Good Girl

Written by Mel Sherratt

Narrated by Colleen Prendergast

Erin was a good girl. But someone wanted her dead…

‘I love all Mel Sherratt’s books’ IAN RANKIN

‘An absolute masterpiece’ ANGELA MARSONS

‘Twists and turns and delivers a satisfying shot of tension’ RACHEL ABBOTT

When sixteen-year-old Erin Ellis is attacked, she dies in the arms of her best friend Molly, just metres from her home. Molly is the surviving girl but says she easily could have been the victim – it was a random mugging gone wrong.
 
With inconclusive evidence, DS Grace Allendale must dig deep within the tight-knit Stoke community for leads. And she soon finds that someone had a motive to kill Erin.
 
As the investigation unfolds, Grace is reminded of a horrifying case she worked on earlier in her career.
 
Is the past coming back to haunt her? And can she push through her fear to catch Erin’s killer before it’s too late?

** The million-copy bestseller Mel Sherratt is back with her most gripping and gritty novel yet! **

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Feb 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9780008371890

Mel Sherratt

Mel Sherratt is the author of fourteen crime novels, all of which have become bestsellers. For the past four years, she has been named as one of her home town of Stoke-on-Trent’s top 100 influential people. She regularly appears at festivals and speaks at writing conferences throughout the UK, and pens a column for her local newspaper, The Sentinel, as well as feature articles for other newspapers and magazines. She lives in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, with her husband and terrier, Dexter.

Reviews for Good Girl

[sharon sacks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was very enjoyable and with a lot of clues.

[booklovers2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A missing person and possible kidnaping of a prominent Judge is the story line. Mia his daughter is found alive. The unfolding of the story is told in 3 voices, Gabe, the detective investigating the case; Eve, Mia's mother who is devastated by the events and Colin, the suspected kidnapper. Interesting, although it dragged alittle was heartbreaking. The Epilogue shed a new light on this story and left wondering if the truth will ever come out.

[rosands-494665 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good read. I enjoyed it.

[jamestomasino · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Nope nope nope.

[purple_pisces22 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A bit confusing and slow for me at first, bit picked up nicely. I feel the ending was dragged out a bit too long. But worth the read...
Hard to put down at times.

[ncdonnas · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I think that it is EXTREMELY misleading to have this book listed as a "thriller." This is one of the most lifeless, prosaic books I have ever had the misfortune to pick up. Blah.

[carriewuj · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I had high hopes for this book, but was underwhelmed. Still not sure what the cryptic backwards "R" refers to in the title, other than the twisted/reversed expectations of a truly good girl. But the author makes it clear from the beginning that Mia Dennett was not the good girl. She was the troublesome, embarrasing younger daughter for Judge Dennett who apparently prizes his reputation above all else. Mia has never fit the family mold -- teacher, not lawyer -- out to save the world, support herself and turn her back on her parents' money and upper-crusty lifestyle. When Mia gets kidnapped and the whole thing gets botched, it takes an implausible turn. The chapters are labeled Before and After -- so it is no surprise that Mia is returned, but she has lost all memory of the traumatic event so the book is the process of recovery and solving the bigger picture of who set up the kidnapping and why. Colin Thatcher is the grunt-work grabber who is supposed to turn Mia over to the mysterious and evil Delmar. For unclear reasons, Colin doesn't go thru with the turn-over and heads out of town to his estranged father's remote lake cabin. They pass thru Eau Claire (which is a fun detail- but part of the implausibility -- no way could they make it there that fast!) The initial Chicago setting is neat too, but that's about it. Mia is in captivity for about 2 mos. during which time Stockholm syndrome sets in with the man she only knows as Owen. That they fall in love could be sweet, but there are no initial hints of attraction from the captor, so I just don't buy the transformation. Some parts are downright cheesy. The last 3 pages present a worthwhile twist, but I was pretty much already tuned out, so it wasn't very satisfying. Decent read for a plane trip or pure killing time, but don't put it too high in your queue if you are looking for substance.

[marquis784-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book has several narrators providing the story in perspective to the "kidnapping" event of a high profile judge's daughter. The story alternates the past and present perspectives to finally tell the complete story. It is suspenseful with many twists in the plot. I must say that it kept me guessing and enjoyed it until the very end. This is a book of those who enjoy psychological mysteries. Although there were plenty of foul language used, the descriptive scenes were not overly gruesome or vulgar. The language used adequately expressed the socioeconomic status of certain characters.

[mickey7mattioli · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Love this book!!!

