Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Book Review: "Leave the Girls Behind" by Jacqueline Bublitz

“There are just so many ways, Ruth thinks, for a girl to disappear.”

When Ruth-Ann was 7 years old, her best friend Beth was kidnapped and later found murdered. The perpetrator was Ethan Oswald, music teacher and church choir director.

As Ruth grew older, she remained haunted by Beth’s murder and became obsessed with true crime websites which talked about Oswald. Ruth is convinced that Oswald was actually responsible for the deaths of other young girls across the country, but no one—not even the police—bought her theories.

When another young girl goes missing from Ruth’s Connecticut hometown, she starts becoming obsessed again. She believes that all those years ago Oswald had help in committing his crimes, and perhaps that person is responsible for the latest disappearance.

Ruth becomes single-minded in her focus on finding Oswald’s accomplice. Her search for answers takes her across the globe and connects her with three women, one who might be the person she seeks. But in order to figure out the truth, she’ll have to accept her own truths as well.

I was drawn into this story pretty quickly, and while the pacing was a little uneven at times, I couldn’t tear myself away. I enjoyed this take on the amateur detective trope, and while I’m not always a fan of paranormal storylines, this worked for me. Lots of twists and some unlikable characters, but a compelling mystery for sure.

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