This dark mysterious book keeps you gripped and engrossed from the first word. It’s honestly so haunting and would be an ideal book to read during the spooky months

Told between two generations we delve into family secrets best left where they were and find out what truly happened to the family.

If you love Riley Sagar you’ll love this!

An intriguing historical mystery, the book centres on two timelines between generations of the same family at their very remote Minnesotan Lake house. In 1935 Emily, the youngest of 3 daughters vanishes, practically freezing her mother and in turn her two sisters in time at the Lake House in vigil for her hopeful return one day. Decades later when Lucy, the middle sister, passes away she leaves the Lake house to her Grandniece Justine, along with the hauntings of the past.
Justine, with 2 young daughters herself is grateful of the opportunity to leave a failing relationship but as she lives in the isolated house slowly unravels some family secrets.
This book isn't a fast paced, page turner thriller, but the writing is very emotive and descriptive that you feel like you are spending time on the Lake too. I loved the connections that develop between the two storylines to highlight patterns between the different generations of the Evans family. By the end of the book the story of Emily's disappearance is revealed. Filled with heartwarming and heartbreaking moments, the book is a slow, gently family driven thriller than many readers will enjoy.

Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for giving me a free e-copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This to me was a dark, slow and mysterious book which I loved.
Its set by a pretty deserted lake in a small remote town in America.
It follows one family but flips between generations and gradually you find out what went on a long time ago between three sisters that used to spend their summer holidays there.
This was a great read. Interesting, pacey and tense at times. I couldn't put it down.
It really touches on families and especially sisters dynamics.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a dark and at times creepy mystery.

What a beautifully written story set in 2 timeframes. Lucy in the 1930s and her great niece Justine in the present day. Lucy's family changed forever one summer in the 1930s and it changed the course of their lives and history.

Justine is struggling through life with 2 daughters until Lucy comes to her rescue through her will and she leaves her life story for Justine to read This was a gripping read right to the very end and was so absorbing and very moving.

This is a story of a families in turmoil but set in very different time zones. Utterly compelling

The lost girls was a poignant story covering five generations of a family, of their tragic love and losses and it will stay with me for a long time as it had a haunting beauty to the writing.

Sadly I didn't finish this. I got to 25% and I realised that i just wasn't interested or invested in the characters or the story. By a quarter of the way through the story hadn't started to move and I constantly had to keep referring back to who was who's mother and sister. I also found the main character, Justine, to be very selfish, uprooting her girls from everything they knew in order to live the other end of the USA in a dilapidated lake house. The prose was well written and atmospheric but it was so SLOW.

Heart-wrenching, hard hitting and a shocking ending are the best phrases I can come up with after reading The Lost Girls.

Told by an elderly Lucy as she recounts what happened in 1934 in her journals, and Justine as she lives in the lake house today.

The characters are well written an identifiable and the story telling is well paced.

A good read.

Heather Young does an incredible job of bringing each and every character to life, and by the end of the book I felt as though I knew all of them. The dual perspective of Lucy and Justine works well, and once I'd got my head around who was who and how everyone was related, everything fell into place and made for an easy, but gripping read. I particularly enjoyed the way you find out about Emily at the start, but not exactly what happens, which makes the reveal at the end even better, and I definitely did not see the ending coming! For a book which is written from two perspectives I was surprised to find that I enjoyed both parts equally, which does not often happen. 'The Lost Girls' is a well-written book with just the right amount of tension and suspense, but also connection to a family over multiple generations.

I was expecting a thriller but it was more general fiction. Don’t get me wrong, as still a really good read and would highly recommend, but if you’re looking for edge of your seat stuff, this probably won’t be for you.

First I would like to start with the moments I enjoyed in the book:
- the plot itself;
- the mystery element which keep you intrigued up until the end of the book;
- switch between two timelines (Lucy's story from her childhood in the 1930s and Justine's life in 2000s);
- main characters and how the family past follows them all their lives (even when they do not realise that).

What I did not personally enjoy:
- the pace of the book. While reading I had the feeling that I was staying at the same place for most of the time. It took me so long to get through the book, even in spite of the fact that I really wanted to get to the truth of the story;

Overall, I would say that the book is great autumn/winter mystery read, I enjoyed it and now I would like to get acquainted with another book written by Heather Young and all future books, that, hopefully, she will release.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the e-arc.

The book is a story of 3 sisters, where on one summer holiday in their lake house, the youngest sister disappears and is never found till date. The story goes on with flashbacks, glimpses of present, the irony being that only one girl was lost but the remaining even being there, were lost with the little girl.
The disappearance of just one little girl, affected the lives surrounding her and effected almost 5 generations of that family. This is a slow burn thriller, showing how lives are intertwined, and how one situation of the past affects the future.

Coming to my rating : out of 5
Title : Apt and Perfect ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cover : Beautiful⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Character development : there is gradual and proper development in the characters of the story, being it main or the supporting ones.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing quality : the writing was beautiful and descriptive. Each emotion perfectly reached.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Depth of the plot : the story had a very deep meaning and intellectual depth in the way the characters nurtured to their present selves in the story.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Originality : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall : 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars (the story could be even more better and at some parts there was no proper justification. I was not that happy with the treatment of some characters in the story. Mainly I would be very happy if Justine would have spoken back to Maurine, and show her how much she and her ways hurtled people around her.)

