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All the Lost Girls
They took your sister. They meant to take you.
Alice McCarthy’s sister has been missing for twenty-two years with no clues as to her whereabouts.
When a girl’s body is discovered in a shallow grave, Alice is forced to fly home to Ireland in case the remains are those of her sister Clara. What she discovers is that Clara’s disappearance may have been a part of a much larger game.
Siobhan Geraghty is a detective with the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The discovery of a girl’s remains propels her into her first murder case as a lead investigator. She is determined that a mistake she made a year ago will not be repeated. This is her chance to redeem herself.
Alice and Siobhan find themselves drawn into a deadly game where a vicious killer holds all the cards. Unless they uncover hidden secrets from the past, more girls will go missing and never be found.
All the Lost Girls is a gripping psychological thriller that will enthral readers of Val McDermid, Paula Hawkins, LJ Ross, and Clare Mackintosh.
Alice McCarthy’s sister has been missing for twenty-two years with no clues as to her whereabouts.
When a girl’s body is discovered in a shallow grave, Alice is forced to fly home to Ireland in case the remains are those of her sister Clara. What she discovers is that Clara’s disappearance may have been a part of a much larger game.
Siobhan Geraghty is a detective with the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The discovery of a girl’s remains propels her into her first murder case as a lead investigator. She is determined that a mistake she made a year ago will not be repeated. This is her chance to redeem herself.
Alice and Siobhan find themselves drawn into a deadly game where a vicious killer holds all the cards. Unless they uncover hidden secrets from the past, more girls will go missing and never be found.
All the Lost Girls is a gripping psychological thriller that will enthral readers of Val McDermid, Paula Hawkins, LJ Ross, and Clare Mackintosh.
460 pages, ebook
Published June 24, 2019
750 people are currently reading
1069 people want to read
About the author
Bilinda P. Sheehan
15 books45 followersBilinda P. Sheehan writes psychological thrillers and police procedurals. She currently resides in Whitby with her partner and their three cats, more affectionately known as the banes of her existence.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
January 13, 2023
First: where was the editor for this book? Punctuation, typos, formatting. It was painful to read it at times.
The story fell really really short, there wasn't a reason for the murders, the plot is weak and the characters were bland. I didn't like Alice, she wasn't a convincing character and quite annoying. I hate that the author made Detective Siobhan almost grovel in front of her boss. And what happened to Liam? Where's the rest of his story?
Last but not least, this story never develops! I got to 66% and a whole lot of nothing was happening. And even after all the revelations it still didn't deliver. I'm sorry to say it wasn't for me.
The story fell really really short, there wasn't a reason for the murders, the plot is weak and the characters were bland. I didn't like Alice, she wasn't a convincing character and quite annoying. I hate that the author made Detective Siobhan almost grovel in front of her boss. And what happened to Liam? Where's the rest of his story?
Last but not least, this story never develops! I got to 66% and a whole lot of nothing was happening. And even after all the revelations it still didn't deliver. I'm sorry to say it wasn't for me.
December 5, 2022
Editing issues
Despite initially not liking Alison after a few chapters I really got into the book. The chapters alternate between four narrators. I wasn't convinced by or fully understood the motive. A little more explanation of the ending would have been beneficial.
Unfortunately this book was let down by editing issues e.g. additional words and wrong words. The biggest issue was a glaring continuity error.
Despite initially not liking Alison after a few chapters I really got into the book. The chapters alternate between four narrators. I wasn't convinced by or fully understood the motive. A little more explanation of the ending would have been beneficial.
Unfortunately this book was let down by editing issues e.g. additional words and wrong words. The biggest issue was a glaring continuity error.
March 20, 2023
I'd picked this up as a light, quick, attention-holding read, as I haven't been focusing well while reading lately. And, overall it was that. But it was also frustrating. As other reviews have mentioned, there are commas scattered in at random (For instance, instead of "little Robert" it was "little, Robert" - at least twice. ???) Words were out of order or simply wrong (in one case she didn't 'hope' it was/wasn't true, she "how" it so. Or the time a character and her daughter were mentioned, followed by 'their husband'- theirs???) So that was frustrating.
