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Girls Who Stray: A Novel
A, 23 and unnamed, returns from an obscure British university armed with a useless degree to her new home in Noida-a home of feeble men-and the breakdown of her parents' marriage.
Serial procrastinator, overthinker, anxious and unhinged, A overcompensates her low self-esteem and sense of alienation with snootiness, even as she so badly wants to belong. Her only saving quality is that she is self-aware.
Before long, A finds herself elbow-deep in an affair with a property developer and subsequently in a double murder.
Faced with the anxieties of the crime along with precarities of living in a hypermodern city marked by seething inequality, A navigates heartbreak and tiny acts of freedom. Girls Who Stray is about the foolish choices you knew you shouldn't have made.
A dazzling literary debut, this coming-of-age thriller is a heady mix of real estate dons, crime and the twisted, twisted nature of love.
Serial procrastinator, overthinker, anxious and unhinged, A overcompensates her low self-esteem and sense of alienation with snootiness, even as she so badly wants to belong. Her only saving quality is that she is self-aware.
Before long, A finds herself elbow-deep in an affair with a property developer and subsequently in a double murder.
Faced with the anxieties of the crime along with precarities of living in a hypermodern city marked by seething inequality, A navigates heartbreak and tiny acts of freedom. Girls Who Stray is about the foolish choices you knew you shouldn't have made.
A dazzling literary debut, this coming-of-age thriller is a heady mix of real estate dons, crime and the twisted, twisted nature of love.
- GenresFiction
270 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 18, 2024
3 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
September 5, 2025
Girls Who Stray documents the trials and tribulations of an unnamed character who is the incidental witness of a murder. The entire story is framed around that which the character sees... and yet the novel is also about everything and anything but that? In an intense almost stream-of-consciousness style the narrative criss-crosses between London, Mumbai, Delhi, random parts of India, random thoughts and thought-locations that the narrator feels like entering at any moment. The thoughts are extremely in-your-face but also incredibly relatable, particularly if you are a millennial or Gen Z Indian. Almost everything that Lalvani documents about modern day India is incredibly true.
It's a really fun book. You really feel like you get to know the author, the character, and a full interior world through reading it. The character and her life really stick with you, far more than the murder story which frames the novel, and far more than anything I've read in recent years.
It's a really fun book. You really feel like you get to know the author, the character, and a full interior world through reading it. The character and her life really stick with you, far more than the murder story which frames the novel, and far more than anything I've read in recent years.
June 29, 2025
The author kindly provided me with a copy of her book to review
Girls Who Stray by Anisha Lalvani breaks from the tried and tested stereotype of contemporary thrillers coming out of the country. It sets a plot of double murder while exploring the duality of India and Bharat. Caught up in this chaos is our unnamed protagonist, who is in her early 20s, navigating life back in her home country after getting a degree from the UK.
She is lost and is initially a spectator going through the humdrums of life in Noida. We have a front-seat view of how wrong choices take her from one blunder to another, leading up to two dead young people.
The readers follow the unnamed narrator through the world of crime, passion, extravagance, and depravity of the uber-rich who control the real estate of the city. For these people, lives are collateral. But, she does not come from this world; she comes from a father who takes care of the old grandfather, who is slowly losing his memory. How long will she ignore the flashbacks of the dreaded night and go on living her world, making money she can't file, and meeting with friends who talk about investments and new additions to their CVs?
Will the clicks and reel of bad decisions ever go away?
The story build-up is slow, and this is not your typical page-turner. The pace aligns with that of the actual positive change happening in the city. At times, the descriptions through the narrator's moving car window give us glimpses of the undercurrent we choose to ignore to sleep peacefully at night. The pages aptly capture the conflict of the country's youth, especially those who have come back from "Abroad" and have been witnesses to a better life.
Anisha Lalavani has managed to build an atmosphere that embodies the essence of MODERN INDIA through the narrator's turmoil.
Girls Who Stray by Anisha Lalvani breaks from the tried and tested stereotype of contemporary thrillers coming out of the country. It sets a plot of double murder while exploring the duality of India and Bharat. Caught up in this chaos is our unnamed protagonist, who is in her early 20s, navigating life back in her home country after getting a degree from the UK.
She is lost and is initially a spectator going through the humdrums of life in Noida. We have a front-seat view of how wrong choices take her from one blunder to another, leading up to two dead young people.
The readers follow the unnamed narrator through the world of crime, passion, extravagance, and depravity of the uber-rich who control the real estate of the city. For these people, lives are collateral. But, she does not come from this world; she comes from a father who takes care of the old grandfather, who is slowly losing his memory. How long will she ignore the flashbacks of the dreaded night and go on living her world, making money she can't file, and meeting with friends who talk about investments and new additions to their CVs?
Will the clicks and reel of bad decisions ever go away?
