The Taken Ones (Steinbeck and Reed, #1)
Jess Lourey
Two girls vanished. A woman buried alive. Between two crimes—decades of secrets yet to be unearthed. Summer 1980: With no fear of a local superstition, three girls go into a Minnesota wood. Only one comes out. Dead silent. Memory gone. No trace of her friends. The mystery of the Taken Ones captures the nation. Summer 2022: Cold case detective Van Reed and forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck are assigned a disturbing homicide—a woman buried alive, clutching a heart charm necklace belonging to one of the vanished girls. Van follows her gut. Harry trusts in facts. Their common ground is the need to catch a killer before he kills again. They have something else in common: each has ties to the original case in ways they’re reluctant to share. As Van and Harry connect the crimes of the past and the present, Van struggles with memories of her own nightmarish childhood—and the fear that uncovering the truth of the Taken Ones will lead her down a path from which she, too, may never return.
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0 0I would rate this more as 3.75. This is surely a crime lover’s delight! This novel from Jess Lourey follows a detective in cold cases, Evangeline ‘Van’ Reed, as she is called in to a case of a woman buried alive. When it’s revealed that this recent murder is linked to a notorious cold case, Van will stop at nothing to solve it alongside her team, which includes forensic scientist, Harry Steinbeck. The more they uncover, the more twisted the tale becomes.
I thought this was definitely well written. Jess’ ability to keep your full attention, while continuing to pull you into the story, is impressive storytelling. Though the novel is primarily written in Van’s point of view, there are a few chapters from the POV of the assailant—which are so unnerving and chilling to read.
Some of the early on revelations were surprising, but felt like it was kind of thrown in there. It definitely had the potential to be more of a sucker-punch type of reveal. So, for me, it fell a little flat. Additionally, the main character, Van, is exceptionally unlikeable in the beginning. I almost feel as if that’s intentional; because she definitely grows on you as you learn more about her background and her inner workings.
Overall, I think this novel concluded really well. The cliffhanger it ended on was so surprising and has left me anxiously awaiting for the next book in this series to come out. A great read from Jess Lourey, and a fantastic introduction to a new series!
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