I also did not care for the switching viewpoint chapters, all in 1st person and without indication of who this chapter was being narrated by (of course, it was easy to figure out, but still...just annoying.) I do understand, once the secrets were revealed, why it was done this way, but it did not improve the reading experience.
Finally, it was too much of a hodge-podge. I guess that also fits with the various narrator thing that felt disorganized? But it was an attempted thriller (never got there for me), then there were hints of a romance, commentary on barriers women face... and none felt fully fleshed out. Too many loose ends, and not clear resolution of any. (Again, as others have mentioned, the resolution was not satisfying- more questions than answers left behind.)
I also did not care for the switching viewpoint chapters, all in 1st person and without indication of who this chapter was being narrated by (of course, it was easy to figure out, but still...just annoying.) I do understand, once the secrets were revealed, why it was done this way, but it did not improve the reading experience.
Finally, it was too much of a hodge-podge. I guess that also fits with the various narrator thing that felt disorganized? But it was an attempted thriller (never got there for me), then there were hints of a romance, commentary on barriers women face... and none felt fully fleshed out. Too many loose ends, and not clear resolution of any. (Again, as others have mentioned, the resolution was not satisfying- more questions than answers left behind.)
June 6, 2021
Read it pretty quickly. I was intrigued. I didn’t really enjoy the small snippets you get from the killers POV mainly because for me it gave away who the killer was. But also, the killers motives didn’t really make much sense to me.
May 8, 2024
Contrary to other reviews here, I found this book very enthralling and fast paced. Not at all dragging on as others stated, I almost thought we were reading different books. I loved the writing, the suspense and the constant questioning. This was a great read, if not sad and of course thrilling!
January 10, 2023
A rip roaring read
A pacy absorbing read that’s had me absolutely gripped. Definitely not lacking in action, while the protagonist is flawed and compelling.
A pacy absorbing read that’s had me absolutely gripped. Definitely not lacking in action, while the protagonist is flawed and compelling.
September 17, 2024
The plot of this book is generally fine, but it could have been quite a bit shorter I think. I was looking for a thriller/detective type story and don’t entirely feel like I got it.
My main issue is with all the writing mistakes throughout the book. It’s not just one or two. I think it’s close to at least twenty, which is absurd. Hire an editor, or if you have one - fire them. Words were out of place or completely incorrect. Some examples:
“The rabbit alarm sat clock on the coffee table”
“…you wouldn’t let me come without with you”
“I just how to God I’m wrong through.”
There were so many extra, unwarranted commas. And every time there was a plural form of a last name used, there was an apostrophe. Basic writing rules weren’t followed. There was also an instance where a character mentioned an interaction that didn’t actually take place until the following chapter.
My main issue is with all the writing mistakes throughout the book. It’s not just one or two. I think it’s close to at least twenty, which is absurd. Hire an editor, or if you have one - fire them. Words were out of place or completely incorrect. Some examples:
“The rabbit alarm sat clock on the coffee table”
“…you wouldn’t let me come without with you”
“I just how to God I’m wrong through.”
There were so many extra, unwarranted commas. And every time there was a plural form of a last name used, there was an apostrophe. Basic writing rules weren’t followed. There was also an instance where a character mentioned an interaction that didn’t actually take place until the following chapter.
February 20, 2025
3.25 stars.
Story was mediocre. What was annoying to me was multiple first person POVs with zero indication of when the POV was changing - no title indicator, nada. So you're just reading and figuring out as you go whose POV it is. Don't make things more confusing than needed!
Story was mediocre. What was annoying to me was multiple first person POVs with zero indication of when the POV was changing - no title indicator, nada. So you're just reading and figuring out as you go whose POV it is. Don't make things more confusing than needed!
