I have to thank Emily Kitchin for my review copy of The Roanoke Girls which she warned me was a “VERY dark and disturbing, twisted and provocative thriller” but that she thought it was “right up my street”. I wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or not by that expectation but after reading The Roanoke Girls, I have to say that Emily obviously knows me better than I know myself! This book is MAGNIFICENT! I loved every exquisite, sordid and heart breaking sentence so much that this is now my absolute favourite read of the year so far! The Roanoke Girls have cast their spell over me and I have no desire ever to escape it. Amy Engels first adult novel is simply breathtaking.

The secret at the heart of this mystery may not appeal to all readers of this genre and I will reiterate that it is very dark and positively stomach churning at times. But even with that enigma, which from the start I felt was only partially concealed from the reader, you will be unable to tear your eyes away from its “car crash” of a storyline. It’s definitely more of a character driven suspense than I was expecting and I found all the Roanoke girls totally fascinating, rather like the townsfolk themselves did. I became especially protective of Lane, she unexpectedly brought out my maternal emotions when she first appeared in the book, after her mother’s suicide when she goes to her mother’s family home to live with her grandparents and her cousin, the prickly but stunning, Allegra. There then follows a summer of getting to know her previously estranged family and creating a rather complex relationship with her cousin. The adult Lane is probably best summed up by the line “sometimes it’s a revelation, even to me, how much more comfortable I am with cruelty than with kindness”. What could possibly have brought about such despondency in spirit? Told in the Then and Now, we discover that something happened that summer to make Lane run away from this new family and when she returns 11 years later it is only because Allegra has been reported missing. Her homecoming opens up some old wounds but Lane is determined to find Allegra even if it means exposing the dark family secrets of all the Roanoke girls, past and present.

This book is just so beautifully written and expertly crafted like a piece of divine artwork. Even the outside wins my award for the most exquisitely beguiling cover illustration that I have seen in a very long time. The plot felt like an adult fairy tale, bewitching both the reader and those beautiful princesses living in the fairy tale that became a nightmare.

The Roanoke Girls is a gothic masterpiece that vividly brought back the claustrophobic atmosphere I experienced whilst reading Flowers In The Attic as a teenager. Fans of Gillian Flynn will devour it, much as I did, and then sit back lamenting the loss of its spell once it’s over. I seriously can not recommend this book highly enough and it will take something exceptional to knock it off its spot of my top read of 2017. Perfection exists and it’s name is The Roanoke Girls.

This is one twisted book. It's definitely not for the faint-hearted as it doesn't pull its punches and I can definitely see why ratings are all over the place. My feeling is that it will be a marmite book. Me, I loved it. As someone else wrote, it's like a car crash, you don't want to look but you just can't help yourself.
Lane Roanoke's mum kills herself. Lane is not of age so needs somewhere to live, someone to look after her. Luckily, her grandparents are willing to step up so she travels to rural Kansas to live in the old Roanoke family home with them and her cousin Allegra. She spends an eventful summer there but then something happens that causes her to flee. Fast forward eleven years and Allegra has gone missing and Lane's grandfather calls her to ask her to come back. Despite her better judgement, Lane travels back to Kansas, feeling she owes Allegra. She's only going there to help look, won't take but a few days, week at the most, she feels she can handle that. But then she arrives and once more finds herself embroiled by all that had happened before. Reconnecting with her old flame, Cooper, as she tries to cut through the family secrets and lies to find her missing cousin. Will Lane get to the truth... and, if so, at what cost?
As I started reading this book, as I started to figure things out, it started to horrify me. But I couldn't stop. Like Lane, I needed to find out what had happened to Allegra, Like Cooper I needed to get to the heart of Lane. And, as a reader, I needed to know how it all ended.
The story is told in the present with flashbacks to the past with vignettes from other characters thrown in every so often at appropriate moments. Despite the subject matter, I found this very easy to read and follow. The past complemented the present perfectly and the character stories added another layer to the story. It's hard to say anything else about the story without spoiling things so I am not even going to try.
The characters were all, sadly, quite believable. I'd love to cite examples but I fear I would give away too much but believe me when I say that they are all deliciously dark, some obviously menacing and evil, others not so much but all of them flawed in their own ways. It's a story of secrets lies and dysfunction. Heavy on the dysfunction. The characters are all products of their environment and behave quite credibly within those boundaries. I can't say that I liked many of them, certain elements of each maybe, but I definitely was easily able to sympathise and empathise and understand some of what I read of them. Not all, obviously. Some were just plain rotten.
I can't get away from the subject matter of the book. the crux if you like. Shocking definitely but also very well handled. The thoughts and feelings and indeed behaviours of certain characters were extremely well written. It did get me thinking, loads, during reading the book and today, several days after finishing. It's definitely a book that had an impact on my and is one that will stay with me a while longer. I'm even questioning as to why I enjoyed this book so much given the storyline, even though it shocked the heck out of me.

