The Perfect Girl: The gripping thriller from the Richard & Judy bestselling author of THE NANNY

by Gilly Macmillan

'Mesmerizes . . . I could not stop turning the pages!' Shari Lapena

An electricfying, twisty thriller from the Sunday Times and Richard and Judy bestselling author of The Nanny
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NOBODY KNOWS THE TRUTH BUT HER . . .

To everyone who knows her now, Zoe Maisey - child genius, musical sensation - is perfect. Yet several years ago Zoe caused the death of three teenagers. She served her time, and now she's free.

Her story begins with her giving the performance of her life.

By midnight, her mother is dead.
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'Wonderfully addictive . . . a must read' ROSAMUND LUPTON

'Intense, electrifying...grips like a python from the first page' DAILY MAIL

'Highly original and prickling with tension' SHARI LAPENA

'An intense, unpredictable page turner' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

'Literary suspense at its finest' MARY KUBICA

'An unusual plot is accompanied by sharp characters and a thought-provoking dénouement' THE TIMES

'A suspenseful, serpentine tale . . . perfectly executed final twist' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

'A stunning piece of crime fiction' BOOKLIST

• ISBN10: 0349406413
• ISBN13: 9780349406411
• Publish Date: 3 March 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Imprint: Piatkus Books
• Edition: Digital original
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 100000
• Language: English

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

This was my first read by Macmillan who also penned What She Knew and Burnt Paper Sky. Told mostly from Zoe’s perspective we also get separate narratives from other characters sharing their lives, pasts, and the events that unfold. The timeline of the story takes place over a twenty-four hour period and the author brilliantly allowed the reader to become close to the characters.

Zoe Maise is a seventeen-year-old musical prodigy with a genius IQ and troubled past. Zoe attended an exclusive music school where she was bullied before becoming involved in an auto accident that left three of classmates dead. The events and fall out ruined her parents’ marriage. Now three years after the event, Zoe’s mother is remarried and they have moved away to live with her step dad and new brother Lucas. Zoe has a new baby sister named Grace and life is looking hopefully. We meet Zoe on the verge of a new beginning -a butterfly just emerging from her cocoon.

Macmillan delivers an engaging tale with beautiful prose that set the ominous tone. Through multiple narratives, she slowly begins to expose cracks, and secrets. She shares the catalysts for the events that unfold. I would say the first fifty percent deal with the evening’s events up until the body is found. It also shed light into Zoe’s tragic past, Aunt Tessa’s marriage and the new family’s secrets. The second half was clever, and twisted as we discover what happened and whodunit.

None of these characters are truly likeable, in fact, some you will down right loath. However, Macmillan did an excellent job of peeling back their layers while creating suspicion. Red herrings, twists and reveals all made for a compelling and addictive read.

I did figure out the whodunit aspect in The Perfect Girl, but loved the twist and will definitely be reading this author again. If you are looking for a good fall thriller, The Perfect Girl is an excellent place to start.

Copy provided by publisher. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[Leah]

Meh. The Perfect Girl is one of those books that sounds interesting, but ultimately lacks, well, anything. I just don't understand what the book was supposed to be about. It wasn't Zoe's rehabilitation after the "incident", it wasn't Zoe's mothers death, which we hear of within the first few pages, but doesn't actually occur in real time until the book is halfway done, and while there's a hint of something about Chris, there's not a lot to back that story up, although I didn't like him one bit.

It just didn't click with me, and I was quite thankful for the short chapters which made it easy to skim-read the vast majority of the book. It just felt like the book didn't go anywhere, plots were left hanging up in the air - Tessa and Richard's story deserved way more page-time, because it all just seemed too easily tied up, when there should have been vast repercussions?

Not for me. Not very thrilling, either, to be fair. And certainly NOT like The Girl On The Train or Gone Girl. Publishers, PLEASE STOP COMPARING EVERY THRILLER TO GONE GIRL OR GIRL ON THE TRAIN. IT'S A DEAD HORSE. STOP BEATING IT, THANK YOU.