The Girl Who Was Taken

This gripping psychological thriller follows the aftermath of two high school seniors, Nicole and Megan, who are abducted from a beach party. A year later, Megan miraculously escapes, becoming a celebrity for her survival story. However, Nicole remains missing, prompting her older sister, Livia, a forensic pathologist, to launch her own investigation. As Livia uncovers new clues and Megan's memories resurface, they realize the truth is far more sinister than anyone imagined. This book is best suited for older teens and young adults, offering a complex mystery with themes of trauma, justice, and the dark side of human nature. Parents should be aware of the mature themes of abduction, violence, and psychological distress.

**Two abducted girls—one who returns, one who doesn't.** The night they go missing, high school seniors Nicole Cutty and Megan McDonald are at a beach party in their small town of Emerson Bay, North Carolina. Police launch a massive search, but hope is almost lost--until Megan escapes from a bunker deep in the woods...A year later, the bestselling account of her ordeal has made Megan a celebrity. It's a triumphant story, except for one inconvenient detail: Nicole is still missing. Nicole's older sister, Livia, a fellow in forensic pathology, expects that one day soon Nicole's body will be found and her sister's fate determined. Instead, the first clue comes from another body--that of a young man connected to Nicole's past. Livia reaches out to Megan to learn more about that fateful night. Other girls have disappeared, and she's increasingly sure the cases are connected. Megan knows more than she revealed in her book. Flashes of memory are pointing to something more monstrous than she described. And the deeper she and Livia dig, the more they realize that sometimes true terror lies in finding exactly what you've been looking for...