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The Girl Who Was Taken

Description:

Charlie Donlea, one of the most original new voices in suspense, returns with a haunting novel, laden with twists and high tension, about two abducted girls—one who returns, one who doesn’t—and the forensics expert searching for answers.

Nicole Cutty and Megan McDonald are both high school seniors in the small town of Emerson Bay, North Carolina. When they disappear from a beach party one warm summer night, police launch a massive search. No clues are found, and hope is almost lost until Megan miraculously surfaces after escaping from a bunker deep in the woods.

A year later, the bestselling account of her ordeal has turned Megan from local hero to national celebrity. It’s a triumphant, inspiring story, except for one inconvenient detail: Nicole is still missing. Nicole’s older sister Livia, a fellow in forensic pathology, expects that one day soon Nicole’s body will be found, and it will be up to someone like Livia to analyze the evidence and finally determine her sister’s fate. Instead, the first clue to Nicole’s disappearance comes from another body that shows up in Livia’s morgue—that of a young man connected to Nicole’s past. Livia reaches out to Megan for help, hoping to learn more about the night the two were taken. Other girls have gone missing too, and Livia is increasingly certain the cases are connected.

But Megan knows more than she revealed in her blockbuster book. Flashes of memory are coming together, pointing to something darker and more monstrous than her chilling memoir describes. And the deeper she and Livia dig, the more they realize that sometimes true terror lies in finding exactly what you’ve been looking for.

PRAISE FOR CHARLIE DONLEA AND SUMMIT LAKE

“A gem of a mystery, fast‑paced and suspenseful.” —Catherine Coulter, #1
New York Times bestselling author

“Fans of contemporary suspense will enjoy this brisk read.” —
Booklist

“An exciting debut, with all the right touches, captivating from the first page to the last. There’s a bright future ahead for this newcomer to the thriller genre—definitely a talent to watch.” —Steve Berry,
New York Times bestselling author

“Donlea keeps readers guessing throughout. The whodunit plot is clever and compelling . . . for fans of nonstop mysteries with a twist.” —
Library Journal

“A swift, outstanding debut.
Summit Lake engrossed me then knocked me cold. Charlie Donlea is a superb storyteller sure to damage the bestseller lists.” —Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author

“With a soaring pace and teasing plot twists, Charlie Donlea’s debut mystery is like a cool drink of water with a twist of lemon. It’s refreshing to find a book that has such a well-developed plot and excellent writing to back it up.” —BookPage


Review

"Fast moving page-turner...Donlea skillfully maximizes suspense." -- Publishers Weekly . .
"This tour de force has all the elements of a well-crafted thriller. There are villains to be reckoned with that challenge even the most diligent sleuths. False paths beckon as one body after another surfaces, each one more tempting than the last." -- RT Books Reviews, 4.5 Stars Top Pick . . "Chilling and suspenseful. I was gripped from the first page." -- Candice Fox, #1 New York Times bestselling author . ."Donlea does a fine job...The chase is well worth the read." -- Booklist . ."...keeps the reader guessing and second-guessing until the end, thanks to an expertly crafted abundance of potential suspects." -- Library Journal . ."...a gripping mystery, suspenseful and loaded with clues, both obvious and subtle...The conclusion is apt to be a surprise to readers, and a shocking one." --PCA Mystery & Detective Fiction Reading List

About the Author

Charlie Donlea lives in Chicago with his wife and two young children. He spends a part of each year fishing with his father in the far reaches of Canada, where the roads end and lakes are accessible only by floatplane. These majestic trips to “God’s Country” inspired the setting for his novels. With so many choices of entertainment, and countless other books to choose from, he thanks you for spending your time and treasure on his creation. Readers can find him online at charliedonlea.com.

