Phew! This was a RIDE. Between the podcast transcripts, alternating timelines and different POVs I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to keep it all straight. Thankfully that wasn't the case, the way that Katherine wrote it, not only was it easy to follow but everything added to the story in a way that made it that much more mysterious.

This thriller was SO well done. I loved the plot and the way the author kept leading me down different rabbit holes. It was twist after twist but not in an overdone way and the ending floored me. I suspected everyone, except the actual killer. HOW?!

Do yourself a favor, go ahead and mark your calendar for November 5th, clear the day and fall into this book.

Katherine Greene knocked it out of the park! Really enjoyable read for true crime lovers like myself. Huge thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for an advanced copy of this book. It was a pleasure to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Publication date November 5, 2024.

4.5 ⭐️’s

This one is for my true crime lovers out there. This book was captivating, jaw dropping and one I absolutely couldn’t put down!!

This was my first book by this author and I AUTOMATICALLY bought the other one already out!

I absolutely loved the writing style, I’m usually not one to love podcasts in my book, but this was do so effortlessly. It gave a bit of comedy even though the plot was dark. I appreciated that so much!

It paints you a picture of women who go to college and don’t really know themselves. They’re trying to figure out who they want to be, how they want to act, and they are easily manipulated by peers or adults that are in their lives. These women were targeted because of this and that may be hard for some people to read about. So keep that in mind.

There were so many plot twists and jaw dropping moments, especially the end. Did not see that one coming AT ALL. There are moments when I figured out little things, but this book was so enjoyable that didn’t even matter to me. I buddy read this book with a good friend which made it even better to be able to talk it out!

Eternally grateful to NetGalley and the author, Katherine Greene for writing such an amazing thriller! I could not recommend this book more!!

I received this an ARC from Netgalley and I hate to write a negative review, but this book, was difficult. I didn't hate it, it engaged me enough but it wasn't surprising "who done it". The part I struggled with the most, and SPOILER, was the father. I don't know if he was written to be creepy pedo vibes, but then the author was too afraid to go there? Super weird relationship. Promise ring. Special alone time only with his one daughter. Alienation of the mother to the extent she had to have her *own* child? It was so obvious that they had an inappropriate relationship being foreshadowed, then it just ended up being nothing, just a weird relationship that didn't make any sense. It's almost like two different people wrote parts of the book, it was so disjointed in personalities of not just the dad, but Jessica too. The second issue was Ryan. He was clearly not a hero and so unlikeable even when the story plays out, he still is abusive and controlling and has no redeemable qualities, its like you wanted us to like him, then maybe ooh, bad guy, then ah, like him again.. but you can't, because he's also a predator of a different nature. This book was just a hard book for me to decide how I feel about it... but I don't think I can recommend it.

This review was posted on my Goodreads-account on March 19th.

The premise sounded very promising. Disappearances, mysterious lake and so on but unfortunately the story kind of drags. In my notes I’ve written that there’s a lot of non-relevant information in the first few chapters where focus should be put into introducing the plot and characters rather than giving information such as the main character’s father is good-looking.

Some good aspects of the story are that I feel like Greene had a solid idea and that she has captured this small-town/collective trauma in an emotional way. I liked the different formats in the book with the podcast script, that was a fun little twist.

All in all. Solid idea but the execution could use some work.

I had fun reading and guessing the twists in the story. I like how it was modern, with the use of podcast and media to increase the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the girls. It got me hooked on reading the multiple POVs and changing timelines. Overall, I think it was a really good mystery.

4 ⭐️

this book was 🤌🏻 it has alternate timelines, alternating POV’s, cold case crime, podcast transcripts, instagram posts, and lots of twists and turns! i’m a true crime girlie and this was everything you could you want in a thriller!

i was so invested in this book and looked forward to reading it. there were enough interesting plot points thrown in to keep you fully engaged, waiting to see how it would end. there were plenty of suspects to keep you guessing and wondering which theory would be correct. i found the ending very satisfying, even though i called about 80% of it.

my criticism would be that i think some details could have been more flushed out towards the ending. i felt like i need more from jess’s POV, particularly during the incidents, and i think that may have satisfied the need to know what was going on in her head.

thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane books for the advanced reader copy and allowing me to give my review!

