THE QUARRY GIRLS by Jess Lourey

 

MY THOUGHTS

First let me say that this author is one of my favorites. When I know she has a book coming out I get very excited. This one is great. It should definitely come with a trigger warning though. It's about youngish teens and assault by grown men. Men of importance in the small town. Also kidnapping and murder. It's a very intense and touchy one. It will make you have many emotions. Mainly fear and tears.

This story is set in the summer of 1977. 

There are three good friends Maureen, Heather, and Brenda. Heather's younger sister Junie plays a big part in this story also. And another older teen, Beth. These girls are the best of friends and are in an all girl band. The three that is. One night their worlds are turned upside down. Nothing will ever be the same again. Heather and Brenda see something that makes them see life in a whole new way. The men in the town are not what they seem. Not the ones that they can count on to keep them safe. 

This story is told by Heather. She has a lot going on in her life. Her mother is suffering from a mental problem and it's hard for Heather and her little sister Junie. Though Heather does step up and takes care of her sister. She cooks and makes sure Junie is ok. She also takes care of the house and her dad. She thinks her dad is the best. Heather wants more than anything for their mother to be ok and to approve of things she does to help. There is a story there that you will read about. What happened to Heather's ear. There is even a bit of a hoarder in this town. But I liked her. I felt bad for her too. She made a mistake and is paying for it. Also every so many chapters you hear about Beth and what is going on with her. I really admired Beth at the end. 

The tunnels under the town are very interesting to read about. How these kids could run around under the town. But it's also very scary. Anything could have happened. Anyone could have come to your house and possibly done horrible things to the ones living there. That part was a big disconcerting for me. Made me wonder why all the basement doors leading out to the tunnels were not boarded up. Locked up tight. Even in a small town where people feel safe you have to be smart. 

I enjoyed this book even though it made my skin crawl in places. Made me cry in places and made me think about stopping it in places. I almost didn't keep reading because of the subject matter. Not the serial killer parts. The sexual abuse parts. They were bad. But not so explicit that you can't continue. Unless maybe if you experienced this type of abuse. Then you might find it hard to read. But keep going. It's a story that is worth reading. 

Be sure and read the parts at the beginning. Before the actual story starts. The part about serial killers that existed back then. In the early to mid and late seventies. The young girls who were murdered and no one ever brought to justice for it in many cases. 

This was my Amazon First reads for October book and a NetGalley.

5 stars 

SYNOPSIS

Killers hiding in plain sight. Small-town secrets. A girl who knows too much. From the Amazon Charts bestselling author of Unspeakable Things and Bloodline comes a nerve-twisting novel inspired by a shocking true crime.

Minnesota, 1977. For the teens of one close-knit community, summer means late-night swimming parties at the quarry, the county fair, and venturing into the tunnels beneath the city. But for two best friends, it’s not all fun and games.

Heather and Brenda have a secret. Something they saw in the dark. Something they can’t forget. They’ve decided to never tell a soul. But their vow is tested when their friend disappears—the second girl to vanish in a week. And yet the authorities are reluctant to investigate.

Heather is terrified that the missing girls are connected to what she and Brenda stumbled upon that night. Desperately searching for answers on her own, she learns that no one in her community is who they seem to be. Not the police, not the boys she met at the quarry, not even her parents. But she can’t stop digging because she knows those girls are in danger.

She also knows she’s next.