March 19, 2023
Surprisingly quite good. 3.5 ⭐️
November 13, 2022
An interesting read
I wanted a book that would grip me from the start, but this wasn't it. I think if the narrative had been a singular voice my interest would have been secured. But this book has three separate first person voices which only served to cause a muddled effect, a harsh switch from one to the next. As such, the reader's ability to find empathy with the first person was greatly reduced. That left only the story of Irish policing and a weak plot serving for interest. It could've been better told.
I wanted a book that would grip me from the start, but this wasn't it. I think if the narrative had been a singular voice my interest would have been secured. But this book has three separate first person voices which only served to cause a muddled effect, a harsh switch from one to the next. As such, the reader's ability to find empathy with the first person was greatly reduced. That left only the story of Irish policing and a weak plot serving for interest. It could've been better told.
July 17, 2019
Good read
Great story the ending could have been better was over to soon thought there would be more to it but overall good read
Great story the ending could have been better was over to soon thought there would be more to it but overall good read
December 27, 2024
What started as a 4-star book dropped to 3 stars, and then Siobhan’s behavior tanked it to a 2-star book. At first, I thought the author just had something against male characters, but that didn’t totally make sense since two of the male characters—Alice’s dad and Declan—were decent and didn’t really suffer from Siobhan’s attitude. But her treatment of Ronan? Absolutely ridiculous.
She called him a "chauvinistic pig" just because the receptionist at Dorian’s office didn’t "throw herself" at his feet and "grovel because he deigned to smile at her." All Ronan did was smile at the receptionist and feel a little annoyed when she couldn’t be bothered to at least try and be nice back. That’s not unreasonable—that’s just basic human interaction! But of course, Siobhan had to make him out to be the bad guy.
Then there’s the way she and Rosie (Dorian’s assistant, or whatever she was) treated Ronan when he got squeamish hearing details about the murders. This was only Ronan’s second murder case! Meanwhile, Siobhan had worked on over ten. Obviously, he’s not going to have the same tolerance for gruesome details. But Rosie just laid into him, saying the least he could do was listen to the gory details since "the women had to endure it." Like, give the guy a break! He wasn’t refusing to care; he was just struggling to handle the information.
Honestly, I couldn’t figure out why Ronan was even interested in Siobhan. She was rude, judgmental, and came off like the kind of person who might cheat on Paul (which, given her behavior, wouldn’t have surprised me). And I found it funny that Siobhan didn’t find a lead until after she got taken off leading the case. It blew everything wide open, but of course, she had to go and defy direct orders—not to help anyone, but just to prove she "belonged" on the case.
By the end, I realized it wasn’t just male characters she was awful to. She was awful to pretty much everyone. Like with Claire—Siobhan kept telling her to use her first name, but Claire refused. That seemed to be the moment Siobhan finally realized, "Oh, maybe I’ve been a jerk to her." Small victories, I guess.
I’m just glad this isn’t part of a series because I couldn’t stomach more of Siobhan. The book had some potential, but her attitude completely ruined it for me.
She called him a "chauvinistic pig" just because the receptionist at Dorian’s office didn’t "throw herself" at his feet and "grovel because he deigned to smile at her." All Ronan did was smile at the receptionist and feel a little annoyed when she couldn’t be bothered to at least try and be nice back. That’s not unreasonable—that’s just basic human interaction! But of course, Siobhan had to make him out to be the bad guy.
Then there’s the way she and Rosie (Dorian’s assistant, or whatever she was) treated Ronan when he got squeamish hearing details about the murders. This was only Ronan’s second murder case! Meanwhile, Siobhan had worked on over ten. Obviously, he’s not going to have the same tolerance for gruesome details. But Rosie just laid into him, saying the least he could do was listen to the gory details since "the women had to endure it." Like, give the guy a break! He wasn’t refusing to care; he was just struggling to handle the information.