The story build-up is slow, and this is not your typical page-turner. The pace aligns with that of the actual positive change happening in the city. At times, the descriptions through the narrator's moving car window give us glimpses of the undercurrent we choose to ignore to sleep peacefully at night. The pages aptly capture the conflict of the country's youth, especially those who have come back from "Abroad" and have been witnesses to a better life.
Anisha Lalavani has managed to build an atmosphere that embodies the essence of MODERN INDIA through the narrator's turmoil.
August 10, 2025
I'm gonna take some time to process this book and shall shortly share my entire review on it.
Stay tuned!
*Edited*
Some books tell stories. This one holds a mirror.
Anisha Lalvani’s Girls Who Stray is a brave, vulnerable, and heartbreakingly honest novel about women who break away — not in loud, dramatic ways, but in the small, almost invisible rebellions that begin with a sigh, a silence, or a lie told to oneself.
Through A’s character, Lalvani explores what it means to stray, not from morality, but from expectation. From the boxes society builds around womanhood. From the labels that define how a ‘good girl’ should look, feel, act, and love. As I turned each page, I felt the weight of every “almost love,” every “almost self,” and every moment where a woman chooses her voice — softly, stubbornly — over silence. Anisha doesn't glamorise rebellion. She renders it in its most honest form: messy, flawed, human.
They don’t always make the “right” choices. But that’s the point. Girls Who Stray isn’t about heroines. It’s about humans — complex, craving, hurting, healing. Their straying isn’t reckless. It’s honest. It’s desperate. It’s real.
Anisha Lalvani writes with a voice that’s at once tender and fearless. Her prose is unadorned but powerful — the kind that doesn’t scream for attention but quietly tugs at your throat and refuses to let go. Some paragraphs made me pause, reread, and feel. Because somewhere between the longing and the loneliness, I saw shadows of myself. Of my friends. Of every woman who’s ever been asked to be “less.”
What makes this book unforgettable isn’t just the story — it’s how close it gets to your own. You begin by reading about A’s journey. But by the end, you realise you’ve been reading about all the women out there. About every time we’ve compromised too much. Trusted too easily, loved too hard. Or strayed just enough to find a version of ourselves worth saving.
Girls Who Stray is not a cautionary tale. It’s a reclamation. Of desire. Of identity. Of the quiet, necessary chaos that comes with being a woman in a world that keeps telling you how to behave.
There were moments I had to stop reading — not because I was bored, but because I was wrecked. Wrecked by how gently Lalvani captures the pain of women who are told to be everything — beautiful, wise, kind, polite, ambitious—and punished the moment they become something else. Something real.
This book isn’t just written — it’s felt.
And once you feel it, you won’t forget it.
Stay tuned!
*Edited*
Some books tell stories. This one holds a mirror.
Anisha Lalvani’s Girls Who Stray is a brave, vulnerable, and heartbreakingly honest novel about women who break away — not in loud, dramatic ways, but in the small, almost invisible rebellions that begin with a sigh, a silence, or a lie told to oneself.
Through A’s character, Lalvani explores what it means to stray, not from morality, but from expectation. From the boxes society builds around womanhood. From the labels that define how a ‘good girl’ should look, feel, act, and love. As I turned each page, I felt the weight of every “almost love,” every “almost self,” and every moment where a woman chooses her voice — softly, stubbornly — over silence. Anisha doesn't glamorise rebellion. She renders it in its most honest form: messy, flawed, human.
They don’t always make the “right” choices. But that’s the point. Girls Who Stray isn’t about heroines. It’s about humans — complex, craving, hurting, healing. Their straying isn’t reckless. It’s honest. It’s desperate. It’s real.
Anisha Lalvani writes with a voice that’s at once tender and fearless. Her prose is unadorned but powerful — the kind that doesn’t scream for attention but quietly tugs at your throat and refuses to let go. Some paragraphs made me pause, reread, and feel. Because somewhere between the longing and the loneliness, I saw shadows of myself. Of my friends. Of every woman who’s ever been asked to be “less.”
What makes this book unforgettable isn’t just the story — it’s how close it gets to your own. You begin by reading about A’s journey. But by the end, you realise you’ve been reading about all the women out there. About every time we’ve compromised too much. Trusted too easily, loved too hard. Or strayed just enough to find a version of ourselves worth saving.
Girls Who Stray is not a cautionary tale. It’s a reclamation. Of desire. Of identity. Of the quiet, necessary chaos that comes with being a woman in a world that keeps telling you how to behave.
There were moments I had to stop reading — not because I was bored, but because I was wrecked. Wrecked by how gently Lalvani captures the pain of women who are told to be everything — beautiful, wise, kind, polite, ambitious—and punished the moment they become something else. Something real.