And, it's another debut, well adult fiction wise anyway. I am overawed at the quality of debut authors I have read recently but I think that this one eclipses most simply due to the subject matter. For a debut, it's brave, very very brave. I can't wait to see what she serves up next time.

My thanks go to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

"Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die" - a strong statement that draws us in, begging to find out more. Lane Roanoke has been sent to live with her grandparents following the suicide of her mother. She has never met her grandparents before, but her grandfather in particular welcomes her with open arms. Her grandmother is more distant, glamerous but aloof. Lane also finds a cousin, Allegra waiting to welcome her, although it seems that Allegra is torn between happiness at a cousin her own age to hang out with and jealousy at any attention her grandfather pays to Lane. The claustrophobia of the story is intensified by the heat and oppression of Roanoke. Later, Lane does run, but is drawn back to the homestead with the news that Allegra has disappeared. Has she run or died? As Lane tries to find out what has happened to her cousin, the reason why the girls run or die becomes clear. An intense and unsettling read.
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The Roanoke Girls had everything I wanted – a mystery set in a sprawling farmhouse mansion, dark family secrets and complicated relationships. But it won’t be for everyone. This book deals with some extremely serious, dark and disturbing subject matter – to call the Roanoke family dysfunctional would be a huge understatement. If you’re a reader who is triggered easily, I’d perhaps suggest you avoid this one, but if you like your stories dark, twisted and multi-layered then read on.

The ‘secret’ of the Roanoke family is revealed quite early on, but I’m not going to spoil it here. Because, to be honest, if you knew the subject of this book, it could put you off reading. I actually think this book is one that is best when the reader goes in fresh, and just soak up the characters and atmosphere for yourself. Because, if you’re anything like me, it will suck you in completely.

The story is mainly told from the point of view of Lane. When her single mother commits suicide when Lane is fifteen, she is sent to live at the Roanoke house with her grandparents and her cousin, Allegra. As soon as she sets foot in the place, there’s a sense that something isn’t quite right. Her vivacious cousin greets her, thrilled to have a partner in her camaraderie, but also extremely volatile and strangely envious of the attention Lane receives when she moves in. Allegra revels in showing Lane a framed collection of photographs of their ancestors, all beautiful, young girls, and explaining how their lives at the mansion had been cut short.

“Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die.”

Lane leaves the house after just one summer but when, many years later, she receives a call from her grandfather telling her Allegra is missing, she is compelled to go back and revisit her troubled childhood and the web of lies which surrounds the Roanoke household and family once again.

The story flits between ‘then’ and ‘now’, punctuated by occasional short chapters which explore the other girls in the family’s lives. The setting is beautifully drawn throughout; the sense of the sprawling farmhouse which hides dark secrets and the small town where everyone knows everyone is stifling. The characterisation is great too – Allegra’s bravado jumps of the page, but it’s covering a deep sadness which she can’t quite conceal from Lane. Lane herself was very human – at some points she frustrated me with her inability to trust and just be kind to those around her, but it was clear her time at Roanoke had shaped in her the most brutal way.

This book is dark throughout but it’s subtle, the author handles tough topics with sensitivity, focusing on the complexity of the characters rather than the cruel criminality of the situation. And it really works. I look forward to reading more from this author.

