I like the style this is written in - with different perspectives, a podcast, random visual media tied to the case, but it was predictable. Lindsey, the lead in the present, is pretty solid as a character but my god all of their relationships are so unhealthy. Her parents are literally the worst and she refuses to say it or own it or even see it. Like truly uncomfortably toxic without being overtly abusive. It was sickening. That's the solid writing though - that you can make a character believably delusional.

The end was disappointing, the red herrings were very obvious, and in the end it was just a bit of a trudge even if I felt the brutality of it all was well-written.

I think I'd give another book by this author a try, but this didn't really tick the boxes for me.

I recently read “The Lake of Lost Girls” by Katherine Greene, and I have to admit that true-crime thrillers, which have been very popular in recent years, might not be my cup of tea. Overall, I found the story a bit dull, lacking the big twists and surprises I was hoping for.

The inclusion of podcast elements, photos, and clippings was distracting for me as a reader. This is likely a personal preference, and a book with these elements might be perfect for others. Unfortunately, for me, it made the reading experience feel disjointed and less enjoyable.

If you love true crime podcasts, this book might be right up your alley. However, for me, it was a bit too flat and predictable.

In 1998/99, four young women disappeared from a college in a small North Carolina town. Twenty four years later, the body of one of them is discovered in a secluded lake. Which one? Lindsey is the younger sister of one of those girls; her family has never recovered from their loss. When a journalist wanting to write the story appears, he approaches Lindsey for assistance solving the mystery. As she digs down into the case, secrets are revealed and suspects identified, but does Lindsey really want to find out the truth?

Set in dual timelines and different POVs, the story is interspersed with podcast transcripts, interview notes, and newspaper articles. I have seen this technique used in other novels. It works successfully here. There is the danger of male predators as well as the effects of their behaviors on their many victims, including their families. Twists, turns, and red herrings lead the reader on a suspenseful journey in this engrossing, fast read.

The Lake of Lost Girls was an engaging, suspenseful, and intricately woven story. I particularly appreciated the diverse perspectives and the inclusion of podcast elements. It held my interest and delivered unexpected surprises! It made for a delightful fall read!

I love a good murder mystery and this one did not disappoint! A popular true crime podcast duo come to town to delve into the cold case disappearance of three college coeds missing from Southern State University over 15 years ago. (I kept picturing Appalachian State while reading it!) Lindsey's sister, Jessica, was one of them and she was the last one to see her before she disappeared when she went out to retrieve Lindsey's birthday cake. As body is found around the local lake and a news journalist, Ryan, asks to interview her, she is thrown into her own investigation to learn more about her idol, Jessica, and what happened to her. The police and university pushed the investigation under the rug even though all 3 girls had ties to a young professor and it is surprising that the families didn't push harder. Ryan's passion for answers leaves her guessing at his intentions and she begins to realize lies have been woven into pieces of the truth for years and years about Jessica, her college life, and even her own family where she has lived in the shadow of her big sister.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC! #NetGalley #TheLakeofLostGirls

This book was so good! I liked the plot line, the multiple timelines, characters flowed nicely and served a purpose and POVs and I kept going back and forth between several possible suspects. I didn’t see the end twist coming and really enjoyed it. This is my favorite so far of Greene’s work. Thanks to Crooked Lane Books for my eARC! The Lake of Lost Girls published this week!

Katherine Greene’s The Lake of Lost Girls is an exhilarating journey that pulls you into a world of suspense, sisterhood, and the chilling allure of true crime. Perfect for fans of I Have Some Questions for You, this novel takes a dark dive into the disappearance of Jessica Fadley, a freshman at Southern State University, and her sister Lindsey’s relentless search for answers two decades later.
Set in 1998, the novel begins with Jessica, a once-responsible student, who vanishes during a time when female students at her North Carolina university are mysteriously going missing. Despite her family's certainty that something sinister has happened, the authorities assume she simply left of her own accord. Her last known act—going to retrieve her sister’s birthday cake from her car, leaving the trunk open—leaves a haunting question mark.
Fast forward twenty-four years: Lindsey, Jessica’s younger sister, is haunted by the unresolved tragedy and desperate for closure. When a popular true crime podcast, Ten Seconds to Vanish, shines a spotlight on Jessica’s disappearance, Lindsey dives into her own investigation, feeling both hope and apprehension as the podcast revives long-cold cases. When bodies begin to surface in a local lake, her fear that one of them might be Jessica grows, as does the pressure to find out what truly happened.
The dual timeline narrative shifts seamlessly between Jessica’s final days and Lindsey’s present-day investigation, drawing readers into a shadowy labyrinth of lies, secrets, and chilling revelations. Greene skillfully explores the culture surrounding true crime, the impact of such tragedies on families, and the darker facets of human nature.
The pacing is taut, with each new discovery adding another layer of tension. For anyone who loves mystery with psychological depth and a twist of real-world true crime intrigue, The Lake of Lost Girls is a must-read. Katherine Greene has outdone herself, delivering a suspenseful, emotionally rich thriller that keeps you guessing until the very end.

