Lost to Dune Road is True Crime Inspired, which made it right up my alley. I’m a fan of Kara Thomas books who listens to true crime podcasts. But will YOU like this suspense story about a disgraced reporter who’s freelancing as a (possibly underqualified) private investigator? Let’s investigate!
Jen’s Quick Take on Lost to Dune Road by Kara Thomas
- Set on Long Island and loosely inspired by the LISK case (see more below)
- An intricate suspense plot that largely focused on events in the past
- Some readers on Goodreads were frustrated by the book’s complicated narrative and large cast of characters
- But other readers loved it (4.0 rating at the moment)
Lost to Dune Road by Kara Thomas
To be published on April 16, 2024 by Thomas & Mercer
I received this book for review consideration from the publisher.
Review of Lost to Dune Road by Kara Thomas
Crusading journalists are a staple in both suspense and Noir fiction, (see Mikael Blomkvist in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Jack McEvoy in The Poet, Paddy Meehan in Field of Blood, and Camille Preaker in Sharp Objects.) More on Camille in a bit!
Lost to Dune Road‘s main character, Lee Ellerin, was once a scrappy journalist who wrote an article detailing a young woman’s shocking accusations against a prominent Hamptons lawyer.
But poking the beehive got Lee stung. The target of her article hired lawyers and investigators who smeared Lee’s source and damaged the credibility of both women. Lee lost her job and now works part-time as an investigator for (yet another) lawyer. Then her past gets her fired from that job too.
Lee is then hired by a worried mother whose pregnant daughter Amanda lapsed into a coma after attempting to take her own life. Amanda’s distraught mother says nothing about her daughter’s situation makes sense, and that she found Lee’s name written down as she examined her daughter’s belongings.
But working this case draws Lee right back to the rich (and sordid) Hamptons crowd who ruined her life in the first place.
I was fascinated that Lost to Dune Road was inspired by the recently solved Gilgo Beach (LISK) case.
It took over a decade (and dozens of victims) to catch the presumed killer in this tragic real-life case. For years, victims’ families protested that their loved ones’ murders were not taken seriously by the police because they were sex workers. If you’re not familiar with the case, I highly recommend the Unraveled Podcast, season 1, plus their many updates since the arrest of a suspect.
But Lost to Dune Road was juggling a lot of plotlines:
- Lee’s disgrace and that of her source, Mallory Switzer
- The Amanda story: how did she end up pregnant and then in a coma?
- The murder of Jenna Mackey, who disappeared in 2019 and was found dead a year later
- A sort-of romance between Lee and a former police detective involved in the story that disgraced her.
Let’s take the first strand first:
The story of Lee and her disgrace was a gripping one that reminded me of the journalistic investigations into Harvey Weinstein, chronicled in Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow and She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. These books show that powerful men can not only behave criminally and get away with it, but try to destroy those who speak out.
I felt like this aspect of Lost to Dune Road could have been its own book.
When I reviewed Kara Thomas’s YA fiction, I said her writing reminded me a lot of Gillian Flynn, whose damaged characters and dark vibe were hugely influential on 2010 suspense novels.
I got a Camille Preaker (the reporter main character in Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn) vibe from Lee.
Strand two, the Amanda story, at first seemed like an unconnected subplot. It did eventually tie in to the rest of the story, and in a way that made sense.
Many of the events in the book already happened in the past: Lee’s disgrace. Jenna’s murder. Amanda’s injury. This always diminishes the suspense in a novel. (The narrative does include a POV from Amanda in the past, which helped.)
I can see that as of the publication of this post, Goodreads opinions are pretty divided, with some readers feeling like the book was “too complicated” with too many characters. Several people were NOT into the romance. (Not me; I was fine with it!)
But other readers really loved the book overall. So if you are a Kara Thomas fan or have followed the real-life case that inspired it, definitely give it a try. I enjoyed it!
Are you a YA Reader? I have reviewed Kara Thomas’s YA Fiction which I called “Gillian Flynn inspired.” Check out these reviews on my sister site:
Will You Love The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas? – includes NEWS about a new sequel!
Just Finished Reading The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas – very YA Gillian Flynn and I really liked it!