Reviews:

Shocking conclusion you will never see coming

M.B. · January 3, 2026

The Girl Who Was Taken is a story of two girls being kidnapped at a senior high school party at the lake. In present time, one of the girls’ sisters has become a forensic pathologist. After performing an autopsy on someone from her sister’s past, she begins looking into the unsolved disappearance. The story moves back and forth between the past and the present , unraveling the events from before the kidnapping until the present day. It was a true mystery for me, an avid suspense/thriller reader. I can usually guess the ending beforehand, but with all its twist and turns it kept me guessing until the shocking end.

Captivating

E. · January 25, 2026

Fast pace, short chapters, intriguing and captivating story. Wish it would be more about the actual kidnapping then the events after but overall a great book , can’t rated it 5 stars because it was at times so long and less about the abduction but totally recommend it.8/10

A masterstroke!

H.H. · February 26, 2026

I’ve read Charlie Donlea books before - but this one was simply in a league of its own. The research was clearly done, the characters flawed and believable. Donlea’smstrength, in my humble opinion, is in creating characters whose circumstances easily support the narrative, and therefore their dynamics within the narrative lend to the actual story.Megan escaped. Nicole didn’t. And for a year, now, Megan has been battling with her own insecurities, her fears and her demons. Livia, Nicole’s sister, has taken on the burden of her grief and is attempting to move on, when on her table lands the body of the boy who was dating her sister when she went missing, and he has clearly been murdered. Following the unraveling of this thread, Livia enlists Megan help to try and see if she can find out what happened to her sister. Andon the way, the secrets that Megan has buried deep down, may unravel her whole existence.This book was SO good, I could not put it down! The twist at the end will have you SHAKEN UP! I could not have predicted it, and I’m usually annoyingly good at that. The ending is heartbreakingly real, but written in a way that makes sense to the narrative. Charlie Donlea is clearly a master of the game!

Riveting From Beginning to End!

L.B. · May 23, 2017

This book relates a scenario you don't see happen too often - a girl is abducted but is able to escape and return. That is what happens to Megan McDonald - she is abducted from an end-of-high-school/pre-college party, but returns to not only tell her story, but write a book about it. Her book generates great public interest and turns her into a TV talk show heroine who has now "processed her ordeal and healed". Unfortunately, this is not the reality. Megan has not healed, and is attempting, with the aid of her psychiatrist and hypnosis, to recover the memories of her two week ordeal. Then there is the matter of Nicole Cutty, Megan's classmate and fellow party-goer. Nicole also vanished that night, presumably at the hands of Megan's abductor, and has not been seen since. Nicole's older sister, Dr. Livia Cutter, is a forensic pathologist fellow on her way to becoming a medical examiner. A year after her sister's disappearance, Livia feels a great burden of guilt. Consumed by the over-taxing schedule of her fellowship, she knows she turned away from her troubled younger sister's reaching out for her help. Worst of all, she ignored a phone call from her sister on the night of her disappearance. As part of her studies, Livia performs numerous autopsies on bodies brought in to the medical examiner and she is prepared for the day that Nicole is brought in and she can bring some closure to herself and her family. She reads Megan's book and can't help but resent her for coming out alive and apparently well, and profiting from her experience. After meeting Megan, she realizes this is not the case - Megan has never forgotten Nicole and feels guilt for surviving when Nicole has never been found. Together, they begin to investigate the circumstances surrounding the abductions and learn of other similar cases. Along the way, they meet some interesting and disturbing people with information on the case. The story moves back and forth from months prior to the abduction to over a year after Megan's return. There are also a few chapters spoken from the abductor's point of view, with his twisted emotions and skewed rationalization of his actions. At first, I thought this might be confusing, but it is a very effective device that gradually fills in all the history and details until the full picture emerges. There are a few red herrings - I was pretty sure I knew who the abductor was fairly early in the book, but nope - wrong! Then another possible lead emerged - another dead end. The book built to an exciting conclusion and the ending was truly shocking. The characters are extremely well-defined, fleshed-out and detailed - they are described so well, through their thoughts and actions, that I was actually picturing actors and actresses who I felt should portray them in the film that definitely should be made from this book. As a final note, this book was extremely well-edited, with none of the distracting typos or wrong word usage seen in so many e-books. I never rate books down for this type of thing because to me, the story is what is important, but it is nice not to have to deal with it. I highly recommend this book and definitely intend to read more of Mr. Donlea's work.

