wolfshine's review
5.0
If you’re a fan of dark twisty thrillers, this is a book to consider.
Our MC, Carol, has a dark past and for decades she got away with the darkest deed a person could do. However, a chain of events start that will reveal the truth. Against herself, Carol decides to write her confession because she isn’t quite sure herself what happened all those years ago.
This book is slow to start, but once it gets started, it is thoroughly gripping. In the beginning, there are lots and lots of descriptions which may seem overdone but after the halfway point in the story, this information becomes significant. The story that’s told is very emotional and mysterious because we learn throughout the story that Carol has a very twisted version of her own reality. She made plenty of bad decisions because of this and dealt with the fall out on her, leading her deeper into the center of her own delusional mind.
As a fan of psychological works, I am always excited to find great new authors in the genre and Elizabeth Hill certainly fits the bill.
Our MC, Carol, has a dark past and for decades she got away with the darkest deed a person could do. However, a chain of events start that will reveal the truth. Against herself, Carol decides to write her confession because she isn’t quite sure herself what happened all those years ago.
This book is slow to start, but once it gets started, it is thoroughly gripping. In the beginning, there are lots and lots of descriptions which may seem overdone but after the halfway point in the story, this information becomes significant. The story that’s told is very emotional and mysterious because we learn throughout the story that Carol has a very twisted version of her own reality. She made plenty of bad decisions because of this and dealt with the fall out on her, leading her deeper into the center of her own delusional mind.
As a fan of psychological works, I am always excited to find great new authors in the genre and Elizabeth Hill certainly fits the bill.
kaz_loves_books's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Carol has been living in Oaktree House for the last forty years. Although now she has to move as the house is going to be demolished for a new road to be built. They are going to re-use the bricks to build the new house not far away. But there is another reason why Carol doesn’t want to move. She has been living close to Frankie, buried in the orchard but when they start the road works they will find his body……
Carol and Sarah used to visit Thora regularly. They taught her how to bake and cook as she didn’t know how. They were fifteen, Carol was really bright and her dad had wanted her to go to university whereas Sarah had to work at her schoolwork but Thora was a good teacher and helped them where she could. One day, there was a knock on the door and when Carol answered, there was a gorgeous blonde hunk standing there, she immediately liked him and Thora called him in. His name was Frankie, he said he was nineteen. Carol liked his MGB car and drove it round the drive, surprising Frankie. He flirted outrageously with them away from his aunt and Carol soon becomes besotted with him. He starts taking her out and checks when she will be sixteen. Once when they are out, she sees a psychic, they tell her to wish for what she wants and it will be hers, Carol believes this to be true. So she wishes Frankie and her could be together and can be married, forever. When she turns sixteen, she goes on the pill.
A few months later, Carol finds out she is pregnant by Frankie. Thora sends her a letter saying she will pay for an abortion but that’s not what Carol wants. Her mum gets hold of the letter and reads it. When Thora came back, she changed her will so that Carol and her child inherited Oaktree House. It turned out that Thora was Frankie’s paternal mum and she knew that Frankie had an eye for the ladies.
How did Frankie die? Why is he at Oaktree House?
This was an intriguing read. Told in a diary style format, which is a style I like. It is well written with great descriptive text. It’s a great psychological story full of lies and tension throughout the book. I found Frankie to be a man who chased the ladies and very lax morals.
memull17's review
3.0
This book is told in two distinct parts. The first part takes place in 1970s with Carol being a young girl and just meeting Frankie. The second part takes place in 2016 and the events of 1970 came to life with bones being found on Carol’s property. With Carol set to confess her involvement in the bones, something triggers her and she learns what she thought to be true is not and those around her have lied gravelly.
Carol is a survivor and proves that time and time again in 1970 and in 2016. She endures so much; she believed people she thought were looking out for her to be honorable but they only had their best interests in mind even if they meant altering her perspective. In the first part of the book you feel sorry for Carol and wish someone was looking out for her and in the second part of the book you constantly wonder what will happen next.
Thank you @lovebookstours for this gifted ecopy to be apart of the book tour.
Carol is a survivor and proves that time and time again in 1970 and in 2016. She endures so much; she believed people she thought were looking out for her to be honorable but they only had their best interests in mind even if they meant altering her perspective. In the first part of the book you feel sorry for Carol and wish someone was looking out for her and in the second part of the book you constantly wonder what will happen next.
Thank you @lovebookstours for this gifted ecopy to be apart of the book tour.
jendewind's review against another edition
4.0
Killing The Girl was an interesting read that had me hooked from the beginning. I felt drawn into to the characters’ lives early on, and wanted to know how their stories would play out. Carol is a feisty teen (who reminds me of Alyssa on “End of the *** World), but she is still naive enough to fall for an older playboy. Her world suffers from his deceit, but she finds safety nets in unexpected people over the next few decades. Some poor decisions she made trap her in a prison-life existence, and her sanity is in question. She has trouble deciphering the truth, leading the reader on a quest to figure out what really happened?
The book was fast paced for the first half, but then meandered a bit and got a little confusing the last 1/4 with side plots. I was looking forward to a tight conclusion, which the Epilogue provided, but until that point I was still putting pieces together.
Some favorite moments/quotes:
I destroyed my life by destroying the one person who gave it meaning.
Lonely years of living in this mausoleum stretched before me.
After all, the crime has imprisoned me all these years anyway. Living in a different prison won’t be such a hardship.
Other people know more about who I am, where I am, why I am. They know what’s best for me and I should accept that to keep the status quo.
Thanks to BookSirens for a free copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
The book was fast paced for the first half, but then meandered a bit and got a little confusing the last 1/4 with side plots. I was looking forward to a tight conclusion, which the Epilogue provided, but until that point I was still putting pieces together.
Some favorite moments/quotes:
I destroyed my life by destroying the one person who gave it meaning.
Lonely years of living in this mausoleum stretched before me.
After all, the crime has imprisoned me all these years anyway. Living in a different prison won’t be such a hardship.
Other people know more about who I am, where I am, why I am. They know what’s best for me and I should accept that to keep the status quo.
Thanks to BookSirens for a free copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
caroline_carnivorous's review against another edition
4.0
I received a copy of this for free.
I read this in pretty much one sitting! It has a very gothic vibe, and I think because of that, I pictured it being set further back in time than it actually was.
Carol is a very interesting character. As a teenager she's kinda stupid, but also very headstrong. Which gets her into.. the mess that is her life and mental state.
It's a very good mystery, with a bunch of surprises along the way until the very end.
I read this in pretty much one sitting! It has a very gothic vibe, and I think because of that, I pictured it being set further back in time than it actually was.
Carol is a very interesting character. As a teenager she's kinda stupid, but also very headstrong. Which gets her into.. the mess that is her life and mental state.
It's a very good mystery, with a bunch of surprises along the way until the very end.
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