I really enjoy the true crime/podcast perspective in books.
The book was a little predictable and I felt like more details could have been added to provide depth to the storyline.
The flashbacks were hard to follow at times.
Some of the book felt very repetitive and simple. The foreshadowing from the author easily gave away some of the twists. I prefer to relate or enjoy characters and all of the characters just seemed bland.
Overall the ending did surprise me and I did enjoy the idea of this story.
Did not hate it, but did not love it either.

Really enjoyed this book. Lots of twists and turns. Many great suspects. Loved the setting and creepy lake vibes. A great thriller

Enjoyable read! Very compelling, I finished it in 3 days. Lots of potential suspects. I caught on to the twist halfway through but kept on through the end. The level of police incompetence was borderline overdone… to not call 4 murdered girls from the same school the work of a serial killer?? Come on. Anyway, great book and interesting mixed media format. Free ARC in exchange for my review. Thanks NetGalley!

I honestly can’t put into words how much I enjoyed this book! The storyline is amazing and I was constantly thrown through a loop with the “who done it” vibes of the book. The book is really well written and I am still shocked by the conclusion of this book… I had many different theories but I was not expecting that! Thank you so much for allowing me to read this book it was an easy 5 star read for me!

Some of my favorite reads lately have been focused on solving cold cases with a podcast involved. I was so excited to read The Lake of Lost Girls. The first half started strong and really caught my attention. The second half spent too much time on the point of view of Jess and started to feel repetitive. I feel like so much of the focus being on Jess also allowed me to figure out the twist in this book. I think if more time was focused on Lindsey and her search for what happened the twist could have been more surprising. I am giving the book 3 stars because I do think it is worth the read. I enjoyed many of the characters. Thank you Crooked Lane, Katherine Greene, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

I struggled with this. The characters didn't feel fully fleshed out, nor did their motives. The ineptitude of the police department was really unbelievable. Four college students disappear within months of each other and you don't think these incidents are related? I felt like I had mostly guessed the ending, but that was a twist that was unexpected -- but then it felt rushed and like there wasn't much to explain the motivation.

This book had me hooked from the cover, so I requested an ARC. Boy, it did not disappoint. Just when you think you have it figured out, you're given a 180.
I loved all the characters and the author's descriptions were so good, the locations in the story, made you feel like you were right there watching it

The Lake of Lost Girls by Katherine Greene plunges readers into the chilling depths of a cold case mystery, promising a blend of suspense, intrigue, and the indomitable spirit of sisterhood. Yet, as the murky waters of the narrative ebb and flow, the novel struggles to keep its head above water, particularly in the execution of its plot and the development of its characters.

Set against the haunting backdrop of Southern State University in 1998, a series of student disappearances casts a long shadow over the campus. Among the vanished is Jessica Fadley, whose life’s downward spiral becomes the vortex of the story. Fast-forward two decades, and we find Jessica’s sister, Lindsey, desperately searching for answers, with a true crime podcast providing her with a new lead.

The novel’s suspense is its lifeline, with true crime podcast snippets lending a modern edge to the tale, even though their presence more irksome than insightful. The narrative relies heavily on convenient plot devices, which can detract from the overall believability of the story. The most jarring misstep is the handling of Jessica’s corpse’s whereabouts and how it remained hidden for so long—a corpse shrouded in nothing but merely old sheets, undiscovered for years. 💀?!?

In its essence, “The Lake of Lost Girls” is a narrative that yearns to captivate with its fresh take on the thriller genre, weaving in the allure of true crime. Yet, the tapestry it weaves is frayed, the execution of key plot points needing a more meticulous hand to render a story that resonates with authenticity. For those who can navigate past the shoals of certain plot inconsistencies, there may still be treasures to be found in the suspenseful undercurrents of Greene’s creation.

