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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
I found most of this book interesting, well researched and well written. It did run out of steam in the last 100 pages with little new information and it really felt like he was stretching. As this was almost 400 pages long, I don't think it was needed. I think he wanted to have the killer identified so he could have a nice, neat ending. As the killer has not be identified, he appeared to have no idea how to finish the book. It is visually very attractive with interesting maps.
He did an outstanding job putting a face on the women, who were murdered and the problems that their families faced getting anyone to listen to them. Since they were prostitutes and some were drug users, the police had little interest.
He did an outstanding job putting a face on the women, who were murdered and the problems that their families faced getting anyone to listen to them. Since they were prostitutes and some were drug users, the police had little interest.
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I read this book before Netflix released their true crime film of the same title. I had listened to the story before on a few podcasts so I had a general idea that the murder of five young women remained unsolved. However, Robert Kolker delves much deeper than any podcasts I've listened to. He looks into the background of the young women - moving away from the "prostitute" narrative that haunts this case. Unsolved true crime is always dissatisfying and knowing that people have committed horrific crimes and have never been caught is distressing. The ending of the book is seriously shocking and you are left with an unshakeable feeling of sadness due to the sheer number of lives affected by these crimes.
Lost Girls is a story that deserves to be read: in many ways it pays tribute to the young women who disappear without a trace every year. In particular, Lost Girls focuses on a handful of sex workers that were murdered in the early- to mid-2000s. Most of society, including the police, would prefer to ignore these girls by putting them in a category that lies outside their jurisdiction. Robert Kolker fights to make them real women with stories, families, and goals. They become impossible to ignore, and the reader grieves for the families that these women have left behind. It is a painful read, and also utterly terrifying. It is just as easy to identify with these women as to hold them in contempt. As Kolker brings each woman to life, the reader can understand her decision-making process and feel empathy.
Kolker has done a lot of research and this narrative moves along without a hitch. It could move more quickly, and also be a tad more linear. Overall, a worthwhile read. I think it pays respect to these women to read about their lives--they mattered.
Kolker has done a lot of research and this narrative moves along without a hitch. It could move more quickly, and also be a tad more linear. Overall, a worthwhile read. I think it pays respect to these women to read about their lives--they mattered.
This book was really long, drawn out, and boring. It felt like it kept going in circles with the same exact information. I remember watching the Dateline special about this case and being intrigued by it. This book really did not do it justice. It was very hard to keep the people and their stories straight.
A good reminder that there are many different stories out there and some have very sad turns and tragic ends. As an unsolved mystery, I don't get the closure I need, but I appreciated a glimpse into understanding the stories of the women, why they made the life decisions they did and how their families coped with the tragedies. I could have done without the in-depth history of the Oak Beach community, but it served its purpose in understanding the motives behind the community.
Interesting and enlightening read. I wish the author could have included input from the police and investigators to explain their side of the story, instead of talking endlessly about the families and the drama within the families. It was totally irrelevant to the story and got really annoying.
The book give the personal histories of five young women whose bodies were found in the brambles off a Long Island beach between 2010 and 2011. The women all had struggles with their families, frustrations in their lives, plans that were thwarted, and hopes that were expected to be realized. What all five actually have in common is that they were all killed and probably by someone who had contacted them through Craiglist or another site under the auspices of buying sex from the them.
They were not killed together, but over a span of month. Their bodies, along with the bodies of others who may or may not have been killed by the same person or have been selling sex, were all found along a stretch of a deserted highway.
Part of what made me ache about this book is how each woman came to make the decision to sell sex, often for short-term financial gain. Frequently, this decision came with a cavalcade of other situations- pimps or "bodyguards", drivers, competition, drugs. Not everyone who chooses to sell sex finds themselves in these situations, but that is what happened to most of these young women. The combination of crackdowns on streetwalking makes "escort services"- contacted through the internet- more appealing, especially since it can allow the sex worker to be his or her own free agent, separate from a pimp or madam.
Yet the decision to sell sex seemed to make these young women "less than" in the eyes of police and other investigators when their families first reported them missing. In the book's conclusion, Kolker notes:
"It may no longer matter anymore whether the sale of sex among consenting adults is wrong or right, immoral or empowering. What's clear is that no good can come from pretending that the people who participate in prostitution don't exist. That, after all, is what the killer was counting on... Shannan, Maureen, Megan, Melissa, and Amber were over twenty-one. They were more or less working alone and of their own volition. Despite what some family members said after the fact, they were not lured or overtly pressured. Some would say this makes them complicit in their fate- in other words, they brought this on themselves by doing something so dangerous. But to suggest they had it coming because they put themselves in a risky situation is disingenuous; no one walks through life thinking they're going to be killed." (381)
These women were people, are people. Yet their decision led at least one person to think it wouldn't matter if they died. Maybe it led a person to believe that they should die because of the work they were doing. The police were also complicit in dehumanizing the women:
The police had failed to help them when they were at risk. They'd failed again when they didn't take the disappearances seriously, severely hobbling the chances of making an arrest. And they'd failed a third time by not going after the johns and the drivers. (363)
Frankly, this situation is unsurprising in that our culture generally chooses to thrill in women's sexual expression in certain social situations (product placement, magazines, movies, etc.), but frown on women's sexuality when it is expressed as blatant non-procreation activity, for whatever reason. Women who dare to engage in *that* get what's coming to them, whether it be STIs, unintended pregnancies, or murdered.