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Psychological thriller about a kidnapping of a 24 y/o teacher. The story is told before and after and from several POV back and forth. The main characters being the kidnapped woman, the kidnapper, the detective, the mother. It is an entertaining read with several flaws in my opinion. I enjoyed that one of the settings is in northern Minnesota (north of Grand Marais). Which is one of my happy spots here in my home state. There is a definite twist in the story and maybe not what you'll expect. It is a story where old people matter.

[pegmcdaniel · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The publicity compared this novel to Gone Girl. Well, the word "Girl" is in both titles, but other than that, I'd say "No" to the comparison. The plot is about the kidnapping of a judge's adult daughter. The chapters are alternating first-person narratives from the kidnapper, the mother, the police detective, and finally at the end, the victim. Different time frames were used with each chapter having a headline either for Before or After the victim returns home. Sometimes it was confusing if I didn't pay close attention to the headline.Somehow I managed to stick with the book even though I found it hard to connect with any of the characters. There was a lot of repetition especially about the cold weather and the few twists were predictable. The book ended with some questions and confusion for me.

[lisa5127 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this as an Audible book. I enjoy when the different voices of the story are actually read by different voices. It is the story of a young woman who is abducted from a bar in Chicago. Unfortunately, since the story is from several viewpoints, as well as before the abduction and after, you know from the start that she ends up home by the end. That means, every time the abductor aims his gun, threatens to kill her, etc., you know ahead of time he doesn't do it because you already know she makes it home. So, much of the would-be suspense feels drawn out.

The ending is a bit of a twist, but not something you don't wonder about just a little during the book. It was a good listen, but I think I am glad I didn't actually sit still to read it. I was walking the dogs or on the treadmill or just driving around town.

[rmarcin-630843 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting way of telling the story through different characters and different times.

[techeditor_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My description of Mary Kubica's THE GOOD GIRL will probably not do it justice. It is much better than it sounds.Mia, a young woman from a rich family, is abducted. The story is told from different characters’ viewpoints in “Before” and “After" chapters. Mia would probably be surprised at how much her mother loves her and is afraid for her. But she would not be surprised about her father‘s attitude: uncaring.When you think you have come to the end of the story, you really haven’t. There is an “Epilogue,” and it is a shock. I had to read it twice to believe what I was reading.

[sheriawilkinson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Good Girl by Mary KubicaMia, the daughter of a prominent Judge goes missing. At first her Mother (Eve) thinks nothing of it, but soon starts to have doubts. Mia meets up with a stranger at a bar, (Colin) thinking it will be a one night stand. But she finds herself in an abduction for extortion and things take a different turn. Soon Detective Gabe Hoffman is on the case, determined to find out exactly what happened.A fast paced psychological thriller, with an intriguing plot, non stop drama, suspense, twists and turns. The characters are well developed , with engaging dialog pulling you into the story and not letting go. I was hooked from the first page until the last. I highly recommend The Good Girl to those who love a great psychological thriller/suspense.

[bookczuk · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Picked this up in our Airbnb and will probably leave it here, too. Decent suspense, though outcome was pretty much telegraphed early on. I think this was a debut novel, so might keep an eye open for future works. Good vacay read.

[cubsfan3410 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

WOW! This was an amazing story. I could hardly put it down.

[librarycin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When Mia is kidnapped, her hired kidnapper, Colin, doesn’t deliver her to the actual kidnapper; instead, he takes off with her! The story is told “before” and “after” from a few different points of view: from Colin’s, from her mother Eve’s, and from the detective Gabe’s. The chapters tell you whose POV you are following and when, so I found it easy to follow. It was a bit slow-moving at times, but I was still fascinated with what was happening. In my opinion, I thought the author did a very good job of keeping me “on board” with what was going on (as I try to describe it without giving too much away!). The twist at the very end – impressive. If I was one to reread, I would definitely reread and look for potential clues! I did reread the epilogue.

[pamv-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was definitely a thrill ride. I loved how the chapters were written for each character 'before' and 'after'.

If you like a mystery and a suspense thriller, you will not be disappointed with this book.

[abergsman-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book is often compared to Gone Girl. I did not like Gone Girl; I liked this one even less. I listened to the audiobook, otherwise it would have been a DNF.

[karenvg3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this audio book. I liked the multiple different readers. The story was well done with many surprises and what an ending. I would recommend this book.

[edensteffey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked this book.

[anissaannalise-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This one borders on an ok and a like. I liked it enough to finish reading it but really I wasn't all that interested overall. There are several things that I thought would happen that indeed did and one that was so absolutely irritating that I was never quite won back as a reader. Still, I'm glad that I read this as I've got another off my TBR pile and in a summer full of books, that's a very good thing. I'd read another by this author as I liked her writing though I felt some of the plot here fell down and never recovered.

[kathl33n-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What a great read! And what a sad, sad story about families. This was obsessively page-turning and such a quick read I didn't even mind the POV switches at each chapter, which usually drive me crazy. Another thing that drives me crazy - alternating past/present chapters and this book did that also. But again, didn't even phase me. This read was that good.

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this book which had multiple narrators all of whom did a good job. The book is constructed as a series of first person narratives so the different narrators made it clear who was giving the information. Interestingly, none of the narrators is the titular character until the epilogue when she finally speaks.Maia is the younger daughter of James and Eve and something of a black sheep in the family. Her parents are well-off and James is a judge. The other daughter is a lawyer in a high-priced firm. Eve is from England and met James when she was in Chicago on holidays with some friends (do people actually go to Chicago for holidays?). She worked initially as an interior decorator but when the children were born she stayed home with them and never went back to work. Maia is an art teacher in a school in the poor part of town, an occupation that her father disapproves of. Maia had not been in touch with her parents for some time so they might not have noticed her disappearance if a friend from school had not called Eve. Then the police were called and a detective (Gabe) was assigned to the case. He doggedly tracks down evidence and narrows in on the location of Maia and her captor. The book shifts between the time before Maia was found and the time after so we know almost from the beginning that she does survive the kidnapping. She has lost her memory and even thinks her name is Chloe. The kidnapper, Colin, is one of the narrators so we also know that he was hired by a local criminal to kidnap Maia and that he decided not to turn her over to the criminal because he knew she might not survive. So he takes her to a small cabin in northern Minnesota that his father owns. It is remote and especially in late fall/early winter no one else is around. Since we know Maia survives you would think it would not be much of a mystery but we don't know what happened to Colin until the end. The epilogue also drops a stunner.An interesting story construction and a stunning ending--what more could you want?

[comicgirl178 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

worth staying up til 1am, to finish.

[wagner5sarah35 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Lovers of a good mystery would find a lot to like in this book, including the ending which radically changes the story. I liked this one, but just didn't love it. The story is told in a nonlinear fashion, with "before" and "after" segments narrated by various characters, which added to the suspense element of the plot. I appreciated the structure of the story and it certainly made for a story which changed the minute I thought all the pieces had fallen into place.

[lisasharvey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Good GirlMary KubicaMY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️PUBLISHERBlackstone AudioPUBLISHEDJuly 29, 2014A most unique telling of a kidnapping gone awry, an gripping thriller that will surprise you in the end.SUMMARYMia Dennet, a young free-spirited inner-city high school art teacher from wealthy parents is kidnapped. Her abductor, some guy that picked her up in a bar, was suppose to turn her over to the man who hired him. But Colin Thatcher, her abductor does not stick to the original plan, and instead takes her from the bustling city of Chicago to a remote and frigid Minnesota cabin. There he makes plans for their next move while trying to keep them both warm and fed. But chopping wood and slurping chicken noodle soup gets old fast. I’ve been following her for the last few days. I know where she buys her groceries, where she has her dry cleaning done, where she works. I’ve never spoken to her. I wouldn’t recognize the sound of her voice. I don’t know the color of her eyes or what they look like when she scared. But I will.”REVIEWThis riveting story grabbed my attention and held me captive. It is woven with twists and turns which will surprise any reader. My favorite part of the book was the smartly structured and creative format, jumping both in perspective and time. The story is told from alternating perspectives of Colin, Mia’s anxious mother, Eve, Gabe Hoffman, the detective on her case and finally from Mia herself. Each of the narrators are adding to the story by unraveling Mia’s life both before and after the abduction. Seeing Mia from the four different perspectives is a gratifying way to add depth to the story. I listened to the audio version of the book and found both the writing and the format surprisingly easy to follow and understand. The vivid descriptions of the frozen and snow-filled Minnesota forest had me layering on blankets as I was reading. The main characters were well developed, and while I didn’t necessarily love any of them, it affirmed my realization that you don’t need to love the characters to love the book. Although it certainly doesn’t hurt!The Good Girl was author Mary Kubica’s 2014 debut novel. Since then she has published three additional novels: Pretty Baby (2015), Don’t You Cry (2016) and Every Last Lie in 2017. So I guess I’m a little late coming to the table and have some catching up to do!

[robynelee · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A nice twist, but I am not sure it deserves all of the hype that accompanied its release.

[dazedbybooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm still digesting this one. I will post a review soon. (Have you ever read a book that consumes you so much that you can't even pick up another book for a couple days?) That's where I am. I feel like I am trying to recover from a breakup or something. All I can say is IT. WAS. GOOD.