Gatsby-era mystery with noir vibes. A 1920s teen investigates her best friend’s disappearance in a world of speakeasies and secrets. Great period feel, plucky heroine, and a blend of cozy and dangerous. If you liked Stalking Jack the Ripper or Veronica Mars, this one’s for you.

Note: This is #2 in the Piper Sail Mystery series

I have not yet read the first book in this series but decided to give this one a try. I enjoy it and will go back to find the and read the first. Piper Sail wants to become a detective and living in Chicago during the 1920's there is no doubt she will have plenty of opportunities.

I enjoyed the book and think it will appeal to many YA persons who are finding it difficult to find a good old mystery. This appears to be a much cleaner series for those not seeking the heavy romance scenes. I would feel comfortable offering it to youth and am myself looking forward to the next installment.


Thank you NetGalley and Blink for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review

I love reading about the 1920s- and usually that reading takes place in New York so I was very excited to read about Chicago in the 1920s.

We follow Piper Sail- a rich girl who is not quite a full on flapper, but absolutely more progressive for her time with her bobbed hair and shorter hemlines- as she discovers her best friend has gone missing. Her best friend, Lydia, has seizures and herself doesn't know the extent of them. Piper is determined to help find Lydia in anyway she can- which in 1920 for a young girl, isn't very much. As Piper investigates deeper into her best friend's disappearance she discovers a darker side of Chicago that is closer to home than she realized.

Overall, this book was a well-paced and fun mystery. I enjoyed the perspective of being in Piper's mind and being in the present tense. I also really liked the characters. The cast was fairly large but not impossible to keep track of. The characters felt like real people- honestly I could have read 100 more pages just about their day to day lives though that wouldn't have served the plot at all.

While I knew this book would focus on the underground crime in Chicago, the direction it took surprised me a little. No spoilers but it wasn't an unwellknown crime but I thought it was going in a different direction.

I really enjoyed this mystery and definitely look forward to following Piper Sail on more adventures!

this book meant a lot to me during my high school years. i would reread it yearly. when i found out that there was going to be a reprint, i jumped at the chance to read it. and let me tell you, it’s still a hit!!! the plot? amazing! the twists? fantastic! i’m calling it now: 2025 is the year of Piper Sail 🙂‍↕️✨

I really enjoyed this book. The book is set in the 1920s and you can tell the author did lots of research to make you really feel like your there in time. The mystery kept me wanting to read it and I love how the story develops as well as the characters. This book had mystery, suspense, and romance - Mariano’s character was so sweet and I loved how supportive and kindly protective he was. I have to add I love sidekick and what he brings to the story lol. I definitely would recommend this book if you enjoy a good ya mystery. Thank you Netgalley so so much for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

"To most people, Piper Sail looks like a rich girl with little potential, but she surprises everyone, including herself, when she starts investigating her best friend's disappearance. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Maureen Johnson, The Lost Girl of Astor Street combines the allure of Jazz Age Chicago with a twisting mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Lydia has vanished. Lydia, who's never broken any rules, except falling in love with the wrong boy. Lydia, who's been Piper's best friend since they were children. Lydia, who never even said goodbye.

Convinced the police are looking in all the wrong places, eighteen-year-old Piper Sail begins her own investigation into Lydia's disappearance. With the reluctant help of a handsome young detective, Piper searches for answers in the dark underbelly of 1924 Chicago. Did Lydia get abducted by one of the city's most notorious gangsters? Or does the trail lead back to their own affluent neighborhood?

Piper must decide if she's willing to risk her life to find out the truth."

This series would be right up my grandma's alley.

“The Lost Girl of Astor Street” is a re-release from 2017.

Piper Sail is about to graduate from high school when her best friend Lydia goes missing. Piper will do anything to find her friend and bring her home, even if that means going to the seediest parts of 1920s Chicago. Her investigation uncovers secrets among families she has known her entire life. Her search for answers is aided by a handsome young detective and an unlikely canine companion.

The first in a series, “The Lost Girl of Astor Street” is a bit like a more sophisticated Nancy Drew book. Piper Sail is bold and smart. She’s not a fan of society’s expectations for women and girls, but also understands that sometimes she needs to dial it back a bit to get what she wants or needs. Piper’s life is not all sunshine as her father prepares to re-marry and bring a young bride into the family. Her relationship with her older brothers is fraught, but she knows that they love her. Piper’s social circle is well-developed and supportive. Piper is forced to mature during the course of the book when Lydia disappears and she is forced to confront some uncomfortable truths about her family and her own behavior. The story is a compelling page-turner.

This book is great for readers who enjoy historical fiction and complicated relationships.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and Blink, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a great mystery, the setting the characters were all just marvelous. The description of this book fascinated me but the story hooked me, I felt for Piper as she went through the agony of dealing with her friend Lydia's disappearance, also interesting was how the author dealt with Lydia's epilepsy which for the time period was still a mystery, generally how the author wrote made the period feel real. I'll definitely read more of Piper and buy this when it comes out.

I have had this book from Netgalley for a while before getting round to Reading it.
Classed as mystery / thriller and Young adult I feel that this has come down on the side of a YA read to the detriment of the mystery thriller element.
It has elements of narrative that relate back to an earlier time of perhaps only a few years .
I thought the characters were interesting and well portrayed. The writing style was clear and easy to follow.
For me it lacked any real thrill - the mystery was there but I almost felt that it was lost in some of the elements of Piper's and Lydia's home life.