Great mystery

S.L.B. · January 15, 2026

This books keeps.your attention and definitely has some twists. A little dark but definitely a gripping thriller about a medical.examiner searching for her abducted sister

Good but Not Great—Worth It for the Main Characters

B. · July 12, 2025

I thought The Girl Who Was Taken was an okay read overall. The premise was intriguing, and while I did manage to guess most of the ending, it still held my interest enough to see it through. My favorite part by far was the two main characters—they were compelling and easy to root for.The first two-thirds of the book moved pretty slowly, though things picked up later on. Unfortunately, the very end felt a bit like a letdown and left me with a few lingering questions that never got fully resolved. At times, I found the story confusing—enough that I would flip back a few pages to see if I’d missed something important.One detail that distracted me was the formatting: all the chapters set in the earlier timeline were italicized, which seemed unnecessary and a little irritating after a while. The writing was also very graphic in describing autopsies—sometimes to the point of feeling overly detailed and gruesome.Despite these issues, I’d still recommend it, mostly because the characters were well-developed, and the ending wasn’t completely predictable. If you enjoy slow-burn thrillers and don’t mind some graphic forensic details, it might be worth a read.

A good read

A.O. · May 6, 2017

The plot was clever, lots of red herrings but the ending was quite a surprise, never suspected that character to be the one 'whodunit'.

Wow

M. · March 3, 2026

Definitiv bis jetzt mein Favorite von Donlea. Ein wirklich guter Plot mit spannenden Wendungen und die Auflösung macht Sinn und paßt grandios ins Konzept.Der darf auch als Hardcover bei mir einziehen!

Surpreendente!

N.Z. · October 18, 2021

No começo achei que não gostaria do livro pelo tipo de detalhes e enredo.. porém foi me cativando a cada capítulo com o suspense. Nunca escrevi uma avaliação e certamente esse livro merece uma. Surpreendente o final. Amei

I loved it

L.L. · January 6, 2021

that kind of book that is impossible to stop reading

brilliant

l. · January 14, 2025

Raced through this book - really enjoyed the story.So many red herrings .. never 100% sureLoved the heroine’s story .. through her guilt over her sister’s disappearance and her quest to find out what had happened to her.

The Girl Who Was Taken

Product ID: U1496701003
Condition: New

4.4

AED22965

Price includes VAT & Import Duties
Type: Hardcover
Availability: In Stock

Quantity:

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Order today to get by 7-14 business days

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Imported From: United States

At BOLO, we work hard to ensure the products you receive are new, genuine, and sourced from reputable suppliers.

BOLO is not an authorized or official retailer for most brands, nor are we affiliated with manufacturers unless specifically stated on a product page. Instead, we source verified sellers, authorized distributors or directly from the manufacturer.

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BOLO operates in accordance with the laws and regulations of United Arab Emirates. Any items found to be restricted or prohibited for sale within the UAE will be cancelled prior to shipment. We take proactive measures to ensure that only products permitted for sale in United Arab Emirates are listed on our website.

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All orders are processed manually, and we make every effort to process them promptly once confirmed. Products cancelled due to the above reasons will be permanently removed from listings across the website.

More from this brand

Similar items from “Murder”

The Girl Who Was Taken

Product ID: U1496701003
Condition: New

4.4

The Girl Who Was Taken-0
Type: Hardcover

AED22965

Price includes VAT & Import Duties
Availability: In Stock

Quantity:

|

Order today to get by 7-14 business days

This item qualifies for free delivery

Returns & Warranty policies

Imported From: United States

At BOLO, we work hard to ensure the products you receive are new, genuine, and sourced from reputable suppliers.

BOLO is not an authorized or official retailer for most brands, nor are we affiliated with manufacturers unless specifically stated on a product page. Instead, we source verified sellers, authorized distributors or directly from the manufacturer.

Each product undergoes thorough inspection and verification at our consolidation and fulfilment centers to ensure it meets our strict authenticity and quality standards before being shipped and delivered to you.

If you ever have concerns regarding the authenticity of a product purchased from us, please contact Bolo Support. We will review your inquiry promptly and, if necessary, provide documentation verifying authenticity or offer a suitable resolution.

Your trust is our top priority, and we are committed to maintaining transparency and integrity in every transaction.

All product information, images, descriptions, and reviews originate from the manufacturer or from trusted sellers overseas. BOLO is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an authorized retailer for most brands listed on our website unless stated otherwise.

While we strive to display accurate information, variations in packaging, labeling, instructions, or formulation may occasionally occur due to regional differences or supplier updates. For detailed or manufacturer-specific information, please contact the brand directly or reach out to BOLO Support for assistance.

Unless otherwise stated, all prices displayed on the product page include applicable taxes and import duties.

BOLO operates in accordance with the laws and regulations of United Arab Emirates. Any items found to be restricted or prohibited for sale within the UAE will be cancelled prior to shipment. We take proactive measures to ensure that only products permitted for sale in United Arab Emirates are listed on our website.

All items are shipped by air, and any products classified as “Dangerous Goods (DG)” under IATA regulations will be removed from the order and cancelled.

All orders are processed manually, and we make every effort to process them promptly once confirmed. Products cancelled due to the above reasons will be permanently removed from listings across the website.

Description:

Charlie Donlea, one of the most original new voices in suspense, returns with a haunting novel, laden with twists and high tension, about two abducted girls—one who returns, one who doesn’t—and the forensics expert searching for answers.

Nicole Cutty and Megan McDonald are both high school seniors in the small town of Emerson Bay, North Carolina. When they disappear from a beach party one warm summer night, police launch a massive search. No clues are found, and hope is almost lost until Megan miraculously surfaces after escaping from a bunker deep in the woods.

A year later, the bestselling account of her ordeal has turned Megan from local hero to national celebrity. It’s a triumphant, inspiring story, except for one inconvenient detail: Nicole is still missing. Nicole’s older sister Livia, a fellow in forensic pathology, expects that one day soon Nicole’s body will be found, and it will be up to someone like Livia to analyze the evidence and finally determine her sister’s fate. Instead, the first clue to Nicole’s disappearance comes from another body that shows up in Livia’s morgue—that of a young man connected to Nicole’s past. Livia reaches out to Megan for help, hoping to learn more about the night the two were taken. Other girls have gone missing too, and Livia is increasingly certain the cases are connected.

But Megan knows more than she revealed in her blockbuster book. Flashes of memory are coming together, pointing to something darker and more monstrous than her chilling memoir describes. And the deeper she and Livia dig, the more they realize that sometimes true terror lies in finding exactly what you’ve been looking for.

PRAISE FOR CHARLIE DONLEA AND SUMMIT LAKE

“A gem of a mystery, fast‑paced and suspenseful.” —Catherine Coulter, #1
New York Times bestselling author

“Fans of contemporary suspense will enjoy this brisk read.” —
Booklist

“An exciting debut, with all the right touches, captivating from the first page to the last. There’s a bright future ahead for this newcomer to the thriller genre—definitely a talent to watch.” —Steve Berry,
New York Times bestselling author

“Donlea keeps readers guessing throughout. The whodunit plot is clever and compelling . . . for fans of nonstop mysteries with a twist.” —
Library Journal

“A swift, outstanding debut.
Summit Lake engrossed me then knocked me cold. Charlie Donlea is a superb storyteller sure to damage the bestseller lists.” —Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author

“With a soaring pace and teasing plot twists, Charlie Donlea’s debut mystery is like a cool drink of water with a twist of lemon. It’s refreshing to find a book that has such a well-developed plot and excellent writing to back it up.” —BookPage


