The Nowhere Girls

by Alex Urquhart

On a sullen, overcast day on the Central Oregon Coast, a body is found pressed against the jagged rocks of Yaquina Bay. Thanks to several brooding texts received by her grandmother, twenty-one-year old Katie Deeds' death is ruled a suicide. Jonah Carr, a local feature reporter on his third year of the job, is assigned the story by his editor. Initially, nothing looks to be atypical or particularly noteworthy about the girl's demise. She was known as being wildly erratic and impulsive, and although her suicide came as a surprise to those who knew her, no one considers the possibility of foul play. However, through a series of interviews with those closest to Katie, Jonah uncovers an intricate plot shrouding the girl's passing, adding another layer to the mystery. Only two people recall seeing Katie on the night of her death and one is unwilling to talk. Simultaneously, Jonah makes a loose connection to a thirty-two-year-old cold case. Kylie Desmond was last seen walking alone in the early morning hours of August 12th, 1984. Then, in 1994, her skull was found in an abandoned car. She was one of five teenage girls who were murdered over an eleven-year period; each walking alone or in pairs on the same highway. The killer was never caught. Now, with the assistance of Private Investigator Maryanne Wiggins, Jonah must probe every link to the cases that the Newport Police Department has neglected, desperate to find any loose-ends to tie to the girls before another body is unearthed. Through his exploits, he starts to answer the question that has haunted the small coastal town for decades: Is there a serial killer living in their midst?

433 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 15, 2017

Reviews

[Makenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must say, I have NEVER. IN. MY. LIFE. read a book where the main character was killed off right in the middle! I was so confused at first and I found all logic going out the window, because I hoped he was still somehow alive. Then I had to tell myself "Ok Mak, what else would splatter on the windshield other than his brains?? The guy is clearly dead!". Yet, it took me finding out that he was chopped up to confirm that yes, there is no coming back from that... I'll admit I wasn't sure if I would like such a bold move right in the middle, and wondered if I was just going to be bummed the whole second half, but that wasn't the case. The transition from one main character to the other was VERY well done. I got to establish a liking to Maryanne before Jonah was gone and it helped tremendously. As for the story, I was gripped the whole time. My mind was constantly flipping back and forth to who the killer would be and it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. Mr. Urquhart, if your future books are as good as this one, you best believe I'll be waiting (not so) patiently to read them all.

[Julia Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This was a great book! I little too wordy and intense in some parts, but the overall storyline and the unexpected twists were PHENOMENAL! Def recommend for lovers of thrilling mysteries!

[Gilbert Brock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much! It have everything! Fun, jokes, scary moments, some fiction, you can't imagine how cool it is! This book grabbed my attention from the beginning. Like others, it grabbed me & didn't let go until the end. I think it would bу perfect to Paper Helps to write an essay on it!

[Liz Dotson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book - it kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last page. Just when you think you know something, there is a twist and all the pieces of the puzzle are jumbled around again. Highly recommend this, you won't be disappointed.

[Colleen Grier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspenseful beyond words. Twists and turns! Try to figure this ne out! Fabulous fun read. Scary!!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 for this one, which brought to mind the writing style of Ann Rule and her true crime books in many respects. Although the book could have benefited from tighter and more careful editing, it still held me in its thrall as I raced through the pages. I appreciated how the author portrayed the evil that sometimes lives right next door or in surprising places, even in the most comfortable small towns such as Newport, Oregon, where this story is set. There are plenty of twists, turns, and unexpected developments, and every time I thought I had things sorted out and was ready to name my suspect, I was in for a surprise. And who dares to kill off what seems to be a book's protagonist so early in the story? Whoa! At the center of the book is the death of Katie Deeds whose suicide is questioned by her elderly grandmother. When Jonah Carr is assigned to write up the story, he finds more questions than answers, and his curiosity is piqued when he learns that five other girls or young women died near the highway where Katie was walking, the first dying in 1984. His investigation leads him to Maryanne Wiggins, a private investigator who has been painstakingly trying to connect the dots between the deaths for several years. What she reveals to him seems to indicate that a serial killer is responsible for all those deaths, an idea that at first seems outlandish but then begins to make quite a lot of sense. Readers will be swept up in the story's suspense even while looking behind them to make sure no one is stalking them. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone looking to get lost in a story of unthinkable evil featuring more than a handful of unsavory characters and a dash or two of police corruption and/or incompetence.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nowhere Girls Review

I gave this book 5 stars because it was a real page turner full of twists that I couldn't predict. What I liked was the execution of the storyline. The characters were well drawn, the unknown killer creepy enough without excessively vivid gore. I was never quite sure what would happen next or how the story would end, and I liked that. I would recommend to those that enjoy a good thriller.

[Diane Kane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex Urquhart is a fearless writer.

Urquhart wields his pen like a sword, keeping his readers on the edge. The Nowhere Girls will take you on a wild ride and leave you breathless. You will find yourself thinking about this story long after you finish the book.

[Beth Brackett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just couldn't get into it

I just couldn't get involved in the story. It might just be me. It was obvious to me within a few chapters that certain people would die and who the person was that was misleading the officials.

[William Ernst · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining

Good for filling time but the plot seemed unrealistic and finished with a mish mash of false so
solutions before the final one. Entertaining but not one of my favorites.

[Zena Y.P. Cheung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

Quite an unexpected ending. Just a pity that the reporter did not last until the end. He should be given some credits on solving the case.

[ReadMoreBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordy and poorly edited. Seems like the author was trying too hard - the book kept dragging on and on.

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad

A little bizarre the way the story was plotted but it kept me interested.
I will check out the other books.

[Hannah Childress · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very in depth, written very detailed, it really grabs you. Part of the middle/end is draggy but very good thriller mystery

[Marie Braden · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing itself was poor but it kept you guessing. I liked the shift in protagonist, too.

[Tori Latcha · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was ok, dialogue was cheesy

[Jacquelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty redundant but finally picked up at page 20. Interesting plot.

[Tia Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is typically not the kind of book I read, but the description alone was very intriguing. At first I thought the book was very clunky and redundant but SO captivating. A little further into the book I finally understood the point of the redundancy - it really brought us along on the true journey on what it is like to try and solve a case by endlessly interviewing people.
I have NEVER read a book in my life with such a huge twist. Just when I think I have the suspect in mind, the book takes a huge turn that makes me question everything. Sure enough I was 100% confident on the suspect and at the last minute the suspect ended up being someone that never even crossed my mind once. Excellent book