The Lost Boys of Barlowe Theater by Jaime Jo Wright

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Bethany House 
Released: October 10, 2023
360 pages

About the Book:

Barlowe Theater stole the life of Greta Mercy's brother during its construction. Now in 1915, the completed theater appears every bit as deadly. When Greta's younger brother goes missing after breaking into the building, Greta engages the assistance of a local police officer to help her uncover the already ghostly secrets of the theater. But when help comes from an unlikely source, Greta decides that to save her family she must put the threat of the phantoms to rest.

Decades later, Kit Boyd's best friend vanishes during a ghost walk at the Barlowe Theater, and old stories of mysterious disappearances and ghoulish happenings are revived. When television ghost-hunting host and skeptic Evan Fisher engages Kit in the quest to identify the truth behind the theater's history, Kit reluctantly agrees to work with him in hopes of also finding out what happened to her friend. As the theater's curse begins to unravel Kit's own life, she sets out not only to save the historical building and her friend, but to end the pattern of evil that has marked their hometown for a century.

In this atmospheric dual-time tale, two women--separated by a century yet bound by the ghosts of the past--pursue light in the face of darkness.

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐

This is a dual-timeline with characters in 1915 and present day. As the title suggests is centers around some boys going missing at a theater and the lore of that story. I had to reread the first couple of chapters to understand what was going on, but once someone disappeared I was hooked and needed to know what happened and what the explanation would be because it is not ghosts. I was more invested in Greta's story in the 1915 timeline than I was in Kit's in the present day. Greta's situation pulled at my heart strings more and felt more relatable. I found Kit harder to root for some actions of characters in the present day really bothered me. The ending situation with a specific character really bothered me, how could they act that way and expect it to be accepted as fine? Overall I was invested in getting answers but I found the ending rushed compared to the rest of the book and the present day ending ruined the book for me.

(I borrowed this book from the library; opinions expressed 

in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

Other books from this author that I have reviewed:   

   

The Curse of Misty Wayfair