Review: Little Girl Lost by Wendy Corsi Staub

Kerry Hammond is here with her review of the first book in a new series by Wendy Corsi Staub.

Little Girl Lost by Wendy Corsi Staub was published on July 24, in Mass Market Paperback by William Morrow. It’s the first in the Foundlings Trilogy, a new series by the author, who has written more than ninety novels—something not many authors ever achieve. I was a big fan of the Mundy’s Landing series and reviewed all three here on Mystery Playground: BloodRed, Blue Moon, and Bone White. I was excited to try the first book in a new series.

The story toggles between 1968, when a string of brutal attacks by a serial killer rocked New York City, and 1987 where we meet Amelia Crenshaw and NYPD Detective Stockton Barnes. Both Barnes and Crenshaw are searching for answers; Crenshaw wants to find the truth about her birth parents and Barnes wants to solve the missing person’s case of a Park Avenue millionaire. As information is revealed, we find that their two stories don’t just intersect, they are completely entwined, and the answers are not what they expected.

The story toggles from 1968 to 1987 as well as from character to character. This is a trademark of sorts for the author and I don’t usually mind the switches. With this book, though, I found the back and forth between characters to be sometimes hard to follow. There were quite a few characters at play, so this might explain my trouble. I did find the premise of the book extremely interesting and enjoyed the intersecting character paths. On the whole, I enjoy Corsi Staub’s writing, and her ability to tell unusual and intriguing stories.

This book was provided to Mystery Playground by the publisher. The review is fair and independent.