I received this in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. Thank you to the author, Amy Engel, and the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, for this opportunity.
Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die.
After her mother's suicide, 15-year-old Lane Roanoke goes to live with her grandparents and cousin, Allegra, on their enormous estate in rural Kansas. She knows nothing of her family, but soon finds they seem to be steeped in tragedy – all the girls in the family have died tragically young. Over the summer she lives there she builds relationships with her family and makes friends but on learning the dark secrets at the heart of her family, she leaves for California.
11 years later, Lane is living in Los Angeles when her grandfather calls to tell her Allegra has gone missing. Lane returns to help search, and to ease her guilt at having left Allegra behind.
The plot weaves between the summer Lane spent at Roanoke and the present day and her search for Allegra. We also hear from previous Roanoke Girls briefly as we find out their stories too.
Without giving away the secret of the family, I can say I’ve never read a book that deals with this subject matter, and it is written so well that although what I was reading disgusted me, I also understood why it happened.
I really enjoyed the book – despite us finding out the shocking secret at the heart of the book quite early on, we still have the mystery of Allegra’s disappearance to solve so it keeps up the tense feeling of the story. This is one of those books you pick up and read, even though you’ve only 5 minutes to spare.

I don't know how to write this. I'm speechless and emotionally wrecked by this astonishing book. I'm in shock.

Stuck for words. Overwhelmed. I only remember maybe two other books making me feel like this after finishing. I might read this a thousand times - and I never re-read books.

Shocking. Taboo. Sublime. Powerful. Disturbing. Dark. Beautiful. Sorrowful. Broken. Infectious. Horrified. Disgusted. Warmed. Desperate. Choked. Teary. Urging. Painful. Love. Lies. Secrets. Cracked..

These are all words I associate with this incredible novel. This novel is already in my list of Top 17 Books of 2017, skipping the long list and the short list. Absolutely breathtaking. An emotional roller coaster that has left me split open wide with so much feeling I ache. I'm not kidding.

I can't even touch the plot. The characters are exceptionally, and brilliantly portrayed. The plot will devour you as you inhale each word. I dare you not to feel. Oh. Just oh! Lane. Allegra. I love you - Roanoke Girls. I felt what you felt. How is that possible?

I'm buying the paperback to keep forever. Please promise me you'll get this book, right now preferred. Spend the money, treat yourself. Beg, borrow. Just read it and come back and please tell me how it made you feel.

6 stars. More stars. All the stars.

Breathe. I'm trying to breathe...coming up for air. This book hit me right in the heart, messed with my brain and set my moral compass on spin. Just outstanding.

Trust me.

"Vowing to discover the fate of her missing cousin, a woman returns to her family's Kansas estate where she spent one haunting summer as a teen, and where she discovered the dark heart of the Roanoke clan that left her no choice but to run"

Both chilling and unsettling, Engel's writing will grab your attention from the first page. Had I had the time, I probably would have read this in one sitting. The themes such as abuse and suicide are handled sensitively and with empathy. The dark family story is told using multiple perspectives- the female-centred narrative felt refreshing to read. The flashbacks and jumping from different periods of time could get confusing at times- however it became clear that the family history was a really important aspect of the story for Engel. An engrossing and thrilling novel that will shock readers- perfect for fans of 'The Girls'.

I read this book so quickly, I could not put it down. I was so intrigued that I think I read most of it in one sitting. The story is fantastic, deals with taboo topics and is shocking right down to the last page! Amazing

Some books should come with a Government Health Warning.  This is one of them.  Very little in the blurb gives any indication of the depths of depravity that lurk at Roanoke. The "terrible secret" in the blurb is just not strong enough.  I wonder at the author's own sanity in writing such a tale, where incest and grooming, and their insidious preying on developing children's minds, are the key to the whole plot.
I'm sorry if that 'spoils' it for you, but the suspicion comes early, when grandfather puts his hand on the young girl's knee and lets his pinkie slip under the hem of her shorts. If, like an astounding percentage of women of a certain age, of all classes and colours, you have been subject to sexual predation, you will do well to avoid this book, and to put it out of your mind.  You do not need to relive any of your youth.  You do not need to re-examine the things that made you fight to remain the kind and balanced person that you are striving to be.
The terrifying thing is that Amy Engel has captured the psychology of everyone involved so well.  She writes mostly with a vivid certainty that you will experience the heat and desolation of rural Kansas on every page. Occasionally she puts so much craft into her writing that it stands out; too much, Amy, too much.  I only highlighted one overblown description early on, but when she gets into description she just goes on, and on, searching for the most perfect, the least clichéd, the most original turn of phrase ever - so much so it becomes painful. She could have cut a couple of pages of Lane's mental self-flagellation in the end sequence - or was it self-discovery, I couldn't work out which, since I had long distanced my emotions from the turmoil within the pages.
The Roanoke Girls will probably win prizes.  It will probably be hailed as an important book by right-wingers, especially those that welcome the final judgement on the grandfather.  It will probably, heaven help us, be read as a set book in high school five years down the road.
I suppose what incensed me most (if that is possible) was the cool 'questions for reading groups' at the end. Someone expects it to be a set text, obviously.  Personally I think it should carry that referral information you get after some tv programmes:
If you, or someone close to you, have been affected by the contents of this programme[book], you can get help and counselling at this number.....