Well written, but I think I might be burnt out of the podcast cold case young murdered girl plot that gas become so popular in recent years. But, if that genre is your thing, you’ll enjoy this book.

The Lake of Lost Girls was wildly twisted and complex, and had me squeamish in so many moments. It highlights the dangers of predators and the absolute audacity of men. This is not a light read and I had a hard time rating it for that reason. I did enjoy the format of the book, the dual timeline and podcast elements were fascinating and lended themselves well to driving the story forward.

Thank you to Mariners Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This alternating timeline thriller by Katherine Greene will keep you guessing until the very end. Lindsey Fadley has spent decades wondering what happened to her older sister, Jessica, who went missing from college during her freshman year. When a true crime podcast decides to explore the "lost girls" of Southern State University, Jessica included, Lindsey is approached by Ryan McKay, an investigative journalist, to work together and solve this buried mystery.

Readers are going to be shocked at some of the secrets that are uncovered in this book!

Thank you to @crookedlanebooks and Netgalley for my #gifted copy

I loved the way The lake of Lost Girls way reads with different times lines, multimedia, and so many things to be suspicious of. One of the multimedias is a pod cast where the younger sister tells what it’s like to grow up with a missing sister and all the complicated emotions that brings. I was so invested! Once I started I couldn’t stop, I had to know the next thing that would happen and who I could trust. The atmosphere in the small college town was so tense. Women are going missing and no one seems to safe.
4.5

First off, thanks to the publisher, authors, and NetGalley for the chance to read and give honest feedback

Happy Pub Day to this new adventure by the combo authors. Sadly, while entertaining, it felt extremely underdeveloped to hold my attention. I saw who the killer was by chapter 3, and the "plausible" replacements hadn't been given enough cause to make me think, "well maybe he did it." The younger sister was very 1 dimensional - perhaps that was the intent, but it was such a shallow amount of time to get to know her.

The sorority life is overdone lately for thrillers -- I was looking for huge suspense, and this was not it.

As mentioned, I WAS entertained by the podcast (true-crime) element and all of the social media and paper clippings!

I would like to give this duo another chance.

24 years ago, Lindsey’s sister Jessica went missing when she turned her back for 10 seconds. She was the last of four college girls who disappeared from the same school and none were ever found. In present day, a podcast is using their platform to bring attention to the case to find new evidence and amidst all the momentum, a body is found in a nearby lake. Is this finally the break Lindsey and her family have waited decades for? Or will they never get answers?

This was a fun read. I liked how it really kept me guessing up until the very end! I’ve heard the audio of this is great with a full cast - I imagine that to be fun during the podcast portions of this book. I would recommend checking this one out if you enjoy dual timeline mysteries, podcast tie-ins, and stories set at a college.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for a free digital and physical ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for the advanced copy of The Lake of Lost Girls! I really enjoyed this thrilling crime fiction. I was constantly guessing who did it until the very end. This was a fast-paced novel with multi-media aspects was fresh and compelling. Will definitely read this author again.

This is probably one of my top reads for 2024

20+ years ago Lindsey’s older sister Jess disappeared. Now with social media and podcast the story is reawakening. Was it the boyfriend or the teacher.

This was such a great book! I was engage the entire time. This is definitely a book you need to read not listen to, as there is podcasts and social media post mixed into the story. Reading it is the best way to soak it all in and feel involved with the storyline.

The twists were twisting and by the end of the story my jaw was on the ground!

Genre: Thriller
APK: Ebook
Pages: 317
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series or Standalone: Stand-alone

Thank you Crooked Lane Books for sending me a free copy of the book for an honest review.

Saw that ending coming from a mile away. And honestly there was very little development of Lindsey or Jess. I got bored halfway through and thought the plot “the little we get” just is a whole mess with too many unresolved answers. I also am begging authors to stop introducing podcasts into these type of thrillers. It just wrecked the flow of the chapters I was reading. It didn’t help that there were also photos and other things that just made it hard to even read/see.