This review is written with thanks to Hodder and Stoughton and Netgalley for my copy of The Roanoke Girls.
In 2004, sixteen year old Lane is adopted by her grandparents following the death of her mother. She lives with them and her cousin, Allegra, who was also adopted. Whilst living there, she learns that all the Roanoke girls either died or ran away, and is determined to find out what happened to them. But several years later - years after Lane herself decided to leave - she receives news that Allegra is missing and returns to Roanoke to help with the search. Can Lane discover what happened to Allegra?
When Lane receives the phone call from her grandfather, begging her to return to her family, it is clear that she is reluctant to do so. What follows is a story that alternates between "then" and "now" as the reader gradually learns the secrets of the Roanoke family. This helps Engel to build tension, as she gradually drops hints to the reader about what happened: enough so that we are able to guess, but that when the true horror of what happened behind closed doors is revealed, we too are horrified. As the tension built, I was able to consider my own theories about what happened to Allegra and wanted to find out if my suspicions were right. They weren't, and whilst the ending is not a twist as such, the impression it left on me will stay for some time to come.
In The Roanoke Girls, Engel deals with some very emotive themes, and I loved her ability to make me feel every emotion as Lane's first person narrator described it as acutely as if it were my own. I was reminded of my own teenage years, and as such, was drawn into the lives of Lane and Allegra in a way I wasn't expecting, particularly as their experiences and lifestyle were so different from my own upbringing. In a similar way, Engel's descriptions of the location in which the novel is set created a strong sense of place. This was important for me as I am not familiar with the geographical locations about which Engel writes.
It is very rare that I give a book five stars, but The Roanoke Girls evoked every emotion in me, and I enjoyed the journey from start to finish.

This is the publisher’s description of The Roanoke Girls, expected to be one of the big books of the season in the US, and published in the UK this week:
Lane Roanoke is fifteen when she comes to live with her grandparents and fireball cousin at the Roanoke family's rural estate following the suicide of her mother. Over one long, hot summer, Lane experiences the benefits of being one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls. 

But what she doesn't know is being a Roanoke girl carries a terrible legacy: either the girls run, or they die. For there is darkness at the heart of Roanoke, and when Lane discovers its insidious pull, she must make her choice…
I was looking forward to a thriller, a tense psychological book. A lot of people found that in this book, but I didn’t. It was well-written, Engel has a real talent, and she can summon up the prairie summer in Kansas, the small town, the limited options, the burning sun – all this is very well done. The ‘secret’ of the Roanoke Girls is fairly obvious and pretty nasty, and seems blatantly spelled out from very early on - so I didn’t see any surprises in the book, and don’t understand reviews that say it keeps you reading through twists and turns and revelations. To me there was just some glamorization of something outrageous, and a lot of emphasis on how beautiful and attractive everyone involved was.

However, many many women (in particular) obviously love this book, and find the content cathartic in some way - ‘seriously twisted and utterly addictive’ is one typical comment, along with ‘eerily sexy’. Perhaps we all have different forbidden aspects that appeal to us in literature – this most certainly wasn’t the case for me. It did remind me of those Virginia Andrews books, Flowers in the Attic, which were furtively passed from hand to hand by teenagers in my youth – I never saw the point of those either.

So to other potential readers I would say – approach with caution, and if it’s your kind of book then you are in luck…

This was a profoundly disturbing book which leaves you with some uncomfortable feelings.
I've been thinking about this book since I finished it, unable to leave it behind once I've hit the end.
If you like a book that is dark and chilling then The Roanoke Girls is definitely one for you.

“Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die.”

Following her mother’s suicide, fifteen year old Lane Roanoke goes to live with her Grandparents and cousin, Allegra, on the family estate in rural Kansas. Quickly bonding with her cousin, Lane enjoys a carefree summer of swimming, sunbathing and swoon, when she falls for local boy, Cooper. For Lane, who has grown up in the care of a mother who never showed her any affection at all, this new life of hers seems too good to be true. And it is. The truth is that every Roanoke girl has a secret, and when Lane eventually stumbles upon the truth of who she is, she runs. She doesn’t look back. She leaves Allegra behind.

Ten years later, Allegra is missing and Lane, the last of the Roanoke girls, is back on the family estate, hoping to solve the mystery of her cousins’ disappearance. Did Allegra run? Or has yet another Roanoke girl gone to her death too soon?

An unsettling depiction of life in a road-to-nowhere rural town, Engel’s adult debut will appeal to readers who love the darkness that permeates the novels of Gillian Flynn. This one, though, lacks those killer twists that make Flynn’s novels so compelling. If you don’t guess the Roanoke secret before reading this book, then you won’t have too long a wait before finding out: the reveal comes early, and though it is disturbing, it is not at all unexpected. Meanwhile, the mystery of what happened to Allegra is, in the end, much less of a mystery than I was hoping for.


In short: dark and compelling, but lacks a knockout punch.

Wow. This book is incredible. Disturbing – absolutely, upsetting – in a number of ways, but it draws you in so completely that you won’t be able to put it down.