WOW!

Gripped from the first page to the last.

A twisted tale of family and love, the missing, the lost and the found.

Still messing with with my head thinking of the clues I must have missed.

Brilliant.

JUst couldn't seem to get into this book, all seemed a bit far fetched. A grandfather who had sexual relations with his family and they seemingly 'loved' him,l. Maybe there was a twist I never got to, but it didn't hold my attention long enough to read that far.

A gripping tale of secrets and secrecy, of family silences and the harm they can do, The Roanoke Girls is an unputdownable novel which uses the reader's own moral code to build a creeping sense of horror until it reaches its climax in the very closing chapters.

This novel has no surprise ending. From the very beginning any intelligent and aware reader can see exactly where it's headed; this does not, however, for one moment lessen the growing chill of horror as one reads the story to its close. Indeed, knowing where it's going adds a thread of tension to every sentence, an underline of desperate resignation to every chapter.

Although we have our history of the Roanoke girls from each one of them, they are all telling the same story. It's a tale of grooming, of the power of love, of the desperate need for affection every child starts their life with and will take however it comes to them.

Our lead, Lane, comes to Roanoke at age 15, streetwise and aware, yet is still unprepared for the power, or the form that power takes, wielded at the family farm, from where every girl child has fled or died. It's a place of ecstasy and misery, of comfort and hopelessness, from which escape can never truly happen.

It's a morality tale for today, perhaps. An instruction for those of us on the outside to withhold judgement, to be aware of the myriad of currents within any relationship, even those we deem to be wrong, so very, very wrong.

It's not an easy book to read and certainly not one for lovers of love or romance. There is really no mystery to solve, so it's not one for crime fiction lovers. It is however a book that sits with you for a long time, teasing the mind and demanding consideration. I recommend it to anyone who admires great writing and great storytelling and for whom a happy ending isn't a requirement - although, at the risk of throwing out a spoiler - is appreciative of one when it happens.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me have an advanced copy of this book.

I have to say this was a pretty amazing piece of work and what a story. I've never read any of Amy's novels before but I will from now on.

The story centres around the "Roanoke girls"; mothers, daughters, sisters and the disturbing lives they lead in the family home. Starting off with Allegra's disappearance and with Lane coming home to find out what happened this is a twisted mystery that tugs at your heart strings and bashes you on the head with emotion.

A must read for this summer!!

A very dark, absorbing and disturbing story. Every character in the book is emotionally damaged in some way, and very hard to like. The only one I felt empathy with was Cooper, he at least acknowledged his problems and made great efforts to overcome them. Lane has been emotionally broken by her mother's inability to love her, which she doesn't understand. It makes her very hard and brittle, she fights against allowing anyone to get close to her.

The climax of the book was very powerful, but not unexpected. I was pleasantly surprised at the fairly happy ending, the alternative prospect would have been too awful to contemplate. It was good that Lane could finally break the family chain.

I can not say that I loved this book, it is far too dark for that. But I did enjoy reading it very much, the writing is excellent, all the characters become real. Powerful writing indeed!

So, this is a tricky one. I ummed and aahed over my rating, as it's a deeply disturbing book, but in the end I had to give it 5 stars. I talked about this one with my husband and when I gave him an overview of the book he said "But how could that be a good book?" But it was! I loved the relationship between Allegra and Lane. I loved how it stirred up how intense first teenage love is in the relationship between Allegra and Cooper and I really wanted to visit Roanoke to see it (but minus the questionable family members!) Really beautifully written but still very disturbing at times so occasionally difficult to read.

This is an e-book that I received from Netgalley, and as always I want to thank them and the publisher, in this case Hodder & Stoughton. This in no way influences my review/opinion of the novel.

