‘Girl A’ by Dan Scottow is his second book. His first ‘Damaged’ was an excellently good book so I have really been sat on my hands waiting for ‘Girl A’ to arrive.
We meet Beth and Charlie Carter living in a remote farmhouse with their two children and their dog. Life is going fine for them, then one night a note is dropped through their door with just two words on it. These two words send Beth and her family’s lives into a spin, as secrets, lies and revenge are out and someone will pay.
Dan has written a story that is chilling and twisted. The story flicks from present to past as it unfolds slowly and almost stalker-like. You can feel something creeping up but you just can’t put your finger on it. The characters have all been created well enough to lead us down a merry path here there and…never to the right conclusion anyway.
I got the sense of the isolation Beth was feeling out there in the farmhouse. The fear was coming of Beth in waves at certain points in the story. Dan’s ability to create that sense of place and to make me feel all the emotions I did is, not surprisingly, top-notch. As we start to get through to the ending, Dan Scottow manages to bring us more unexpected and shocking revelations. I was so on the edge of my seat to discover who was behind everything that was happening to Beth and her family. I read this book in one day, I just couldn’t put it down.
A story that is so compelling, gritty, dark and twisted. One that builds the tension to a knife-edge to bring us an incredible ending! A book I do recommend to anyone who loves a psychological thriller whenever I can.
Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and Bloodhound Books for the copy of ‘Girl A’ to bring you my thoughts today.
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