Book Title: The Girlfriend
Author: Sarah J. Naughton
REVIEWED BY: DENNIS
Series: None
Genres: Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction
Goodreads
Pub Date: 03/06/18
5 STARS
After years of estrangement from her family, Mags receives a shocking phone call. Her rebellious brother, Abe, is in a coma, and the police suspect he tried to take his own life. But Mags isn’t so sure, and she begins to crack away at the life of the brother she once knew: the dark apartment building, the whispering tenants, and her brother’s mysterious girlfriend, the only witness to the incident, who raises more questions than answers. As Mags picks up where the police left off, she begins to unearth the secrets her brother left behind—and awakens her own talent for revenge.
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In a genre that has been over-saturated with B-List Gone Girland Girl on the Train Kmart brand variations, The Girlfriend soars passed the competition. Seriously everyone, this book is going to be a sleeper hit in the mystery genre for 2018. I was not only thoroughly surprised by the plot, but I was engrossed with the characters, the heartbreak, and just everything!
The story mainly focuses on the mysterious attempted suicide of Abe—a caregiver in London who has fallen down a flight of stairs and is in a vegetative state. Police are adamant on ruling this as an attempted suicide, but after contacting Abe’s estranged sister Mags, they get more than what they bargained for. Mags is a successful attorney who has moved to Las Vegas; defending criminals and con-artists for a living. Mags is skeptical to believe that Abe would try to take his own life and once she meets his fiancé Jody, she further questions the validity of the police report. As Mags begins to investigate the mysterious loopholes in the investigation, she starts seeing the secrets behind the life her brother has left behind. NO MORE STORY TIME. NO SPOILERS. GO IN BLIND!
It’s 2018 and are we tired of the whole “Girl gimmick yet? Well I for one, am not with The Girlfriend . As I started reading the story, I felt a level of familiarity with the plot; insert a mysterious crime that the protagonist believes to be incorrect; insert a deviously antagonistic character that throws a wrench into the whole investigation. However, The Girlfriend is so so SO MUCH MORE. Not only does the story take an original and provocative change of pace as you read along, the story also provides a level of sympathy for the main characters that you wouldn’t expect. We first meet a group of characters who don’t appear to be likable in any capacity, but as the story develops, you fall victim of falling in love with them. You sympathize with them, you feel their burden, and you root for them. This story is deemed as a suspense-mystery, but it also is a tragedy; a tragedy of acceptance, of love, and of heartbreak. The Girlfriend is a powerful read, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.
Thank you Source Books for my copy in exchange for an honest review. It was honestly my pleasure!
