The Roanoke Girls

When 15-year-old Lane Roanoke is sent to live with her grandparents and her cousin Allegra in their rambling Kansas mansion, she secretly hopes she'll finally find the sense of home and family she never had with her own mother. Instead, she uncovers secrets darker and more dangerous than she could ever have imagined. Ten years later, Lane is drawn back to the family home to help solve the mystery of Allegra's disappearance. Alternating between the narrative present and Lane's first summer in Kansas, Engel (The Book of Ivy) skillfully builds suspense and unfolds mysteries bit by bit. The vivid characters are made all the more complex by the horrors they're sucked into, and even the lighter notes of the novel—first loves, rekindled relationships—are tainted with the darkness that threatens to engulf them all. Tension runs through the novel from beginning to end and teases out the basic human emotions—guilt, love, jealousy, and fear. The themes and characters come to life through Brittany Pressley's gifted narration. She uses a thoughtful and straightforward tone the reader can imagine coming directly from Lane herself.