The Taken Ones Audiobook By Jess Lourey cover art

The Taken Ones

A Novel (Steinbeck and Reed, Book 1)

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection of titles.
Yours as long as you’re a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for $8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Taken Ones

By: Jess Lourey
Narrated by: Carly Robins
Try Standard free

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.09

Buy for $21.09

Two girls vanished. A woman buried alive. Between two crimes lie decades of secrets yet to be unearthed in a pulse-pounding novel by the Edgar Award-nominated author of Unspeakable Things.

Summer 1980: Despite the local superstition that the Bendy Man haunts the woods, three girls go into a Minnesota forest. Only one comes out, dead silent, her memory gone. The mystery of the Taken Ones captures the nation.

Summer 2022: Cold case detective Van Reed and forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck are assigned a disturbing homicide—a woman buried alive, clutching a heart charm necklace belonging to one of the vanished girls. Van follows her gut. Harry trusts in facts. They’re both desperate to catch a killer before he kills again. They have something else in common: each has ties to the original case in ways they’re reluctant to share.

As Van and Harry connect the crimes of the past and the present, Van struggles with memories of her own nightmarish childhood—and the fear that uncovering the truth of the Taken Ones will lead her down a path from which she, too, may never return.

©2023 Jess Lourey. (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Crime Thrillers Cold Case Mystery Thriller & Suspense Crime Suspense Thriller Fiction Exciting Scary Domestic Thrillers Heartfelt

Critic reviews

“Narrator Carly Robins ramps up the tension, portraying Van's increasingly fraught state as things hit uncomfortably close to home. Lourey (The Quarry Girls) skillfully uses flashbacks and changes in perspective to create a deeply suspenseful listening experience. Share with fans of mysteries and suspense involving intriguing women detectives who employ a hint of the supernatural.”—Library Journal

“Twists and turns you don’t see coming make for a real page-turner.”—Kirkus Reviews

“There are twists and turns galore that make reading this novel almost unbearably fun and intense. I cannot remember another psychological thriller that created such a dichotomy of feelings about the protagonist, which shows just how talented Jess Lourey is.”—Publishers Weekly
Captivating Mystery • Twisty Plot • Excellent Narration • Engaging Storyline • Unexpected Twists • Expressive Delivery

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
Not a bad novel but, it just doesn't go anywhere. I am not a fan of flashbacks and this tale is full of them!

The Boring Ones

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wasn’t terrible and I liked the ending. However I did get a bit bored a few times throughout the story bc I felt it was very slow.

It was okay

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I enjoyed getting to know the characters in this book but struggled a bit with the portrayal of the helplessness of some of the characters. It can be difficult to read stories of trauma and abuse but I did appreciate the journey and the resolution of the story. Looking forward to the next in the series.

Fight, Flight, or Fear? Which will win?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
First book by both the author and reader..(is that that correct term?)

I liked the story line, lots of twists and turns.

I did not like Van, as a character. I thought she was abrasive and slightly unhinged at times. She did grow as a person, and will perhaps be better in future books.

I thought the reader was mediocre at best..her Minnesota accents sounded like something from Fargo, and I felt her male characters were ‘forced’

I will probably listen to the next book in the series and see how things develop.

Good story, but….

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I finished this book and was not disappointed. it was well written, and was honestly so intriguing. I finished it and searched it up on amazon to by the paper back. I am how ever not happy that the second one isn't out yet. But it will be soon. So read it and get ready of the sequel. Im excited. well written and gets you interested. It has a great story and im glad it ends on a good note. definitely worth the read.

I imidiatly order the paper back book of this

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews