Pg. 69: Jennifer McMahon's "Island of Lost Girls"

The current feature at the Page 69 Test: Jennifer McMahon's Island of Lost Girls.

About the book, from the publisher:

While parked at a gas station, Rhonda sees something so incongruously surreal that at first she hardly recognizes it as a crime in progress. She watches, unmoving, as someone dressed in a rabbit costume kidnaps a young girl. Devastated over having done nothing, Rhonda joins the investigation. But the closer she comes to identifying the abductor, the nearer she gets to the troubling truth about another missing child: her best friend, Lizzy, who vanished years before.

From the author of the acclaimed Promise Not to Tell comes a chilling and mesmerizing tale of shattered innocence, guilt, and ultimate redemption.

Among the early praise for Island of Lost Girls:

"Like The Lovely Bones, despite grim and nearly unbearable subject matter, this book is un-put-downable from page 1. The writing is exquisite and often very funny, and themes of childhood and loss resonate."
--The Boston Globe

“This smart mystery-thriller grabs you by the throat and won't let go.... Echoes of Alice down the rabbit hole persist right through the spellbinding conclusion, making this a page-turner you'll neglect sleep for.”
--People

"Haunting... McMahon expertly shifts between pivotal events in the past and present-day action, building tension to a resolution both poignant and shattering."
--Publishers Weekly

“As in her assured debut novel, McMahon offers a moving if bittersweet portrait of childhood... readers will be hooked on both the mystery element and the coming-of-age aspects of this atmospheric novel.”
--Booklist

"Well-crafted... dirty family secrets and sudden plot twists harken back to McMahon's debut."
--Kirkus

“A heartbreaking and haunting masterpiece…. the plot twists and turns and tantalizes.”
--Bookreporter

"Island of Lost Girls is an unsettling account of the secret lives of children, told in unexpected twists and turns, as if Alice had fallen down the wrong rabbit hole and lost her childhood. McMahon never flinches, but her readers will at every dark secret."
--Keith Donohue, author of The Stolen Child

Read an excerpt from Island of Lost Girls, and learn more about the book and author at Jennifer McMahon's website and her MySpace page.

Jennifer McMahon is the author of Promise Not To Tell, Island of Lost Girls, and My Tiki Girl.

The Page 69 Test: Promise Not to Tell.

The Page 69 Test: Island of Lost Girls.

--Marshal Zeringue