College Girl, Missing: The True Story of How a Young Woman Disappeared in Plain Sight
By: Shawn Cohen
Genre: True Crime
Number of Pages: 272
Published: May 28, 2024
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Dates Read: August 4, 2024 - August 5, 2024
Format: Library Book / Paperback

Indiana University student Lauren Spierer disappeared early one morning after spending the night partying with friends. What makes this case so interesting is the 20-year-old was out with dozens of classmates, the public, and seen on security cameras, but at the end of the night, she ended up at a townhouse complex with several wealthy, well-connected male students – who claimed Lauren left on her own, but is never to be seen again.

With Lauren’s parents’ support, Shawn Cohen leads readers through the investigation again with never-before-seen evidence that chronicles a cover-up, a botched investigation, conflicting testimony, and new interviews. 

This is the first true crime novel I’ve personally read. I’ve listened to many episodes of the podcast, Crime Junkie, but physically reading a novel is new. And, I think this one may even be a bit different than most, because we don’t really have an ending for Lauren.

She lost her phone, ID, and shoes. She was not only intoxicated from alcohol, but from drugs as well. She had a heart condition she tended to ignore.

Was she murdered? Did she die by accident and get dumped or thrown in the trash bins? She did get picked up on her way home and someone picked her up?

Cohen gives you plenty of theories and speculations as to what happened to Lauren. And, though he doesn’t outright say what he thinks happened to her, you kind of get the hint as to what he’s thinking.

I myself have an idea, but I don’t believe we will ever know unfortunately.

This is definitely a book that doesn’t have definitive answers for the reader – it is an unsolved mystery. So, I feel like as long as readers go into that knowing that’s the case, this will still fascinate you.