THE LOST GIRLS by Allison Brennan

Lucy Kincaid Series Book 11

St. Martin’s
November 1^st, 2016
978-1-250-10509-7
Mystery/Suspense, Thriller
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Dawn (love2read28@gmail.com)
Obtained by Self-Purchase

4 Hearts

 

For photojournalist Siobhan Walsh, these last two years of searching for her friends who went missing was fraught with false leads and trails. That is until a baby shows up at a church with a locket she gave the girls long ago. Calling on her friends at the FBI, she joins FBI agent Lucy Kincaid and Supervisory Special Agent Noah Armstrong as they race to track the girls and in the process uncover a human-trafficking organization that isn’t all as it seems. The bad guys seem to always be one step ahead of them as bodies begin to turn up all over the place.

 

Then Lucy’s fiancé Sean Rogan finds an ex-girlfriend on his doorstep with a shocking claim- he has a son and now the son and her husband are missing in Mexico. Sean hates to leave Lucy, especially as this case seems to more horrific as hours go by but he can’t leave his son in danger. But when Sean makes an impossible choice, the consequences might just torpedo his relationship with Lucy and all that the holds dear.

 

Allison Brennan is a master at writing taut thrillers with twists that shake the characters worlds and the readers themselves. I fell in love with her Lucy Kincaid series right from the start and frankly, THE LOST GIRLS takes it to a whole new level and then some. With tight storytelling and with characters the readers have frown to love along with a few new ones to enjoy, this latest installment picks up right after the events from book ten, No Good Deed. With her trademark style of writing, this author delivers a story that will leave you on the edge of your seat as you reel from the twists and turns in the story.

 

THE LOST GIRLS centers on Siobhan Walsh and her search for her two friends who went missing two years before. Now she has a lead on them, she is determined to rescue them from where ever they are.  Enter FBI agents Lucy Kincaid and Noah Armstrong. This case has drawn their attention and as they race against the clock to find the girls, they stumble upon a human-trafficking ring that is not as it seems. I absolutely adore Lucy, Noah and all the rest of the characters in this series. We met Siobhan in past books and I was thrilled to see her and Sean’s brother Kane back in the forefront of the story again. The chemistry between Kane and Siobhan is electric and I loved seeing these two dances around one another. The relationship Lucy has with her peers and with Sean is quite intriguing as well. Lucy has darkness inside her from past events and she uses it for her job as an FBI agent. With Sean she is a bit looser and freer than before. Their relationship gets hit with a secret from Sean’s past that will either tear them apart or bring them closer together. The connection between Lucy, Sean and others is the backbone of this series in my opinion. Lucy is driven to succeed in her chosen field, determined to get past the horrific events that put her on the path to the FBI years before and she uses that darkness of that time to help her do her job, to get into the heads of the bad guys. The author does a marvelous job in capturing Lucy’s determination and drive, her growth in the series and shows the reader just how far this character has come since we first met her in the first book, Silenced. The characters are well written, life-like and full of nuances as well as vulnerabilities that come over the pages of the book perfectly.

 

THE LOST GIRLS can be read if you haven’t read the other books in the series but I highly recommend you read it from the beginning as it gives great insight to Lucy’s past and the many different characters that pop up within the series periodically. What I love about this author is how life-like and real her books and characters are. There is a lot of research involved and it brings greater depth to the story. I am eager to see where Lucy and Sean go next in the series with Make Them Pay (out in March 2017). It looks to be another explosive case for Lucy and the FBI to deal with.

If you enjoy an edge of your seat thriller that will leave you breathless then grab the latest in the Lucy Kincaid series, THE LOST GIRLS, and settle in for some major reading enjoyment.

 

This is an objective review and not an endorsement.