Review: Another Girl Lost - Mary Burton

Review: Another Girl Lost - Mary Burton - September 2024

You know that feeling when you're scrolling through your Kindle, completely over romance novels that just aren't hitting the mark anymore? That's exactly where I found myself recently, desperately hunting for something with more edge and suspense. That's when I stumbled across Mary Burton's "Another Girl Lost," and honestly, it had a couple of my absolute favorite thriller tropes right there in the description – I was sold before I even cracked it open.

The book kicks off with one of those classic "Ten Years Later" moments that immediately hooks you. Construction workers are renovating a house when they make a grisly discovery: a body hidden in the walls. The remains belong to a young girl who vanished a decade ago, presumed to be another victim of a predator named Tanner. Here's where it gets interesting – Tanner's been dead for ten years, killed by Detective Kevin Dawson during a dramatic car chase that ended with the rescue of another kidnapped girl, Scarlett.

But here's the thing that makes this story compelling: Scarlett insists she wasn't alone during her captivity. She's convinced another girl named Della was there and helped her survive, but nobody believes her – not even Kevin, the detective who saved her life. With this new body surfacing, Scarlett finds herself dragged back into those traumatic memories, hoping they might finally prove Della's existence and help solve this cold case.

The psychological element really drew me in. Mary Burton does a decent job exploring how trauma can distort memory and the frustration of not being believed. When Scarlett becomes convinced that Margaret, a new police officer, is actually her long-lost Della, the tension ratchets up nicely. The past and present timelines weave together in that satisfying way that keeps you turning pages.

However, this is where my main frustration kicks in. Just when you think you're going to get some real payoff from the Della storyline – the mystery that drives the entire narrative – Mary Burton rushes through the revelation. What should have been a major plot point gets resolved in basically a single sentence and then swept under the rug. It felt like she built this intriguing house of cards and then knocked it over before we could really appreciate the architecture.

Don't get me wrong, "Another Girl Lost" isn't a bad read. It's solidly average, which sometimes is exactly what you need. Mary Burton knows how to craft suspense, and if you're in the mood for a past-meets-present abduction thriller, this will scratch that itch. The book succeeds in creating that unsettling atmosphere where you're never quite sure what's real and what's trauma-induced memory. 

Ultimately, "Another Girl Lost" is one of those books that does what it sets out to do without necessarily exceeding expectations. It's a competent thriller that will satisfy readers looking for familiar tropes executed well, even if it doesn't quite deliver on its most promising elements. If you're browsing for your next abduction thriller and don't mind a story that plays things relatively safe, this one's worth adding to your queue.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/45QziT7