‘This isn’t just a mystery. It’s an autopsy of trauma, silence, and survival.’

Two girls disappeared. Only one came back.

Summary

Livia Cutty is a forensic pathology resident and Elder sister of one of the girls who disappeared. She has a sharp mind and a hidden past, is no stranger to death—but she never expected her latest case to feel so personal. When a body on her table connects to an unsolved disappearance, Livia begins unraveling a mystery that may be more entangled with her own history than she ever imagined.

At the center of that mystery is Megan McDonald—the girl who came back. But Megan doesn’t talk about what happened. Her silence is loud, deliberate, and suffocating. And it might be the only clue to the truth no one has been able to uncover.

My thoughts

The summary was all I needed to know before diving in—and once I did, I couldn’t look away. I have always thought about the people who were kidnapped and escaped. It’s hard to imagine how they would have felt and experienced it. While reading, I didn’t just understand the grief—I felt it. Every page carried the weight of something lost, something unsaid, and it stayed with me long after I closed the book.

“The Girl Who Was Taken” by Charlie Donlea has done wonders for me in this area. The contrast between the two lead characters’ narratives pulled me in completely—their voices felt distinct yet equally haunting, like two sides of the same broken mirror. 

What I loved most? The atmosphere. It felt like I was holding a case file, not a book. The morgue setting, the cold logic of the autopsies, and the little emotional fractures between the lines—it all added up to a slow burn that never felt boring. Just… heavy. In a good way.

And then there’s the girl who came back. Without giving anything away, her silence was the most haunting part of the book. I kept asking myself—is she trying to remember? Does she have any clue about who did this to her? And does she know the face of her kidnapper? . All the questions kept me on the edge of my bed.

The forensic detail in this book doesn’t just add realism—it teaches you things without even trying. You walk away knowing more, feeling like you’ve stepped into an autopsy room yourself. I finished the book in two sittings, and I must tell you, although it’s a slow burn, it will be worth your time. 

Why Did This Book Stick With Me?

• It never overexplains—it trusts you to feel your way through the shadows, piecing together the truth like a detective in the dark.
• It reminded me that trauma isn’t a puzzle to solve—it’s a weight we carry, quietly shaping everything we become.

The ending was what I never expected. This thriller shocked me in the end and made me realize that even the innocent-looking have a dark side. You just have to be the one who never sees their side. When I hit the last page, I screamed—loud, shocked, and completely unprepared. The ending didn’t just twist—it detonated.

Final Verdict 

You will enjoy the book if you are a fan of psychological thrillers and slow burns. This will make you live her sadness, grief, and trauma from every direction. Overall, I will give this book a 4 because it hit me harder. This book left a mark—not the kind that fades but the kind that lingers in quiet moments, making you revisit scenes in your head days later. It didn’t just entertain me; it stayed with me.

Read If You Liked:

• The Silent Patient—for quiet tension and hidden rage
• Sharp Objects—for memory, mothers, and messed-up women
• Fanfic Rec: “The Cell Phone Swap” by Lindsey Summers (@DoNotMicrowave)—for characters with secrets and trauma.