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thebooktrail88's review against another edition
4.0
See the locations in the book: Girl with no past booktrail
London present day
Life in a London flat with books for company might seem ideal but it is far from it. Leah lives an anonymous life with no social life and outside contact. She is on the run and hiding from herself with no friends and a job she can do with her eyes closed although it in a library!. Living in the big smoke if you want to ‘disappear’ seems relatively easy for despite the numbers of people living there, you can feel the most alone you have ever felt. Still that suits Leah well. She blends into the London landscape she says. Perfect
The setting in Leah’s world is more like a social desert with the winds blowing in the odd man in the library who she talks to, and a dating website when she tries to contact with the world outside. But contact opens up a whole new danger.
The Past – At School
Leah at school is a carefree girl with a boyfriend Adam who she idolises to the point of putting him on a pedestal. But the picture slowly forms of a school life that was not so perfect after all and a day in particular…
Teenagers do what teenagers do, but these guys like to not only push boundaries, cross them and more.
What did she do, or what happened that was so awful? The story of her high school days are dizzying and complex as one piece falls into place one after the other and to appreciate how it all fits, you have to stand back and take in the bigger picture. Everyone remembers their school days but some memories won’t stay buried for long. This story of teenage misdemeanors comes back and bites you right where it hurts.
Review
That cover got me first. That tunnel and the way the no is smudged to suggest something very blurred and wrong. A place to have secrets and a dark tunnel with a chilling silhouette that grabbed me from the word go.
I thought I would like Leah – works with books, lives with books but just like the characters, you think you know someone… I don’t want to say too much for fear of suggesting things away. Suffice to say there were a lot of reasons to have an interest in Leah and to want to know more about her. The novel is mainly set in present day London but the story told in flashbacks to the past was a real head spinner. A person’s past can affect them in many different ways and those teenager years…what they can do to a person! There are more than a red herring or two to quash any assumptions you think you might have when reading this.
It’s clever the way the author has written this -making me feel so uncertain about the main character. It’s fast and pacey too – a real mix of emotions wrapped up in one girl’s life. The ending did not disappoint either and maybe it’s just my natural noisiness but I really did want to know what, why, how and when and those questions never stopped throughout. I love a book which takes you by surprise and this one certainly did.
London present day
Life in a London flat with books for company might seem ideal but it is far from it. Leah lives an anonymous life with no social life and outside contact. She is on the run and hiding from herself with no friends and a job she can do with her eyes closed although it in a library!. Living in the big smoke if you want to ‘disappear’ seems relatively easy for despite the numbers of people living there, you can feel the most alone you have ever felt. Still that suits Leah well. She blends into the London landscape she says. Perfect
The setting in Leah’s world is more like a social desert with the winds blowing in the odd man in the library who she talks to, and a dating website when she tries to contact with the world outside. But contact opens up a whole new danger.
The Past – At School
Leah at school is a carefree girl with a boyfriend Adam who she idolises to the point of putting him on a pedestal. But the picture slowly forms of a school life that was not so perfect after all and a day in particular…
Teenagers do what teenagers do, but these guys like to not only push boundaries, cross them and more.
What did she do, or what happened that was so awful? The story of her high school days are dizzying and complex as one piece falls into place one after the other and to appreciate how it all fits, you have to stand back and take in the bigger picture. Everyone remembers their school days but some memories won’t stay buried for long. This story of teenage misdemeanors comes back and bites you right where it hurts.
Review
That cover got me first. That tunnel and the way the no is smudged to suggest something very blurred and wrong. A place to have secrets and a dark tunnel with a chilling silhouette that grabbed me from the word go.
I thought I would like Leah – works with books, lives with books but just like the characters, you think you know someone… I don’t want to say too much for fear of suggesting things away. Suffice to say there were a lot of reasons to have an interest in Leah and to want to know more about her. The novel is mainly set in present day London but the story told in flashbacks to the past was a real head spinner. A person’s past can affect them in many different ways and those teenager years…what they can do to a person! There are more than a red herring or two to quash any assumptions you think you might have when reading this.
It’s clever the way the author has written this -making me feel so uncertain about the main character. It’s fast and pacey too – a real mix of emotions wrapped up in one girl’s life. The ending did not disappoint either and maybe it’s just my natural noisiness but I really did want to know what, why, how and when and those questions never stopped throughout. I love a book which takes you by surprise and this one certainly did.
emmafinlayson80's review against another edition
5.0
I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! I read it in one sitting because I had to know what was coming next. It was full of twits and red herrings as every great thriller should be. Gone Girl was such a wild success that every book is compared to it now, but this book is superior in every way.
decembermum's review against another edition
3.0
Reading this immediately after a Tess Gerritsen & a Robert Galbraith made me realise how expertly crafted they were compared to this. I believe that this is a first novel & it felt like it. I found it hard to care about or like Leah, who seemed to be punishing herself far too much for something in which she had been reluctantly involved. The basic premise of someone stalking her, both online & in person, and alienating her from everyone in her new life was a good one, but clumsily handled & it became very clear who the stalker was before the big reveal. I will probably read more by this author because I think her writing will improve & nobody should be judged purely by their first novel,
heather01602to60660's review against another edition
2.0
First, can we just rename this "The Girl with no Spine"? It would fit a lot better because the whole point of the story IS the girl's past, and her past is entirely based on her being a spineless weenie.
Chose the two-star "it was ok" rating because... meh, it was okay. I was curious enough to keep reading to find out just what was so awful from Leah's past, but the novel on the whole didn't work for me.
