I loved the cover for this one and also loved the words inside! Check out
a fun guest post from the author, my full review, and the giveaway below...
by Stephanie Morrill
YA Historical Suspense
Hardcover & ebook, 352 Pages
February 7th 2017 by Blink
Summary
Lydia has vanished.
Lydia, who’s never broken any rules, except falling in love with the wrong boy. Lydia, who’s been Piper’s best friend since they were children. Lydia, who never even said good-bye.
Convinced the police are looking in all the wrong places, eighteen-year-old Piper Sail begins her own investigation in an attempt to solve the mystery of Lydia’s disappearance. With the reluctant help of a handsome young detective, Piper goes searching for answers in the dark underbelly of 1924 Chicago, determined to find Lydia at any cost.
When Piper discovers those answers might stem from the corruption strangling the city—and quite possibly lead back to the doors of her affluent neighborhood—she must decide how deep she’s willing to dig, how much she should reveal, and if she’s willing to risk her life of privilege for the sake of the truth.
From the glitzy homes of the elite to the mob-run streets of 1920s Chicago, Stephanie Morrill’s jazz-age mystery shows just how far a girl will go to save her friend.
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Praise for the Book
"Morrill delivers a story that has it all - mystery, the mafia, and a heroine you can't help but root for. If Veronica Mars met the Roaring Twenties, you'd end up with The Lost Girl of Astor Street!" —Roseanna M. White, The Lost Heiress
Guest Post
Top Ten Things Piper Keeps in Her Detective Bag
- Ordinary leather shopping bag; You don’t want a flashy detective bag. The bag Piper uses is one that a person would have taken to the grocery store.
- Book: Stakeouts can be rather boring. It’s good to come prepared.
- Pocket knife: You just never know when you’re going to meet unsavory characters.
- Change of clothes: Especially if Piper is leaving directly from school to do her sleuthing.
- Stockings: An extra pair of stockings can serve a surprising amount of purposes.
- Notebook and pen: You don’t want to come across a clue and not have a place to document it, after all.
- Rope: You never know when you’re going to need this handy item. Piper uses hers when she comes across a skittish stray dog.
- Handkerchief: For those upsetting days on the job.
- Hairpins: For quick hairstyle changes and picking locks.
- Compact and items that can help shake up an appearance, like eyeglasses or a wig: You never know when you’ll need to change how you look on the fly!
My Review
THE LOST GIRL OF ASTOR STREET was a wonderfully told story set in the 1920's with a heroine readers will love and a plot that is engaging from beginning to end. Historical romantic suspense and inspirational romantic suspense readers will find much to love here. Highly recommend!
I fell in love with Piper almost from the first page. She is a fabulous character! She is very unconventional for her time with the way she speaks her mind, wants the blunt truth (most of the time), is willing to walk into danger, and doesn't discriminate against others. She is fierce, intelligent, charming, and loyal. I also love the family, friends, and love interests who surround her. A certain detective was of particular interest and another fabulous character!
I love how this author did such a fantastic job of drawing the reader into the story and creating meaningful moments, sometimes with just a look or touch between the characters and sometimes with words. This is storytelling at its best - when the author isn't telling the reader the story, but letting her experience it. The only drawback is that it would have been nice to have felt the historical setting a little more strongly in the language. There was a slang word used towards the end of the book that felt conspicuous because there was little to no slang used in the rest of the book. However, this was such a small thing and definitely didn't affect my enjoyment of the story.
The romance was utterly sweet, but didn't take over the story. The suspense slowly built as Piper (and those she persuades to join her) tries to figure out what happened to her friend and who is behind it. It gets pretty scary towards the end, but everything worked out. The were plenty of breadcrumbs but also red herrings so that it made it tough to be sure exactly which villain was the one responsible.
In the end, was it what I wished for? Yes! This was such an enjoyable book and definitely won't be the last I'll be reading from this author.
Content: Some violence and innuendo, but clean.
Source: Received a complimentary ARC from the publisher through Jean Book Nerd Tours, which did not require a review nor affect it in any way.
I fell in love with Piper almost from the first page. She is a fabulous character! She is very unconventional for her time with the way she speaks her mind, wants the blunt truth (most of the time), is willing to walk into danger, and doesn't discriminate against others. She is fierce, intelligent, charming, and loyal. I also love the family, friends, and love interests who surround her. A certain detective was of particular interest and another fabulous character!
I love how this author did such a fantastic job of drawing the reader into the story and creating meaningful moments, sometimes with just a look or touch between the characters and sometimes with words. This is storytelling at its best - when the author isn't telling the reader the story, but letting her experience it. The only drawback is that it would have been nice to have felt the historical setting a little more strongly in the language. There was a slang word used towards the end of the book that felt conspicuous because there was little to no slang used in the rest of the book. However, this was such a small thing and definitely didn't affect my enjoyment of the story.
The romance was utterly sweet, but didn't take over the story. The suspense slowly built as Piper (and those she persuades to join her) tries to figure out what happened to her friend and who is behind it. It gets pretty scary towards the end, but everything worked out. The were plenty of breadcrumbs but also red herrings so that it made it tough to be sure exactly which villain was the one responsible.
In the end, was it what I wished for? Yes! This was such an enjoyable book and definitely won't be the last I'll be reading from this author.
Content: Some violence and innuendo, but clean.
Source: Received a complimentary ARC from the publisher through Jean Book Nerd Tours, which did not require a review nor affect it in any way.
About the Author
Stephanie Morrill lives in Overland Park, Kansas with her husband and three kids. She is the author of The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series, Go Teen Writers: How to Turn Your First Draft Into a Published Book, and the Ellie Sweet series. She enjoys encouraging and teaching teen writers on her blog, www.GoTeenWriters.com. To connect with Stephanie and read samples of her books, check out www.StephanieMorrill.com.
Tour Schedule
February 6th Monday JeanBookNerd VLOG & INTERVIEW
February 6th Monday Movies, Shows & Books SPOTLIGHT
February 7th Tuesday CBY Book Club SPOTLIGHT
February 8th Wednesday Sabrina's Paranormal Palace REVIEW & FAVORITE THINGS
February 9th Thursday Wishful Endings REVIEW & TENS LIST
February 9th Thursday Book Hounds GUEST POST
February 10th Friday 100 Pages A Day REVIEW
February 11th Saturday A Dream Within A Dream RANDOM THINGS
February 12th Sunday TTC Books and More INTERVIEW
February 12th Sunday Kara the Redhead SPOTLIGHT
February 13th Monday That Book Gal REVIEW
February 14th Tuesday Rose's Book Corner MUSIC PLAYLIST
February 14th Tuesday The Silver Dagger Scriptorium FAVORITE BOOKS
February 15th Wednesday Captivated Reading REVIEW & DREAM CAST
Tour-Wide Giveaway
- 3 Copies of The Lost Girl of Astor Street by Stephanie Morrill
- 2 Signed Copies of The Lost Girl of Astor Street by Stephanie Morrill
- Open Internationally | Must be 13+ to Enter
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Have you read any other books set in the Roaring '20s?
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