finding her way and her place in the world is stunted by the behavior of her parents who tell her not to say a word about what happens inside the walls of their house, or on their land. But when their parents mysterious parties shed light on what type of people her family associates with, it gets her thinking twice about what's right and wrong.
As if that's not enough to shake a young girl's world, teen boys start to get abducted. They're returned but never to be the same. Even being the outsider, not one of the cool kids, Cassie sets out to find out what's really happening and starts with the list of party attendees.
Crossing each suspicious person off her list, she realizes that everyone has secrets and no one is what they seem. Confusing to a child, Cassie starts to understand that adults are way more than they seem and not one is without a dark spot in their past.
I loved that I kept right up with Cassie on her theories and was totally caught off guard when the story truly unfolded.
If you haven't checked this book out yet, I highly recommend that you do! It's a must READ!!

I really enjoyed this book. I think it did a great job of amping up that suspense slowly. Killing me slowly as I wind towards the end desperate to know who was taking the children and what was up with Cassie’s dad.

I do agree with others that the ending was very abrupt, but, I also understand that there’s an epilogue online. I think I’ll go find that now and get a bit more of a wrap up!

Overall 4 star read for me. Left me a tad underwhelmed in the end, but is still a great little thriller with a good amount of suspense and nice characters!

This was a really great read , although it have me chills to read it. I wish there was a follow up chapter to how messed up or not they were as adults. I definitely look forward to reading more from Jess Lourey!!

I am not often freaked out by books, but this one was a doozy! Based on actual events, Unspeakable Things tell that story of 1980s Minnesota and chilling circumstances that are begging for a binge-able tv series.

Enthralling story set in a small town back in the 80's based on a family with two girls in seventh and ninth grades. The story is narrated by Cassie, the seventh grader and her take on their life. Her mom is a well-liked teacher and her dad is an artist who really has no boundaries and no set job except growing and selling pot and throwing huge parties. He is a war vet with many underlying issues. The town is full of interesting characters. Everyone knows everyone and everything that is going on. Well, almost everything anyways. Just before school ends for the summer, boys begin to disappear and then reappear changed in a sad sort of manner and the townsfolk are scared. Cassie decides to start investigating the crimes. Also around the same time her older sister Sephie starts acting weird as well.... Cassie is confused as to why the police haven't tracked down the pedophile on the loose yet because there are several suspects and several clues she puts together and her detective work starts to get her into some hot water. Then her main crush Gabe disappears and she is crushed. This a dark kind of thriller that is slow to get started but about two-thirds of the way through really picks up. Cassie alludes to the fact of abuse in her home and misbehavior on the part of her parents but never really talks about it honestly until the end of the book. Reading the epilogue (which was apparently cut from the book, why I can not imagine because it was a fabulous ending to the open-ended story) on the author's website really helped with closure for the book and I am glad I found my way to it through other's reviews on GoodReads. Definitely read it after finishing the book. Or just put it back in the book before it is published!!! Dark but interesting read! Thanks to NG for the ARC!

This story are told from Cassie point of view. It was a dark and disturbing story. It gets awful everytime something happened and there are so many unanswered questions. I don't know which one should I focus more. Cassie's dysfunctional family or sexual assault crime that happened to boys around the town? The ending urghhh please explain to me!! Why the hell it ends like that?


Thank you Netgalley and Jess Lourey for ARC of Unspeakable Things.

🌟🌟🌟

The author's bio in the back of the book says it all...

"Jess Lourey writes about secrets"

And this creeptastic book is filled with tons of them. Although this book is fiction, the author's note in the beginning says that "the story is inspired by real people and events," which only helps to make the book darker and creepier.

The book is about a small town with a lot of awful things going on - which reminded me a lot of Stephen King's Derry. At the heart of the book is a series of sexual assaults that are happening to the towns boys. This leads to a disappearance. And while the book is about identifying that horrible person responsible, there are a whole cast full of strange and slimy characters.

