The Forgotten Girls
by
Owen Laukkanen is an action driven story. As with his other
books, readers should be aware that this author does not shy
away from ghastly issues, fictionalizing them for even more
suspense. It is apparent that Laukkanen’s go to subject
is the mistreatment of women.
The author noted, "I always find it fascinating to write
stories about the alpha male, some who are angry men that
feel women owe them something. This anger can turn to violence.
But my next book is something completely different. It will
be a high seas adventure story. I had a crisis of confidence
after I finished this book so I decided to work on other plot
lines. Since I paid for my college education by working on
fishing boats I decided to use that experience to write a
ship story. It is based on the true facts of salvaging ships,
and the tugboat teams attempting to get a percentage of the
value of the merchandise saved. I am also working on for fun
a fictionalized version of my dog Lucy who looks like a lab/pit
bull mix. In the story, she is a rescue dog who is placed
with a former Marine that has PTSD. But I also want to make
it clear I am definitely not done with the characters Stevens
and Windermere."
He
also told how the idea for this story came to him, “In
the Vancouver neighborhood I live in there was this serial
killer that preyed on women until 2006. He killed as many
as 49 over the course of two decades. The local police were
not very sympathetic and did nothing for about twenty years.
In walking my dog Lucy we pass a memorial stone for these
women and I was inspired to write this story. Since I am really
into trains I added that aspect to the plot. This is how I
spent quality time with my dad, walking by the trains. I knew
a lot of people who tried to jump on trains and lost limbs,
so I took it one step farther and had a killer stalking these
train surfers.”
In this book, readers learn, "you don't ever surf the
trains on the Highline." Rumor has it that a ghost rider
preys on women who will not be missed. Native American girls,
prostitutes, runaways, and those forgotten have been going
missing on the High Line cross country train for years. Yet,
the local police did nothing, many times ignoring the victims.
After Kirk Stevens and Carla Windermere of the joint FBI-BCA
violent crime force stumble upon the case, they discover a
string of murders on the High Line, all of them young women
drifters whom no one would notice. They soon find that it
is a serial killer, a ghost that seems to disappear into thin
air leaving no clues behind, until his big mistake when one
victim lives.
Readers
should see this book as a two-parter. The first is a “who
done it,” while the second piece is the chase. Stevens
and Windermere investigate each clue, only to be frustrated
that the murderer seems to be one step ahead of them. While
on the trail of the killer they also realize that they must
find a young girl, Mila, out to avenge the death of her best
friend, Ash, one of the victims.
What adds to the intensity of the plot is the weather and
forbidden geography. Anyone reading this will feel the cold
and isolation. The dead of winter with freezing temperatures
and multiple blizzards in the vast wilderness provide obstacles
for the protagonists. They are trapped by circumstances that
limit them, while the killer chooses another victim.
Laukkanen does see winter as a character. “I started
to do a lot of hiking since I live quite close to Montana
and Idaho. I am taken by the remoteness. During a period of
winter Vancouver was completely cut off because every highway
was closed due to snow. I thought how the terrible weather
and unforgiving geography would make the plot even more intense.”
The Forgotten Girls is extremely suspenseful. Having
multiple narrators adds to the tension as chapters alternate
between the heroes and villain's point of view. Readers will
take a ride on these trains as they feel they are also homeless,
traveling in the vast territory without any support. The story
is fast-paced and action-packed.
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