The Girl Who Was Taken

by: Charlie Donlea

Goodreads description:

Two abducted girls—one who returns, one who doesn’t.
 
The night they go missing, high school seniors Nicole Cutty and Megan McDonald are at a beach party in their small town of Emerson Bay, North Carolina. Police launch a massive search, but hope is almost lost—until Megan escapes from a bunker deep in the woods. . . . A year later, the bestselling account of her ordeal has made Megan a celebrity. It’s a triumphant story, except for one inconvenient Nicole is still missing.
 
Nicole’s older sister, Livia, a fellow in forensic pathology, expects that one day soon Nicole’s body will be found and her sister’s fate determined. Instead, the first clue comes from another body—that of a young man connected to Nicole’s past. Livia reaches out to Megan to learn more about that fateful night. Other girls have disappeared, and she’s increasingly sure the cases are connected.
 
Megan knows more than she revealed in her book. Flashes of memory are pointing to something more monstrous than she described. And the deeper she and Livia dig, the more they realize that sometimes true terror lies in finding exactly what you’ve been looking for . . .

Helen says: 🤓🤓🤓 3/4

We obviously have an affinity for missing girls this month…3 out of 4 of our choices involve this theme. I love this (new to us) author that Holly and I stumbled upon…Charlie Donlea. This is the second book we have read of his. He can really spin a crime story and (as previously mentioned) his style is similar to Nelson DeMille. I listened to this book on audible and it kept me rapt! Similar to an episode of Law and Order SVU, the author paid abundant detail to forensics and dead bodies…This was a perfect “who done it” with a cliffhanger of an ending.

Holly says: 🤓🤓🤓🤓

It is definitely missing girl/abduction month! I am not even sure how all 3 of these selections occurred at the same time; however, if I am choosing, this one was probably my favorite. Original, suspenseful, surprising, with lots of twists and turns. This was a real page-turner, and the last 100 pages were super-speed. Read it! Read them all this month. I will be reading more of Charlie Donlea.

Click here to purchase. (This is free on kindle via amazon)