Stephanie Morrill

In this jazz-age mystery, The Lost Girl of Astor Street, 18-year-old Piper Sail searches the dark underbelly of 1920s Chicago to solve the disappearance of her best friend.

The Lost Girl of Astor Street

When her best friend vanishes without so much as a good-bye, eighteen-year-old Piper Sail takes on the role of amateur sleuth in an attempt to solve the mystery of Lydia’s disappearance. Given that Piper’s tendency has always been to butt heads with high-society’s expectations of her, it’s no surprise that she doesn’t give a second thought to searching for answers to Lydia’s abduction from their privileged neighborhood. As Piper discovers that those answers might stem from the corruption strangling 1924 Chicago—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. Perfect for fans of Libba Bray and Anna Godbersen, Stephanie Morrill’s atmospheric jazz-age mystery will take readers from the glitzy homes of the elite to the dark underbelly of 1920s Chicago.

Vicky (A City Girl's Thoughts)

An exciting, suspenseful historical fiction novel! I enjoyed this book from beginning to end!

Mary Horton

Re-Read July 2019:

Aghhhhhhhhhhhh I FREAKING LOVE THIS BOOK. *hugs it for all eternity* It was just as fun the third (yes, third) time around. I was supposed to be buddy reading it with my sister, and I really tried to . . . but she was taking forever to make any progress on it. I couldn't stand it any longer. xD

I will never stop screaming about how much I love Piper and Mariano. Just read the darn book and tell me you don't feel the same way. ;)

/ / / / / / / / / / / 

Re-Read February 2018: 

SO THIS WAS JUST AS WONDERFUL AS I REMEMBERED. I got the uncontrollable urge to dive into this lovely book once again and was not disappointed in the slightest.

(Also . . . have I mentioned I really love Mariano? *grins*)

/ / / / / / / / / / / /

*grabs a loudspeaker and shouts to the world* I HAVE FOUND A GOOD BOOK AT LAST.

Perhaps I've grown spoiled with all the good books I read last year, but recently, I've had a hard time finding new books that I actually really like. And to be quite honest, I was getting kind of desperate for a good read.

Well, I can breathe easy now because I found one.


  Lovely Things:


- The setting. JEEPERS, THE SETTING. <33 I've really become a sucker for historical fiction lately, and this book was no exception. I haven't read a lot of 1920s books, but all the details (like the trilbies and candlestick phones and Model T's) really breathed life into the story. I could see all the details unfold so well. Plus, Chicago is legit the perfect place for this book. 

- The characters. *makes strangled platypus sounds* YES YES YES. I loved the characters! Piper was headstrong and stubborn and opinionated...but also sweet and loyal and compassionate. In other words, she was awesome. ;) And Mariano was THE BEST, OKAY? I. Need. Him. Add to that a host of other great characters--Emma, Lydia, Sidekick (he was adorbs), and Walter--and you've got yourself a wonderful group of charries.

-The writing style. It was a good balance of description and dialogue--I liked that. It was written in first person present tense, which felt slightly off to me at times, but seemed to work well for the story most of the time. 

- The romance. OKAY JUST LET ME FLAIL FOR A THOUSAND YEARS BECAUSE MARIANO AND PIPER ARE ADORABLE

- The mystery. It's been a little while since I've read a mystery novel, and I really liked it! I wasn't exactly on the edge of my seat for the whole thing, so if you're looking for a heart-stopping action book, this isn't the one. But I really thought that the mystery was handled well for the most part and it made for an interesting, engaging plot. 


  Not So Lovely Things:


(Not much to mention here. ;P)

- The mystery. HUSH, NOW LET ME EXPLAIN. I liked the mystery--I really did! But...it was rather less exciting than I thought it would be. It seemed to fit the book well, and I wasn't really bored...but somehow the ending left me wondering if that was all. The whole book builds up the mystery to be a huge deal, but it ended kind of anticlimactically, in my opinion. *shrugs*

- The ending. Again, liked it for the most part, but it felt a bit rushed to me. I'm kind of picky about endings, though. XD

Overall? This book was REALLY good! AND THERE BETTER BE A SEQUEL WITH THAT ENDING, OKAY?? I seriously need more of Piper and Mariano. 

4 stars!

Rachel Benton

The Lost Girl of Astor Street takes place around the 1920’s in Chicago. In the beginning of the story we are introduced to Piper Sail and her friend Lydia Devine. Who are in their last year of school.

Piper is the wild child of the two. She is known for getting in all kinds of scrapes. Plus her knuckles are bruised due to punishment handed out by her teacher. Piper has been friends with Lydia since they were young. Lydia mother doesn’t really approve of Piper but seems to respect the relationship she has with her daughter.

As the story progresses we learn that Lydia is sick. She suffers from seizures. Her parents wants to keep this under wraps because Lydia father is a doctor and he thinks that if his patients finds out that it will hurt his practice. Lydia, herself, doesn’t even know about the seizures because she forgets that she has them after an attack.

 Piper knows because has witnessed a few of the seizures. The Devine’s have sworn her to secrecy, she can’t tell anyone, including Lydia about the seizures.

The Devine’s finally decided to seek more professional help in regards to Lydia seizures. So they decide to send her away to a hospital that is out of town. Lydia of course is upset and doesn’t want to leave.

She doesn’t want to leave her friends, and she doesn’t want to leave Matthew, the family driver, who she has fallen in love with. She goes visit Piper, who convinces her to tell Matthew how she feels. That is the last time Piper sees Lydia again, who goes missing that very day. The rest of the book is Piper investigating Lydia whereabouts.

I picked up this book up randomly at the library and ended up really loving . I am hoping that this author writes a sequel to this. I am really eager to get back in this world. This is the first mystery I have read in a longtime. Which is making want to read more mysteries.

I thought the writing was really good and it was easy to read. I couldn’t put this book down.

I liked how it was also set in the twenties, which from a history perspective is a really fascinating era, and I thought she did a good job in portraying this era. When reading I felt like I was back in that time.

I didn’t really get a Downton Abbey feel when I was reading this. So I think that the “Downton Abbey in downtown Chicago” description is kind of inaccurate. I think that this story stands on its own and doesn’t need Downton Abbey shadow to prop it.

I loved all the characters in this. They all added something to the story. Even Jane, who I thought was the most useless character in the story.

For me Piper was my favorite character. Despite the hard persona that she put on, she was a big softy on the inside. She would go to anything any lengths to protect those that she loves.

I have to say I was enjoying the romance in this story. Piper has three guys that are interested in her. Walter, Jeremiah and Cassano. I am leaning towards Cassano, but she seems to have chemistry with all three so its hard to pick who I want her with. Hopefully if this turns into a series it will become much clearer in the future.

If you have not read this, please go pick it up at your library, I would even go as far as saying to go buy it. Its certainly worth the money.

Here is the link to my book blog (The bookdrop) https://rbenton61.wordpress.com/2017/...

The Lost Girl of Astor Street

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