The Roanoke Girls is a difficult novel to review. I did love it, but I feel obliged to mention that the novel might be triggering for a lot of people. I want to keep my review spoiler-free, as always, however I suggest this review if you want more spoiler-y information about the potential triggers.

So a while ago I got an e-mail in my inbox about the Roanoke Girls and I immediately knew I had to read it. The Roanoke Girls are the girls that seem to have it all: they are beautiful, intelligent and live in the gorgeous Roanoke house. Except, something is off about them. All the girls seem to mysteriously disappear or die at a young age. The only ones left living with the matriarch and patriarch of Roanoke are two granddaughters: Lane and Allegra. Allegra grew up in the mansion with her grandparents, while Lane moves there at fourteen after her mother commits suicide. While there, Lane starts to slowly unravel why all the Roanoke Girls disappear and she runs too - until a decade later when Allegra disappears and she has to help find her.

The Roanoke Girls is as thrilling as everyone says it is. While it is not scary in a typical way, it messes with your mind and with what you think is going on in the Roanoke family. A lot of controversy has been mentioned about this novel and the dark twists and turns in it. I can agree that at times it feels like Amy Engel is throwing certain things in because it sells nowadays. However, overall this novel really worked me. I like to be heart broken by a novel. I like them to be dark and depressing. If you don't like these things, I'd steer you far away from The Roanoke Girls.

Amy Engel's writing was great in this novel - simple, yet extremely effective. We alternate between Lane's first visit to Roanoke and her coming back years later to help find Allegra. Both these stories slowly intertwine so that we get a clearer picture of what the Roanoke secret is and what might have happened to Allegra. I do wish we knew more about Lane and Allegra's mothers, as well as their sisters. While the mystery of their deaths/disappearances was quite prominent, their personalities and stories seemed to fade into the background. I think another hundred pages would have made this novel perfect for me, but I'd still highly recommend this for any thrill seeker this summer.

Tennager Lane becomes orphaned when her mother commits suicide in their apartment in New York. Her relationship with her mum had not been a happy one. Social workers traced her grandparents, Yates and Lillian Roanoke to a somewhat grand house in Kansa, a world away from New York. She knew of the Roanoke house from her mother who had been reluctant to talk about it. At the end of the long journey to Kansas she was surprised by the rambling large house that was Roanoke. She got a warm welcome from her grandfather Yates and one a little cooler from her grandmother. Another surprise was a cousin Allegra, close to her in age, who was keen to show her the ropes about living in Roanoke. Portraits of the 'Roanoke girls' including Lane's mother, hung on the walls. It seemed that most who went before them either died or disappeared at a young age. In the end Lane doesn't remain for much more than a year there, as everything is not quite as it seems. The story continues some years later when Lane returns, reluctantly, after the disappearance of Allegra. It is quite a read, not always easy, but compelling.

An extraordinarily dark and disturbing read. This book was terrifyingly addictive, I felt compelled to keep reading even though I was horrified by what I was reading! Roanoke will stay with me for quite a while I suspect

I'd heard a lot about this book and was desperate to read it. It certainly didn't disappoint. The subject matter can be a little tough at times but the author handles it with empathy and dignity. A lot is subtly inferred at first and revealed as the plot builds. If Hollywood can handle the subject matter this will make a great film, with strong characters and an authentic sense of location. It's probably the best book I've read this year.

To be completely honest, I only requested the book because the word Roanoke intrigued me, but I'm glad I have read this one. This book is about one dysfunctional family, and that's something I don't think I've read about before. I thought the author did a fantastic job in creating a mysterious and disturbing environment which was compelling enough for me to want to continue. I look forward to seeing more from this author.

There are many positive features of this book: the evocatively-craftted setting where you can feel the sweltering Kansas heat and sense the rural isolation; some well-drawn characters, and an intriguing (if harrowing) family history.

However, for me, the novel fails on one screamingly jarring obstacle to credibility. The main character has never known her extended family even exists, much less met them, and she goes there for one summer aged 16, leaves and doesnt see them or stay in touch for a decade. After this, she is drawn back and apparently wholly engaged and traumatised by what has happened to one member of that family. After knowing her for what? Six weeks? Two months? Out of 26 years? I just couldn't get past the unlikeliness of that! At MOST, Allegra was a friend she knew for several weeks, and she was pretty hostile for some of that time. I just don't buy that the financially-insecure Lane would uproot her entire life and move accross the country to do pretty much nothing but wait for news of a childhood acquaintance, no matter the genetic markers. I wouldn't do that for anyone I hadn't loved for years and Lane doesnt even reply to occasional emails from Allegra. So while there was passion and tragedy aplenty in this book, I just kept thinking 'Nope. Wouldnt happen'. And all the author had to do to avoid this was have Lane spend a year of her childhood there instead of a summer - I could believe that you'd invest in someone after living with them for longer than you'd share a summer camp dorm with.

