Island of Lost Girls - by Jennifer McMahon (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

From the author of the acclaimed Promise Not to Tell comes a chilling and perfectly plotted tale in which crimes of the past and present blend in a mesmerizing tale of mystery, shattered innocence, guilt, and redemption

On her a way to a job interview, Rhonda never expected to get caught in the middle of a crime. Sitting in her blue Honda at a gas station, she saw a person dressed as a rabbit grab a young girl out of nearby car. Confused by the absurdity of the rabbit costume, Rhonda does nothing at first. By the time she regains her senses, however, the kidnapper and child are gone.

Plagued by guilt, she's determined to help with the investigation. But as she gets closer to discovering the kidnapper's identity, she also gets closer to uncovering the truth behind the disappearance of another child--her best friend Lizzy who went missing years before. As Rhonda races to solve the two overlapping mysteries, she rekindles an old romances, learns that people from her past a far different than what they seemed, and ultimately finds liberation.

Filled with compelling, realistic characters, twisting supense, and creepy turns that will have readers flying through the pages, Island of Lost Girls is a remarkable display of narrative genius from a stellar new talent.

From the Back Cover

While parked at a gas station, Rhonda sees something so incongruously surreal that at first she hardly recognizes it as a crime in progress. She watches, unmoving, as someone dressed in a rabbit costume kidnaps a young girl. Devastated over having done nothing, Rhonda joins the investigation. But the closer she comes to identifying the abductor, the nearer she gets to the troubling truth about another missing child: her best friend, Lizzy, who vanished years before.

From the author of the acclaimed Promise Not to Tell comes a chilling and mesmerizing tale of shattered innocence, guilt, and ultimate redemption.

Review Quotes

"Island of Lost Girls is an unsettling account of the secret lives of children, told in unexpected twists and turns, as if Alice had fallen down the wrong rabbit hole and lost her childhood. McMahon never flinches, but her readers will at every dark secret." -- Keith Donohue, bestselling author of THE STOLEN CHILD

"Haunting . . . McMahon expertly shifts between pivotal events in the past and present-day action, building tension to a resolution both poignant and shattering." -- Publishers Weekly

"As in her assured debut novel, PROMISE NOT TO TELL, McMahon offers a moving if bittersweet portrait of childhood . . . readers will be hooked on both the mystery element and the coming-of-age aspects of this atmospheric novel." -- Booklist

"Well-crafted." -- Kirkus Reviews

"[McMahon's] smart mystery-thriller grabs you by the throat and won't let go....making this a page-turner you'll neglect sleep for." (3 1/2 Stars) -- People