Honestly, I couldn’t figure out why Ronan was even interested in Siobhan. She was rude, judgmental, and came off like the kind of person who might cheat on Paul (which, given her behavior, wouldn’t have surprised me). And I found it funny that Siobhan didn’t find a lead until after she got taken off leading the case. It blew everything wide open, but of course, she had to go and defy direct orders—not to help anyone, but just to prove she "belonged" on the case.
By the end, I realized it wasn’t just male characters she was awful to. She was awful to pretty much everyone. Like with Claire—Siobhan kept telling her to use her first name, but Claire refused. That seemed to be the moment Siobhan finally realized, "Oh, maybe I’ve been a jerk to her." Small victories, I guess.
I’m just glad this isn’t part of a series because I couldn’t stomach more of Siobhan. The book had some potential, but her attitude completely ruined it for me.
December 7, 2022
All the Lost Girls by Belinda Sheehan is a psychological thriller concerning a young woman who is drawn back into a nightmarish world of missing young girls she has fought so hard to leave behind. Twenty-two years ago, Alice and her sister Clara set off to enjoy a school disco, when someone kidnapped her sister Clara. Alice was lucky enough to escape the kidnappers, but the guilt of surviving leaves Alice a torn person. Clara is never seen again, and Alice blames herself for not doing more to help Clara. Alice learns that other girls have also been reported missing and no trace of them could be found. At the time of the kidnapping, the police just attributed the missing children as runaways, not taking the abductions seriously and/or trying to cover up something more sinister.
This book is not for the faint of heart. The kidnapping is brutal, as well as the description of the investigation. The storyline was a little difficult to follow until you got adjusted to the world-building of the story. Brutality was a consistent factor, and child abuse was no exception. The ending was not a complete surprise to me, but it may keep others thinking they never saw that coming.
This book is not for the faint of heart. The kidnapping is brutal, as well as the description of the investigation. The storyline was a little difficult to follow until you got adjusted to the world-building of the story. Brutality was a consistent factor, and child abuse was no exception. The ending was not a complete surprise to me, but it may keep others thinking they never saw that coming.
February 22, 2023
In the mid 90s, Alice and her older teenage sister Clara are attacked walking home from a school disco. Alice survives while Clara disappears without a trace. Years later and Alice returns to her native Ireland after a body is found in a shallow grave, however she isn't welcomed with open arms by everyone.
Told from the viewpoints of Alice and Siobhan, the policewoman in charge of the case, this is a cracking mystery as past collides with present and old friendships are attempted to be rekindled. Alice is a mess in more ways than one while Siobhan struggles to cut through the small town mentality of the locals and police. Overall its a great read, some bits are tough to get through and you really feel for certain characters.
Highly recommended
Told from the viewpoints of Alice and Siobhan, the policewoman in charge of the case, this is a cracking mystery as past collides with present and old friendships are attempted to be rekindled. Alice is a mess in more ways than one while Siobhan struggles to cut through the small town mentality of the locals and police. Overall its a great read, some bits are tough to get through and you really feel for certain characters.
Highly recommended
September 22, 2024
Some parts of this book were really good. I was not a fan of the 4 different narratives without telling me who it was in the beginning because it really confused me for some reason. I had the plot figured out really quickly and it seemed very evident on who was doing all the crimes. This made the ending not memorable for me and I wish there was a little more closure detailed on Alice because she deserved it. Also could not stand the way her family treated her it was not fun to read those parts. Biggest turn off was I think the editor for the book skipped doing their job because there was a lot of things wrong with the layout, punctuation, typos and etc. I wouldn’t recommend.
January 12, 2023
Great Story, mostly
This book was very engaging, and I enjoyed the storyline. The ending wasn’t at all what I expected, which is a good thing! It really takes you for a ride from beginning to end, but I found myself distracted by the grammar and punctuation errors dotted throughout the story. There were a lot of unnecessary commas through the book and there were instances where I couldn’t make out what the author was trying to say because of a weirdly placed or misspelled word.
