The Roanoke Girls

Praise

“A gripping tale about the power and corrosiveness within families weighed down by the past…storytelling at its finest.”
– The Associated Press

“With more twists than a bag of pretzels, this compelling family saga may make you question what you think you know about your own relatives.”
– Cosmopolitan 

“A page-turning thriller that will allow you to escape into another world…filled with family secrets and a legacy of death and disappearance for the infamous “Roanoke Girls” — a privileged Kansas matriarchy with more than its fair share of tragic drama.” 
– Bustle

“A crime must-read to devour…The Roanoke Girls has nothing to do with Virginia but everything to do with missing girls, as the females in the Roanoke family, who live in a tiny town in rural Kansas not worth naming, are rich, beautiful, and generally short-lived…The farmhouse, which is ‘equal parts horrifying and mesmerizing,’ is a perfect setting for a gothic mystery full of small-town secrets, lies, and guilt.” 
– Literary Hub

“[This] engrossing novel by Engel, a former criminal defense attorney, offers everything a reader could hope for — multidimensional characters, a page-turning plot and surprises that continue to unfurl throughout the story…Highly recommended!”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“The Roanoke Girls, the new suspense novel by Amy Engel, is one of those captivating stories which make you ask for more from this talented author…an exciting read from a talented new voice in adult suspense.”
– Mystery Tribune

“Engel drops a wicked twist in the first 35 pages—in the middle of a paragraph on the middle of the page—and lets it sit like a coiled snake…from that point on, The Roanoke Girls becomes a thrilling mystery and a satisfyingly gothic portrait of Middle America…a dark fable of trauma and acceptance about damaged people accepting their crooked parts and using them to move forward.” 
– Bookpage

“Engel hits a homerun with this “gothic suspense novel” that tells the story of the Roanoke family, a prominent and very private Kansas family…a rollercoaster ride through a dark family history and the one devastating family secret.”  
– Pulse Magazine

“Gripping…[a] gothic page-turner…with revelations readers won’t soon forget.”
– Publishers Weekly

“In her first foray into adult fiction, [Engel] creates a memorable cast of characters and a twisting, tangled plot that attracts readers from the first page…[an] atmospheric and unsettling tale of the secrets and bonds of family, set against the backdrop of small-town Kansas.”
— Library Journal

“A provocative thriller.”
— Telegraph UK

“A debt to Daphne du Maurier is evident throughout this remarkably assured adult debut…you are also reminded of the theatrical domestic sagas of Tennessee Williams.”
– Sunday Times

“An emotionally captivating story.”
– Booklist

“I was immediately drawn into The Roanoke Girls, a haunting and riveting look at one family’s tangled legacy. You won’t stop reading until you’ve unraveled the darkest of Roanoke’s shocking secrets.”
– Laura McHugh, award-winning author of The Weight of Blood

“This is a poised and haunting novel, whose enchanting prose belies its dark and intense subject matter. An evocative modern take on Southern Gothic, with a compelling twist which will remain with you long after the book’s last sentence.”
– L.S. Hilton, New York Times bestselling author of Maestra
 
“An emotionally compelling page turner, The Roanoke Girls takes you inside the dark world of a twisted family and one woman’s fight to break free from the chains of her own history. This is family intrigue at its very best!”
– Wendy Walker, author of All Is Not Forgotten