bethelizabethuk's review
4.0
Having accidentally read the third book of this series first I would definitely recommend reading them in order. I mean the third book made sense without the rest but it definitely helps you to understand Grace and her background as well as her friendship with Ivo (one of my favourite characters).
A female student goes missing and then the body of a different girl turns up. Grace has the job of solving a murder and trying to decide if it is linked to the missing girl. Disturbing details of the murder are then leaked to the press and Grace has to decide who can be trusted.
I really enjoyed getting to know Grace and seeing her at the beginning of her new job. With regards to the murderer I suspected a few people and did guess the murderer but I still really enjoyed reading until the end. One of the deaths was so devastating. I really was not expecting that and it definitely broke my heart a little bit. If you love a good who done it then I definitely recommend Isabelle Grey and I need to get the second book asap.
A female student goes missing and then the body of a different girl turns up. Grace has the job of solving a murder and trying to decide if it is linked to the missing girl. Disturbing details of the murder are then leaked to the press and Grace has to decide who can be trusted.
I really enjoyed getting to know Grace and seeing her at the beginning of her new job. With regards to the murderer I suspected a few people and did guess the murderer but I still really enjoyed reading until the end. One of the deaths was so devastating. I really was not expecting that and it definitely broke my heart a little bit. If you love a good who done it then I definitely recommend Isabelle Grey and I need to get the second book asap.
the_readinglife's review
4.0
I liked this book & thought the main character grace was very likeable. Only change I would make is not letting on as early who the actual killer was... Made the ending predictable.
nini_f's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, I tend to favour the male detectives but Grace Fisher was a fantastic character. I found it interesting to see both the murder case and Graces past unfold simultaniously. The descriptions were detailed and the story flowed well with enough red herrings to make the ending a surprise. A well written story with likeable characters I will be trying out the authors other work .
gelatolady's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
mirja's review
3.0
In the beginning, I liked it and thought it was very thrilling, but at about page 300 it became a bit too long and I just wanted it to end. But all in all, it was a good thriller.
jonathanrobert's review
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
novelbloglover's review
4.0
Book Review
Title: Good girls don’t die
Author: Isabelle Grey
Genre: Horror/Crime/Romance
Rating: ****
Review: Good Girls Don’t Die is the first in a new crime series written by Isabelle Grey, known for her previous psychological thrillers Out of Sight and Bad Mother. Good Girls Don’t Die marks a change of direction for Grey from TV work to novels. Once I found out that she had worked with Jimmy McGovern on an episode of Accused, I was even more thrilled to get to grips with DS Grace Fisher and her first outing in the novel.
From the beginning it is clear that Grey has written for television as she balances the plot with characters who I simply had to know more about. The story follows DS Grace Fisher in her new role as part of the Essex Major Investigation Team, a demotion from her previous role as Detective Inspector with the Kent Police Force. Her arrival at Essex is fraught with worries about what her new colleagues may know of her past. But there is soon a serious case to get into and her fears about others’ perception of her and what they may or may not know fall into the background.
Polly Sinclair’s disappearance is the beginning of the case. A university student who was last seen drunk after an evening at the local Blue Bar, she now cannot be found. Fisher and her colleagues begin their search for Polly and her abductor, and within days a body is found – but it isn’t Polly. It is another girl from the university, Rachel Moston, and she has been posed grotesquely with her jacket for a pillow. This is the first point which seems to stick in Fisher’s head: there’s something odd about a killer who can pose someone so grotesquely, but at the last minute take the care and consideration to place a pillow beneath her head. Grey manages to pull out the smallest details and make them the most important, ensuring you simply cannot and will not stop reading. Like Polly, Rachel went missing after a night out drinking at the Blue Bar and it seems, at least at first, that things are sliding into place.
After the discovery of Rachel’s body the press get involved and this really ups the ante. Grey lines up the police and press in opposition, with Detective Superintendent Keith Stalgood and crime reporter Ivo Sweatman set up as adversaries. The clever inclusion of DS Fisher’s former friend Roxanne Carson as the local crime reporter adds a further complication to the story and the delicate and tense relationship between the press and the police plays out with real believability.
Leaving Kent under a shadow means Fisher has almost no one to count on, so finding an old friend in Roxanne puts her in a tricky position, wanting to spend time with her friend but also putting up the backs of her bosses as she does so. This comes back to haunt her throughout the novel, as worries about whether time spent relaxing with Roxanne has led her to leak information go as far as threats of disciplinary action. All of Fisher’s neuroses and worries are genuine, some linked back to her past and the reasons she had to leave Kent and some very much in the present, such as her worries about being the new girl who really has to ensure this first case is solved.
Within the first few chapters there are already two key suspects, one of whom is responsible for the utterance which becomes the title of the novel. Grey successfully builds the tension the police must feel when a killer is on the loose and shows how this desperation can lead to rash decisions, especially on the part of the senior management. Despite her personal tragedies, which I won’t share for fear of spoilers, Fisher is a character who is strong and resolute and doesn’t let her suspicions be forgotten. As the tension and pace builds so does Fisher’s clarity and as with many good crime novels, there’s a race to the end with the help of an unlikely supporter.
Underlying the main plot throughout the novel is the idea that ‘good girls don’t die’, the idea that, somehow, it is the actions of the victims that lead to their situation. One of the suspects in particular is virulent in his misogyny, and though the press choose to go with the angle that the police are at fault throughout the investigation, it could have been just as likely that they would have gone with the ‘drunk girl’ angle. It’s interesting to see that whilst this idea underlies the novel, Grey doesn’t make it the stand out point.
Good Girls Don’t Die is an excellent novel and a great introduction to Grace Fisher and her story. She makes a fantastic main character who draws you into her life, neuroses and all, and shows a strength of character which makes her particularly good at her job. Other reviews have said the novel seems made-for-TV and in many ways Grey does seem to have used her TV experience to write a successful crime novel and one which would be gripping if it did end up on our screens.
Title: Good girls don’t die
Author: Isabelle Grey
Genre: Horror/Crime/Romance
Rating: ****
Review: Good Girls Don’t Die is the first in a new crime series written by Isabelle Grey, known for her previous psychological thrillers Out of Sight and Bad Mother. Good Girls Don’t Die marks a change of direction for Grey from TV work to novels. Once I found out that she had worked with Jimmy McGovern on an episode of Accused, I was even more thrilled to get to grips with DS Grace Fisher and her first outing in the novel.
From the beginning it is clear that Grey has written for television as she balances the plot with characters who I simply had to know more about. The story follows DS Grace Fisher in her new role as part of the Essex Major Investigation Team, a demotion from her previous role as Detective Inspector with the Kent Police Force. Her arrival at Essex is fraught with worries about what her new colleagues may know of her past. But there is soon a serious case to get into and her fears about others’ perception of her and what they may or may not know fall into the background.
Polly Sinclair’s disappearance is the beginning of the case. A university student who was last seen drunk after an evening at the local Blue Bar, she now cannot be found. Fisher and her colleagues begin their search for Polly and her abductor, and within days a body is found – but it isn’t Polly. It is another girl from the university, Rachel Moston, and she has been posed grotesquely with her jacket for a pillow. This is the first point which seems to stick in Fisher’s head: there’s something odd about a killer who can pose someone so grotesquely, but at the last minute take the care and consideration to place a pillow beneath her head. Grey manages to pull out the smallest details and make them the most important, ensuring you simply cannot and will not stop reading. Like Polly, Rachel went missing after a night out drinking at the Blue Bar and it seems, at least at first, that things are sliding into place.
