Girl Last Seen

Girl Last Seen by Nina Laurin is a tense and suspenseful psychological thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seat as it explores trauma, survival, and the haunting consequences of a traumatic past. The novel follows a troubled main character who is grappling with the scars of her past—particularly the memory of being kidnapped as a child. She is struggling to build a “normal” life, but her coping mechanisms are self-destructive, and her mental health continues to be a battleground.

Things take a chilling turn when she sees a missing person’s poster of a young child who bears an uncanny resemblance to herself. As the plot unfolds, Laurin masterfully intertwines the main character's present with dark revelations from her show more past. The premise is intriguing, and there’s a palpable sense of suspense throughout the book.

Laurin does a solid job of exploring the psychological weight of trauma and the complicated dynamics between abuser and victim, creating an intense atmosphere of fear and survival.

However, the pacing of the book is uneven. At times, the plot seems to lose its momentum, bogged down by filler or side plots that distract from the main narrative.

One of the most problematic elements of the novel is the relationship that develops between the main character and the cop who helped rescue her from her abductor as a child. While it’s clear that they share a deep connection, it’s difficult to ignore that their bond is, at its core, a trauma bond—a connection based on shared past trauma and unhealthy emotional dependence.The relationship is presented in a way that almost romanticizes the dynamics of a trauma bond, and it’s uncomfortable to watch. It’s clear to any reader that their relationship is deeply flawed, and while the cop does eventually realize that their connection is toxic, the brief moment of romance at the end feels off.

Despite these issues, Girl Last Seen is still an engaging psychological thriller with moments of gripping suspense. Laurin does a solid job of building tension and crafting a twisty, unpredictable narrative. The twists themselves are intriguing, and the revelations about the protagonist's past and the identity of the real abuser are satisfying. If you’re a fan of thrillers that delve into the complexities of trauma, survival, and the lingering effects of abuse, this book will likely pull you in. show less

Thrillers are an addiction. Ask anyone. Sometimes they just thrill and sometimes they get under your skin and tie you up for years at a stretch, doing unspeakable things to you... and then they let you loose, making you feel like a monster for years and years.

Well, it hasn't been years, rather... minutes since I finished this book, and I can tell right away that I'm going to stay in a bit of shock.

This is a dark one.

I love the premise, the connection over many years, but I probably love other kinds of entanglements even more. I'm talking about you, Ella and Shaw. :)

There's a good deal of perfect twists and turns in the plot, but it's the downward spiral of poor Ella that takes center stage, the victim blaming the victim all the way, show more and yet, always holding onto tiny little sparks and obsessions to keep her going. I love it!

If this doesn't become the next big thing, I don't know what will! It goes down smooth. Real smooth. And scary.


(The fact that I know the author has nothing to do with my judgment of the book. I literally couldn't put it down from the time I picked it up.) :) show less

Girl Last Seen by Nina Laurin is a gritty, suspense-laden mystery.

In the ten years since her pedophile kidnapper inexplicably freed her, Laine Moreno has never fully recovered from her three year ordeal. Now twenty-three, she holds down two jobs to support herself and she relies on alcohol and drugs to keep her dark memories at bay. Laine comes face to face with her past when ten year old Olivia Shaw goes missing and Detective Sean Ortiz suspects there is a connection between Laine’s still unsolved case and Olivia’s kidnapping. Laine wants nothing more than to help find the young girl, but will she help or hinder the investigation?

Laine’s ordeal at the hands of abductor was horrendous but little was done to find her captor after show more her release. The daughter of a junkie, Laine was quickly forgotten as she became a ward of the state and soon turned to unhealthy methods of coping with what happened to her. Now on probation and still undergoing counseling, Laine is her own worst enemy as she numbs her pain with a plethora of prescription drug addictions and alcohol. She wants to help rescue Olivia, but Laine is impulsive and unable to cope with the traumatic memories from her time in captivity.

Since Olivia is from a wealthy family, her disappearance is a high profile case with intense media scrutiny. There is also a great deal of pressure on the police to locate the missing girl and Sean’s reason for reaching out to Laine is two-fold: rule her out as a suspect and check to see if she has recalled any new details about her own case. Laine implicitly trusts Sean due to their history but is her faith in him misplaced? Laine soon discovers she can rely on no one but herself as she continues trying to find Olivia on her own while she becomes progressively more paranoid as her downward spiral continues.

With plenty of unexpected twists and turns and an increasingly unreliable narrator, Girl Last Seen is a somewhat dark mystery that delves into some difficult subject matter. Although Laine is initially a sympathetic protagonist, it is easy to become frustrated with her erratic behavior and poor choices. Sean is not exactly impartial when it comes to Laine and he, too, makes some very ill-advised decisions. Nina Laurin brings the investigation to an adrenaline-fueled (but slightly improbably) conclusion and the novel ends on a surprisingly upbeat note. show less

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 -- show more 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. show less

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 show more story behind the novel so it’s worthy of 3 stars. show less

Ten years ago, 13-year-old Ella was found walking along a road. She had been missing for three years, sexually abused and held captive in a basement. Unable to provide the police with any clues to her captor's identity, no one was ever apprehended for what happened to Ella. Now known as Lainey, she just about manages to scrape by, working two jobs, relying on booze and pills to keep going, and avoiding any meaningful human contact. When a ten-year-old girl disappears from the grounds of her school, Lainey/Ella believes the same person who abducted her is responsible.
I'm going to start with the not so good bits. For me, those were certain aspects of the plot. I think I might be harsher than others here because of the amount of crime show more fiction I get through, so consequently, after a while, you tend to come across the same old plot devices and this story had several here-we-go-again elements that resulted in eye-rolling and a lack of surprise.
Despite this, Girl Last Seen was a fast-paced page-turner that I didn't want to put down. This was mainly due to the taut writing style and the dialogue, which I thought was very well done. Also, the characterization of the addicted, lonely and completely broken protagonist was excellent. Can't say I particularly liked any of the characters, but as far as flawed characters go, Nina Laurin did a fantastic job. This was gritty. It was dark. It's a debut, which makes the writing and the characterization even more impressive. I would certainly read more from this author. Hopefully, next time, there will be less need for overused plot devices.
I received an ARC via NetGalley. show less

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 show more 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! show less