As a huge fan of Sarah Glenn Marsh I jumped into her next book heads first. Do I regret that? No. Do I wish I had checked to see that it was horror? Maybe. I am a giant scaredy cat and so I had to rush to finish the ending while it was still daylight!
Summary
Dare Chase doesn’t believe in ghosts.
Privately, she’s a supernatural skeptic. But publicly, she’s keeping her doubts to herself—because she’s the voice of Attachments, her brand-new paranormal investigation podcast, and she needs her ghost-loving listeners to tune in.
That’s what brings her to Arrington Estate. Thirty years ago, teenager Atheleen Bell drowned in Arrington’s lake, and legend says her spirit haunts the estate. Dare’s more interested in the suspicious circumstances surrounding her death—circumstances that she believes point to a living culprit, not the supernatural. Still, she’s vowed to keep an open mind as she investigates, even if she’s pretty sure what she’ll find.
But Arrington is full of surprises. Good ones like Quinn, the cute daughter of the house’s new owner. And baffling ones like the threatening messages left scrawled in paint on Quinn’s walls, the ghastly face that appears behind Dare’s own in the mirror, and the unnatural current that nearly drowns their friend Holly in the lake. As Dare is drawn deeper into the mysteries of Arrington, she’ll have to rethink the boundaries of what is possible. Because if something is lurking in the lake…it might not be willing to let her go.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
TW: emetophobia
The Girls Are Never Gone balances moments of intense horror and dread with sparks of joy and love. It’s a story about the past looking over our shoulders, while also being a story of love as a source of strength. If you were convinced that ghosts didn’t exist, what would it take to convince you? My experience while reading The Girls Are Never Gone was almost constant suspense. That feeling of experiences you can’t quite explain piling up. All the excuses you make starting to sound flimsy and circumstantial.
The dangers of what people hide beneath the smiles, the polite conversations you have in store aisles, and across breakfast tables. All masking something sinister under the surface. When you cease to be able to ignore that gut instinct. If you’re looking for a YA mystery/horror book, The Girls Are Never Gone has to be on your list. Featuring a MC with diabetes – which is the first I’ve ever seen – Sarah Glenn Marsh’s characters are endearing.
They pull you through the story. Either making you wonder about their choices or in relatability. The Girls Are Never Gone is the perfect book for fall. It will make you question your expectations, the legacy of loss, and still lakes. I breezed through it because of the fast paced action and the suspense.
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