The Lost Girls: A Novel

Emily, beloved daughter but annoying sister to Lilith and Lucy, disappears suddenly. Though search parties are organized and questions are asked, nothing is ever found – no evidence, no body, nothing. This wreaks havoc on the family. Their father commits suicide and their mother will not leave. Some sixty years later, Lucy decides to write a narrative about the events for her grand-niece, Justine, who is facing her own demons. She has two young daughters and lives on the California coast with Patrick, who smothers her with love, much better than the girls’ father, Francis. Suddenly, Justine gets a letter telling her she has inherited everything from Lucy, though it skipped her carefree, wandering mother, which coincides perfectly with Justine’s misgivings about her relationship. The threesome travel for days to start over, hoping that it will be the new beginning they need. However, Justine soon starts to fear that she is just running away, like her mother. When everything, and everyone, catches up to her, she must make some tough decisions, and those decisions will not make everyone happy.

An excellent story told in alternating perspectives, this is one for readers who enjoyed Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng.