The Forest of Stolen Girls

After her father vanishes while investigating the disappearance of 13 young women, a teen returns home to pick up the trail in this YA historical mystery.

  • Suspenseful and richly atmospheric, June Hur’s The Forest of Stolen Girls is a haunting historical mystery sure to keep readers guessing until the last page.

    1426, Joseon (Korea). Hwani’s family has never been the same since she and her younger sister went missing and were later found unconscious in the forest near a gruesome crime scene.

    Years later, Detective Min—Hwani’s father—learns that thirteen girls have recently disappeared from the same forest that nearly stole his daughters. He travels to their hometown on the island of Jeju to investigate… only to vanish as well.

    Determined to find her father and solve the case that tore their family apart, Hwani returns home to pick up the trail. As she digs into the secrets of the small village—and collides with her now estranged sister, Maewol—Hwani comes to realize that the answer could lie within her own buried memories of what happened in the forest all those years ago.

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Other Editions

The Forest of Stolen Girls is also published in French and Korean!

Immerse Yourself

“When I write a book I like to create a playlist and moodboard to help set the tone. I’m sharing it with you so you can also immerse yourself more fully into the book using more senses.” - June

What People Are Saying

“A breathtaking journey through 1400s Korea. … The mystery complements the setting perfectly, and the conclusion is well-plotted and satisfying. … A must for all collections.”

— School Library Journal, starred review ⭐

“Crafting a suspenseful, atmospheric historical mystery, Hur (The Silence of Bones) explores women’s lack of bodily agency during this time and the dangers of obsessive protection, adroitly interweaving the historical context of the real horrors that afflicted Korean women from the 13th-century Mongol rule until after 1435.”

— Publishers Weekly

“I’m not the shivering type. But knee-deep inside Hur’s taut, suspenseful snare, I felt the cold touch of secrets poking at my shoulder and sometimes, neck. Disappearances, quests, and family tension? I’m all the way in.”

— Rita Williams-Garcia, New York Times-bestselling author of A Sitting in St. James, “Entertainment Weekly: 12 Spring Reading Picks From Your Favourite Historical Fiction Authors”