The Taken Ones -- Jess Lourey

<p><b>Two girls vanished. A woman buried alive. Between two crimes lie decades of secrets yet to be unearthed in a pulse-pounding novel by the Edgar Award-nominated author of <i>Unspeakable Things</i>.</b></p><p>Summer 1980: Despite the local superstition that the Bendy Man haunts the woods, three girls go into a Minnesota forest. Only one comes out, dead silent, her memory gone. The mystery of the Taken Ones captures the nation.</p><p>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. They're both desperate 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.</p><p>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.</p><br><br><b>Author:</b> Jess Lourey<br><b>Publisher:</b> Thomas & Mercer<br><b>Published:</b> 09/19/2023<br><b>Pages:</b> 332<br><b>Binding Type:</b> Paperback<br><b>Weight:</b> 1.15lbs<br><b>Size:</b> 8.58h x 5.67w x 1.34d<br><b>ISBN:</b> 9781662507618<br><br><b>Review Citation(s): </b><br><i>Kirkus Reviews</i> 08/15/2023