Island of Lost Girls: A Novel

Summary: Rhonda is just waiting for her gas to be pumped when Peter rabbit appears in the Volkswagen Beetle and takes little Ernestine away. She doesn't know what to do she just watches, Trudy the girl's mother is furious that she just stood by and did nothing. She has an enormous amount of guilt and begins to pour herself into finding the little girl. Rhonda works phones at the call center and starts her own detective work to find out what happened to Ernie. Her childhood friend Peter is acting awfully strange and is beginning to look very guilty of being involved in the girls abduction, and the clues Rhonda find just lead back to Peter. All this brings Rhonda back to a time when she was younger and Peter's sister Lizzy, who also went missing, Rhonda wonders are the two connected and what exactly happened in 1993 when everything changed. Review: I have to say I really enjoyed this book, lots of action and a ton of suspense. This is the 2nd book I have read by Ms. McMahon and this book did not disappoint me at all. It is a well written and easy to follow through all the twists and turns. I really could understand Rhonda and the dilemma she carries of loving her childhood friend and not know who to trust. I would definitely give this book 5 stars out of 5.

I started reading McMahon books with Night Sister and The Winter People, which have a very different, but at the same time similar element. This is the first of her earlier books that I have read and her style is very evident throughout. Without spoiling, the elements that she added into Night Sister and Winter People have perfected her style. I still enjoyed reading this one though. As usual for McMahon, she crafted an intense story that deals with multiple generations of people and the story weaves back and forth through time. I've read some reviews that say this book was predictable but I didn't find that to be so. I had my suspicions about events taking place in the book, but then she surprised me and threw in plenty of twists and turns. It's so much fun to read McMahon because you are constantly guessing and that makes you want to continue reading. To me, she's the type of author who writes books that I want to stay up all night reading, just so I know the outcome. Even though I really enjoyed the book, I didn't care for the main character, Rhonda. She came off as a weak woman. She flip-flopped her loyalties, and even though she was missing a lot of information, it was sort of infuriating to listen to her piece things together. She was naive and weak and those aren't characteristics that are likable in a main character. She spent her entire life pining away for a man who doesn't want her, has a degree in a STEM technology and yet, blows off interviews. Who's paying for your apartment and groceries, Rhonda?! Overall, it was a very entertaining book and if you can get over the weak main character, it's well worth the time.

Her books are effing terrible, BUT engaging. They all have a great story, and it keeps you hooked, but then, she just throws a Stephen King-like ending out of nowhere at you and it's hard not to swear in anger. Although I talk smack, I will probably continue to buy these when they are dirt cheap on Kindle because I do like a good tale. I would, however read Gillian Welch---she is pretty awesome. Same sort of story-lines, but much better endings. I think where MacMahon lacks is her ability as a writer to slow down. It all feels like she writes it fast, and writes it before she knows what to do with it, and I can see how not only an Agent, but a Publisher could be easily duped into buying her books. She also knows she can do it---we allow it. Island of the Lost Girls had me hooked from the very beginning to the end when I went, "Wah wah---made no sense", but whatever, it was a decent read for a Saturday afternoon under the covers when my mind felt like mush. All her terrible books are.

This book was a hard one to put down until it was finished. Anyway there were so many things going on with different people, one needs to read it to make sure you remember where you were when you put it down. It was an excellent read and shows how desperate a little girl will react to even simple directions when they are so traumatised. And to have a brother that believed in his father so much that his little sister had to prove the abuse again to prove it. Abuse can be so hidden and done by 'trusting' people that it makes it difficult to even report it because it generally is not believed.....so sad!

I was a big fan of Jennifer McMahon's earlier book: Promise Not To Tell, so for the last few months, I've been meaning to read Island of Lost Girls-- it just never happened until this weekend. About the book.... One summer day, at a gas station in a small Vermont town, six-year-old is abducted by a person wearing a rabbit suit while her mother is buying lottery tickets. Rhonda Farr is the only witness, and she does nothing as she watches the scene unfold. The incident seemed so surreal, that she hardly realized a crime was in progress, and that the girl was being kidnapped. The little girl gets into the VW Bug with the rabbit , smiling while the rabbit even takes the time to fasten her seat belt. The kidnapping forces Rhonda to face another disappearance, that of her best friend from childhood - Lizzy Shale who disappeared (13) years earlier. A person in a rabbit suit was around at the time of that abduction as well. Rhonda helps join in the search for the latest missing girl, partly out of guilt for her lost friend. This book was one of those creepy, psychological thrillers, that makes some people (like me), a bit uncomfortable--squirming, and feeling a little hestitant to turn the next page. There were just 276 pages, culminating in a somewhat predictable conclusion. The book was still a worthwhile read, but in my opinion, it does not compare to Promise Not To Tell.

