Book Review: The Lost Summer A Novel by Wendy Corsi Staub

     Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge, from Thomas Mercer Press via #netgalley, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it. All opinions are my own

A girl’s vanishing draws a detective into the crimes and mysteries of her own past in a shocking novel of psychological suspense by the New York Times bestselling author of The Fourth Girl.

Synopsis:

Detective Sergeant Midge Kennedy and her lifelong pals Talia and Kelly have reunited on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the disappearance of their friend Caroline, hoping to put that summer of loss behind them. But as the season draws to a close in Mulberry Bay, Midge is plunged into a missing person case with unsettling ties to the past.

Ordinarily, she wouldn’t suspect foul play when a sixteen-year-old girl is just a few hours late getting home on a beautiful summer afternoon. But her investigation yields a shocking glimpse of a familiar face, and mounting coincidences link Sarah Greene’s vanishing to Caroline’s.

The clues lead to Haven Cliff, an abandoned Gilded Age estate that’s been the stuff of cursed legend for generations. It’s also Kelly’s new home, restored after decades of ruin. Midge suspects that the wooded grounds hold the key to Sarah’s fate and Caroline’s. But will Haven Cliff—and Midge herself—give up long-buried secrets?

Review:

Midge and her friends were a tight circle. When Caroline disappeared, they kept hope up that she was still alive and living a great life outside of Mulberry. They kept her secrets when she left and having had no contact since then, they don't know what happened to her. Then right before Talia and her family come to visit  Kelly and see the renovations she's made at Haven Cliff, a body is found in the covered up pool. Now Midge has to hope it's not Caroline, because she has her sister in custody for Caroline's exboyfriend's death. Add in a missing teen and old secrets starting to leak out, and Midge isn't sure she can keep anyone safe. A fast read, this one will keep you guessing til almost the end. Wendy knows how to craft a tight mystery and this one is no exception!

About the Author:

Wendy Corsi Staub is the New York Times bestselling and multi-award-winning author of more than one hundred novels, including The Fourth Girl, Windfall, The Other Family, and Dying Breath. She is also the author of the Lily Dale Mystery series, the Foundling trilogy, the Mundy’s Landing trilogy, the Nightwatcher trilogy, and the Live to Tell trilogy. Wendy is a three-time finalist for the Simon & Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award, and she’s won an RWA Rita Award, an RT Award for Career Achievement in Suspense, the 2007 RWA/NYC Golden Apple Award for Lifetime Achievement, and five WLA Washington Irving Prizes for Fiction. Born and raised in Dunkirk, New York, Wendy is married, has two sons and three rescue cats, and has fostered for various animal rescue organizations. For more information, visit www.wendycorsistaub.com.