This turned out to be a lot different than I was expecting when I went in, and it's definitely more of a mystery literary fiction than a thriller. I really enjoyed Lucy's chapters, but I honestly think the book could have done without Justine's chapters, and it would have been more consistently engaging and interesting.

I liked the atmosphere created throughout the entire story arc. This eerie presence is always felt. The story oscillates between two generations of women. But that sinister feeling never really leaves you.
The oldest story is about Three sisters during the 1930s. The youngest of whom suddenly disappears on the last day of their summer lake vacation.
The second story is about one of the great granddaughters. Struggling with her life, her daughters and an emotionally abusive boyfriend.
In a way both these women have been lost and the drama revolves around them finding themselves.
Beautifully written but the twist at the end was predictable.

This was a little different in that it spanned about 60 years in the life of a family. I could put it down and pick it up and it was a comforting read, as opposed to one that I had to read in one sitting. Enjoyable.
Thanks to author, publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is not what I expected... I thought this will be more about the mystery, looking for a clue, and finding the answer to what happened that night and I received a family portrayal through almost four generations.

Don't get me wrong - it's beautifully written and shows a raw beauty of family relations which are not simple. Living in the small town in 1935 was completely different from what we know now and it is inspiring to see how the community is getting along with the problems like racism, devotions, and evening growing up in a place where your future is already planned.

I have to admit that this book is one hard to forget. The author's writing is touching and shows perfectly all the emotions and feelings. It makes me understand much more the characters and this story.

Moreover, sometimes I felt overwhelmed by the characters' decisions. I can understand that fear can block for acting but when it comes to the children's welfare, I cannot accept the passivity and pretending that nothing is going on. That was something that catches my attention here.

Despite the fact, that The Lost Girls is not a typical thriller, the ending was brilliant. I have never guessed what the truth is and finding that was a moment where I truly appreciate the plotline and this book. I was crying; I was broken.

I would recommend this one not only for the mystery lovers but especially for being in love with words, with touching writings. It is for those who can appreciate the Magnifique atmosphere and like to get lost in the books for long hours.

I found this book interesting although it was a slow story, I felt compelled to keep reading to find out what happened to Emily, Lucy and Lilith and in turn Justine, Angel and Melanie. I enjoyed the story and felt sorry for all the characters. Everyone has been affected by the history of the family and the historic events in one way or another.

The Lost Girls had me captivated from the very first page. A beautifully written story of secrets, scandals and redemption.

This story had it all - fascinating characters with a compelling plot filled with mystery and suspense. I could not put this book down. Excellent read, highly recommend.

I absolutely loved this story which is told then and 60 years later. Then is 1935 and the summer that the Evan's family lives were changed forever. They spent every summer at the family holiday home at the remote Minnesota lake. On the day of departure and back to their lives little sister, Emily goes missing. She's searched for far and wide but there's no trace and it rips the family apart. Emily's sisters and mother spend the rest of their lives at the lake house forever hoping that Emily will return while their father can take no more and commits suicide.

In the present day, middle sister Lucy is the only one still alive and lives there alone with her memories. She knows she doesn't have long and writes down all which happened that summer in the hope that her grandniece, Justine might care.

The story is laced with secrets, lies, untruths, family history along with some quite shocking reveals which are done subtly and sympathetically. When Justine hears she's inherited the lake house it means she and her daughters can escape her controlling boyfriend and start again. Her only neighbour at the lake is an old man who appears to know more about that summer than he's letting on. When her mother gets wind of perhaps loosing her inheritance she too is drawn to the Lake House.

Never one to give up the ex-boyfriend appears trying to take control of Justine and her destiny. I enjoyed both parts of the story and especially the characters of Lucy and Justine. Would recommend.

[TW; Sexual abuse involving children, gaslighting and violence]

This book is a haunting look at family loyalty and history that is sometimes better left unknown.
The story is told from two different women, generations apart in the same family;
Justine, a young mother trying to make a new life for herself and two daughters and Lucy, an elderly woman, who is finally telling her story before her own life ends.

This is definitely a more character driven book, as the mystery and plot isn’t overly complex, but still keeps you guessing! The characters are what keeps you connected throughout and it’s through their emotions that this story develops. The main cast of characters are really intriguing to read about and their overall personalities were well written & felt real.
The setting of this book is perfect for the dark, mystery storyline - an isolated, dilapidated lake house through Justine’s eyes and a familiar, summer vacation home through the eyes of Lucy. It creates this great juxtaposition to see how differently the two women perceived this same location years apart.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot. There are some parts that are difficult to read due to the subject matter, but the author does this in a respectful way and it is not overly gratuitous with these scenes.
If you are looking for a dark, family secret mystery, definitely pick it up!

Northern Gothic, this is a terse and clenched dual narrative centred around three sisters and their dark inheritance. The irrevocable plot revelations driving the final truths, are horrifying and unconscionable. Young’s interrogation of damaged family dynamics and embedded loyalties is astute and heartbreaking. Masterful writing.