The Hanging Girl

“The Hanging Girl” was an intense YA thriller that was impossible to put down. Skye (Candi Skye Thorn) has had a tough life with her mother, who had her at 15 and works at Stop and Shop to pay (most of) the bills. Skye works at a diner, but dreams of moving to NYC with her BFF, Drew. She learned that pretending to be psychic will help earn some extra cash, and so does Tarot card readings for her classmates for fun. Although she believes it is all fake, her mother believes she has psychic skills and does “professional” readings.

Everything changes when a girl from school goes missing. Paige was the quintessential rich, popular girl. Using information she was fed from the kidnappers, Skye goes to the police to report her “visions” that lead them to investigate Paige’s disappearance. As the clues start stacking up, Skye begins to realize she is in way over her head. The book takes a lot of unexpected twists and turns and becomes a suspense/thriller/mystery that will keep you reading until the last page.

I don’t want to include spoilers, so I will not say too much more about the plot, but it was deliciously intense. Although I had some major things figured out pretty quickly, there were still others that threw me for a loop, and I really enjoyed the surprises. It’s an intricate plot that will keep you guessing. I really enjoyed this book and think it will great for anyone who enjoys YA suspense/mysteries- this is really well done!

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

The Hanging Girl was a quick, suspenseful read. Author Eileen Cook has a great writing style. The story picked up right away and there were plenty of twists throughout the book.



Skye is an 18 year old senior with big dreams, but no money. She wants to move with her best friend, Drew, to New York after graduation, but can’t seem to get herself to admit to Drew that she hasn’t saved money. Skye has a history of lying and telling stories. Her mom had her when she was very young (I think it said 16 if I’m remembering correctly). She dropped out of high school and Skye’s dad wasn’t in the picture at all. They barely got by and Skye helped with the bills. Skye’s mom is a psychic and tries to convince Skye that she is, too. But she’s not a believer. That doesn’t stop her from doing Tarot readings to fellow schoolmates for a fee.



Skye’s relationship with her mom is a pretty big part of this book. Skye often times feels like the adult and her mom the child. I think she doubts the love at times.



“You’re a part of me. We don’t always get along, but never doubt that I would do anything for you.”



Paige is as different from Skye as you can get. She is popular, fairly rich, and her dad is a judge. But Paige isn’t happy with her life. She comes up with an idea, but things don’t go the way she so carefully planned.



I really ended up liking the guidance counselor a lot. He was probably my favorite additional character. Drew was decent, too, but I did have some issues with trusting her.



The author does a good job of making you think everyone is guilty at some point in the book. You don’t know who to trust. While some things are a bit easier to figure out, you’re just not sure. I was second guessing myself a lot throughout the book. The ending does reveal everything and it was interesting to see what path Eileen Cook would take Skye. Would she do the right thing and admit everything or would she continue to lie?

I received a copy of this from Edelweiss+ for review.