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"Summer 1980: Despite the local superstition that the Bendy Man haunts the woods, three girls go into a Minnesota forest. Only one comes out. Dead silent. Memory gone. No trace of her friends. The mystery of the Taken Ones captures the nation. Summer 2022: Cold case detective Van Reed and forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck are assigned a disturbing homicide - a woman buried alive, clutching a heart charm necklace belonging to one of the vanished girls. Van follows her gut. Harry trusts in show more facts. Their common ground is the need to catch a killer before he kills again. They have something else in common: each has ties to the original case in ways they're reluctant to share. As Van and Harry connect the crimes of the past and the present, Van struggles with memories of her own nightmarish childhood - and the fear that uncovering the truth of the Taken Ones will lead her down a path from which she, too, may never return." -- Back cover. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Cold Case detective Van Reed of the BCA finds danger and begins to come to terms with her own very troubled past when she is assigned to look into the case of two young girls who go missing in Leech Lake, Minnesota, on a sunny summer day in 1980.
The case gets more complicated when the body of a woman buried alive is found in a secluded part of Minneapolis in the summer of 2022 and she proves to be one of the girls not seen since 1980. Van, who was a former member of the Minneapolis Police Department before joining the BCA, is forced to work with a detective who was instrumental in freezing her out of the MPD. He also has a connection to the Leech Lake case which he isn't eager to share.
Van works with forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck show more who is her polar opposite. He is meticulous in his methods and personal appearance; she's prone to hunches and lives surrounded by garbage. However, the two play off each other well and have some hidden similarities which come out in the story.
As Van investigates those witnesses who are still alive and retraces the crime, she suffers flashbacks of her own childhood when she was raised in a cult run by an obsessive patriarch. She only got out when the cult's leader was arrested and jailed for tax evasion. Van began having prophetic visions while still in the cult. They have sometimes helped her with her police work, but they have also led her to vigilantism where she has killed people she wasn't able to bring to justice through the legal system.
This was an interesting mystery with intriguing characters including a very creepy villain. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. I liked seeing a new relationship beginning for Van and Harry. show less
The case gets more complicated when the body of a woman buried alive is found in a secluded part of Minneapolis in the summer of 2022 and she proves to be one of the girls not seen since 1980. Van, who was a former member of the Minneapolis Police Department before joining the BCA, is forced to work with a detective who was instrumental in freezing her out of the MPD. He also has a connection to the Leech Lake case which he isn't eager to share.
Van works with forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck show more who is her polar opposite. He is meticulous in his methods and personal appearance; she's prone to hunches and lives surrounded by garbage. However, the two play off each other well and have some hidden similarities which come out in the story.
As Van investigates those witnesses who are still alive and retraces the crime, she suffers flashbacks of her own childhood when she was raised in a cult run by an obsessive patriarch. She only got out when the cult's leader was arrested and jailed for tax evasion. Van began having prophetic visions while still in the cult. They have sometimes helped her with her police work, but they have also led her to vigilantism where she has killed people she wasn't able to bring to justice through the legal system.
This was an interesting mystery with intriguing characters including a very creepy villain. I enjoyed the characters and the setting. I liked seeing a new relationship beginning for Van and Harry. show less
I wanted to like The Taken Ones, but it fell flat. At first, the quirky descriptions were refreshing—Lourey avoids clichés with lines like “her face went as white as cottage cheese.” But the novelty wore off fast, drowning the story in unnecessary imagery.
The book’s feminist themes, while well-intentioned, were heavy-handed. Nearly every character was sexist, making the message feel exhausting rather than impactful. The protagonist was especially frustrating—she presents herself as a tough cop but reacts irrationally to small things, like snapping at a shelter worker over a dog. She also has a convoluted backstory, visions, and a past so obvious that strangers immediately sense her trauma.
The plot jumps around too much, and show more the characters lack depth. I never connected with anyone, and the constant sexism overshadowed the actual story. While the book had potential, it ultimately felt overwhelming and unfocused. If you love offbeat descriptions and a strong feminist lens, you might enjoy it more than I did—but I wouldn’t recommend it. show less
The book’s feminist themes, while well-intentioned, were heavy-handed. Nearly every character was sexist, making the message feel exhausting rather than impactful. The protagonist was especially frustrating—she presents herself as a tough cop but reacts irrationally to small things, like snapping at a shelter worker over a dog. She also has a convoluted backstory, visions, and a past so obvious that strangers immediately sense her trauma.
