Review Detail

This book first caught my eye with “for fans of We Were Liars, The Girl on the Train, and Gone Girl.” I love psychological thrillers and needed a good mystery, a dark thriller, for the summer.

The hardest part of this review is trying to give you just enough without misleading or giving away the plot. The narrative jumps between Kate, a self-confessed liar and manipulator who has a dark past, and Olivia, who swings from happy to depressed, to obsessive to dismissive all while relying on pills to get her through. Kate befriends Olivia to further her own goals, but a wedge is driven between them when Olivia becomes involved with an older man.

What I liked best: It is a quick read and it is great to bring to the beach. Beware that Girl is definitely a page-turner and reads like a TV movie. The alternating narratives are easy to follow and help keep the pace moving.

However, the scenes between Mark and Olivia at times were really uncomfortable. Though this isn’t a teacher/student relationship, Mark is way to old for Olivia. Mark as a character made me uncomfortable, his use of manipulation along with the emotional and physical abuse and demeaning treatment of women were sometimes over the top. But in my opinion good psychological thrillers do this! While I love a book that can make me feel extremes like this, I would caution giving this to younger readers who might find it disturbing.

Beware That Girl book is dark. However, it has a spine-tingling classic ending, carrying out all the hallmarks of a good psychological thriller. Older readers, who love books like The Girl on the Train and Gone Girl will love this book.