Lost Girls by Angela Marsons

Lost Girls
By Angela Marsons
Published by Bookouture (6 November 2015)
ISBN: 978-1910751411

Publisher's description

Two girls go missing. Only one will return.

The couple that offers the highest amount will see their daughter again. The losing couple will not. Make no mistake. One child will die.

When nine-year-old best friends Charlie and Amy disappear, two families are plunged into a living nightmare. A text message confirms the unthinkable; that the girls are the victims of a terrifying kidnapping.

And when a second text message pits the two families against each other for the life of their children, the clock starts ticking for D.I. Kim Stone and the squad.

Seemingly outwitted at every turn, as they uncover a trail of bodies, Stone realises that these ruthless killers might be the most deadly she has ever faced. And that their chances of bringing the girls home alive, are getting smaller by the hour…

Untangling a dark web of secrets from the families’ past might hold the key to solving this case. But can Kim stay alive long enough to do so? Or will someone’s child pay the ultimate price?

My verdict
I really enjoyed the first two books in Angela Marsons' DI Kim Stone series. Lost Girls was yet another brilliant read.

This is the third in the series and could probably be read as a standalone. But I would urge you to read the first two books (Silent Scream and Evil Games) first, as they are also brilliant crime novels and provide background to the main characters.

Two young girls go missing. Their parents receive several text messages from the kidnappers. The kidnappers demand that the parents outbid one another to determine which one of the girls gets to come home - and which one will die. DI Kim Stone and her team are given the task of trying to find the two best friends before it's too late.

Angela Marsons' books get better and better. I love her style of writing, her believable flawed characters and her plot development. Lost Girls is very cleverly constructed and tackles a highly emotional issue. Every time something else happened to push the plot along, I kept thinking 'wow'. This is gripping and addictive reading, hard to put down. The abductors are suitably evil, yet still believable. And as expected, you get a roller coaster ride with plenty of twists and turns.

I didn't want to finish the book too quickly though, as I now have to wait some time for the next in the series. I hope the Kim Stone series goes on and on.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher throughout NetGalley in exchange for an honest review