The plot jumps around too much, and show more the characters lack depth. I never connected with anyone, and the constant sexism overshadowed the actual story. While the book had potential, it ultimately felt overwhelming and unfocused. If you love offbeat descriptions and a strong feminist lens, you might enjoy it more than I did—but I wouldn’t recommend it. show less
My Thoughts:
Quantitative Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3.5
Character development = 3
Story itself = 3
Writing Style = 3
Ending = 4
World building = 4
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (10 hrs and 31 mins listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 5
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 show less
The story is not just crime fiction. It has an element of the paranormal in it. Van's instincts are so bang on that it borders on the supernatural.show more
I love the premise of this book! Paranormal hunches that are always correct! Catching the bad guys! Wonderful! What is not so wonderful is the way the author makes the heroine so masochistically subservient, it is royally pissing me off!
I think the author wrote it so that the readers would hate Detective Dave Comstock. And I do! Specially when he did not shake Van's hand and said "you never belonged". No decent human being does that!! But, that's the key word: "decent" human being, isn't it?...
I got so annoyed with Comstock that I stopped reading this book and picked up another.
Then when I forgot my annoyance, I pick this book up again. So, no, this book was not a fast-paced read for me.
Police outright harassing other officers of the law? Like, what century are these people living in?! I thought that was what the Bureau of Internal Affairs are for!...
I am also not very agreeable with vigilante justice. Not in fiction books anyway. So, I am in a dilemma here...
And what's up with Van taking out garbage bags to the chute?...
At the start of the book, Van was kind of a weak character. She lets people run rough shod over her. She takes her frustrations out on her poor subordinates. Then at the end, she all of a sudden speaks out to Comstock? That character inconsistency there brought the character development down a notch.
This is my first Carly Robins audiobook and I would listen to her again.
Now we have to wait a year for the next Steinbeck and Reed book to come out!
Quantitative Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3.5
Character development = 3
Story itself = 3
Writing Style = 3
Ending = 4
World building = 4
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (10 hrs and 31 mins listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 5
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 show less
The Taken Ones by Jess Lourey
Steinbeck & Reed #1
Terrifying, twisted, and terrific ~ Couldn’t put it down.
What I liked:
* Evangeline “Van” Reed: difficult childhood, bright, left police to work cold cases at Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, lucid dreams that prove to be true, has a bit of PTSD, has a secret, Intriguing
* Harry Steinbeck, forensic scientist, seeks facts, dapper dresser, caring, kind, tenacious, has a secret that I want to know
* That Van and Harry seem opposites who work well together – eager to see what they tackle next
* The supporting characters that work with Van and Harry – would like to get to know Kyle, Johnna and Deepty better
* The police procedural aspects of the story and how the cold case was solved
* show more That the cold case of the girls kidnapping, and the case of the woman buried alive were both solved by the end of the story
* All of it really except…
What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to
* Thinking about how warped and twisted the criminals were…and there were quite a few in this book
* The closed ranks of the police and the way they treated Van
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4-5 Stars show less
Steinbeck & Reed #1
Terrifying, twisted, and terrific ~ Couldn’t put it down.
What I liked:
* Evangeline “Van” Reed: difficult childhood, bright, left police to work cold cases at Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, lucid dreams that prove to be true, has a bit of PTSD, has a secret, Intriguing
* Harry Steinbeck, forensic scientist, seeks facts, dapper dresser, caring, kind, tenacious, has a secret that I want to know
* That Van and Harry seem opposites who work well together – eager to see what they tackle next
* The supporting characters that work with Van and Harry – would like to get to know Kyle, Johnna and Deepty better
* The police procedural aspects of the story and how the cold case was solved
* show more That the cold case of the girls kidnapping, and the case of the woman buried alive were both solved by the end of the story
* All of it really except…
What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to
* Thinking about how warped and twisted the criminals were…and there were quite a few in this book
* The closed ranks of the police and the way they treated Van
Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC – This is my honest review.
4-5 Stars show less
I both read and listened to The Taken Ones, and found the writing smooth and engaging. Van’s cynicism and tragic past added depth, but many characters felt forgettable and it was sometimes hard to keep track of them all.
The resolution was interesting, but I didn’t feel the emotional punch I hoped for. I sympathized with the families, but the ending felt more tragic than powerful, it was okay, but not quite a wow moment.
Harry Steinbeck was my favorite, more layered and intriguing than Van, and I look forward to seeing where the series goes next.
3.5 stars, rounded up
The resolution was interesting, but I didn’t feel the emotional punch I hoped for. I sympathized with the families, but the ending felt more tragic than powerful, it was okay, but not quite a wow moment.
Harry Steinbeck was my favorite, more layered and intriguing than Van, and I look forward to seeing where the series goes next.
3.5 stars, rounded up
A great example of how to take a lot of ideas and plot points and bring them all together without rushing yet still having a few loose ends to continue the series. Although there was a lot going on, you weren't confused and the characters were well fleshed out so you knew who was who and didn't need a diagram to keep it all together. I can't wait to read the next one, I love Reed and Steinbeck!
I've had a good reading history with this author. I'm excited to read this one!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
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