I read this one in one sitting at work because I just could NOT put it down. Our narrator, Marti, lost her sister years ago when she disappeared at age 18. Marti now hosts a podcast that covers the disappearances of young girls, including her own sister. One day she gets a message saying that her sister's case could be connected to the death of another young girl, and the rest of the story just flows from there. I sort of saw the twists coming, but it didn't stop them from being really good. I've been listening to a lot of podcasts about possible wrongful convictions, so the element of that in here kept me wanting to read on as well. All in all one of my favorites I've read this year!

This book was such an interesting read. I love true crime podcasts so I knew I needed to check this book out. While there are some parts that seem a bit unrealistic, I think that the author really nailed what it would be like to be in the position of losing a sibling and starting a podcast to solve it. It was an absolutely twisted and sad tale. I would have given it five stars, but I had solved a few of the twists before they happened, and I wish I had been caught completely off guard.

The Lost Girls is an absorbing thrill ride that deals with serious issues revolving around true crime podcasts and the podcaster’s personal problems. The lost Girls takes the reader into the minds of all the characters and leaves the reader wanting more. The pace is just right, and the readers are mesmerized by the machinations of the well-drawn players. Readers will want to follow the author who will soon be heard from.

DNF at 48%

The premise of this book sounded interested with a Podcaster trying to determine if the case of her missing sister and a woman's solved homicide are linked. I didn't like the main character making it harder for me to continue. I got to a point where I didn't care if the two cases were linked so it was best to DNF.

Wow! This author has an ability to bring together certain characters that may not work in other books. Marti Reese was much younger when she witnessed the abduction of her older sister several yrs ago. Now after all of those years she gets a call from the morgue with information that the body that was just brought in might be her sisters. All I can say is if you want to read a great book with many plot twists, this is it. Hold on to oyour seat.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/ publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.,

A page turning psychological thriller-mystery. As with Gone Girl or The Silent Patient, there are twists I wasn't expecting. Marti Reese saw her 16 year old sister Maggie get into a car when she was only eight years old. It's been 20 years and it is now an unsolved cold case. Was she abducted? Did she run away? Marti suffers from survivors guilt and it affects every aspect of her life. She and best friend Andrea do an award winning podcast about the case in hopes of generating new leads. Ava Vreeland contacts them about her brother who is serving time for killing another girl years later. She suggests he is wrongly convicted and there might be a connection with the cases. Marti thinks this can be the next season for the podcast.

This is for anyone who enjoys mystery/thrillers. Jessica Chiarella's debut novel is well written and complex. I felt empathy for Marti and the impact of a missing sister on her life. She is never going to be a happy character but you know what drives her even when you don't like her choices. The book has language but isn't graphic for violence or sex. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group (Putnam) for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Marti thought she was keeping her life in control. Until she gets the call that there is an unidentified female in the morgue that could be her sister. You see, Marti's sister was last seen getting into a car at age 16 when Marti was 8. All grown up and still desperate to know what happened to Maggie all those years ago, Marti now produces a crime podcast regarding Maggie's and other lost girls disappearances.
I liked the multiple mysteries going on in the book at one time. I liked some characters and loved to hate others. I didn't entirely believe that Marti could be so productive while drunk or hungover most of the time. I did understand her need to find the truth and was hopeful throughout that she would get some.

Thank you to netgalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the arc

The Lost Girls was a great mystery/thriller that features the newly minted favorite in these books...the crime podcast.

The story itself moves quickly, it is easy to read and holds your attention. I appreciate this, as there is nothing worse than reading a thriller/mystery that is such a slow burn it does not hold your attention.

The writer does a good job at showing both the emotional and physical aspects of having a long-term missing person in the family.

Lots of twists and turns which are always welcome, and a plus when I read, it makes the thriller...dare I say...more thrilling? The Lost Girls keeps you on your toes and keeps you turning pages.

This book is another great thriller for me. A debut novel by Jessica Chiarella that is so good. I thought it was going to be another mystery to solve but it's so much more. It has all the excitement you want in a thriller. Yes it has some mystery to it but the thrills are not to be forgotten. There are many of them. Lots of action in this book. That made it a five star read for me.