This book isn’t just written — it’s felt.
And once you feel it, you won’t forget it.
January 28, 2025
A new voice with a new style. A debut which is edgy, electric and fast paced.
A book that current generation readers can relate to. A story that runs along major events in Delhi and bring about the new life in the metropolis to the fore.
Protagonists have no name and that’s interesting. They could be anyone from a famous personality to your next door neighbor.
A book that current generation readers can relate to. A story that runs along major events in Delhi and bring about the new life in the metropolis to the fore.
Protagonists have no name and that’s interesting. They could be anyone from a famous personality to your next door neighbor.
January 16, 2025
-A Tale of Darkness and Survival-
Review of 'Girls Who Stray'
The protagonist of 'Girls who Stray' has no name. She is no one because she can be everyone. She can be found in a grimy, man-pulled rickshaw or in a chauffeur-driven sleek BMW sedan. She lives in one city and she lives in all cities. You can find her on every soil, in every soul.
Technically, she is A. Author shares the first letter of her first name with her protagonist and in doing so, she shares her femininity, her identity, her struggles. A subtle nod at the collective mass of girls in India, or in Pakistan, in US, In Uk, In Bangladesh, anywhere and everywhere. Because this story can be woven through any ethnicity, any geo-political landscape and it would fit. It's topical in choosing an Indian metro ('India is a Nokia handset from the early 2000s, retrofitted with a shiny flip cover, 'Lalvani writes) but A could be home in Kenya as comfortably.
Struggling with a shattered family and an almost non existent self-worth that she compensates with overt snootiness, A has gone over to the dark side, dipping her toes in the black waters of lust. Abhorrent of the 'feeble men' at her home (including her father who bankrolled her useless foreign degree), she finds solace in a violent love affair with a red flag the size of a water tank. She finds herself sinking fast and deep and anything more would be a spoiler so maybe pick up the book?
Lalvani's writing thrums with a sense of unease and anxiety. In same paragraph, she tackles multiple themes. Have a look- 'And men are everywhere, everywhere, twenty thousand men bow in the courtyard of the Jama Masjid as the azaan beams to the pink sky, a crown of pigeons takes flight, an army of pandits declaring their staunch piety to all from mandirs across the city. And men are bulging into the women’s compartment in the metro, craning their necks, standing on tiptoes to look inside. And men are on the roads – driving autos, cabs, cycle-rickshaws and Lamborghinis, whistling and hooting, smacking cards on the grass in the lull of taash-filled afternoons.'
A's relationship with her father teeters on the brink of fracture. He is 'withdrawing into himself' and A's mother (after divorce), is 'rushing around, filling herself with senseless chatter and garbled music, with any old wayward man she meets in the bar, with endless drink to fill up the glass that will always remain half empty.' It's curious that although A demands empathy when she talks about crowds of men in street, she doesn't allot a scratch of that to her own mother.
Failure pervades the story like the stench of rancid milk. Lalvani doesn't let anyone escape the wrath and needle point observation. Read on- 'My father sees everyone slipping away -he is losing his wife to life, his father to old age,and his daughter, his mirror image, to the very thing he is losing himself to. And what is this 'thing'- a hidden and quiet losing of his ability to attach words to things, ideas to feelings. Not quite being able to come to terms with what he is feeling, not being able to put it in words. Not seeing it as a cause of concern, the slow but definite withdrawal of his own mind.'
A power debut. Recommended for a weekend read.
Review of 'Girls Who Stray'
The protagonist of 'Girls who Stray' has no name. She is no one because she can be everyone. She can be found in a grimy, man-pulled rickshaw or in a chauffeur-driven sleek BMW sedan. She lives in one city and she lives in all cities. You can find her on every soil, in every soul.
Technically, she is A. Author shares the first letter of her first name with her protagonist and in doing so, she shares her femininity, her identity, her struggles. A subtle nod at the collective mass of girls in India, or in Pakistan, in US, In Uk, In Bangladesh, anywhere and everywhere. Because this story can be woven through any ethnicity, any geo-political landscape and it would fit. It's topical in choosing an Indian metro ('India is a Nokia handset from the early 2000s, retrofitted with a shiny flip cover, 'Lalvani writes) but A could be home in Kenya as comfortably.
Struggling with a shattered family and an almost non existent self-worth that she compensates with overt snootiness, A has gone over to the dark side, dipping her toes in the black waters of lust. Abhorrent of the 'feeble men' at her home (including her father who bankrolled her useless foreign degree), she finds solace in a violent love affair with a red flag the size of a water tank. She finds herself sinking fast and deep and anything more would be a spoiler so maybe pick up the book?
