↠ 5 stars ⭐︎

Let’s just say, I started this book at 7pm on a Monday evening and stayed up until 4am to finish it. I simply could not go to sleep without knowing how it ended! Well worth the following day’s sleepiness.

Disclaimer: some minor spoilers ahead.

The Quarry Girls is a “coming-of-age meets thriller,” and Lourey paints a creepy, unsettling picture that allows the reader to be completely immersed in the story. Inspired by real-life events, Lourey tells the story of several teen girls who go missing in a small town in Minnesota in 1977. The story is told from two POVs: Beth, the strong-willed and resilient university-bound girl who gets abducted after a shift at the local diner; and Heather, a teenage girl whose trying to navigate the murky cusp of girlhood and womanhood while simultaneously uncovering the disturbing and dark secrets her town and the men she thought she could trust have kept hidden in the tunnels below.

“That’s when I understood the raw truth of it: the men in charge were looking out for themselves. We were on our own, the girls of Pantown.”

Gripping, atmospheric, and creepy, this novel is beautifully written, with interesting, well-written characters who keep the plot flowing, leaving the reader engaged and on the edge of their seat until its conclusion. It was also an eye-opening depiction of violence women endure at the hands of toxic masculinity—and the lengths to which these men, especially those in a position of power, will go to cover it up. It had me continuously theorizing who I thought may or may not be involved in the overarching mystery, and while I was right in the end, I was still left shocked and never once felt like the conclusion of the story was predictable!

I highly recommend The Quarry Girls! And I cannot wait to read more from this author.