I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Lake of Lost Girls: A Novel by Katherine Greene Published by Penguin Random House, Crooked Lane Books on November 5, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense
Pages: 319
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley
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Goodreads
A 2024 November LibraryReads Pick
Told in alternating timelines, The Lake of Lost Girls is a haunting novel that will thrill fans of All Good People Here and We Are All the Same in the Dark.
Using suspenseful podcast clips to weave a twisty tale of a missing student and her sister who is desperate for answers, The Lake of Lost Girls is perfect for fans of I Have Some Questions for You.
It’s 1998, and female students are going missing at Southern State University in North Carolina, but freshman Jessica Fadley, once a bright and responsible student, is going through her own struggles. Just as her life seems to be careening dangerously out of control, she suddenly disappears.
Twenty-four years later, Jessica’s sister Lindsey is desperately searching for answers and uses the momentum of a new chart-topping true crime podcast that focuses on cold cases to guide her own investigation. Soon, interest reaches fever pitch when the bodies of the long-missing women begin turning up at a local lake, which leads Lindsey down a disturbing road of discovery.
In the present, one sister searches to untangle a complicated web of lies.
In the past, the other descends ever deeper into a darkness that will lead to her ultimate fate.
This propulsive and chilling suspense is a sharp examination of sisterhood and the culture of true crime.
Story Locale: Carolina
Review
Katherine Greene’s debut thriller hits you in the gut and doesn’t let go. It’s 1998 at Southern State University, and freshman Jessica Fadley is spiraling. Then she vanishes. Twenty-five years later, her sister Lindsay can’t escape the past when a true crime podcast digs up old wounds, investigating a string of eerily similar disappearances from that same dark period.
Greene nails the sisterly bond between Jessica and Lindsay. It’s messy, real, and complicated – just like actual sisters. When Jessica disappears, you feel Lindsay’s world shatter. The author doesn’t just show us what happened; she makes us live it, switching between timelines with the precision of a surgeon and the soul of a poet.
The podcast angle could’ve been cheesy. Instead, it works brilliantly, adding a modern lens to this haunting cold case. Greene uses it to explore our weird obsession with true crime – how we turn real tragedies into entertainment, all while real families are still searching for answers.
The 1998 setting is perfect: no cell phones, no social media, just old-school detective work and dead ends. It’s fascinating to see how missing persons cases were handled back then, especially compared to today’s internet-fueled investigations. While seasoned thriller readers might spot the killer’s identity a bit early, it hardly matters – this book is more about the journey than the destination.
Sure, there are plenty of thrillers about missing girls. But The Lake of Lost Girls stands out because it cares more about the people left behind than the puzzle itself. It’s about how tragedy echoes through decades, how families either break or bend, and how sometimes the truth hurts more than not knowing.
If you’re looking for car chases and shootouts, keep walking. But if you want a story that’ll make you hug your sister a little tighter and keep you up way too late turning pages, this is your next read.
4/5 stars – A haunting debut that proves Greene is one to watch.
