LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
Mysteries are best served cold. At Justine’s new house in chilly Minnesota, there are no warm comforts, not even a working hob. There’s only relief at having escaped a turbulent life – even if that happened to be in sunny San Diego.
In her lakeside retreat, remote and beautiful, Justine begins to unravel a secret that has haunted her family for decades. A diary, written by her grandaunt Lucy before she died, holds the key to what happened that summer in 1935 when Lucy’s six-year-old sister went missing from the house. The narration shifts between past and present, piecing together the mystery with each turn.
The novel, which is a debut from Heather Young, takes its time at first, building on character and scene. You can hear the water lapping and feel the chill in the air. If you’re prone to pacey dramas, though, stick with it – you’ll be repaid in full for your patience by the end.
Julie Vuong
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The Lost Girls Synopsis
A stunning novel that examines the price of loyalty, the burden of regret, the meaning of salvation, and the sacrifices we make for those we love, told in the voices of two unforgettable women linked by a decades-old family mystery at a picturesque lake house.
In 1935, six-year-old Emily Evans vanishes from her family's summer house on a remote Minnesota lake. Her disappearance destroys the family - her father takes his own life, and her mother and two older sisters spend the rest of their lives at the lake house, keeping a decades-long vigil for the lost child.
Sixty years later, Lucy, the quiet and watchful middle sister, lives in the lake house alone. Before her death, she writes the story of that devastating summer in a notebook that she leaves, along with the house, to the only person who might care: her grandniece, Justine. For Justine, the lake house offers freedom and stability - a way to escape her manipulative boyfriend and give her daughters the home she never had. But the long Minnesota winter is just beginning. The house is cold and dilapidated. The dark, silent lake is isolated and eerie. Her only neighbor is a strange old man who seems to know more about the summer of 1935 than he's telling.
Soon Justine's troubled oldest daughter becomes obsessed with Emily's disappearance, her absent mother reappears, and the man she left launches a dangerous plan to get her back. In a house haunted by the sorrows of the women who came before her, Justine must overcome their tragic legacy if she hopes to save herself and her children.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9780857308184 |
| Publication date: |
25th November 2021 |
| Author: |
Heather Young |
| Publisher: |
Verve Books an imprint of Oldcastle Books Ltd |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
352 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Crime and Mystery
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| Other Genres: |
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Press Reviews
Heather Young Press Reviews
'The delicacy of [Young's] writing elevates the drama and gives her two central characters depth and backbone... For all the beauty of Young's writing, her novel is a dark one... and the murder mystery that drives it is as shocking as anything you're likely to read for a good long while' - New York Times Book Review;
'Suspenseful and finely wrought, Young's tale is not easily forgotten' - Booklist;
'This book has it all - intrigue, complicated relationships, and a thrilling plotline - and it will appeal to fans of longspanning '90s stories like Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias' - Bustle;
'I was swept into The Lost Girls on the very first page... Heather Young weaves a captivating, multi-layered story that you won't want to put down' - Vanessa Diffenbaugh, internationally bestselling author of The Language of Flowers;
'Riveting... Told with finesse and an unflinching eye, The Lost Girls examines the bond between sisters, what it means to keep a promise, and how one family's secrets can stretch across generations' - Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author of The House Girl;
'A novel of quiet intensity that builds to a terrifying climax. The Lost Girls contains echoes of Kate Atkinson's Case Histories and is just as haunting' - Minneapolis Star Tribune