The story of a sister who does not want to give up her search for her older sister who went missing many years before. Marti lost her older sister when she was only eight years old. Maggie was last seen getting into a car. She was sixteen. Just a child. But was she taken or did she just run away? Marti and her best friend Andrea have a podcast and have just won a nice award for it. It's their first season and it's all about Maggie and what could have happened to her. Marti wants answers. It seems she may get some when she receives a call from someone claiming to know something. But is she being honest? Is what she has to say really to help Marti?

This book will take you through many ups and downs. Many twists and turns. Your mind will go in several different directions. But you won't figure this one out. At least not all of it. And if you do you may just be wrong. There are two girls missing. One is found dead. Are they linked? Who could have done this? Follow Marti's story and you will find some answers. You will find out who is evil. I mean evil to the very core. Without a soul. A cold blooded murderer. Or is that another curve?

This book was a fast read. It held my attention from start to finish. From all the horrors and all the sadness. I liked the characters. Even the ones that ended up being bad. Of course after I found out who was that bad I didn't like them as much. That is a given. But for the most part they are all likable. I felt for Marti's soon to be ex. I also was a bit upset with Marti for all the drinking she did. It had to be hard to hold down her job being drunk or hungover so much. But what do I know. Except that this a great book. Well written. Well thought out. Well played.

Thank you to #netgalley, #jessicachiarella, #penguingroupputnam for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book.

5/5 stars. A high recommendation to anyone that loves a good thriller...

A huge thank you to NetGalley and JP Putnam's Sons for the advance copy of this book!
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I have been in a huge light summer romance read space, so this was a hard left turn back into the thriller genre, and I loved it! I have seen a lot of novels using the podcast troupe when writing about cold case crimes or serial killers, and while the main character is a podcaster, the story doesn't rely on media as a means of story telling. The reader is never reading excerpts from the podcast itself, and rarely is "present" for any recording. I found this a really fascinating way to tell the story without using the plot device you expect them to.
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There is a flip in discovering exactly what crime will be solved within the book, if any at all (no spoilers here lol), and how any of the characters are linked. I found the central characters to be compelling, but would have loved to get to know some them a bit better than we are allowed to as the reader. I also found the final quarter of the book to be jam packed with information, which coming from the slower-paced start, felt like Chiarella was trying to tie up loose ends quickly. I would have been okay with making the novel a few pages longer and keeping the initial pacing, or perhaps sliding a few more clues in earlier, so there was less explanation needed toward the end. All in all, a really engaging read.

I love true crime podcasts and books about them! This book was a little tough for me to get into but it was a good read. I'd suggest it for true crime podcast fans.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC. All opinions are completely my own.

I thought this would be a mystery, but it's actually more a psychological thriller. Really wanted the murders and abductions resolved for Marti. I stayed up far too late hoping and reading.

I have only gotten into the thriller genre within the past year, but I have read several and this one was great! I loved the twists and turns, as well as the connections between the characters. I always enjoy it when the author connects multiple story lines.

Marti Reese has been living with the loss of her sister for 20 years. It has run everything for her. So much so that she decides to make a podcast about it that wins her an award. There are a lot of books featuring podcasts right now but this one has the podcast feeling more like a supporting character than a main one. It is a riviting story that will keep you engaged.

Wow. I could not turn the pages fast enough. This book hooked me from page one and I couldn’t stop.
Marti is punishing herself for her sisters disappearance many years ago. Oh Marti , you loveable train wreck !
I enjoyed this book more than I expected and I highly recommend this book!

Marti Reese's life has imploded, again. She was doing okay, keeping the monsters and her thoughts locked away. Until she gets the call she longs for and fears. An unidentified body has been found, and it closely resembles her sister Maggie who vanished when Marti was eight years old.
Once the lid is off Marti's control of her demons, she walks away from her marriage and her safe life. Bartender by night, true-crime podcaster by day, Marti wants to do the right thing for all the lost girls and their families. A successful first season brings Ava Vreeland to her door.
Fighting to free her brother Colin from prison for a murder she swears he did not commit, Ava wants Marti and her podcast to find the truth. The victim, Sarah Ketchum, a girl who bears a resemblance to Maggie. If Colin didn't kill Sarah, the real killer may still be out there. If Marti finds him, she might have a lead to her sister.
Marti was seriously out of control. Every decision she makes has the potential to hurt her. She cannot get over the guilt of her role in her sister's disappearance, and I was wondering throughout The Lost Girls if finding Maggie dead or alive would actually help Marti. Marti's self-harming behavior was hard to read at times, and I just wanted her to find some closure. The truth about Colin will lead her to a very dangerous place as she learns the truth about Sarah's killer. I kept furiously flipping pages and without spoilers, I wouldn't mind seeing Marti again.

