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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
So it was not bad? But it wasn’t as gripping as I thought. I understand it’s unsolved so there isn’t much known about the crimes... but I feel like this should have been spun as a story about the victims and less about the murders because those were like barely mentioned so...
If you read true crime, this one is a must-have. It's hard to convey just how deep this one goes. Yes, it's about unsolved murders. But in chronicling each girl's life, Kolker also shows how each girl is human and was failed by a multitude of systems: the family system (so much dysfunction!), the law system, and the media system. Everyone has an angle, which is probably one of the reasons these murders remain unsolved.
I loved reading this, Kolker did a great job of humanizing the women of Gilgo Beach. Rather than focusing on the investigation and its shortcomings from the POV of the police, we spent our time with the victims and their families. This book is phenomenal, beautifully written and heartbreaking.
Lost Girls was clearly well researched. An interesting look at a group of women who were the victims of a murderer (or murderers) that targeted escorts and prostitutes in the Long Island area. I appreciate that Kolker took the time to humanize all of these women, providing the reader with a look at their family lives and what drove them to the careers they were ultimately known for. However, it got to be a very slow read and lost the initial excitement/intrigue fairly quickly for me.
3.5 stars. The first half of the book was really fascinating - much more about how the women in question ended up in the sex trade than about the actual murders. The second half was less interesting - there just isn't a lot known about how the murders happened or who was responsible, so it's not surprising, really. There's just a lot of rehashing and conspiracy-making in the second half. True crime isn't really my preferred genre and I don't know why I picked this one up. If it's your thing, I'd say this is better than most.
One of the best true crime books I have ever read. I was completely engrossed the entire time.
Not as good as Hidden Valley... sort of like a LOOOOONG New Yorker article. I learned about prostitution ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
After listening to “Unraveled: Long Island Serial Killer,” I thought I would read Kolker’s book about the case. I really loved how he focused the majority of the book on the victims and their families; I feel like I got to know them and I appreciated how he showed there’s many reasons people are involved in sex work. It was perspective on true crime that I would like to see more of in the future. The book was organized and the maps and timelines were helpful in my understanding as well. Overall, “Lost Girls” was well written and I have a few others by Kolker on my list for the future.
I found this book frustrating. The focus was on the victims - I am not a true crime fan, this popped into my recommendations after I read 'Missoula', but this was not, to my eye, in the same class in terms of investigative journalism. I disagree with true crime fans who would have liked crime scene photos, but I would have thought a picture of each of the lost girls would have contributed, and certainly, cast of characters to the front please? Can't help feeling this must have been a further wound for the families who already have such loss to cope with - accepting that family members themselves have their own views on how some of their number responded, not sure we get to judge.