NetGalley: The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey
Published: 11/1/2022
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Pages: 332
Genre: Murder, Mystery
Review: NetGalley
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.
When I first started this book, I got the Stephen King vibe and started thinking about his book IT. Yet, as the story went on, it was nothing like his work, like a totally different genre and everything.
Interestingly, this book is set in the '70s, which was pretty neat. Girls are going missing; things are happening in a small town, and it just seems to always be swept under the rug. Kind of like that saying, "what stays in your household stays; you don't want anyone to know what is going on behind closed doors." Our main character Heather is doing her mom's job because her mom is sick. She is trying to be a big sister and be a kid while making sure the household is okay because her father, a DA, is busy with work all the time. When she sees something so horrible and starts hanging out with the wrong crowd, that is when things take a turn. It seems the secrets that this town believes it could hold are not going to keep quiet anymore, especially as girls go missing. The author did a great job building the characters and the plot because it all went together so well. I loved how it wasn't all just a happy ending. There was some heartbreak, some growth, and justice. I honestly had it in my head that it was this one person, I am sure of it, then bam! Surprise, it was not even connected. Just another crime is going on.
I enjoyed the turn of events, and I even thought it was neat that the houses had a tunnel that connected them. That was pretty cool.
This was my first book by this author, and I believe I will be checking out more of her work! I loved the setting, and I do not think I've read a book set in Minnesota, so that was really cool.
Hi, folks! While I write across genres, there's one universal connecting all my books: secrets. I grew up in a house choking with them, and I remain fascinated by the thoughts and actions we hide from the world.
My beginnings as an author were pretty grim, something I speak about in my TEDx Talk (https://youtu.be/a5vSLh3oPXI). I've come a long way since that first book, and I'm proud to call myself an Amazon Charts bestselling, Edgar, Agatha, ITW Thriller, and Lefty-nominated, Anthony-winning author of nonfiction, children's books, YA adventure, magical realism, and crime fiction. I also love to teach creative writing in international workshops.
I live in Minneapolis with a rotating batch of foster kittens (and occasional foster puppies, but man those goobers are a lot of work). You can find out more at jessicalourey.com.
Thanks for checking out my books!
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