I was hoping that the book would sift through the cast of slimy characters and end up neatly sorting them out. Maybe there would even be a Boo Radley...you know, a guy that ACTS weird and sleazy, but proves himself to really be a nice guy. But nope, this doesn't happen. In the end, the creeps are still creeps, just with some of them worse than others.

Like many of the other reviewers have said, there are many things that are not addressed in the book. And yes, this is a book with a young adult protagonist, but it is billed as a "suspense novel - a thriller for adults." So we can handle a little more detail. I think I understand what was going on even though things were unsaid, but gah! The main character, Cassie, hasn't even had her period yet! Let's give her some guidance and love and just a little bit of hope? please?

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book.

If you are a fan of true crime, the eighties, or f**cking politeness then this is a book for you! Unspeakable Things is set in the summer of 1983 and is told from the point of view of Cassie who is 12 going on 13 and finishing up her last week of school before summer break. Cassie is excited to spend her summer playing on the farm with her sister Sephie, riding her bike around town, and working on her writing. All of that excitement changes when some of the boys of Lilydale start being taken by a masked man. The boys are returned but they're never quite the same.

The story is suspenseful, you won't trust a single adult that is introduced, and you'll second guess who the monster is until the very end. I also enjoyed Cassie's spunk. She was afraid of everything and nothing all at the same time. The author's note in the beginning also provides a callback to simpler times when kids could ride their bikes around town until very late in the night and parents didn't have to worry until stories of "Chester the Molester" emerged onto the scene.

The story does end abruptly but thanks to Chandra, AKA, @wherethereadergrows I knew to google the epilogue once I had finished.

TW: sexual assault, incest. murder, rape, kidnapping

2 STARS

"Inspired by a terrifying true story from the author’s hometown, a heart-pounding novel of suspense about a small Minnesota community where nothing is as quiet—or as safe—as it seems."

I really struggled to find an appropriate star rating for this book. I wanted to love it - it's based on a true crime incident that happened in the authors hometown - and the synopsis sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately this one just didn't click with me. I had trouble connecting with Cassie, which left some of the shockingly horrifying things that happened to and around her to fall flat for me. Our protagonist is very young which creates a bit of an "unreliable narrator" situation in several parts. Now, usually I enjoy books like this but I felt that almost too much was left up to the imagination of the reader. I felt t a bit disconnected from the story and was honestly expecting something much grittier.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC!

Every little town, neighborhood, home and person has it's secrets, it's weird side...it's sinister side. Lilydale certainly shows it's sinister side as boys begin to go missing. Fortunately they do come back, but damaged. Then as summer arrives one boy disappears and does not come back. This boy is special to our narrator, Cassie. Cassie has plenty to deal with already. She's on constant alert for the signals that dad will be reaching for the alcohol and that means hiding in her room, praying that he does not come up the stairs. She finds her stomach turning at her parents legendary summer parties...parties where adults quit bring their kids to a few years ago...parties that are truly "adults only", except for the fact that Cassie and her sister Sephie have to bartend. Now summer is here, the parties start, the special boy Gabriel is missing and Cassie wants to solve the mystery and, hopefully, save Gabriel. There are so many people to suspect. The creepy, leering police officer, the scary neighbor, the band teacher who still lives with his parents and everyone thinks is gay....Cassie even suspects her own father. We suspect all of these people right along with Cassie and find clues and answers as she does.
This is part coming of age, part surviving a dysfunctional home, part mystery and all of it works out to one terrific climax. I didn't want it to end. Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review. #Netgalley #UnspeakableThings

A dark, intense read. I like Jess Lourey's series of mysteries. If you enjoyed her mysteries I think many will be surprised how much better this book is than anything else she has written. It pulls you into a very intense and overwhelming story. At times it is unrelenting in it's grasp.

This was literally unputdownable.

I consumed it over 2 days (this would have been one but I needed to sleep).

Combining nostalgic 80s vibes with excruciatingly dark themes, this is a book I will be recommending to all of my friends this year. I loved the way it was written and the author did an incredible job at keeping the reader guessing and in getting them hooked from the first page.

This is a dirty and dark book, with some really awful subject matter.

I loved it and can't wait to read more from Jess Lourey.