The Other Lola

I was recently invited to read an ARC version of Ripley Jones's upcoming novel "The Other Lola" via her publishing/marketing team as well as through NetGalley. It's the sequel to her novel "Missing Clarissa."

["The sequel to Ripley Jones's unforgettable YA thriller Missing Clarissa , The Other Lola is about what happens when the people you love the most are the people you can trust the least.

In the months after Cam and Blair broke their small hometown’s legendary missing-girl story and catapulted to accidental fame, they vowed never to do it again. No more mysteries, no more podcasts, and no more sticking their heads where they don’t belong.

Until Mattie Brosillard, a freshman at their high school, shows up on their doorstep, begging Cam and Blair for help. Mattie's sister Lola disappeared mysteriously five years ago. No trace of her was ever found. Now, she's back--but Mattie is convinced the girl who returned is an impostor. Nobody believes Mattie's wild story--not Mattie's brother, not Mattie's mother, and not even Cam and Blair. But something is definitely wrong in the Brosillard family. And Blair has her own reasons for wanting to know what really happened to Lola while she was gone.

With Cam and Blair still struggling with the aftermath of their first mystery—and with new secrets swirling between them—the stakes are higher than ever in this can’t-miss sequel to Missing Clarissa."]

This mystery took me a while to get through. Partially because it's been a while since I read something where you need to pay 100% attention to. Partially because it was heavy (anxiety, depression, loss, ptsd, and more). Partially because I didn't get hooked until late. 

But when I did get hook? Holy. Hell. 

The POV went back and forth (like the last book) between Blair and Cam, but it also featured Mattie a few times. And once or twice, Lola/"Lola."
The first Lola/"Lola" POV totally supported Mattie's suspicions, but then it was quickly lost in the story and the drama and all of the evidence that goes against Mattie's theory. Did I know at any point which what I thought, without a doubt, if Lola was Lola or "Lola?" Nope. Not once.
That was, obviously, the main mystery, but all of the side stories and other lies really helped support the magnitude of the situation as well as distract you with other details to pull your attention away from Lola/"Lola." It was a brilliant choice on Ripley's part. 

Check out this book when it comes out 12 March 2024!

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