Girl Gone Mad: A Novel

Written by Avery Bishop

Narrated by Cassandra Campbell

They say everything is fun and games until someone gets hurt. Well, someone did—and now the game has changed…

Emily Bennett works as a therapist in Pennsylvania, helping children overcome their troubled pasts—even as she struggles to forget her own. Once upon a time, Emily was part of a middle school clique called the Harpies—six popular girls who bullied the new girl to her breaking point.

The Harpies took a blood oath: never tell a soul what they did to Grace Farmer.

Now, fourteen years later, it seems karma has caught up to them when one member of that vicious circle commits suicide. But when a second Harpy is discovered dead shortly after, also from apparent suicide, the deaths start to look suspicious. And when Emily starts seeing a woman who looks a lot like Grace Farmer lurking in the shadows, she’s forced to wonder: Is Grace back for revenge? Or is Emily’s guilt driving her mad?

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but the Harpies are about to find out just how much words can hurt you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Sep 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781799759812

Avery Bishop

Avery Bishop is the pseudonym for a USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen novels.

Reviews for Girl Gone Mad

[Stephanie Gaede · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was absolutely amazing. Such a great book, couldn’t put down.

[Reici Newsom · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved it! I really did not see that one coming!

[Margaret thomson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is brilliant it has you guessing all the way through there’s so many twists and turns that you want to keep on reading and never put it down excellent

[Monika · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wau, absolutely amazing. I couldn’t stop listening. One of the best books ever.

[Marina · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Just OK. Not keen on the victim blaming that seems to come through

[Jennifer Jessie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I think there were moments that were compelling but not enough moments to keep my attention or compel me to read this again

At the end it kind of went off script and the twist seemed to be for the sake of twists rather than shocking movements that you could trace back to the plot

It was a good filler book though- fun to listen to

[Deanna Leon · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The book was great!hearing the narrator breathe was annoying tho.

[Shalom Ngorima · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This will join my collection with the silent patient ??

[Caitlyn Jackson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lots of flash backs, twists and turns. I didn’t want it to be over

[Sarah Gates Hester · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Don't understand the hype, I felt like the writing was a little JA. I literally listened to the entire book based on reviews, but it left me feeling underwhelmed.

[Christine Apondi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The twists were so unthinkable …the ending so unexpected. I loved every minute of this book

[Arathy Sivakumaran · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So good!! This book kept me hooked till the end!

[Carolyn Nganga · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great read all round! I loved it. Looking for more of her books.

[angela · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved!!!! I have no complaints, usually I hate something. It was an absolute pleasure!!!

[Theresa Reeves · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A little slow at the very beginning but it paid off. I wasn’t sure exactly who or what was guilty. The writer is spot on in her understanding of girl drama. I really enjoyed that feeling of mystery.

[Grace Marie Allison · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Incredible.
I did not see the end coming lol!

[purple_pisces22 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. I wasn’t disappointed for the most part. I’m not sure what I was expecting because after reading so many books of this nature, the shock value lessens. Well let me tell you, I’ve read books with mean girls in them and this one wins the Mean Girl award.

I cannot imagine being so young and feeling so much anger and having such a total lack of empathy for another human being as these girls did in this book. There are six of them and they are known as the Harpies...And this is a group of girls in middle school not even high school.

The girls have taken a blood oath. We all know at that age that means everything. The girls do something to one of the unpopular girls, Grace, and have sworn never to tell a soul. Fourteen years later, our main Harpie, Emily, is working as a children’s therapist. She claims to have extreme guilt over what she had done when she was younger. But she continues with her life until her mom calls and tells her that one of her friends has committed suicide.

As Emily reluctantly reconnects with her old friends, it turns out there are not as many left as she expected. Suicide seems to be the common denominator and now Emily is beginning to get a bit scared. Then she believes she sees Grace watching her. And from there, things get pretty crazy. As you read this book, everything you think you know is going to happen is wrong. The ending was totally mind blowing and I really hadn’t even been close with my guesses. I feel odd saying that this book was refreshing given it’s heavy nature, but for this genre, it definitely holds it’s own, especially for a debut novel.

[standhenry · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Girl Gone Mad is a look at the power of popularity, bullying, and guilt. Emily Bennett is a therapist who helps kids in trouble. Her life looks pretty perfect at first glance, but lots of things are not what they seem. She was part of a middle school clique that did something bad to the new girl, Grace. And now, people are turning up dead. This psychological thriller moves the reader along on waves of suspense. Who is manipulating who? Once a Harpy, Always a Harpy!

[paulagalvan-323293 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Girl Gone Mad should be titled Girls Gone Mad. There's definitely more than one crazy woman in this book. The story is about an impromptu reunion of the Harpies—a mean-girl group from middle-school. They are grown up now and have honed their skills. They have graduated from rude little shits to pure evil-doers. I found this book to be a fast-paced thriller and had difficulty keeping up with who's out doing who—-but In the end, I think they all got what they deserve.

[lorikboyd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Bullying/Mean Girls have been around forever. We’ve all known them, dealt with them, maybe even been them. But, Avery Bishop brings Mean Girls to a new level in this book. I think at some point, we can all relate to something in this book, but hopefully all the bully’s we have known have grown up and matured.

Scary, eye opening book about how choices and things we’ve done in our youth can come back and haunt us. A work of fiction but not out of the realm of reality. Fast paced storyline and good character development. I look forward to the authors next book.

Thanks to Ms, Bishop, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

[bettytaylor56 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Be forewarned – this is a very dark story.

This was a difficult read for me because of the severity of the bullying that goes on with these teen girls. I found it very disturbing. As a result, I found it hard to like any of the girls. Even after finishing the book, I am not absolutely sure who were the villains and who the victim(s).

I tend to dislike stories that have a rushed ending explaining the who and why of the story. In my opinion, those are threads that should be woven throughout the story and coming together at the end to reveal the conclusion. There were several potential plotlines that could have been expounded on to have made this a much better book. And I found the ending too predictable leaving me feeling deflated.