Review

"Fast moving page-turner...Donlea skillfully maximizes suspense." -- Publishers Weekly . .
"This tour de force has all the elements of a well-crafted thriller. There are villains to be reckoned with that challenge even the most diligent sleuths. False paths beckon as one body after another surfaces, each one more tempting than the last." -- RT Books Reviews, 4.5 Stars Top Pick . . "Chilling and suspenseful. I was gripped from the first page." -- Candice Fox, #1 New York Times bestselling author . ."Donlea does a fine job...The chase is well worth the read." -- Booklist . ."...keeps the reader guessing and second-guessing until the end, thanks to an expertly crafted abundance of potential suspects." -- Library Journal . ."...a gripping mystery, suspenseful and loaded with clues, both obvious and subtle...The conclusion is apt to be a surprise to readers, and a shocking one." --PCA Mystery & Detective Fiction Reading List

About the Author

Charlie Donlea lives in Chicago with his wife and two young children. He spends a part of each year fishing with his father in the far reaches of Canada, where the roads end and lakes are accessible only by floatplane. These majestic trips to “God’s Country” inspired the setting for his novels. With so many choices of entertainment, and countless other books to choose from, he thanks you for spending your time and treasure on his creation. Readers can find him online at charliedonlea.com.

Reviews:

Shocking conclusion you will never see coming

M.B. · January 3, 2026

The Girl Who Was Taken is a story of two girls being kidnapped at a senior high school party at the lake. In present time, one of the girls’ sisters has become a forensic pathologist. After performing an autopsy on someone from her sister’s past, she begins looking into the unsolved disappearance. The story moves back and forth between the past and the present , unraveling the events from before the kidnapping until the present day. It was a true mystery for me, an avid suspense/thriller reader. I can usually guess the ending beforehand, but with all its twist and turns it kept me guessing until the shocking end.

Captivating

E. · January 25, 2026

Fast pace, short chapters, intriguing and captivating story. Wish it would be more about the actual kidnapping then the events after but overall a great book , can’t rated it 5 stars because it was at times so long and less about the abduction but totally recommend it.8/10

A masterstroke!

H.H. · February 26, 2026

I’ve read Charlie Donlea books before - but this one was simply in a league of its own. The research was clearly done, the characters flawed and believable. Donlea’smstrength, in my humble opinion, is in creating characters whose circumstances easily support the narrative, and therefore their dynamics within the narrative lend to the actual story.Megan escaped. Nicole didn’t. And for a year, now, Megan has been battling with her own insecurities, her fears and her demons. Livia, Nicole’s sister, has taken on the burden of her grief and is attempting to move on, when on her table lands the body of the boy who was dating her sister when she went missing, and he has clearly been murdered. Following the unraveling of this thread, Livia enlists Megan help to try and see if she can find out what happened to her sister. Andon the way, the secrets that Megan has buried deep down, may unravel her whole existence.This book was SO good, I could not put it down! The twist at the end will have you SHAKEN UP! I could not have predicted it, and I’m usually annoyingly good at that. The ending is heartbreakingly real, but written in a way that makes sense to the narrative. Charlie Donlea is clearly a master of the game!

Riveting From Beginning to End!

