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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
Growing up on Long Island, surrounded by water, we generally only went to the beach when we were on vacation in South Carolina (naturally). I love walking the boardwalk closer to home, but I lived on the north shore of the island, and the beach was always very rocky. I never ventured to any of the lovely beaches or barrier islands on the South Shore; I only knew their names when four sets of remains were found off the highway near Oak Beach. Robert Kolker’s Lost Girls chronicles the victims of a Long Island serial killer before they went missing and were eventually found buried along the beach.
Lost Girls is a quick read, and a pretty decent one. The first part of the book (and arguably the best) introduces the girls in question, their families, and the life events and decisions that led them to turn to Craigslist as escorts. I appreciated the intimate look into their past, divulged through interviews with many family members and friends. So often missing prostitutes are cast aside; no one cares where they came from or how they got there. Kolker is candid about their profession, but also presents it as partly by choice, and partly by circumstances. They were more than just escorts, and he demonstrates this readily.
The book goes through the search for one girl, the finding of the other four (and then some), and the fallout for both law enforcement and the very private barrier island town that got caught up in the middle of it. Kolker still had me riveted, but then proceeded to spend the latter third of the book addressing every conspiracy and theory that presented itself, from the reasonable to barely plausible. I found myself not caring anymore about theories: I knew the mystery was still unsolved (I got that much from the title), but would have preferred more facts than theorizing. We didn’t hear much about the actual legal process beyond what the family was involved in, namely protests, memorials, and arguments about lack of action from the police.
This is a weird thing to dislike, but I didn’t enjoy how often Facebook was mentioned. I know that it’s inevitable as social media becomes a bigger and bigger part of our lives, but it was jarring to be in the middle of a hunt for missing persons, and then to see “she wrote on her Facebook wall” or “she defriended him”. While some of the social media interjections were natural (such as the families coming together and becoming friends online), a lot of them didn’t seem to forward the narrative and those “likes” and “wall posts” could have been removed. I know I’ll have to get used to it, but I’m not sure I want to yet!
If you’re interested in true crime and modern mysteries, I would recommend it. It’s engaging, honest, and well-researched; if you don’t care about theories, you can just skip a few chapters. Having a good geographic knowledge of Long Island is helpful but not a requirement!
(Note: This review is copied/pasted from my blog, Nonfictionado.)
Lost Girls is a quick read, and a pretty decent one. The first part of the book (and arguably the best) introduces the girls in question, their families, and the life events and decisions that led them to turn to Craigslist as escorts. I appreciated the intimate look into their past, divulged through interviews with many family members and friends. So often missing prostitutes are cast aside; no one cares where they came from or how they got there. Kolker is candid about their profession, but also presents it as partly by choice, and partly by circumstances. They were more than just escorts, and he demonstrates this readily.
The book goes through the search for one girl, the finding of the other four (and then some), and the fallout for both law enforcement and the very private barrier island town that got caught up in the middle of it. Kolker still had me riveted, but then proceeded to spend the latter third of the book addressing every conspiracy and theory that presented itself, from the reasonable to barely plausible. I found myself not caring anymore about theories: I knew the mystery was still unsolved (I got that much from the title), but would have preferred more facts than theorizing. We didn’t hear much about the actual legal process beyond what the family was involved in, namely protests, memorials, and arguments about lack of action from the police.
This is a weird thing to dislike, but I didn’t enjoy how often Facebook was mentioned. I know that it’s inevitable as social media becomes a bigger and bigger part of our lives, but it was jarring to be in the middle of a hunt for missing persons, and then to see “she wrote on her Facebook wall” or “she defriended him”. While some of the social media interjections were natural (such as the families coming together and becoming friends online), a lot of them didn’t seem to forward the narrative and those “likes” and “wall posts” could have been removed. I know I’ll have to get used to it, but I’m not sure I want to yet!
If you’re interested in true crime and modern mysteries, I would recommend it. It’s engaging, honest, and well-researched; if you don’t care about theories, you can just skip a few chapters. Having a good geographic knowledge of Long Island is helpful but not a requirement!
(Note: This review is copied/pasted from my blog, Nonfictionado.)
I really loved this book, especially the first part. This is a book that actually explores the background, motivations, and loved ones of murder victims. I wish for peace for their families and the killer(s) caught soon.
If you want to read about true crime get an Ann Rule book or Zodiac or The Monster of Florence. All of them are better.
in depth exploration; some bias in reporting but I had never heard about this and appreciated learning more, even if answers weren't forthcoming
Another great choice for our #bookishtruecrime book club! I must admit that I did watch the Netflix movie before reading the book, but I enjoyed both! The Long Island Serial Killer case is fascinating and shocking, and Lost Girls takes a deep dive into the lives of the victims. This is what makes it different from other true crime novels that focus on the investigation aspect rather than the victims. Most of the book discusses each victim’s life in detail, so much so that it’s a little hard to keep track of at times. I think I expected a little more regarding theories about LISK but to be fair there really isn’t a lot of evidence! I recommend Lost Girls if you want to learn more about the horror of the Long Island Serial Killer and I look forward to reading the author’s new release, Hidden Valley Road.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Well written but very depressing
I really liked the structure of this book. I also think Kolker did a good job of focusing the story on the victims and their families. Kolker also stayed objective while presenting a lot of theories from a lot of different people. I think I will read more true crime after this.
Eh...I think I need to stick to true crime podcast. This had me so bored
Absolutely amazing. The author does a phenomenal job gathering information and interviews.