The Roanoak Girls is the story of a young girl (Lane) who is sent to live with her grandparents following the suicide of her depressive mother. When she arrives at their bizzare, sprawling house in the backwaters of America, she meets her cousin Allegra who bears an uncanny resemblance to her. The two become friends, but Lane discovers a dark secret about the family which ultimately pushes her to leave. Years later, Lane receives a call from her grandfather telling her that Allegra is missing. Lane returns to the house and as a result of her hunt for her cousin, begins to uncover even more of the secrets that Roanoak hides, including the reasons behind the freak deaths and disappearances that continue to occur within the family. Written in chapters that alternate between the past and the present day, the Roanoak Girls keeps you on the edge of your seat as you become ensnared in the horrific secrets that hide within the house.

I really had to take a day or two to digest this book before I could bring myself to review it. The novel deals with some awful content matter so should be plastered in trigger warnings for suicide, rape, incest… I don’t want to give away too much but seriously, if you’ve been affected by any kind of abuse then please be warned. In saying that, I was utterly gripped by the story and absolutely devoured it in one day. You really are kept guessing and so much goes on that you have to keep reading to find out what happens next.

The novel has some brilliantly strong characters including the main character Lane and her cousin Allegra. I loved the way that the girls befriended each other and their complex relationships with other family members, as well as each other. It would have been very easy to have Lane run away from Roanoak and never look back but I completely understood her loyalty to her cousin which made her return, despite the terrible secrets that she had to explore in order to find the truth. In terms of Allegra, I struggled to understand some of her decisions but could see that she was obviously deeply disturbed by the events which had happened. She’s a really complex character and although she said and did some things which I found absolutely repulsive I found myself becoming absolutely fascinated by her. By the end of the novel you realise that every single character is flawed which again adds to the suspense – who can you trust?

The way that the Roanoak Girls is written is absolutely brilliant – it’s so complex and the themes covered are so dark that it’s sometimes hard to read but the author doesn’t shy away from exploring their full impact. There are little clues peppering the text which allude to some of the secrets within Roanoak – for example the novel starts with a family tree and a quote from Vladimir Nabokov – if you’ve read his most famous work this should give you some indication as to how the girls might be thought of. In terms of similarities to other books there’s something of the Gillian Flynn about it – it’s that level of creepy/gross/fully crazy characters and uncomfortable reading.

Although I can’t say I enjoyed the book it was an amazing experience to read it. If you think you can cope with reading about the abuse mentioned above then I would highly recommend it.

I was intrigued by the the premise of The Roanoke Girls and so was keen to get a hold of a copy to review. It sounded like Amy Engel is one of the many authors contributing to the mass of crime thrillers featuring ‘girls’, in the wake of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and more recently The Girls.

The book is short – 288 pages in total and is compelling so it didn’t take me long to read, although by the time I finished I felt incredibly confused and conflicted – and you’ll see why.

The premise is that girls from the Roanoke family have all been disappearing and dying at young ages – all before their teens, with the exception of Lane’s mother, however when she commits suicide, her daughter Lane is forced to go stay with her grandparents and cousin at the family home. There is a taboo subject which lies under the events of the whole novel and is fairly easy to work out from near the start. What is more interesting is the disappearance of Allegra 10 years later.

The novel is split into sections, skipping from the past to present, both focalised through Lane. Interspersed throughout the novel are also short sections about each of the Roanoke Girls. I actually very much enjoyed these devices which helped drive the mystery behind the story and feed ideas of conspiracy – even though we know most of what is going on it becomes more about the detail and how it occurs. Engel used the Roanoke reference – with it’s connotations of mystery and The Lost Colony, very well. Possibly for this reason it also felt reminiscent of American Horror Story (without the horror and gore). It also felt incredibly cinematic – I could see this making a brilliant noir if the right director picked it up.

The author also dealt well with the taboo subject – exploring the complicated emotions around it, and rather than falling into the trap of victim-blaming she actually challenges this issue.
On the other hand the novel does read a bit like a YA book (to the point where I actually had this on my YA shelf) and it is most definitely not. I don’t know if this is because it is the genre Engel predominantly writes for or a side effect of focalising through a 16 year old for much of the novel. It’s not necessarily a bad thing but I just didn’t feel like the prose was particularly sophisticated. The book also risks romanticising a lot of behaviours – teenage sex and underage drinking amongst other things. The girls themselves are also almost mythologised in the way they are represented as beautiful and alluring.

So all in all I was quite conflicted over what rating to give this but it ultimately came down to the ending which was very good and which I didn’t see coming at all. Engel offers the perfect twist and a brilliant way to conclude the novel.

For this reason I would give what would have otherwise been 3 stars a 4 and I will definitely give any future novels by Engel a go too.

I received this book as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.

