Welcome to Litsy!

2⭐
• mystery thriller • P.I. amateur sleuthing • psychological aspects • disappearing orphans • fast-paced • single POV •

There could've been a decent story here, but the inept private investigator, the sloppy writing, and the wholly unbelievable situations left me unable to see it.
🎙️Michelle H. Lee‘s narration must‘ve been working on some level since I kept listening to this.

The beginning is a bit slow but the ending I mean u never see it coming

April 11, 2025 Omg I am screaming inside but I could not have asked for a better ending. I feel like in a lot of books I read (e.g. thrillers), the author chooses to save the main character rather than let the main character die or get killed. In thrillers, I also find that the main character is fighting for their life and being deceived by a lover or a friend that eventually turns out to be an enemy. She survives... 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #nospoilers

April 9, 2025 ooooo the story is coming into full bloom. On pages 200-203, some new info comes into light. Mia Ross is not actually Madeline's god daughter, Mia IS her daughter. She had an unplanned pregnancy with a Black guy when she was young. She told her mom she was pregnant and it upset her mom, but her mom told her to go through with it. Thomas then told her mom he could help and so her mom let Thomas take her in as an orphan. WEIRD

continued... Hazel emailed many orphanges and looked up the photo of the guy with grapes on either side and the results shocked her. The Google search gave her a result of Bacchus which is defined as: " a god of wine and gover of ectasy, identified with Dionysus". Could the choir teacher be blamed for Mia's disappearance??? DUN DUN DUN

April 8, 2025 I am close to halfway and my mind is constantly thinking about who could have taken Mia Ross, a young twelve year old Black girl who enjoyed singing and also doing Broadway. She did not have many friends and vistors. The only visitor she had two times a year was Madeline Hemsley, her godparent. Did she take her away or did she blackmail someone at the orphanage to take her away? Penny, her roommate, shared a picture with Hazel.

April 8, 2025 Hmmm could it be the choir teacher that did something to Mia? Did he have a romantic relationship with her and cause her to disappear? Or is it Dr. Mackenzie, a old teacher that is part of Saint Agnes? I feel as if both men have something to hide and won't tell Hazel Cho. sigh

April 8, 2025 Started this book yesterday and I am hooked. The main character Hazel Cho (who is a private investigator is asked by a woman named Madeline Hemsley, a godparent and stranger to Mia Ross, who is twelve year old girl gone missing, to help find her. It has been months since she called the police and they have not found her yet. Hazel is bribed to find her within 48 hours. Can she do it? Only time will tell...

The Orphange by the Lake was a really good mystery. In it, a private investigator sets out to find a missing girl. I liked the characters of Hazel and Kenny best, but the villians weren't cookie cutters either. The pacing was good, but could have moved a little faster before the climax. There was suspense throughout the book. The ending hit hard and fast. I'm happy that there will hopefully be a second book. 4.5 stars.

I really liked this. There were a lot of suspects whom it could have been, so I kept going between them, thinking it might be each of them. Or at least that each might be involved in some way. I really liked Hazel; as scary as this job got, she was tough and determined. This was a Netgalley book to be published this month, and I‘m really hoping this might morph into a series, because I‘d love to read more and see where this all goes for Hazel.

My psych thriller group on Facebook now has a monthly book club sub-group, and this was our first pick. I had heard a lot of good things and it delivered! Fast read, with an interesting twist.

July wrap-up! I‘m so thankful for all of these authors, narrators, and artists. I think I have the best hobby in the world 🫶📚💚 #JulyWrapup