Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon

This is one of those books that you're completely drawn to and then once you delve deep into the plot you want to keep reading because you're dying to solve the mystery, but at the same time your cringing your way through it thinking..."Please don't go there, please don't go there....oh its so going there."

The content this story addresses is not for the weak of heart. It's gut-wrenching stuff and quite honestly, very real too. I personally have known a few people close to me that have gone through similar experiences and though its ugly in every way, its really necessary for us to understand so that we can better empathize and comfort those who've suffered. This story is about a lot more than just an abduction. I tore through the last hundred pages and when I finally put it down, I felt so burdened and sickened that I had to watch a few episodes of Mad About You with my hubby to shake off the funk I was left in.

So all in all, a very well written story and extremely engaging. It took me a bit of work to keep the characters straight, since the chapters alternate between Rhonda Farr's childhood and the present tense, but once you find the groove its hard to put down.

Description: One summer day, at a gas station in a small Vermont town, six-year-old Ernestine Florucci is abducted by a person wearing a rabbit suit while her mother is buying lottery tickets. Twenty-three year old Rhonda Farr is the only witness, and she does nothing as she watches the scene unfold – little Ernie goes with the rabbit so casually, confidently getting into the rabbit’s Volkswagen bug, smiling while the rabbit carefully fastens her seatbelt.

The police are skeptical of Rhonda’s story and Ernie’s mother blames her outright. The kidnapping forces Rhonda to face another disappearance, that of her best friend from childhood – Lizzy Shale, whose brother, Peter just so happens to be a prime suspect in Ernie’s abduction.

Unraveling the present mystery plunges Rhonda headlong down the rabbit hole of her past. She must struggle to makes sense of the loss of the two girls, and to ask herself if the Peter she grew up with - and has secretly loved all her life - could have a much darker side.

Rating: ***

Recommend: not for everyone, the content can be very difficult to get through.