Same goes for the central romance. It happened when the protagonists were 16, and the couple haven't kept in touch in the decade since their month of lust, but are portrayed as though a teen fling is as compelling and complex as an adult relationship between people who, you know, actually have a clue what each other's lives have entailed. Not to mention, if you want me to buy into the sexy, tousled bad boy - fine. But stop going on and on about how much he smells of cigarettes, grease and sweat, how his nails are dirty and his hair is lank. I honestly don't want to read sex scenes that veer between some unwashed hillbilly and someone's grandfather...

This is a very well-written, compelling story. The characters were all believable and interesting, and the setting of the house and small town was good. The themes were dark but the atmosphere was not nearly as shocking or menacing as the description leads you to believe. I think that is because the male character did not quite have the charisma and menace he was supposed to have, in fact, he came across as a bit pathetic and not worth the devotion he attracted. Lillian was almost more to blame in her compliance in letting it all happen. I liked the relationship between Cooper and Lane, and Tommy was also well-drawn, but Charlie and Sharon's roles could have been expanded on. I think it jumped to the present too quickly at the beginning - I would have liked more detail about Lane's first summer at Roanoake earlier. I was expecting a further twist - the fight near the end was a little cliched, and the aftermath and end-tying-up went on a little too long. I liked the concept of this book and it would have been 5 stars for me with a few tweaks.

A fascinating and very disturbing read. Yet another jigsaw-completing approach with two main timelines and occasional additional episodes giving part of the history of another of the girls in the Roanoke family.

The almost overwhelming and suffocating atmosphere of rural Kansas in high summer gives no sensation of wider American concerns as the characters revolve around one another like wasps trapped in a jar smeared with honey. Our heroine is one of the Roanoke girls herself, the only one to escape but then return. Perhaps the only one clear-sighted enough to be able to see the trap and want to smash that jar.

In this, the age of American Horror Story, Dexter and Game of Thrones entertainment channels are able to (and often do) talk about increasingly shocking ideas. For some reason many of us are a little dark too and are compelled to explore this kind of narrative – The Roanoke Girls is one of these new age taboo shakers and I was hooked on this heartbreaking tale from cover to cover.

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Firstly, a very big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Intrigue and Mystery run thick in this unique and complex novel, once I was in it I had to finish it.

It’s set in the Osage flats in Kansas but the perspective shifts (between ‘then’ ‘now’ and various chapters from the perspective of absent characters) to inform the reader and help explore the secrets of the Roanoke family. The timeframe adjustments move flawlessly and our story moves at a satisfying pace; I didn’t feel lost reading because it was so naturally paced and fluid. By playing with time Engel gives us the privilege of truly understanding characters we might otherwise get just a vague understanding of. I’d have loved a few more references to The Roanoke Colony but the carvings and the intrigue were fabulous by themselves.

In terms of content and themes It definitely made me think of Lolita; it’s provocative and twisted but still, somehow, utterly captivating. I don’t know how I’d describe it genre wise but it certainly plays with sexuality and morality in a way that isn’t forced or incredibly intense; it simply is. I feel like I’m a despicable human for loving this book but what the heck? I guess the crown fits.

Flawed characters feature heavily throughout and are the focal point of the book’s message; it invites you to question differing levels of morality whilst maintaining a compelling narrative. It’s about perspective on morality but also uses clever imagery and symbolism to create not only a great story, but a fascinating dialogue on so many aspects of life. The themes of suffering, and small time drama really create a story in which we question our own initial responses: actions that seem cruel at first may be an expression of a far worse internal struggle.

“To Sarah, Allegra is simply a bitch…not one single second of Allegra’s life was easy. I know the agony she lived with every day. And I understand how sometimes you have to pass the pain around in order to survive it.”

There’s power not only in the content but in the way it it written too. This book was enticing and addictive, dark and gritty, it was so much better than I could’ve anticipated. Engel’s writing is gorgeous and I thoroughly enjoyed her literary style; what she did in 288 pages was more than some can achieve in 1000. I’d very much recommend reading it.