After the discovery of Rachel’s body the press get involved and this really ups the ante. Grey lines up the police and press in opposition, with Detective Superintendent Keith Stalgood and crime reporter Ivo Sweatman set up as adversaries. The clever inclusion of DS Fisher’s former friend Roxanne Carson as the local crime reporter adds a further complication to the story and the delicate and tense relationship between the press and the police plays out with real believability.
Leaving Kent under a shadow means Fisher has almost no one to count on, so finding an old friend in Roxanne puts her in a tricky position, wanting to spend time with her friend but also putting up the backs of her bosses as she does so. This comes back to haunt her throughout the novel, as worries about whether time spent relaxing with Roxanne has led her to leak information go as far as threats of disciplinary action. All of Fisher’s neuroses and worries are genuine, some linked back to her past and the reasons she had to leave Kent and some very much in the present, such as her worries about being the new girl who really has to ensure this first case is solved.
Within the first few chapters there are already two key suspects, one of whom is responsible for the utterance which becomes the title of the novel. Grey successfully builds the tension the police must feel when a killer is on the loose and shows how this desperation can lead to rash decisions, especially on the part of the senior management. Despite her personal tragedies, which I won’t share for fear of spoilers, Fisher is a character who is strong and resolute and doesn’t let her suspicions be forgotten. As the tension and pace builds so does Fisher’s clarity and as with many good crime novels, there’s a race to the end with the help of an unlikely supporter.
Underlying the main plot throughout the novel is the idea that ‘good girls don’t die’, the idea that, somehow, it is the actions of the victims that lead to their situation. One of the suspects in particular is virulent in his misogyny, and though the press choose to go with the angle that the police are at fault throughout the investigation, it could have been just as likely that they would have gone with the ‘drunk girl’ angle. It’s interesting to see that whilst this idea underlies the novel, Grey doesn’t make it the stand out point.
Good Girls Don’t Die is an excellent novel and a great introduction to Grace Fisher and her story. She makes a fantastic main character who draws you into her life, neuroses and all, and shows a strength of character which makes her particularly good at her job. Other reviews have said the novel seems made-for-TV and in many ways Grey does seem to have used her TV experience to write a successful crime novel and one which would be gripping if it did end up on our screens.
pgchuis's review
3.0
This was a little disappointing for me. Grace's back story was interesting, but it was also depressing and referred to over and over again. At times it seemed as if nothing had ever gone right for Grace and nothing ever would.
The police procedural aspects also felt rather demoralizing: there was a lot of hopeless going round in circles, which may well be realistic, but made for dull reading. The chapters from Ivo's perspective were a little jarring, although they definitely read as a distinctly different narrative. Ivo himself was a difficult character to pin down; he wasn't very coherently drawn. The novel as a whole felt slow and overlong.
My final issues were with the character of Grace herself. I didn't really warm to her, which is perhaps beside the point, but again she didn't make complete sense to me. She was supposed to be a recently demoted DI, but read as a surprisingly immature character. I barely believed in her as a DS. Her decisions about contact with Roxanne were unwise and unlikely for a senior officer and I don't believe for one moment that her conduct warranted re-promotion.
On the positive side, the pool of suspects was tight and the plot made sense, but I don't think I'll continue with this series.
The police procedural aspects also felt rather demoralizing: there was a lot of hopeless going round in circles, which may well be realistic, but made for dull reading. The chapters from Ivo's perspective were a little jarring, although they definitely read as a distinctly different narrative. Ivo himself was a difficult character to pin down; he wasn't very coherently drawn. The novel as a whole felt slow and overlong.
My final issues were with the character of Grace herself. I didn't really warm to her, which is perhaps beside the point, but again she didn't make complete sense to me. She was supposed to be a recently demoted DI, but read as a surprisingly immature character. I barely believed in her as a DS. Her decisions about contact with Roxanne were unwise and unlikely for a senior officer and I don't believe for one moment that her conduct warranted re-promotion.
On the positive side, the pool of suspects was tight and the plot made sense, but I don't think I'll continue with this series.
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