L.B. · May 23, 2017

This book relates a scenario you don't see happen too often - a girl is abducted but is able to escape and return. That is what happens to Megan McDonald - she is abducted from an end-of-high-school/pre-college party, but returns to not only tell her story, but write a book about it. Her book generates great public interest and turns her into a TV talk show heroine who has now "processed her ordeal and healed". Unfortunately, this is not the reality. Megan has not healed, and is attempting, with the aid of her psychiatrist and hypnosis, to recover the memories of her two week ordeal. Then there is the matter of Nicole Cutty, Megan's classmate and fellow party-goer. Nicole also vanished that night, presumably at the hands of Megan's abductor, and has not been seen since. Nicole's older sister, Dr. Livia Cutter, is a forensic pathologist fellow on her way to becoming a medical examiner. A year after her sister's disappearance, Livia feels a great burden of guilt. Consumed by the over-taxing schedule of her fellowship, she knows she turned away from her troubled younger sister's reaching out for her help. Worst of all, she ignored a phone call from her sister on the night of her disappearance. As part of her studies, Livia performs numerous autopsies on bodies brought in to the medical examiner and she is prepared for the day that Nicole is brought in and she can bring some closure to herself and her family. She reads Megan's book and can't help but resent her for coming out alive and apparently well, and profiting from her experience. After meeting Megan, she realizes this is not the case - Megan has never forgotten Nicole and feels guilt for surviving when Nicole has never been found. Together, they begin to investigate the circumstances surrounding the abductions and learn of other similar cases. Along the way, they meet some interesting and disturbing people with information on the case. The story moves back and forth from months prior to the abduction to over a year after Megan's return. There are also a few chapters spoken from the abductor's point of view, with his twisted emotions and skewed rationalization of his actions. At first, I thought this might be confusing, but it is a very effective device that gradually fills in all the history and details until the full picture emerges. There are a few red herrings - I was pretty sure I knew who the abductor was fairly early in the book, but nope - wrong! Then another possible lead emerged - another dead end. The book built to an exciting conclusion and the ending was truly shocking. The characters are extremely well-defined, fleshed-out and detailed - they are described so well, through their thoughts and actions, that I was actually picturing actors and actresses who I felt should portray them in the film that definitely should be made from this book. As a final note, this book was extremely well-edited, with none of the distracting typos or wrong word usage seen in so many e-books. I never rate books down for this type of thing because to me, the story is what is important, but it is nice not to have to deal with it. I highly recommend this book and definitely intend to read more of Mr. Donlea's work.

Great mystery

S.L.B. · January 15, 2026

This books keeps.your attention and definitely has some twists. A little dark but definitely a gripping thriller about a medical.examiner searching for her abducted sister

Good but Not Great—Worth It for the Main Characters

B. · July 12, 2025

I thought The Girl Who Was Taken was an okay read overall. The premise was intriguing, and while I did manage to guess most of the ending, it still held my interest enough to see it through. My favorite part by far was the two main characters—they were compelling and easy to root for.The first two-thirds of the book moved pretty slowly, though things picked up later on. Unfortunately, the very end felt a bit like a letdown and left me with a few lingering questions that never got fully resolved. At times, I found the story confusing—enough that I would flip back a few pages to see if I’d missed something important.One detail that distracted me was the formatting: all the chapters set in the earlier timeline were italicized, which seemed unnecessary and a little irritating after a while. The writing was also very graphic in describing autopsies—sometimes to the point of feeling overly detailed and gruesome.Despite these issues, I’d still recommend it, mostly because the characters were well-developed, and the ending wasn’t completely predictable. If you enjoy slow-burn thrillers and don’t mind some graphic forensic details, it might be worth a read.

A good read

A.O. · May 6, 2017

The plot was clever, lots of red herrings but the ending was quite a surprise, never suspected that character to be the one 'whodunit'.

Wow

M. · March 3, 2026

Definitiv bis jetzt mein Favorite von Donlea. Ein wirklich guter Plot mit spannenden Wendungen und die Auflösung macht Sinn und paßt grandios ins Konzept.Der darf auch als Hardcover bei mir einziehen!

Surpreendente!

N.Z. · October 18, 2021

No começo achei que não gostaria do livro pelo tipo de detalhes e enredo.. porém foi me cativando a cada capítulo com o suspense. Nunca escrevi uma avaliação e certamente esse livro merece uma. Surpreendente o final. Amei

I loved it

L.L. · January 6, 2021

that kind of book that is impossible to stop reading

brilliant

l. · January 14, 2025

Raced through this book - really enjoyed the story.So many red herrings .. never 100% sureLoved the heroine’s story .. through her guilt over her sister’s disappearance and her quest to find out what had happened to her.

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