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A review by elvang
My Girl by Jack Jordan
3.0
Ten years after the disappearance of her daughter and two months after her husband’s suicide, Paige Dawson is reeling through life in a drug and alcohol induced haze. An arm was all the police were ever able to recover from her beloved fourteen year old daughter Chloe. Her family tries to step in to help but Paige is convinced that someone is coming into her home and removing objects she holds dear. She is beginning to trust no one. Not even herself.
The unreliable narrator (Paige) has been done before, most notably by Paula Hawkins in her bestseller The Girl on the Train. It is an effective way to ramp up suspense and makes everyone including the main character a suspect. Is someone intentionally trying to push Paige over the edge or is she herself cutting faces out of family photos? It makes for an intense read. Her family are trying to be supportive but her angry and aggressive accusations are driving even her most loyal supporters away.
Just as you begin to tire from all the self-flagellation, BOOM, major twist you did not see coming and the book morphs into something different again. The second half of the novel reminded me of another best seller and movie treatment which I cannot name without spoiling the twist. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then the author has done his homework. The pace never flags and the protagonists are pushed to extraordinary limits.
I may not agree with what felt like a remake of a couple of other novels but I did enjoy this fast read and was impressed at how effective Jordan is at keeping the reader on the edge of their seat.
3.5 Stars
eARC received with thanks from JJP via NetGalley for review.
The unreliable narrator (Paige) has been done before, most notably by Paula Hawkins in her bestseller The Girl on the Train. It is an effective way to ramp up suspense and makes everyone including the main character a suspect. Is someone intentionally trying to push Paige over the edge or is she herself cutting faces out of family photos? It makes for an intense read. Her family are trying to be supportive but her angry and aggressive accusations are driving even her most loyal supporters away.
Just as you begin to tire from all the self-flagellation, BOOM, major twist you did not see coming and the book morphs into something different again. The second half of the novel reminded me of another best seller and movie treatment which I cannot name without spoiling the twist. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then the author has done his homework. The pace never flags and the protagonists are pushed to extraordinary limits.
I may not agree with what felt like a remake of a couple of other novels but I did enjoy this fast read and was impressed at how effective Jordan is at keeping the reader on the edge of their seat.
3.5 Stars
eARC received with thanks from JJP via NetGalley for review.