All that aside, the characters were very thought-out and well developed, and the story line kept me engaged until the very sad end. I would still recommend this book to anyone who is into psychological thrillers.
This book was very engaging, and I enjoyed the storyline. The ending wasn’t at all what I expected, which is a good thing! It really takes you for a ride from beginning to end, but I found myself distracted by the grammar and punctuation errors dotted throughout the story. There were a lot of unnecessary commas through the book and there were instances where I couldn’t make out what the author was trying to say because of a weirdly placed or misspelled word.
All that aside, the characters were very thought-out and well developed, and the story line kept me engaged until the very sad end. I would still recommend this book to anyone who is into psychological thrillers.
March 18, 2023
I couldn't put this book down!
Belinda P. Sheehan has done it again. This book grabbed me from the start and never let go. The characters came to life, their feelings and emotions were relatable, as well as small town attitudes and experiences. I started figuring out who the killer was but, never saw the twist at the end. A great read and as always, I've pre-ordered her next book and can't wait for it to come out. If you want to read a book that you can't put down, this is it!
Belinda P. Sheehan has done it again. This book grabbed me from the start and never let go. The characters came to life, their feelings and emotions were relatable, as well as small town attitudes and experiences. I started figuring out who the killer was but, never saw the twist at the end. A great read and as always, I've pre-ordered her next book and can't wait for it to come out. If you want to read a book that you can't put down, this is it!
November 7, 2022
Crazy Good
Alice, a social worker shot on the job returns to her home in Ireland after hearing that the police may have found the remains of her sister. The sister disappeared twenty two years earlier and no one believed Alice's account. But it seems that there is evil at play, hunting and killing other young women. Unbeknownst to Alice, she is the ultimate prize.
This was an excellent read. Held my interest throughout. The pace is good and the conclusion satisfying..
Alice, a social worker shot on the job returns to her home in Ireland after hearing that the police may have found the remains of her sister. The sister disappeared twenty two years earlier and no one believed Alice's account. But it seems that there is evil at play, hunting and killing other young women. Unbeknownst to Alice, she is the ultimate prize.
This was an excellent read. Held my interest throughout. The pace is good and the conclusion satisfying..
November 11, 2022
A Few Questions
All the Lost Girls is a fitting title for a psychological thriller as this one. A sister looking for twenty-two years for the older sister she loved and looked up to is a sad thing. It's awful to lose an older sister who has been so important to you. These sisters were so close and not knowing what happened ruined the younger sister's life. She felt guilty because of her involvement the night her sister was taken.
All the Lost Girls is a fitting title for a psychological thriller as this one. A sister looking for twenty-two years for the older sister she loved and looked up to is a sad thing. It's awful to lose an older sister who has been so important to you. These sisters were so close and not knowing what happened ruined the younger sister's life. She felt guilty because of her involvement the night her sister was taken.
February 2, 2023
The ultimate bad guy, in the end, was a complete surprise. I hope the author has a second novel with these characters. I thought the main protagonist was a bit "angsty", if I may, about her feelings about everything. She whittered on and on about not being able to settle her feelings, etc. Not sure I believed her reasons, seems far-fetched. Other than that, I did find the story rings true throughout.
May 20, 2023
2.5 stars. As others have said, this author really needs a new editor; the typos, continuity errors in dialogue, repetition and insanely flawed comma usage were extremely distracting. And in the end, the motive for the crime really didn’t add up.
I love a good psychological thriller, but I found this one to be needlessly disturbing at times as well.
An interesting enough story, but this one really fell short for me.
I love a good psychological thriller, but I found this one to be needlessly disturbing at times as well.
An interesting enough story, but this one really fell short for me.
