The Taken Ones, Jess Lourey
The Taken Ones, Jess Lourey
List: $42.99 | Sale: $30.10
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The Taken Ones
A Novel

Author: Jess Lourey

Narrator: Carly Robins

Unabridged: 10 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/19/2023

Synopsis

Two girls vanished. A woman buried alive. Between two crimes lie decades of secrets yet to be unearthed in a pulse-pounding novel by the Edgar Award–nominated author of Unspeakable Things.Summer 1980: Despite the local superstition that the Bendy Man haunts the woods, three girls go into a Minnesota forest. Only one comes out, dead silent, her memory gone. The mystery of the Taken Ones captures the nation.Summer 2022: Cold case detective Van Reed and forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck are assigned a disturbing homicide—a woman buried alive, clutching a heart charm necklace belonging to one of the vanished girls. Van follows her gut. Harry trusts in facts. They’re both desperate to catch a killer before he kills again. They have something else in common: each has ties to the original case in ways they’re reluctant to share.As Van and Harry connect the crimes of the past and the present, Van struggles with memories of her own nightmarish childhood—and the fear that uncovering the truth of the Taken Ones will lead her down a path from which she, too, may never return.© 2023 by Jess Lourey. ℗ 2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

About Jess Lourey

Jess Lourey teaches, travels, and writes about secrets. She's the Amazon Charts bestselling, Lefty, Agatha, and Anthony-nominated author of nonfiction, YA adventure, magical realism, and crime fiction. She's a tenured professor of writing and sociology, a recipient of The Loft's Excellence in Teaching fellowship, a Psychology Today blogger, and a TEDx presenter. She lives in Minneapolis with her family and foster cats (and occasional foster puppies, but man those goobers are a lot of work).

Reviews

Goodreads review by Shelley's Book Nook on September 04, 2023

My Reviews Can Also Be Found On: The Storygraph and The Book Review Crew Blog 2.5 Stars This was my first book by this author and it wasn't what I was expecting, but not in a good way. I was really into it, clipping along at a fast pace and enjoying the read about a dead body that links back to a cold......more

Goodreads review by Nikki on October 06, 2023

Wow! Just wow! First book by Jess Lourey and definitely will not be my last! Now I want to get my hands on all of her other stuff! Forty-two years ago, the lives of three little girls would be changed forever. In a Minnesota forest, only one walks out and the other two vanish. Without a trace. While......more

Goodreads review by Nancy (playing catch-up) on February 04, 2024

Two girls vanish in 1980. A woman is found buried alive in 2022 holding a heart charm necklace belonging to one of the vanished girls. Cold case detective Van Reed and forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck have to work together to uncover the connections that link these two cases in order to find the k......more

Goodreads review by Jonetta on February 05, 2024

the setup… Over 40 years ago, three young girls ventured into the woods near their homes in Leech Lake, Minnesota and only one emerged…traumatized, in shock and with no memory of what happened. It’s now the summer of 2022 and cold case Detective Evangeline (Van) Reed is called to a scene where a woma......more

Goodreads review by David (on hiatus) on September 15, 2023

This was my first book by Jess Lourey. My first thought after reading it was I wish I had a buddy reader. I loved this book so much and just wanted to talk to someone about it. It is currently sitting at 4.35 on goodreads so I know there are plenty who agree with me. You can read the synopsis online......more

Quotes

“Narrator Carly Robins ramps up the tension, portraying Van's increasingly fraught state as things hit uncomfortably close to home. Lourey (The Quarry Girls) skillfully uses flashbacks and changes in perspective to create a deeply suspenseful listening experience. Share with fans of mysteries and suspense involving intriguing women detectives who employ a hint of the supernatural.” —Library Journal“Twists and turns you don’t see coming make for a real page-turner.” —Kirkus Reviews“There are twists and turns galore that make reading this novel almost unbearably fun and intense. I cannot remember another psychological thriller that created such a dichotomy of feelings about the protagonist, which shows just how talented Jess Lourey is.” —Publishers Weekly

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