A great debut thriller from Nina Laurin! Don't miss it!! Nina has a way with words that makes this book impossible to put down. I love a good thriller so this was amazing. Laurin has a way of making this a fast paced read while still giving the reader a chance to indulge and digest the information that is beautifully presented. Ella/Laine is not really a character that you can have sympathy for. Yet there are bits and pieces of a broken girl that you will find yourself dying to understand. The story is dark and twisty and you can’t help but continue to turn pages to see how it all plays out. 13 years ago, Ella disappeared without a word, daughter to a junkie no one even looked for her. Laine goes on a roller coaster ride trying to piece her past together to try and give a little girl a future. I cannot go into many details on plot without giving it away but if you are looking for a book to get lost in this is your book. Thank you to Netgalley the author and the publisher this was awesome. ( )

Did the Audible version of this one. Pretty good story with a few minor twists. Kind of had the bad guy pegged from the beginning but wasn't quite sure how he did it. ( )

Girl Last Seen is the debut book by Nina Laurin and it's an exciting thriller that engrossed me from the moment I started to read the book. One of the reasons for the book to be so darn good is that Laine, the first girl that was taken was so well written that one could really feel her torment through the pages. She may have escaped her tormentor, but she is still not free. And, now another girl, Olivia has gone missing and the girl looks just like her. Is it a coincidence or has the man that took taken Olivia as well?

Now, there were things I saw coming that didn't surprise me, as things happen that made me perceive how it probably would go. Not that the book was without surprises. The last part of the book was definitely not lacking surprises. It's a book that pulls you in as you follow Laine being pulled into the investigation and even being suspected of being involved in Olivia's disappearance.

There was just one thing that bothered me in the book, but it's a spoiler thing so I can't really discuss it so much, but it's something that happens when the police officer in charge is at Olivia's school with Laine. They learn something there about Olivia that the school shouldn't know as far as I know when it comes to the law and I found that really puzzling. And, that's all I'm going to say about that! Other than that was the book really good!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through Netgalley for an honest review! ( )

3.5 stars, an extra 0.5 since it's Laurin's debut thriller. I blew through this one in two days -- though that's likely the product of having a lot of pre-holiday time on my hands.

Lainey Moreno, as she's now known, was kidnapped at age 10 and held hostage for three brutal years. Now 23 and grasping on to any semblance of a life she can manage, she's working her grocery store job when she hangs up a missing girl poster. Olivia Shaw, age 10, is missing. Lainey has spent every year since her release waiting for the next girl, the one who would replace her in the basement where she was held captive. None were ever right -- not the right age, the right look, the right circumstances. Until Olivia. Which means, whether she likes it or not -- and make no mistake, she doesn't -- Lainey is involved ... in a much deeper way than we initially assume.

It's fast-paced, decently written and stirred an uncomfortable feeling in me throughout. Everything feels very real -- even if the setting and circumstances are foreign to the reader, Laurin does a good job bringing them home and making them realistic and believable. That said, the plot is not without its problems, and I got confused a few times -- with that "ready to be done" feeling. Still, this is a solid offering, and if you like thrillers, check it out. It won't blow you away or become your next favorite book, but you'll still probably want to find out what happens. ( )

Maybe I’m becoming cynical in my old age…but this book didn’t live up to what the description promised. I was slightly disappointed to find that it was it was so predictable as well as disjointed. The main character was constantly idiotic…actually she was her own worst enemy. Her life consisted of drugs and self pity that left no room for the reader to feel any compassion for her at all. The author put the clues together well enough without being completely obvious about them…but the clues didn’t follow much of a pattern and some kept being repeated over and over as if this is what the author wanted the reader to focus on. It was an interesting topic…just too bad that it didn’t come together a bit better. I liked the story behind the novel so it’s worthy of 3 stars. ( )