I cannot see me reading any more in the series

This book was great. It reminded me a lot of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, specifically the mc piper. She's headstrong and bold, but there's a bit about her that keeps her vulnerable. It kind of felt like two separate books due to us finding out about Lydia so soon into it (about 50%) and there's a slight disconnect between the two halves. I loved the romance and am hoping for more in book two, it was really well written and even though the conflict between Piper and Mariano was solved quickly, it worked. If you liked AGGGTM, I think you would enjoy this too :)

It's been a while since I've read this book, and with book two on the horizon, I wanted to give this a reread before I dove into book two. And my goodness, it was even better than I remembered it! I adore Piper and Lydia and Mariano and was brought to tears several times by Piper's staunchness in finding her friend. She would do anything for Lydia and isn't afraid to do things that many girls her age (or her status) would even think of doing. Mariano's support of her, his kindness and assistance, all green flags for me! It was honestly so refreshing to read a mystery that is twisty and had me on the edge of my seat (again, I'd even read it before!) without the explicit language or scenes. Morrill is a master mystery writer and I hope for even more Piper Sail books!

This was a fun cozy mystery! This one was the perfect amount of intrigue with such lovable characters! Of course as the reader you get frustrated with the "amateur" making decisions that aren't smart, but I loved that she had sensible people in her life. For a time you didn't know who the love interest would be which was fun. It was overall so much fun and I want to read more from this author.

Set in the 1920s, The Lost Girl of Astor Street is an Agatha Christie-esque mystery with Piper Sail, a spunky 18 year old, as the sleuth. When her best friend, Lydia, goes missing, Piper uses all of her wits and cunning to find out what happened. No one is who they seem to be in this book. There are all sorts of twists and turns leading to the dramatic conclusion. This book is perfect for anyone who likes amateur detective stories sprinkled with a little romance and danger.

I received an advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

A richly atmospheric historical mystery set in 1920s Chicago, The Lost Girl of Astor Street swept me away with its compelling blend of intrigue, vivid setting, and a fiercely determined heroine. Piper Sail is smart, bold, and refreshingly ahead of her time as she searches for her missing best friend amidst secrets, danger, and the shadowy world of organized crime.

Stephanie Morrill brings the Roaring Twenties to life with sharp detail—from opulent mansions to smoky speakeasies—while weaving a twisty, satisfying mystery that kept me hooked. I loved the balance of suspense, subtle romance, and themes of friendship and courage.

Chicago in the 20's - check
Plucky heroine who is carving her own path - check
A dog with a GREAT name - check
Page turning mystery - check
Interesting family dynamics across multiple families - check

Piper and Lydia are neighbors & best friends nearing the end of their senior year of high school. They grew up together and Lydia's parents are a bit more "proper" and expect a bit more from Piper - often times having Piper think she's a bad influence on Lydia with their antics. But Lydia's parents are keeping a secret from Lydia, and have sworn Piper to secrecy - once the secret comes out, Lydia comes to say goodbye to Piper (she's leaving town for a bit), but after she leaves Piper's front walk way in Piper's coat, she goes missing.

This simply will not do for Piper, who makes it her job, safety be damned, to find out what happened to her best friend. Was she taken, if so by whom? Did she leave on her own? Was Lydia mistaken for Piper?

She meets friends and foes along the way, decides dogs and babies aren't as scary as she once thought, and learns a bit about herself as well. It's always great to see characters grow.

I'm so pleased that this is the first in a series, I'm very much looking forward to spending more time with Piper and Sidekick (and Mariano).

Not giving this a public rating as I found the book was not for me. It's incredibly slow in the open and by the time things started happening I wasn't feeling it. It has a lot of love, so I've just rated this a NFM read. Thank you for the opportunity.

Oh man, it's forcing a star review - so sorry.

Piper Sail is due to graduate soon but has no real idea what she wants to do next. She shares everything with Lydia, who lives three houses down on the affluent Astor Street, but then discovers her best friend has a big secret of her own! When Lydia vanishes after leaving Piper’s home everyone is worried but she has never been able to sit and do nothing and almost before she realises it Piper is investigating and getting to know one of the detectives assigned to Lydia’s case. With everyone keeping secrets and the name of a notorious Chicago gangster keep appearing Piper is determined to find Lydia and make everything return to normal.  This is Chicago in the 1920's however, and nothing is going to be normal ever again.

Originally published in 2017 this is re-released to coincide with the second in what could easily become a must read young adult mystery series with a great main protagonist in Piper Sail. Red herrings abound with numerous possible reasons for Lydia’s disappearance alongside family secrets, romance, gangland rivalry, and even a shaggy dog story to keep the reader entertained in a most satisfactory manner.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Blink, but the opinions expressed are my own. I thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to reading book two very soon.

I didn’t enjoy this book, all a bit twee really, was an 18-year-old girl in the American 1920’s really going the disappearance of her friend and then of course there had to be the handsome young men and the faithful dog!! Not for me and I couldn’t recommend. My thanks to Net Galley and the author for an ARC.

I absolutely loved this cozy little mystery novel. I really loved that it was set in Chicago during Prohibition and that we got to see what life was like during the 1920s. I really enjoyed Piper's character and I really felt for her when she learned that her father was getting remarried and then her best friend went missing. I enjoyed watching her overcome her fear of dogs and learning to live her life without her mom.

I enjoyed this mystery and the journey back in time! I look forward to reading the next book in the series!