Spring Reads: The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz

Have you ever read a new book without realizing there was a lot of media buzz around it?

Well, that's the exactly what happened to me with the thriller The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz, which was published by Crown Publishers earlier this year. Originally, I had stumble upon the title in the "upcoming" books section on the Barnes & Noble website. After reading the blurb, I became interested in reading the book. It wasn't until after I finished reading it that I learned about the possible "limited series" adaptation. When I say "possible," I'm referring to little fact that there has been no new news about the rumored series since February.

The book centers around Lindsay, a journalist who's trying to unravel the mystery of why her friend Edie committed suicide in 2009. After talking to their friends, Lindsay realizes her memory of the night Edie died is mostly a blur. As she tries to put the pieces of that fatal night back together, she shockingly discovers evidence that suggests Edie was actually murdered.

Final Thoughts

Despite the fact The Lost Night is pretty short at just over 300 pages, I struggled to finish reading it. While the "missing night" plot is intriguing, all the characters are extremely bland. The way the author has written the characters, I couldn't tell the difference between any of them.

Have you ever watched a really bad made-for-television movie with an interesting plot, but it was poorly directed with corny dialogue and horrible acting?

Well, that sums up how I would describe The Lost Night. I liked the premise, but the final execution wasn't done right. There's no emotional depth to any of the characters, the dialogue comes across as wooden, and the ending twist was way too predictable.

Overall, I was highly disappointed with The Lost Night. I have no idea why there's a such a big "buzz" around this novel! It's not written very well!

*Note: I received a review copy from the publisher.

All opinions are my own!

About the Author

Andrea Bartz is a Brooklyn-based journalist and author of the forthcoming thriller THE LOST NIGHT (Crown, 2/26/19). She's also the coauthor of the blog-turned-book STUFF HIPSTERS HATE (Ulysses Press, 2010), which The New Yorker called "depressingly astute." Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, Martha Stewart Living, Redbook, Elle, and many other outlets, and she's held editorial positions at Glamour, Psychology Today, and Self, among other titles.