This latest release by award winning Australian author Wendy James is an insightful portrayal of love and loss, family and friendship and the indelible impact of murder.

In 1978 a teenage girl is found dead, devastating family ties and forever marking her cousins, the Griffins. Thirty years later, journalist Erin Fury arrives asking questions about the murder and its impact on the family. Each of the Griffins are drawn to the attractive and enigmatic Erin. As they open their past to her, a contrasting picture of Angie emerges. Was she the luminescent innocent they remember or someone more complex, and does that have any bearing on why she was singled out by a killer? And Erin has her own reasons for wanting to know what really happened during those lazy summer days in 1978.

Undoubtedly a crime story, The Lost Girls is not of the body-on-the-first-page genre. James explores the ripples of Angie’s murder and how these shape the lives of those who loved her. The disappearance, subsequent discovery and aftermath of her death are woven through the narrative in a way that builds tension which later gives way to rising dread as the events of that dreadful day in 1978 take shape. Angie’s presence, initially wraithlike in what little is revealed of her, materialises as Erin delves into the lives of the Griffin family and shakes the past lose. And as the true Angie emerges, so does the real Erin.

The use of interview transcripts, newspaper articles, multiple viewpoints and memories could have made this disjointed, but James stitches these together seamlessly, allowing a dimensional view of Angie and her life. We learn as much about the Griffins – their hopes, aspirations and regrets – as we do about Angie, and those who prefer a sirens-blazing ride to the resolution may not appreciate the depth this gives Angie’s story. Family relationships and the choices we make are as much a part of this tale as the why and who of Angie’s murder. It is how keenly we come to know this family that makes The Lost Girls such a delight.