The Lost Girls
Ratings5
Average rating3
15
Ratings5
Average rating3
In the summer of 1935, six-year-old Emily Evans vanished from her family's vacation home on a remote Minnesota lake. The loss devastated the family. Sixty-four years later, Emily's sister Lucy writes the story of that harrowing summer in a notebook that she bequeaths, along with the lake house and a hefty investment portfolio, to her grandniece, Justine. For Justine, the lake house offers a chance to give her own daughters a stable home she never had, but the dilapidated house is cold in the winter, the lake silent and forbidding, and her only neighbors are two strange old men who seem to know more than they're telling about the summer of 1935. When Justine's troubled oldest daughter becomes obsessed with Emily's disappearance, Justine's mother arrives wanting money, and Justine's manipulative ex-boyfriend launches a plan to get her back, Justine must overcome her family's tragic legacy in her effort to save herself and her children. --
Reviews with the most likes.
This atmospheric, chilling novel is a tale of family history and drama. I loved how the dual timeline weaves through the generations of female characters, alternating between Lucy and Justine.
Lucy's story is set in the 1930s and based around the lake house. Here, Lucy and her eldest sister Lilith enjoy their freedom exploring the lake and its surrounding area. It was during one fateful night that their youngest sister Emily goes missing causing devastation to their family unit and the community around them. Justine, Lucy's great-niece, inherits the lake house after she passes away. She decides to travel the lake house to escape an overbearing relationship, taking her two daughters with her. It is during her time here that she finds Lucy's journal and discovers the secrets to her family history and the mystery surrounding Emily's disappearance. She also finds herself.
The dual timeline works brilliantly in this novel, allowing you to get a real feel of the characters and their family dynamics. The plot unfolds slowly but steadily capturing the essence of story and drawing you in. Beautifully written, emotive and haunting, this book will stay in my thoughts for some time.