It's a weird thing, but what actually prompted me to read this book was the association of the word 'Roanoke' with the most recent series of American Horror Story. Which is laughable because it's not remotely related in subject matter.

In fact The Roanoke Girls has a plot which defines the word 'horror' a lot more than American Horror Story ever did.

Lane Roanoke lives in New York with her mum who refuses to speak about growing up at the big Roanoke House in rural Kansas. But Lane dreams of the beautiful house and the people inside.

''Did you wake up screaming?' A dribble of milk ran down my chin.'Huh?' She turned and glanced at me then, her skin pale, eyes redrimmed. The bones of her face looked sharp enough to cut. 'Was it a nightmare?' I shook my head, confused and a little scared. 'No'. She looked back out the window. 'Then it was nothing like that.''

But when her mum commits suicide Lane is dragged into life at Roanoke with her gran and grandad and her cousin Allegra who loves Roanoke life more than seems right.

The thing about this novel is that you know what's going on almost immediately but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with or less frightening and definitely not less thrilling.

Gripping from start to finish, Amy Engal has a beautiful way of writing, her descriptions are wonderfully woven together and her characters jump out of the page.

One of the best books I've read in ages it's going to stay with me for a while.

By the time I'd finished this book, there was one thing I knew for sure. I would never, ever, want to be a Roanoke girl. Why? Because Roanoke girl's either run, or they die. Beautiful, talented, rich, the apple of their Grandfather's eye, the object of every man's desire...... why wouldn't anyone want to be a Roanoke girl? Dark, twisted, sometimes difficult to read, but utterly brilliant and absorbing. The Roanoke Girls is a book I will remember for a very long time, and I know it will be up there amongst my top 10 reads of 2017.

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel
2 stars
A sorry tale…
After her mother’s suicide, fifteen-year-old Lane Roanoke goes to live with her maternal grandparents and her fiery cousin Allegra on their vast estate in rural Kansas. She is quickly embraced into the life as one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke Girls.
I wasn’t very impressed with this book at all. It was contrived, obvious and weird...
Lane is fifteen when she first arrives at Roanoke, and her cousin is the same age, but they both come across as much older. There was no naivety which I am sure two fifteen-year-old girls would show, even with their peculiar upbringings and because of this it was confusing when the story went from past to present.
It is obvious from the beginning what had been going on at Roanoke and who the protagonist was. This character is also unbelievable in his actions and the general description of his misdeeds.
It is an uncomfortable book to read as I feel the subject matter was not handled very delicately and it was meant to shock not tell a story.
I have given 2 stars but even that is generous.
Helen
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review.

"Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die".

There is a creeping dread woven into this book. The fate of the Roanoke girls is something that is there in the background at first but then the secret is given voice quite early in the book. The insidiousness of the full truth, however, takes the whole of the text to unfold. Lane Roanoke grew up far away from the house of her grandparents, taken off to New York by her mother. At sixteen, following her mother's suicide, she found herself back there for a summer. This intertwines with Lane returning many years later, alarmed by the disappearance of her cousin, Allegra.

The subject matter Engel writes about is uncomfortable reading and this book, at times, walks the line of sensationalism. It does spend some of the time exploring some issues surrounding the subject matter, such as complicity, trauma and guilt. By flipping between Lane's experiences as a teenager and an adult we see her innocence and her guilt in turn. Lane serves as the eyes through whom the story is told which means there is an element of caricature or mystery to the other figures in the book. This is actually beneficial as she needs to be a narrator who cannot see clearly. I found the short sections told from the perspective of the other Roanoke girls very interesting for a change of pace and a chance to see them become more than the stories Allegra tells. The plot for has some wonderful turns to enjoy, although I found the sections of the language a little bit inelegant at times. The short section with the physical description of both Lane and Allegra was particularly jarring.

'The Roakoke Girls' is a good dramatic thriller, I absolutely had to keep reading, to reach the conclusion. It covers uncomfortable ground and, through Lane, is an interesting exploration of how hurt and trauma can play out.

This book took me by surprise. The startlingly controversial and disturbing subject and the sheer magnetic pull this story has both caught me unawares. I reached for this book simply down to it's intriging summary and had never banked on fallling for this deliciously dark tale.

Engaging and suspenceful, this story follows angry and adrift Lane, an ancestor to more than just your average family legend, who discovers more than she hoped for one twisted summer back on Roanoke. Years later, after having dragged herself away from a dangerous environment she finds herself right back where she started, coming full circle and having to face dark and distrubing truths about her family, her mother and herself.