If you're ever looking for an example to show why an author should "show, not tell" - pull out this. There are so many times the author has Leah say "I used to be X, but now I'm Y" rather than actually showing much of it. It's hard to believe the completely sterile life she supposedly lived, because her actions are apparently a 180 degree flip from who she was 24 hours before the novel opens. So being told over and over by a first-person narrator "this isn't like me" when it's all the reader ever sees of her doesn't ring true; honestly, it would've been a much more interesting novel had it turned out to be an unreliable narrator!
The other problem I had was that the characters did things that made no sense. I don't care if you have your characters do far fetched ridiculous things, but you need to ground it in some reason. If someone inspires a cult-like following, there should really be something to explain how that happened. WHY does Leah have no ability to think for herself? What is the mysterious past alluded to that led one character's family to "have to" move. If you've known someone for years, why would your whole opinion of them change based on something a stranger tells you without ever talking to them? And so on and so on.
It seems the author was so intent on dropping red herrings that she lost any track of closing up plot holes.
So, in the end, I read to find out what the awful thing that set it all off was, because the curiosity was ratcheted pretty well, but... maybe the better alternate title is "The Book with no Payoff."
Chose the two-star "it was ok" rating because... meh, it was okay. I was curious enough to keep reading to find out just what was so awful from Leah's past, but the novel on the whole didn't work for me.
If you're ever looking for an example to show why an author should "show, not tell" - pull out this. There are so many times the author has Leah say "I used to be X, but now I'm Y" rather than actually showing much of it. It's hard to believe the completely sterile life she supposedly lived, because her actions are apparently a 180 degree flip from who she was 24 hours before the novel opens. So being told over and over by a first-person narrator "this isn't like me" when it's all the reader ever sees of her doesn't ring true; honestly, it would've been a much more interesting novel had it turned out to be an unreliable narrator!
The other problem I had was that the characters did things that made no sense. I don't care if you have your characters do far fetched ridiculous things, but you need to ground it in some reason. If someone inspires a cult-like following, there should really be something to explain how that happened. WHY does Leah have no ability to think for herself? What is the mysterious past alluded to that led one character's family to "have to" move. If you've known someone for years, why would your whole opinion of them change based on something a stranger tells you without ever talking to them? And so on and so on.
It seems the author was so intent on dropping red herrings that she lost any track of closing up plot holes.
So, in the end, I read to find out what the awful thing that set it all off was, because the curiosity was ratcheted pretty well, but... maybe the better alternate title is "The Book with no Payoff."
janet143's review against another edition
3.0
A bit slow. I love thrillers I’m obsessed with any good gripping psychological thrillers this was not either. It was just OK. Ok story. Ok plot. Less than ok characters. It left a lot to be desired but it was still an ok book.
bookworm04's review against another edition
5.0
Not bad for completed speed
Good books got to keep track as does swop and change from present to past so you to keep tack other wise won't understand for further along
Took me till page 200+ to keep going as that's when it really did take off with the twists and turns
Still doesn't beat GIRL ON THE TRAIN but similar plot kind of
Good books got to keep track as does swop and change from present to past so you to keep tack other wise won't understand for further along
Took me till page 200+ to keep going as that's when it really did take off with the twists and turns
Still doesn't beat GIRL ON THE TRAIN but similar plot kind of
beckic's review against another edition
4.0
Keeps you guessing
The story dragged along until halfway through. After that point, I couldn't bring myself to put it down. Just when I thought I was sure who Leah's tormentor was, something would happen to cause me to change my mind. I can't tell you how many times I went back and forth. Great character development, too. I feel as if Leah is someone I would know if I met here on the street.
The story dragged along until halfway through. After that point, I couldn't bring myself to put it down. Just when I thought I was sure who Leah's tormentor was, something would happen to cause me to change my mind. I can't tell you how many times I went back and forth. Great character development, too. I feel as if Leah is someone I would know if I met here on the street.
sarahs_bookish_life's review against another edition
4.0
The Girl With No Past is a gripping thriller that I literally struggled to put down.
Can anyone ever out run there past? Unfortunately for Leah Mills hers has just caught back up with her and boy what a ride the author takes us on in finding out exactly what it is about Leah's past that is so bad.
I really had no idea what Leah could have possibly done that was so bad that she was having to live like a recluse and to frightened to get close to anyone. As the chapters alternate between Leah's present day life and her past when she is at high school age, the author torments us by not giving to much away so that the reader is well and truly hooked.
I really felt for Leah, it seems at long last that she is finally ready to move on and let someone into her life then everything starts to go horribly wrong. Someone is hell bent on ruining her life and it soon becomes apparent that this person wants revenge. Only problem is, who from Leah's past could it be?
I really could not read this book quick enough, I just wanted to devour it all. The author kept me guessing right up until it was there like a big neon sign in front of me as to what had actually happened. I also had no clue who was behind all the horrible emails and incidents that were occurring in present day either.
A brilliant psychological thriller that you really will want to read!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Can anyone ever out run there past? Unfortunately for Leah Mills hers has just caught back up with her and boy what a ride the author takes us on in finding out exactly what it is about Leah's past that is so bad.
I really had no idea what Leah could have possibly done that was so bad that she was having to live like a recluse and to frightened to get close to anyone. As the chapters alternate between Leah's present day life and her past when she is at high school age, the author torments us by not giving to much away so that the reader is well and truly hooked.
I really felt for Leah, it seems at long last that she is finally ready to move on and let someone into her life then everything starts to go horribly wrong. Someone is hell bent on ruining her life and it soon becomes apparent that this person wants revenge. Only problem is, who from Leah's past could it be?
I really could not read this book quick enough, I just wanted to devour it all. The author kept me guessing right up until it was there like a big neon sign in front of me as to what had actually happened. I also had no clue who was behind all the horrible emails and incidents that were occurring in present day either.
A brilliant psychological thriller that you really will want to read!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.