A review by nicolem_young
The Girl Thief by J.A. Schneider

3.0

Book/Story: ⭐⭐⭐
Book Cover: ⭐⭐

TRIGGER(S): DEATH, MENTAL HEALTH, SUICIDE, RAPE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, ALCOHOLISM

POV: Singular, First Person
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Part of a series: No
Safe or Dark: Dark (see trigger warnings above)

"Be careful, always. Trust few and trust your gut more.”

Fair warning: the title of this book has very little to do with the plot of the story. Just in case you wanted to pick it up based solely on that.

Who among us hasn’t been wronged by someone and wanted to make them pay for it? Who of us hasn’t wanted revenge? Who among us hasn’t had a slight obsession with something or someone, good or bad? My obsession is sports, specifically my sports teams. Hey, it could be much worse. Much, much worse.

The thing I enjoyed most about this book is that it starts off with a bang. The prologue takes us right into the action and the present moment our protagonist, Rooney Budd, is in. We have no idea what is happening at that time or what led up to it, but it soon starts to be explained, with chapter one being set four days prior.

While the chapters are short and easy to read, the writing seemed bogged down at times. Some of the sentences didn’t flow nicely, and the “wittiness” the author was trying to portray could easily be seen as forced. I feel that some details were added just to take up space. For example, at one point, Rooney is talking to her lover Rob on the phone while he is driving the van for the catering company, they both work for. She mentions that in the background someone is playing Morgan Wallen’s Last Night (which is a great song), but it didn’t add a single thing to what was happening at that moment. It wasn’t as if the person in the background was singing off-key and she could hear it, or that Rob was singing along and distracted during their conversation, or even that he was singing along horribly to try and make her laugh since she was feeling down. Rooney didn’t even mention that it bothered her at all. It was just a random thing that could have been left out. It added nothing.

Don’t even get me started on our main character’s name. Every single time I read it, all I could think about was Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney.

Spoiler

We are told early on that her name was originally different but was changed to her grandfather’s surname. We hear about how her mom had to change their last names when she was young and are given the reason for why that had to occur, but we get no explanation as to why Rooney’s first name had to be changed as well, so what was even the point of mentioning it? Although not telling us that tidbit wouldn’t have made the name any less awful.

Griffin Tilden made my skin crawl. He was absolutely disgusting and had no redeeming qualities. I don’t care how many times he tried to come off as a “charming, good guy," the dude still gave me the ick. He often goes by Griff. My younger cousin is named Griffin, and we all lovingly call him Griff. He’s the sweetest kid you'll ever meet. That could be why this particular person gave me the willies. There was also nothing dangerous about the guy. Zero. Zip. Zilch. We also get no set idea of what Griff’s age is. Is he in his thirties? His forties? We have no clue. He acts like a man in his thirties, but is he supposed to be older? We get a set age for Rooney and Kate, but not for Griff.

No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t feel sorry for Rooney Budd and her sad life. It was relayed that she had just been dealt a bad hand that put her in a desperate situation (which happens), but I just felt no empathy for her at all. She tried to come off as this intelligent, strong, badass woman, but she was just plain dumb. Rooney thought she was smarter than everyone else, and she simply wasn’t. Her actions were often idiotic and not well thought out.

Kate Tilden was just the worst. That’s all I have to say about her.

While overall this was a decent read, some moments were just ridiculous:

Spoiler

Rooney is on the verge of being evicted from her seedy apartment when she comes into a decent amount of money. When she pays her landlord, Babette, the back rent she owes, Rooney tells us that the woman looked as if she were about to faint. That is fair. We’ve all joked around like that before. But then she gives her landlord an additional month's rent up front, and the woman faints. What is the actual fuck? Babette fainted over something like that? It was just so silly and dumb.

Spoiler

As Rooney starts to pay off her debts to all the people she owes money to, they question how she got it. They know damn well it’s none of their business. We might make a joke like “did you rob a bank or something?” and sure, people gossip about things like that with their friends, spouses, family members, and such, but I don’t think it’s the norm to question where someone was suddenly able to get money from because, again, that is the business of the person with the money and no one else's.

Spoiler

Joselito, the owner of a grocery store, says that Rooney owes money to questions if she is involved in anything illegal when she’s suddenly able to pay him. They talk about Rooney’s new job, and Joselito, who used to be a cop, doesn’t like the way things sound. So, he pulls his gun (that he uses to protect himself against shoplifters) out of his desk drawer, turns it around in his hand, and says, “If you ever need anything, I’m here. I still have friends in the force and out. Just let me know.” Again, this man was a former cop, and not to mention, he just asked Rooney if she had been involved in illegal activities and truly seemed appalled by the possibility.

Spoiler

Rooney is on the phone with Rob shortly after arriving at the Tilden’s home. When he asks if she can talk, she tells him she can’t because she is scared the place is bugged with microphones, but that he can. Right after telling him this, Rob asks about the couple, and Rooney promptly starts bashing them and talking about the murder of Kate’s former psychiatrist, Lena Martin. Make it make sense!

Spoiler

Griffin Tilden’s mom, Maggie, wrote a new will before she passed away, leaving everything to her only living grandchild, Rooney, but it was never witnessed or even notarized. So it wouldn’t hold up in a court of law. Yet, at the end of the story, Rooney gets everything that was left to her. If Maggie’s new will had never been witnessed, her original one, leaving everything to Griff and Kate, would have been the one carried out by her attorneys.

The first plot twist wasn’t really twisting -

Spoiler

It became obvious early on that the woman Griff raped as a teenager was somehow related to Rooney. It ended up being her mom. A pregnancy resulted from the rape, making Griff Rooney’s dad. It just didn’t work. As mentioned above, we don’t get a set age for Griffin, and it just doesn’t seem like he would be old enough to be her dad (even if her birth occurred when he was a teenager). This twist was poorly done and predictable. I would have liked more background information about it, but it was just sort of dropped into our lap.

The second plot twist WAS twisting -

Spoiler

I never thought Rooney and Kate would have the balls to kill Griff, but they did. They were sloppy about the murder, but they did it. They tossed Griff’s body in the pool under the cover of night, but the next day it was gone! I’m sorry, but dead bodies just don't get up and walk away. I have to give credit where credit is due, and this little twisty twist deserves it.

The third plot twist WAS AGAIN twisting –

Spoiler

I really thought I had the good and bad characters figured out, but I didn’t. In the end, I was just as dumb as Rooney. I thought maybe Rob was the bad guy all along. He just seemed too damn perfect. I always had suspicions about Kate but could never fully confirm them. Who would have thought she was the true villain all along, working along with her husband, who ended up turning on her in the end? Well done! I honestly have to give a standing ovation for this one.

The story started out promising but began to drag around chapter four. However, if you can trudge through it, things do pick up again around the 70% mark of the book. It does get rather good from that point on. That was when I couldn’t put it down. It just took me to get to that excitement.

While I didn’t fully enjoy this particular book, I would not be opposed to checking out other works by this author. It is very possible that this one was just a flop for her. I can appreciate what the author was trying to do here; I just don't think she executed it as well as she could have.

Spoiler

For those interested, the prologue ties in with chapter fifty-four. The prologue picks up from that chapter.

TLDR: IF YOU DECIDE TO GIVE IT A TRY, YOU PERSONALLY MIGHT LIKE IT! THIS VERY WELL COULD HAVE BEEN IT WAS A ME AND NOT THE BOOK SITUATION!

I would like to thank J.A. Schneider and Booksirens for giving me the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

This is my voluntary, unbiased, and honest review.