Great title and cover! What I liked most about this horror/mystery was the use of different timelines, POVs, and social media posts. The clippings and posts made the story feel more vivid and upped the fear factor. I also liked the many twists and turns the story took and the face that the ending surprised me. Recommended for mystery/horror fans. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

24 years ago, a college student from Mt Randall, North Carolina, went missing and her case was closed without any solution. Lindsay, the then 6year old younger sister of the missing girl, Jess, had spent the better part of her life blaming herself for the 10 seconds that she looked away from Jess before she went missing. Now that human remains were found from the Doll's Eye lake, will she be able to uncover the truth of her sister's fate?

The beginning was quite good but as the story proceeded it became a bit too descriptive and repetitive. While I appreciate that it is yet to undergo editing, some parts were honestly gonna put me into a reading slump. Nevertheless, I'm glad I chose to complete it rather than DNFING because the last half of the book was great. The overall plot is brilliantly imagined and the jumping timelines made it better. The ending was definitely unexpected and to all those who are currently reading this, I would advise them not to give up on the book. The climax is worth the time.

Recommended to everyone who likes crime thrillers and dark mystery novels/serial killer crime thrillers.

Right off the bat with the cover I was really excited to read this book. There was always something happening and it never lingered long enough to get stale. It was a relatively quick read which i really appreciate. Towards the end I had to stop doing to podcasters accents in my head because I wanted to read faster.
I had a handful of endings in my mind that I was anticipating and only one of my many many predictions was kind of right, by no means the biggest one and I did not guess the motive or means so this kept me guessing until literally the very last page.
At the beginning I was a little off put because I felt like the characters were flat and the interactions were based more off of what the authors thought would be convenient rather than actions that a 3 dimensional character would take. After about 25% I didn’t feel like that as much and once we got deeper I was fully invested in the story. It felt nice to feel like I was making quick progress so I really enjoy this length and type of book.
I still think the character development left some things to be desired but it wasn’t totally necessary. I think I just would have liked their motivations in the beginning particularly to feel more natural.

I think a 5 star would develop the characters in some subtle ways that the reader can infer towards the beginning, spend a bit more time showing us Lindsey’s relationship with her parents rather than her telling us about it (although it was shown in a couple places) and give us just one or two more subtle hints to the twist.

I know I don’t always need to understand a characters motivations, some people make decisions that are incomprehensible, especially in a scenario like this where there are incredibly high stakes and emotions, but I needed a little bit more development of the main dynamic to understand why the guy did what he did and for me to empathize as much as I could have.

Most of what I didn’t like was towards the beginning and I don’t know if that’s just because I didn’t know the characters well or what but I had a lot of negatives notes and lack of characterization and some flat feeling writing before I got too enthralled to keep taking notes.

Overall I really enjoyed it and I can definitely say this was a page turner.

This was a pretty good mystery. Between chapters were podcast snippets and posts. The timeline alternates between the vanished girl in the last and her sister in present day.

I thought it was pretty good and kept me guessing for a good while. I figured it out at a certain point, but I always see a mystery through to see the true tale. I prefer to not figure it out until maybe like 75% rather than as early as I did, but I thought this was a fairly good mystery.

I did wish that the main character was more developed. I know mysteries are all about pacing but we seemed to just get thrown in without even learning too much about her

WOWWWW!! What a crazy adventure!! By utilizing multiple different storytelling methods such as podcast transcripts, social media posts, newspaper clippings, press releases, alternating timelines/POVs, this book really brought a unique spin to the classic cold case serial killer trope.

There was no shortage of suspects with this one, and at times it almost gave me whiplash going back and forth with my theories as more and more info was revealed. By about half way through, I felt I had it figured out and was so excited to see it unfold that I could not put the book down until I had all my answers!

While I was about 75% correct in my theory, I still thoroughly enjoyed watching this one play out. It was like peeling back the layers of an onion… the beautifully crafted complexities of each character and the way the story was so masterfully written that it leapt off the page into vivid illustrations in my mind - absolute chef’s kiss! 👌

4.25 ⭐️ I’m calling it now - this thriller will be a huge hit!

Thank you to NetGalley & Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this digital ARC. All opinions are 100% my own.