Lost Girls

An Unsolved American Mystery

By: Robert Kolker

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best seller

Soon to be a Netflix film.

The best-selling account of the lives of five young women whose fates converged in the perplexing case of the Long Island Serial Killer.

“Rich, tragic...monumental...true-crime reporting at its best.” (Washington Post)

One late spring evening in 2010, Shannan Gilbert - after running through the oceanfront community of Oak Beach screaming for her life - went missing. No one who had heard of her disappearance thought much about what had happened to the 24-year-old: She was a Craigslist escort who had been fleeing a scene - of what, no one could be sure. The Suffolk County police, too, seemed to have paid little attention - until seven months later, when an unexpected discovery in a bramble alongside a nearby highway turned up four bodies, all evenly spaced, all wrapped in burlap. But none of them Shannan’s.

There was Maureen Brainard-Barnes, last seen at Penn Station in Manhattan three years earlier, and Melissa Barthelemy, last seen in the Bronx in 2009. There was Megan Waterman, last seen leaving a hotel in Hauppauge, Long Island, just a month after Shannan’s disappearance in 2010, and Amber Lynn Costello, last seen leaving a house in West Babylon a few months later that same year. Like Shannan, all four women were petite, in their 20s, and had come from out of town to work as escorts, and they all had advertised on Craigslist and its competitor, Backpage.

Long considered “one of the best true-crime books of all time” (Time), Lost Girls is a portrait of unsolved murders in an idyllic part of America, of the underside of the Internet, and of the secrets we keep without admitting to ourselves that we keep them.

©2013 Robert Kolker (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

Not bad

I love true stories like this. I wasn’t crazy with the narrator and sometimes it’s hard to keep track of the characters. However, overall it was a good story

A thoughtful and comprehensive look at this case

I want to say at the top that I had to slightly speed up the audio for this book because the narrator's voice was almost too relaxing for me. once I did that I was hooked. the story is enthralling and I love how the focus is truly on the victims and surviving family. This is not a salacious tale of a serial killer, rather a tragic tale of the loss of human life. If you are a fan of true crime this is a must listen and if you are a fan of good writing and storytelling it's also a must listen.

100% great read

it was well told and such a sad story but one that needs to be told

Interesting and telling

Interesting. But slow. This is one of the rare times that the movie is better. Sad story.

loved it!

I loved it . well written and well read. will be looking into more by this author and performer.

No answers

What made the experience of listening to Lost Girls the most enjoyable?

it's so timely, and an interesting look at a side of the internet that I'm sure we'd all rather ignore.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Lost Girls?

Seeing many perspectives of the same story was valuable, and the author tries to take away some of the sensationalism.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It's definitely an upsetting book, and I personally looked in the mirror at my own classism and ability to write off certain crimes as "just the way things are."

Any additional comments?

There are no answers in this book. The author doesn't attempt to make any guesses as to the killer, nor does he try to reconstruct any of the homicides, so if you're looking for that kind of book, you're in the wrong place. If you're looking to learn about the victims, about the line of work they were in, and about how the internet is inextricably linked to the sex industry, this book is really well-written.

Gripping...

I couldn't stop listening. Beautifully written. The narrator is eerily haunting, without even a hint of theatrics. If you like true crime, you will like this book. It could only be better if he could tell us definitively who committed the crimes, but alas it is an unsolved case and thus an inherently dissatisfying conclusion...that will leave you with chills.

Excellent

I’ve read a few reviews that contained some negativity regarding this book and I am completely puzzled by them after listening to it myself. Firstly, the narrator is fantastic. And a quick search of his name will return the fact that he is narrated hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of books and is quite successful. I thought he did a great job and was easy to listen to. Secondly, if you think the story is hard to follow, then you’re not paying attention. It is excellently written and brilliantly delivered. I don’t typically review books or restaurants or hotels, etc., but I thought this was worth it. I enjoy this genre and if you do as well, I do not think you will be disappointed. Resist the urge to Google the story while listening to the book. Only when finished, search the Internet to find out the developments that have taken place since the book’s publishing.

GREAT Listen

Damn good book. Doesn't stray from facts but adds color to give you a great feel as well.

Well researched - but lacking and convoluted

The author obviously did a very good job of researching the book - and you know from the start that they don’t find the killer - but it just seemed like something was missing. There were SO MANY characters and the story jumped around a lot. It might have been easier to follow along when reading the actual book.. but with the audio version it wasn’t always clear which victim’s life story the narrator was describing. I had to rewind several times. . Overall not bad, but not as good as I’d hoped.