The ‘girls’ of the title are a group of 4 friends who have not seen each other for a long time, since something happened ‘that night’ that split them up. 3 of them, who are living in London, are surprised to receive invitations to celebrate the other’s birthday in a luxury lodge in Botswana, of all places. They are going to learn the real reason for getting together again and it might be more than a party…

I liked how the female characters were all differentiated, each with their own set of problems and the complexities of how they relate to each other. Unfortunately this is yet another thriller in which every male character is an abuser or cheater.

The idea of a mystery set in Botswana was very enticing. However, it seemed like merely a backdrop and I learnt nothing about the country at all, not even the capital city (which I’m assuming is where the airport was, where the girls landed). The promise – or threat – of wildlife fell completely flat. There was a frog mentioned, beetles and some butterflies. Plus some photos of safari animals and a zebra skin rug. What a missed opportunity!

The plot was predictable. It starts with murder victims, not identified for us. We then have the girls’ narratives, of which 2 are in the 3rd person and the others are in the 1st person. Guess who’s going to be murdered?! There was a good twist towards the end, though. There are many implausible details, which will bother you if credibility is important to you in thrillers set in the real world.

I don’t often have trigger warnings in my reviews but I will note here that there is rape trauma, attempted rape, child abuse, domestic abuse and miscarriage in this book. A lot of serious issues packed into the story. I felt it was too much for the kind of book it is.

I did enjoy parts of this book, particularly the first half, but I found it very flawed and not as good as The Girl Next Door.

Published in 2021.

The Love Square by Laura Jane Williams. I liked Our Stop but unfortunately her next book didn’t draw me in. Maybe I wasn’t in the mood for a comedy romance.

Who Killed John Lennon? by Lesley-Ann Jones. I was very disappointed in this one, as her biography of Freddie Mercury was so good, but the writing style was so wordy and unreadable.

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. I thought this started off well but it got a little too gross for me and I wasn’t keen on the characters.

Final Cut by S J Watson. The latest novel from the author of Before I Go To Sleep and Second Life was an advance copy from NetGalley. I found the writing disappointing and not gripping at all.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I liked The Night Circus (although I found it too long). Sadly I couldn’t get into her next book, which I found hard going.

Here is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan. I so wanted to like this book but I found the strong language uncomfortable and couldn’t get into the verse format.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. The only Murakami novels I’ve really liked so far are Norwegian Wood and Killing Commendatore. His style can be frustratingly dull sometimes.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley. The concept for this one sounded like such a page-turner but I found that it didn’t interest me, once I was reading. I suppose the wedding theme put me off.

The Babysitter by Phoebe Morgan. Having been impressed by The Girl Next Door, I mistakenly thought this one would be as gripping. I think I’m going off domestic thrillers too.

If you’ve read any of these, I hope you liked them more than I did. Particularly in these troubled times, when reading is an important escape, I want to be gripped and engaged by what I read. 

The story is set in a small town, Ashdon, near Saffron Walden in Essex (I looked it up, and it’s a real place). It begins with a sixteen-year-old girl, Clare, found dead in a field. This causes turmoil in the formerly quiet town, with its affluent law-abiding community. The story is told through the narratives of Clare herself (in the hours before she was found), her next-door neighbour Jane and also DS Madeline Shaw who is on the case. I liked the fact that there are so many suspects; everyone seems to have secrets to hide and possible motives for harming Clare. This novel has everything you want in a psychological thriller – untrustworthy characters, domestic settings which make the events more frightening, a plot which keeps you guessing and plenty of drama.

I’m also pleased to report that there are no scenes of animal abuse or child abuse. There is a domestic abuse theme in some of the relationships, but the details are not overly graphic.

I had some very minor issues with the novel. I would have liked DS Madeline Shaw to be a more distinctive character and to know more of her back story. I also thought that some details of the dialogue weren’t realistic; for example, everyone says ‘I guess’, which is an American alternative to ‘I suppose’. Like many American phrases, it’s becoming a more popular expression in the UK, but I don’t think all the characters would’ve said it, especially the older and more conservative types. However, these are little details I picked up and didn’t affect my enjoyment of the novel. I now want to read Phoebe Morgan’s first book, The Doll House.

The Girl Next Door will be published on 21st February. Many thanks to the publisher HQ (HarperCollins UK) for the advance copy via NetGalley.