NetGalley: Sundown Girls by L.S. Stratton
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers
Published: 1/27/2026
Pages: 310
Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Paranormal
Review: NetGalley ARC and publisher
When sixteen-year-old Naomi Stoakes and her family head to a secluded cabin in the Shenandoah Valley for summer vacation they don’t know the small, mountainous town of Sparksburg, Virginia has a dark and twisted past. But when they arrive, Naomi can’t shake the feeling that something about Sparksburg just isn’t right. When she learns Sparksburg had once been a Sundown Town—a town where Blacks weren’t allowed after sunset lest they be murdered—well Naomi’s unease starts to make sense.
As Naomi digs more into Sparksburg’s violent origins, she finds herself haunted by the ghost of a girl, appearing nightly outside her window. Then she learns of two girls who’ve recently gone missing and suspects the past may still be present in Sparksburg and beneath the quaint façade of this tourist town is a palpable danger.
When Naomi decides to track the disappearance of the two girls herself and confronts the ghost of another, she becomes suspicious of a local man who has kindled fear in Naomi more than once. When she learns he has a connection to one of the missing girls, Naomi is certain he’s responsible for the disappearances.
When no one believes her, Naomi takes matters into her own hands. But to save the missing girls, she’ll have to finally face her own past trauma as a “missing girl” and risk losing everything she loves.
As Naomi digs more into Sparksburg’s violent origins, she finds herself haunted by the ghost of a girl, appearing nightly outside her window. Then she learns of two girls who’ve recently gone missing and suspects the past may still be present in Sparksburg and beneath the quaint façade of this tourist town is a palpable danger.
When Naomi decides to track the disappearance of the two girls herself and confronts the ghost of another, she becomes suspicious of a local man who has kindled fear in Naomi more than once. When she learns he has a connection to one of the missing girls, Naomi is certain he’s responsible for the disappearances.
When no one believes her, Naomi takes matters into her own hands. But to save the missing girls, she’ll have to finally face her own past trauma as a “missing girl” and risk losing everything she loves.
With the help of ghosts, Naomi uncovers so much wrong with the town and those who are willing to be evil.
I think the author did a great job building up the suspense in the town, and how Naomi handled the situation.
I really liked the medium aspect of this book because I believe the trauma that Naomi went through helped her in a way that she could give closure to the families that needed it.
L.S. Stratton is an NAACP Image Award-nominated author and former crime newspaper reporter who has written more than a dozen books under different pen names in just about every genre from thrillers to romance to historical fiction. She currently lives in Maryland with her husband, their daughter, and their tuxedo cat.
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