The Lost

Paula Maguire, Book 1

By: Claire McGowan

Narrated by: Joanne King

The start of an exciting new series featuring forensic psychologist Paula Maguire. Not everyone who's missing is lost. When two teenage girls go missing along the Irish border, Paula Maguire has to return to the hometown she left years before. Swirling with rumour and secrets, the town is gripped by fear of a serial killer. But the truth could be even darker.

Not everyone who's lost wants to be found. Surrounded by people and places she tried to forget, Paula digs into the cases as the truth twists further away. What's the link with two other disappearances from 1985? And why does everything lead back to the town's dark past - including the reasons her own mother went missing years before? Nothing is what it seems. As the shocking truth is revealed, Paula learns that sometimes, it's better not to find what you've lost.

©2013 Claire McGowan (P)2013 Headline Digital

Critic reviews

"Either Tana French and Michael Connelly secretly co-wrote this book, or Claire McGowan is a knockout new talent you should read immediately. I'm betting on the latter." (Lee Child)

So, so bad

If I have to hear the word “weans” again, I’ll scream. The main character of this book was so incredibly stupid it became painful to listen to. There’s a scene where the villain accuses her of never shutting up and always getting everything wrong and I couldn’t have said it better myself. There’s absolutely nothing about the character that shows she’s a forensic psychologist. She’s more like your nosy neighbor who wandered into a police precinct and started butting into investigations. And don’t even get me started on the “cops” one of whom was playing Solitaire on his computer most of the time. I wanted to like this book because I liked the premise, but it’s just too awful. And the narrator’s accelerated speech and constant gulping made it even worse. 0 out of 10 stars…would not recommend.