The murderer in these cases remains at large, insofar as anyone knows. Sex continues to be a commodity, but only the act. The bodies of those who deliver the commodity are still viewed as disposable. Women and children, and some men, are trafficked around the world for this trade. Others make the decision to sell sex for a wide variety of reasons. Some of these situations are far, far worse than others.
One thing remains, true though, a sex worker could be your sister or brother, your mother or uncle, your friend or neighbor, the person next in line at confession, or passing your groceries over a scanner. That woman or man is a person, a child of God. It is only when we start to think about society as a whole- education, opportunity, community, work, safety net- that we can begin to change some of the situations that cause some people to feel that selling their body is their only option.
If these girls, these women, are to have any legacy at all, let it be that we remember them with kindness, compassion, and a prayer for their families' peace. And that we do not fail them by refusing to see the truth around us.
They were not killed together, but over a span of month. Their bodies, along with the bodies of others who may or may not have been killed by the same person or have been selling sex, were all found along a stretch of a deserted highway.
Part of what made me ache about this book is how each woman came to make the decision to sell sex, often for short-term financial gain. Frequently, this decision came with a cavalcade of other situations- pimps or "bodyguards", drivers, competition, drugs. Not everyone who chooses to sell sex finds themselves in these situations, but that is what happened to most of these young women. The combination of crackdowns on streetwalking makes "escort services"- contacted through the internet- more appealing, especially since it can allow the sex worker to be his or her own free agent, separate from a pimp or madam.
Yet the decision to sell sex seemed to make these young women "less than" in the eyes of police and other investigators when their families first reported them missing. In the book's conclusion, Kolker notes:
"It may no longer matter anymore whether the sale of sex among consenting adults is wrong or right, immoral or empowering. What's clear is that no good can come from pretending that the people who participate in prostitution don't exist. That, after all, is what the killer was counting on... Shannan, Maureen, Megan, Melissa, and Amber were over twenty-one. They were more or less working alone and of their own volition. Despite what some family members said after the fact, they were not lured or overtly pressured. Some would say this makes them complicit in their fate- in other words, they brought this on themselves by doing something so dangerous. But to suggest they had it coming because they put themselves in a risky situation is disingenuous; no one walks through life thinking they're going to be killed." (381)
These women were people, are people. Yet their decision led at least one person to think it wouldn't matter if they died. Maybe it led a person to believe that they should die because of the work they were doing. The police were also complicit in dehumanizing the women:
The police had failed to help them when they were at risk. They'd failed again when they didn't take the disappearances seriously, severely hobbling the chances of making an arrest. And they'd failed a third time by not going after the johns and the drivers. (363)
Frankly, this situation is unsurprising in that our culture generally chooses to thrill in women's sexual expression in certain social situations (product placement, magazines, movies, etc.), but frown on women's sexuality when it is expressed as blatant non-procreation activity, for whatever reason. Women who dare to engage in *that* get what's coming to them, whether it be STIs, unintended pregnancies, or murdered.
The murderer in these cases remains at large, insofar as anyone knows. Sex continues to be a commodity, but only the act. The bodies of those who deliver the commodity are still viewed as disposable. Women and children, and some men, are trafficked around the world for this trade. Others make the decision to sell sex for a wide variety of reasons. Some of these situations are far, far worse than others.
One thing remains, true though, a sex worker could be your sister or brother, your mother or uncle, your friend or neighbor, the person next in line at confession, or passing your groceries over a scanner. That woman or man is a person, a child of God. It is only when we start to think about society as a whole- education, opportunity, community, work, safety net- that we can begin to change some of the situations that cause some people to feel that selling their body is their only option.
If these girls, these women, are to have any legacy at all, let it be that we remember them with kindness, compassion, and a prayer for their families' peace. And that we do not fail them by refusing to see the truth around us.
The last couple of true crime books I've read haven't been great. The premise of this one, again, was interesting but I had a hard time with it. I understand the author wanted to tell the stories of the girls, to show their humanity and he did in a way. I appreciated the interviews with the families and a picture of what the girls were like. I had some issues with the presentation though.
There were just so. many. people. and I understand that that's going to be a thing because of all the stories that were being told. But the way the chapters bounced around from person to person I had trouble keeping track of them all. Especially in the later chapters when they were all coming together. Add in the information about the denizens of Oak Beach and my brain just couldn't handle it.
There were just so. many. people. and I understand that that's going to be a thing because of all the stories that were being told. But the way the chapters bounced around from person to person I had trouble keeping track of them all. Especially in the later chapters when they were all coming together. Add in the information about the denizens of Oak Beach and my brain just couldn't handle it.