May 29, 2023
Found this book quite slow and hard to get into. I skipped through a lot of unnecessary description to stay with it, and did not feel as if I missed out. Like a lot of other reviews, I did not understand the motive of the perpetrator which made the ending feel unfinished and as if the author was fed up and just wanted to finish it. There seemed to be a number of relationships thrown into the mix to try to confuse things but I just found it superfluous to the story.
July 30, 2023
I would have given this book 4 stars, but I found the plot very frustrating. It was pretty obvious about 60% through who the killer was. I found it really annoying that the killer's fixation with Alice was never explained. It must have started before her sister was taken as the objects from her bedroom disappeared then. There was no explanation for this at all, and no real motivation given for the rest of the murders, or why they stopped for a number of years before starting again.
September 12, 2024
Very confusing book. The main character is a social worker and the story begins with her. Bad things happen to her (spoiler) and then she gets called home. Years ago her sister disappeared and they think her body has been found. This is where things get messy. Another main character is introduced. The POV rotates between these two and two others. It drags and I had no interest in any of the characters. Finally at the end things liven up a bit but I was still irritated by the whole book.
September 22, 2024
Guilt for surviving
Alice was thirteen when her sister Clara disappeared. No one believed her about the kidnapping because she had been drinking. Alice becomes a social worker helping abused women. She got shot protecting a child from a deranged father.
She got a call from her hometown saying that a body has been found and it is believed to be her sister.
From this point on the story rapidly escalated.
Will they finally catch the murderer?
Alice was thirteen when her sister Clara disappeared. No one believed her about the kidnapping because she had been drinking. Alice becomes a social worker helping abused women. She got shot protecting a child from a deranged father.
She got a call from her hometown saying that a body has been found and it is believed to be her sister.
From this point on the story rapidly escalated.
Will they finally catch the murderer?
October 2, 2024
This had an unexpected antagonist. I did figure out that it was two people, a man and a woman. But there are still so many unanswered questions. How many girls did they kill over the years? What was the motive beyond attempting to build a family? What was missing from her life that she was trying to recreate? What happens to Alice when she goes back to the UK? It was gripping and a quick read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2020
Fabulous read, the more I read by the author the more I like it, jumps a bit back and forwards which took me a while to get into but it was worth it! Quite a complicated story, but I had guessed that it could be going to pan out the way it did.
It was an emotional story with lots of family hurts being brought to a head which was a hard read, but two strong female characters at the fore!
It was an emotional story with lots of family hurts being brought to a head which was a hard read, but two strong female characters at the fore!
November 10, 2022
WOW
What a thriller. I just could not put it down. The monsters who live around us & the gut wrenching grief it deposits on their loved ones. The book is truly a gripping
Psychological thriller. I read it straight through. I highly recommend this book. It grabs you right from the start & doesn’t let go. The ending is a shock!
What a thriller. I just could not put it down. The monsters who live around us & the gut wrenching grief it deposits on their loved ones. The book is truly a gripping
Psychological thriller. I read it straight through. I highly recommend this book. It grabs you right from the start & doesn’t let go. The ending is a shock!
March 11, 2023
A thriller plus!
This novel is a thriller plus! It takes you on a psychological journey that keeps you
guessing, a surprising ending. Intertwined with sadness and sick relationships, enduring love suffering and pain!
This was true to the description of the title.
It gripped me to the final page.
This novel is a thriller plus! It takes you on a psychological journey that keeps you
guessing, a surprising ending. Intertwined with sadness and sick relationships, enduring love suffering and pain!
This was true to the description of the title.
It gripped me to the final page.
May 29, 2023
Brilliant
Great read, in the beginning I did find it a little hard as the the characters were in the same tense. You didn’t know who was talking, but as the story progressed I started to understand. It wasn’t until right at the end that the killers were identified. Well recommended
Great read, in the beginning I did find it a little hard as the the characters were in the same tense. You didn’t know who was talking, but as the story progressed I started to understand. It wasn’t until right at the end that the killers were identified. Well recommended
Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews