The San Diego Reader said Lost Girls "draws a terrifying portrait of a man who was sweet and cuddly one day and a crazed killer the next.

"[2] It explains how the criminal justice system allowed a previous sex offender like Gardner to commit more offenses, including those against Dubois and King.

The author, according to news reports, stopped her presentation and acknowledged McConigle, telling her she was sorry for her loss as well as sorry that the book upset her, adding that she had intended it as a tribute to her daughter and Chelsea King, and as a way to prevent similar tragedies.

[7] Rother countered with her own statement, saying, in part, that she believed it was a story that needed to be told in depth, and that she hoped to educate readers about sex offenders.

"[12] Southwest Riverside News Network wrote that the book is a "panoramic telling of two tragedies of two girls lost to their families and the world forever.