Marti makes a popular podcast about her sister who disappeared when she was 8 years old. She is contacted by Ava who thinks her brother was unfairly imprisoned for a murder. She believes the real murderer also took Marti's sister. Can Marti trust Ava, her husband or her brother? There are lots of mysteries along the way. I wish there was an answer for Marti's sister but I know in real life there are often too many cold cases.

I absolutely couldn’t wait to read this fast pace thriller that immediately was engrossing. Perfect setting and relatable characters are the ideal foundation for a stellar book.

This is absolutely a big winner! Ultra tense, extremely dark, uniquely heart breaking, depressing! If you suffer from anxiety attacks like me, just visualize your happy place and choose your best poisons during your read to consume! This is so much effective, shaking you to the core, leaving scars at your soul, squeezing your heart tight!

After I finished my reading and making breathing exercises to lower my heart rate , I wanted to scream so loud to reflect my confusing feelings ! I got tensed, my palms are snow white from clenching my fists so tight. I have never felt so sorry for a main character for so long.

But Marti! Oh Marti! When do you stop to punish yourself? I got mad to see the way how she treats herself. She slowly kills herself with the worst choices she’s made, alienating the people who care her, drinking to death, trying so hard to destroy herself to become somebody else! Somebody is deserved to be loved, garish in her desire to be wanted, to be noticed. But now she’s waterlogged, sad, divorced, turning herself into a goth chic bartender. And she still hasn’t found her sister.

Her heartbreaking story starts two decades ago. Her sixteen years old sister Maggie has been lost from her hometown Sutcliffe Heights, Illinois. She got in a car with a man perhaps she has known, perhaps he spotted her walking home alone. Even the car she rode was mystery: a Sedan but what color? Blue, grey or silver. It was twilight so it’s difficult to differentiate the real color for only eight years old Marti. Her sister let go off her hand and she told her to run. Scared Marti did she’s told.

Her true crime podcast she produces with her best and only friend Andrea becomes an overnight sensation. She gets a call from coroner tells her Jane Doe #4568 has arrived at Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. The girl had left on the street outside of Illinois Masonic Medical Center during thunderstorm. Her age scale and her tattoo choice ( lizard on her thigh which was Maggie’s favorite animal) fits with Maggie’s description.

Marti and Andrea document everything and Marti kept prying to have second chance for finding her sister and DNA test answers her prayers. The girl is not her!

But her nightmares never end! After the podcast turns into an unexpected hit, she thinks she can move on, ignoring silent calls, false leads. Her family already paid too much: her father’s heart failed because of extreme pressure. Her mother reflected her anger and resentment to her. And her life is into pieces. She’s a human waste cannot deal with her grief properly.

But a call from Ava Vreeland, a respectful doctor who is doing everything to bring out justice for falsely accused brother changes everything.

A woman named Sarah Ketchum was strangled to death seven years ago and buried in LaBagh Woods. The girl has spitting image of Maggie, spending her summers at their hometown. She was at the same age with Maggie when she has disappeared.

Could those cases be connected? Could Ava’s brother Colin be convicted from a crime he didn’t commit? Could a killer still be out there lurking around to take the lost girls?

Marti already suffers from self destruction so getting herself into more dangerous situations will be obvious choice for her. She cannot stop till she finds Maggie!

This book is more powerful, effective, extremely intense and depressing from the other crime thrillers with true crime podcast premise. First person narration, the realistic definition of grief, amazing character portraits, realistic definition of self destruction were impeccably developed.

I highly recommend this book to the genre lovers who can appreciate real taste of impactful thrillers and perfectly written stories!
It’s freaking good! I honestly love to put it on your radar!!!

Special thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN PUTNAM GROUP/ G. P. Putnam’s Sons for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Books about podcasts are really hot right now. This is my 4th this year. Hooked from page one, this book will blow your mind! Brilliant writing full of twists and turns, going to buy all of Jessica Chiarella’s books now!

This story is so good and it’s one I feel you should go in knowing nothing.... go in without any details and you are in for one wild ride! Amazing and brilliant!!