The only photo in this book is the author photo at the end. It's an interesting choice, because one of the reasons Lauren Spierer's disappearance in 2011 received so much attention was because of how she looked--she was young, beautiful, petite, and blond. Shawn Cohen addresses what what media commentators call "missing white woman syndrome" head on, explaining that otherwise comparable disappearances were largely ignored by the press.

But this book is not a sociological exploration of media coverage or a quantatative analysis of crime victims; it's a very individual and personal story about a college student at Indiana University--studying fashion, rooming with close friends, popular, beloved by her family, who seemingly vanished into thin air after a night of partying.

For Shawn Cohen, the case is personal; he covered the story initially as a newspaper reporter back in Lauren's hometown in Westchester County. Ms. Spierer's parents initially distrusted him and his aggressive pursuit of the truth of the matter, but over time they grew to be close friends, and they eventually had enough faith in his work to cooperate fully with him as he researched and wrote this book, a comprehensive look at all known information concerning their daughter's disappearance.

He doesn't solve the crime. His efforts here are to bring attention to this case (still open over a decade later) in the hope that someone who knows something will decide to break the silence.

It's a sad story; Lauren Speirer was extremely intoxicated on the night she disappeared, and had been using cocaine and crushed up Klonopin as well. Unbeknownst to her friends, she had a heart condition (long QT syndrome) which increased the danger of her drug use. What ultimately happened? Perhaps she overdosed, and the people she was with panicked and dumped her body. Perhaps her jealous boyfriend, unhappy that she was out with other young men, was the culprit. It may possibly have been a random act of violence. The wealthy, well-connected male students who were seemingly the last people to see her alive were uncooperative, quickly hired defense attorneys, and left town. The Bloomington police force, at least by this account, was shockingly inept.

The author is forthright, not only about some of the unseemly aspects of Ms. Spierer's life, but about his own, explaining the scandal that cost him a job at the New York Post (a romantic relationship with a source, therefore a potential conflict of interest) and how it was salaciously covered by the press.

I don't usually read true crime as a genre; I tend to find it ghoulish, exploiting private tragedies for personal gain and as fodder for gossip. In this case, however, the author is respectful of his subject and her friends and family and refrains from drawing unwarranted conclusions; the mystery is still open, and the longed-for closure remains elusive.

BOOK: College Girl, Missing

AUTHOR: Shawn Cohen

YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2024

IMAGE: book cover, Sourcebooks