Don't Forget the Girl

By: Rebecca McKanna

Narrated by: Jennifer O'Donnell

Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

We never remember the dead girls. We never forget the killers.

Twelve years ago, 18-year-old University of Iowa freshman Abby Hartmann disappeared. Now, Jon Allan Blue, the serial killer suspected of her murder, is about to be executed. Abby’s best friends, Bree and Chelsea, watch as Abby’s memory is unearthed and overshadowed by Blue and his flashier crimes. The friends, estranged in the wake of Abby’s disappearance, and suffering from years of unvoiced resentments, must reunite when a high-profile podcast dedicates its next season to Blue’s murders.

Tense and introspective, Don’t Forget the Girl examines friends and the secrets between them that might have gone to the grave.

©2023 Rebecca McKanna (P)2023 Recorded Books

Really enjoyed

This story kept me engaged throughout. I enjoyed the variety and layers of characters. And the narration was excellent.

You won’t be disappointed!

A more realistic take on a murder mystery. Definitely a slow burn, starts off slow, but then it picks up! I couldn’t stop listening until I knew what happened. I also loved the depth the characters had in this story. If you’re looking for a thriller filled with guts and gore, this isn’t for you. This is a story of friendship, two girls who are desperate to find out what happened to their best friend. If you’re on the fence about it, just listen to it! You won’t be disappointed!

Awesome murder mystery!

I rarely get hooked on a book lately. But I had to listen to this one until I knew the ending. Great story about friendship and love along with all the complications that come with them. Focusing on two friends who never give up on finding out what happened to their best friend. A must listen for any true crime fan with a lesson for all of us that the victim and families are real and raw.

Enjoyable

Really enjoyed this book because the characters felt more complete than other books I’ve read. They aren’t perfect and they are flawed and they don’t deal with things the way they should but it’s more human.

I liked that this book was focused on the victims, and the loved ones of the victims. The stories of grief they held for so many years.

More Than a Victim

3.25 stars for Don't Forget the Girls by Rebecca McKanna. This is a little different take on the abducted/murdered girl trope - as it attempts to redirect the focus on who the victim was outside of the crime itself. It's told in two timelines moving back and forth from the days leading up to the abduction and present day as the countdown to the perpetrator being executed takes place. It's told from the POV of three college friends including the victim and it tackles the complicated turn all of their lives take after the abduction and murder. I appreciated the author trying to do something unique as well as the theme that the victim should be remembered for more than just the crime, but I wasn't particularly fond of any of the characters. Perhaps that was the intent. It's a quick read and I would recommend it if you like messy friendships and campus settings as well as the murder mystery trope.

Bad

This book was terribly boring, and I never got what the point of it was.

Not suspenseful

I did not enjoy this book at all, it dragged on. I kept waiting for something to happen.

what the heck?

what the heck did I just listen to it just went on and on and on and it was awful. I don't know how I got such great reviews it was dull and boring