Review: Lost Girls by Angela Marsons

Publication Date: November 6, 2015

Synopsis:
Two little girls have been kidnapped, but only one of them will return. Pitting two families against each other, the kidnappers drive up the stakes with their demands.

D.I. Kim Stone and her team are on the case, with a trail of bodies keeping them busy and guessing. With each new body, it becomes clear that the kidnappers are ruthless and cold. One wrong move and neither of the girls might come home.

Thoughts:
This was the perfect book to get me out of the reading slump that I felt coming on after my last book, The Accident Season. I knew that I was saving this as a pick-me-up, and it really was just that.

The fast-paced writing had me flying through the book in only a few days, reading most of it while I was traveling. I was so caught up in the mystery and kept having to turn the pages to find out what was happening next. Everything about the pacing was absolutely perfect and I had no problem getting into the book at all, much like I haven't had any issues with any of Angela Marsons' previous books in this series.

I think this is the first time I've read a mystery that focuses most of the plot on a kidnapping. Most crime novels usually have several murders that pop up continuously, but this one focused a lot more heavily on the kidnapping of the two girls. Frankly, it was a refreshing change and I enjoyed reading about something different.

The plot itself is very intriguing and keeps getting better as the book progresses. I didn't feel like I was reading through 425 pages at all, as I flew through it much faster than I thought I would. With several other things going on besides the main case, I really admired how Angela Marsons managed to keep track of everything and resolve all of her storylines wonderfully, without leaving anything out or slacking on any of her conclusions.

This is also the first mystery I've read in awhile that managed to surprise me. I totally did not predict the ending and it had me captivated till the very end. I find that it's getting harder and harder to not predict the ending of a mystery as I read more of these books, but this managed to surprise me up until the very end.

Character(s):
As usual, I enjoy the cast of characters that are Kim and her team of people. Kim continues to be a main character whom I relate to a lot more than I should, but I'm completely fine with that. This is also the first book in which I felt a stronger connection to Dawson, one of the members of Kim's team, as I got to see more of him.

Angela Marsons does a really fantastic job crafting her antagonists, making them interesting enough that you want to know more about them without giving away too much. She balances her character development really well and as a result, always manages to intrigue me with her antagonists. There's just a perfect amount of creepy to them.

Overall:
5 stars. Highly recommended to anyone who likes darker mysteries. I've recommended this series before and I will continue to do so. No worries if you haven't read the previous books, it's perfectly fine to read these books out of order. But I would recommend reading them in order to get a better feel for the characters and their stories.

Acknowledgements:
Thank you to NetGalley for hosting this on your site. Thank you also to Bookouture for approving my request to read this in exchange for an honest review.