A perfect mystery that takes you on a million little turns! This was a beautiful, perfect example of misleading the audience and subverting expectations even when they were expected to be subverted. I love the way she paints characters and the honesty and genuinity of the conversations that take place! A definite must read for thriller junkies!

"The Island of Lost Girls" is several types of stories at once- a mystery, a family memoir, a suspense story; But at it's core lives a stark and disturbing treatise on the horror of a seemingly normal childhood. The story reminded me, in a good way, of the novella by Barbara Vine, aka Ruth Rendel, entitled "Heartstones". I enjoyed reading this book, and like any good Barbara Vine book, I kept waiting for the shock that I knew was coming. I expect as this author continues to grow, as a writer, the occasional heavy handedness and whiffs of sanctimonious preaching will become a thing of the past. I get the magnitude and devastation of the subject matter- make it count more by being a better storyteller.

I heard great reviews for this book and was severely let down by the juvenile writing and story line. I felt like I may have enjoyed this book at a younger age, but this book was definitely too easy of a read for me. I felt the story line was immature and predictable, the ending was forced, and the characters were not developed. I would advise the writing of this book to be suitable for a young adult novel; however, the story line is violent and grim and would not advise anyone to pick this up. Definitely not worth the ten dollars on the Kindle.

Rhonda Farr stops at Pat's Mini Mart for 'gas'. Fellow Pike's Crossing resident Trudy Florucci pulls up to buy lottery tickets, leaving second grade daughter Ernistine in the car just for a minute. Someone in a rabbit suit drives up in a VW Beetle, greets the little girl, escorts her into the VW and drives off. Rhonda observes, dumbfounded. I struggled with this thriller's early chapters - working out who the characters were and how they related to each other. This vagueness is part of the storyline, and is resolved. The plot ducks and weaves, alternating chapters between 2006 and earlier events of 1993. On finishing this one day read, I was left reflecting on memory, actions & unintended consequences, trauma & recovery and how secrets may play out over the years. This is a well-crafted, rewarding, story - one of those books where you think 'I must read that through once more''.

I enjoyed this story very much and was delighted with the delivery and price.

Very good story line.

I was really keen to read this and while it didn't 'grab' me, it was a readable crime mystery, possibly suited to a lightweight beach read. Rhonda witnesses the kidnap of a young girl at a rundown Mid-West service station. While the girl's mother is inside the store a big white rabbit abducts the girl and drives off with her before Rhonda can recover her wits sufficiently to react. Driven by an overwhelming feeling of guilt she becomes involved in the hunt for the kidnapper. This rejuvenates memories from 13 years previously when her best friend was also kidnapped. Intertwining three families over a period of thirteen years, there were a number of good threads joining the past and present but a bit of a rushed ending which considerably detracted from the book. I would read this author again but I'd probably borrow the book from the library rather than buy it as a keeper. 3 1/2 stars.

I couldn't stop reading this book and really enjoyed the twists and turns in the plot, which is deeply quirky and starts when our main character spots a child being abducted by somebody dressed in a white rabbit suit. Not realising what's happening, Rhonda fails to act - and of course feels incredibly guilty afterwards, and motivated to find out more and try to help. The incident and ensuing hunt for the missing girl also brings up odd childhood memories that Rhonda has never dealt with before (mostly about a childhood friend who disappeared) and which chime uncannily with some details of the the white rabbit abduction. It is basically a really bizarre premise for a crime novel, yet one that does really work well. It is playful and funny at times as well as suspenseful and heartbreaking. Essentially, it is a fairly light and easy read but that doesn't mean it's without depth. The playful aspects of the writing and plot are weirdly suitable to a crime novel that revolves around children, past and present, and it certainly stands apart from other more run of the mill offerings. I would definitely read another novel by this author.