This book follows the mystery of the disappearance of Jessica Fadley. She disappeared in 1998 along with three other girls at her college. Fast forward 24 years later and the police have found a body in the so-called Doll’s Eye Lake which was a special location to Jessica. With Jessica’s younger sister Lindsey still living in their hometown and with their parents, she starts trying to figure out who her sister was and who could have harmed her and the other missing girls. The book jumps from Lindsey in the present day, to Jessica back in 1998, and two podcast hosts in the UK musing (poorly) on the cold case and current investigation.

Lindsey was barely developed. I can get having a character wanting to figure out what happened to their sister. But all of the reveals we get shows that Lindsey has to be the most unaware person on Earth. Her “relationship” with Ryan, a reporter has also been done to death in similar thrillers so I was just bored by it at this point. Speaking of Ryan, I got nothing people. It wasn’t necessary and if Greene had cut him and just had Lindsey amateur sleuthing alone that would have worked better.

The character of Jessica. Look, I can’t say much about out it without spoilers, but there are some as a lot happening there that wasn’t subtle.

The podcasts hosts came across as insipid and uncaring and I assume Greene was using this book to take on that whole media of true crime podcasts, but it just had me annoyed every time they popped up because it was wrecking the flow. Also again, super similar to a book I just read a few weeks ago.

The other characters are not very well developed. The women just seem to be these beings that have no common sense in the men just can’t help themselves with their rage and emotions.

The writing wasn’t very great. I thought a lot of the dialogue just didn’t even sound right and I thought at times Jessica being back in 1998 just had a whole tone and back-and-forth and sounded like she was from the 80s or something. I don’t know it just felt wrong the whole time. I already told you that the flow was really messed up and it was I think going back-and-forth between Jessica and Lindsey and the podcast just made the entire book drag. I was getting really really tired of things by the 50% mark. It also didn’t help that I had already had that point figured out who did what to who so I was just bored and waiting for everybody else to catch up.

The setting of the book was confusing. It’s supposed to take place in North Carolina and I for some bizarre reason kept thinking this was taking place in upstate New York. I don’t know so that’s just let you know that the setting of a small town was not really well done.

The ending was just kind of a mess and a half, and I honestly don’t believe that some of the characters would have went along with things. I do have to say this, I really just need thriller/mystery authors to just write a good book. Please quit trying to turn things into the next Gone Girl or the Girl on the Train, and just write a good book. That’s all we need as readers. Please write something that’s good that does not have plot holes and makes you want to go into a corner and scream for several hours.

A must read book! The story is gripping and the dual timeline is perfect for this book. Lindsey’s sister Jessica went missing from Lindsey’s driveway on her 6th birthday. Jessica was getting Lindsey’s birthday cake out of her trunk and 10 seconds later she was gone. Years later a body is found in the small town lake and interest in Jessica’s disappearance is reignited along with a true crime podcast. The author includes multimedia including social media posts, podcasts, and news articles. I absolutely loved this approach. This is one of the best books I’ve read this year!

Jess disappeared 24 years ago, but her case is now cold. That is, until human remains are found at a local lake.

Lindsey, Jess’s younger sister, is now grown up but still living in her sister’s shadow. She meets journalist Ryan, and together they discuss the case. There is also a new viral podcast about Jess’s case. Soooo much is unveiled.

I loved the dual timeline and dual POV, interspersed with the podcast’s episodes. It created a lot of suspense, and kept pacing and interest. I was able to guess some reveals before they happened, but not the final twist.

I really appreciated the commentary on how, with missing persons, murder cases, or other crime stories, these are about real people. Their families and friends are grieving a real person. While it can be interesting or sad, and true crime junkies become very invested, we must continue to respect the people at the heart of these events.

Thank you Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When Jessica goes missing, her sister Lindsey decides to try to get to the bottom of what happened. But she isn't going to like what she finds out...

Wow, what a story. Give me all the twists and I'm a happy gal when it comes to thrillers. This book did exactly that! Superbly narrated on audiobook with the alternating podcast episodes, social media posts and storyline, I guarantee you will be as engrossed as I was with this one.

This book is now out so be sure to get yourself a copy!

What a gripping read! This story kept me guessing until the very end.
One of the aspects I most enjoyed were the red herrings scattered throughout the story. I was definitely kept on my toes, never certain about what was really happening. The layers of misdirection added so much to the suspense and mystery.
I also loved the unreliable narrators—they added a complex layer of uncertainty to the story, and I found myself constantly questioning what was true, what was fabricated, and what was simply skewed by the characters' perceptions. It made the journey through the book all the more unpredictable and compelling.
And the characters—wow. They were messy, flawed, and at times, unlikeable, but that only made them more fascinating.
Looking forward to more from these authors!