I was hooked with this one from the get go. Not to everyones taste, of course, as many reviewers have ran for the hills after hitting a certain point in the story, but for me I found it gripping and harrowing, needing to reach the end of the book if only to take a breath.

I would be interested in seeing what else this author has written (young adult books, I do believe) and hope that they continue to produce such thrilling novels, as I look forward to reading more!

When I read the bio for this book, I was instantly intrigued and curious. How on earth was this going to play out? And how on earth would everything be solved?

While I thought that this book was incredible, the darkest of the story did not make it an easy read. There was times when it was quite uncomfortable to keep reading. The Roanoke family has some dark secrets, and a tragic past. All the girls in the family have either died or ran away.

The big secret is revealed very early on in the book, but the big mystery is not solved until the last few pages in the book. In my mind it was unguessable. And it left me reeling.

The interest of the reader is kept by interchanging between the past and the future. And occasionally we get a little history of all the Roanoke girls and their tragic story. Lane, our narrator, is by no means perfect, but the story makes her flaws more understandable, more relatable. There is a certain animosity between the reader and Lane as we try to untangle the secrets of the Roanoke family.

Unexpected, understated and completely ripped my heart out. This is a book that will take you by surprise and leave you utterly speechless.

A ark gripping thriller that had me from the start. I found this book incredibly interesting in the best yet worst way. Although the major plot twist is revealed near the beginning this only draws you in further, wanting to know who it all ended up there. What on earth happened to The Roanoke Girls? Told in two tenses from one main point of view, with various interjected when needed. A harrowing yet encapsulating read., I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is a disturbing, twisted, creepy novel but beautifully written by Amy Engel, That is sure to be a best seller.

Thank you net galley for the ARC in return for a review.

"being a Roanoke girl carries a terrible legacy: either the girls run, or they die"

with a premise like that, how could anyone fail to be sucked in? Certainly not me. I raced through the book and finished it in one sitting.

The setting is Kansas, and there are a few references to Oz early on in the book. If you use the film as a mirror to Roanoke, this gives the reader an idea of what living at the strange house means to the motherless girls. Everything at the house is in glorious technicolour, everything outside drab black and white.

Lane arrives at Roanoke as a 16 year old girl after her mother commits suicide. She has never met any of her extended family, and she revels in the attention of her vivacious cousin Allegra, and her handsome, loving Grandfather. She has never experienced such love before, nor really felt as though she has had a place to call home. She also discovers that she is a big fish in a small pond in the town. She and Allegra have money and looks and inspire envy from the girls and lust from the boys. It is a heady cocktail but comes at a high cost.

The book flits between past and present and explores the conflict in Lane with what was the happiest, most intense 6 months of her life marred by the darkness at its core. As the reader we are aware early on what exactly it means to be a Roanoke girl quite early in the book, and I read with increasing dread as the 16 year old Lane dramatically discovers what it means. There are also short chapters from the view of some of the other Roanoke girls, all of whom share the same inner conflicts as Lane.

In the present Lane has returned to Roanoke to try and find the missing Allegra. I didn't find the "Now" as engaging or suspenseful as the "Then", but it was still captivating enough to have me reading into the small hours. The "Then" really explores the inner workings of what is a truly dysfunctional household, the secrets that are so easily masked by the facade of wealth and looks. The idea that love can take many forms, and be full of moral ambiguity.

A book that raised many questions and an author that I would like to read more from in the future.

“Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die.”
I've been putting off writing this review of 'The Roanoke Girls,' as I haven't been quite sure what to make of this book. It's a compelling story featuring cracking writing, well rounded and complex lead characters and a really interesting plotline (you can tell the writer comes from a YA background and I don't mean that as an insult!) But I've been a bit put off by the marketing around its major spoiler - something which is revealed rather clumsily quite early in the book.
I have so many questions and concerns around the plot, a lot of them because it seems to tie into some of the worst stereotypes about small rural towns and the people who reside in them. It seems amazing that absolutely no one mentions or flags what is happening with the Roanoke girls to someone who can help (surely *someone* must have noticed that these girls have a habit of running away or killing themselves?) The fact that Lane ever-so-coincidentally finds out the fate of her cousin (the immensely annoying) Allegra via her carving words and phrases such as RUN LANE throughout her grandparents house felt like it was ripped directly from 'Sharp Objects' by Gillian Flynn.
I love a good, pulpy, sordid novel. And 'The Roanoke Girls' is very very dark and very very readable. However, it left a very bad taste in my mouth.