Lalvani's writing thrums with a sense of unease and anxiety. In same paragraph, she tackles multiple themes. Have a look- 'And men are everywhere, everywhere, twenty thousand men bow in the courtyard of the Jama Masjid as the azaan beams to the pink sky, a crown of pigeons takes flight, an army of pandits declaring their staunch piety to all from mandirs across the city. And men are bulging into the women’s compartment in the metro, craning their necks, standing on tiptoes to look inside. And men are on the roads – driving autos, cabs, cycle-rickshaws and Lamborghinis, whistling and hooting, smacking cards on the grass in the lull of taash-filled afternoons.'
A's relationship with her father teeters on the brink of fracture. He is 'withdrawing into himself' and A's mother (after divorce), is 'rushing around, filling herself with senseless chatter and garbled music, with any old wayward man she meets in the bar, with endless drink to fill up the glass that will always remain half empty.' It's curious that although A demands empathy when she talks about crowds of men in street, she doesn't allot a scratch of that to her own mother.
Failure pervades the story like the stench of rancid milk. Lalvani doesn't let anyone escape the wrath and needle point observation. Read on- 'My father sees everyone slipping away -he is losing his wife to life, his father to old age,and his daughter, his mirror image, to the very thing he is losing himself to. And what is this 'thing'- a hidden and quiet losing of his ability to attach words to things, ideas to feelings. Not quite being able to come to terms with what he is feeling, not being able to put it in words. Not seeing it as a cause of concern, the slow but definite withdrawal of his own mind.'
A power debut. Recommended for a weekend read.
July 21, 2025
Have you ever read a book that makes you feel so deep that its difficult to sit still? This book was it for me.
The righteous anger of the second half ran so fast through my veins that I had to read it on the treadmill and run whenever it made me so angry that I wanted to be violent.
Angry, that the world is so unnecessarily cruel to girls. Angry, that no matter where we go, men are everywhere. Angry that whenever women go through anything, the common narrative is that she earned it, deserved it. No decent girl would have to go through this.
What is a decent girl? One who complies with whatever you say? Who don't you have to see outside? Who tolerates all tortures that come at her, without a sigh?
Well, news flash, our narrator is not a decent girl. She is headstrong, confident and smart. And we are proud of her.
If you’ve ever felt boxed in by society’s idea of a ‘good girl,’ this one’s for you.
The story tells us about the unnamed narrator and her struggles. The series of events that push her onto the unwanted path and the events that reignite the fire in her. The unnamed narrator is a girl who can be any of us, anyone among us. Her click and reels, her fixations, her grief and guilt help us feel for so many girls who are wronged each day and many children who have no one to care about them.
The story follows a non-linear format, with each chapter and section being a piece of a puzzle about what happened to her and what is happening to her. This format is my personal preference for how well it engages your mind and keeps you hooked to the tiny mysteries in the story about what happened next. In "Girls Who Stray" too, the moments when the puzzle pieces clicked together were special to me, and left me breathless when I finally realised what had happened.
Most of the characters are relatable and raw. They are the angels, the vultures and the humans that you see all around you and are maybe even friends with.
The narration is very similar to a stream of consciousness narrative and compels your own thoughts to move towards the same cause. The writing is brutally honest — sometimes lyrical, sometimes jagged — just like trauma itself. You don’t read it as much as you feel it.
The author doesn’t just tell a story — she lights a fire. You can feel her fury, her heartbreak, and her refusal to be silent. And in doing so, she gives voice to every girl who has ever been silenced.
It is definitely a must-read book for all women and girls. Not only to feel provoked and aware but also to feel seen and heard. Read this if you’ve ever been angry, ever felt small, or ever wished someone would just get it. This book gets it. And it doesn’t let you go.
Trigger warning: The book contains themes of abuse, grief, and violence that may be difficult for some readers.
The righteous anger of the second half ran so fast through my veins that I had to read it on the treadmill and run whenever it made me so angry that I wanted to be violent.
Angry, that the world is so unnecessarily cruel to girls. Angry, that no matter where we go, men are everywhere. Angry that whenever women go through anything, the common narrative is that she earned it, deserved it. No decent girl would have to go through this.
What is a decent girl? One who complies with whatever you say? Who don't you have to see outside? Who tolerates all tortures that come at her, without a sigh?
Well, news flash, our narrator is not a decent girl. She is headstrong, confident and smart. And we are proud of her.
If you’ve ever felt boxed in by society’s idea of a ‘good girl,’ this one’s for you.
The story tells us about the unnamed narrator and her struggles. The series of events that push her onto the unwanted path and the events that reignite the fire in her. The unnamed narrator is a girl who can be any of us, anyone among us. Her click and reels, her fixations, her grief and guilt help us feel for so many girls who are wronged each day and many children who have no one to care about them.
The story follows a non-linear format, with each chapter and section being a piece of a puzzle about what happened to her and what is happening to her. This format is my personal preference for how well it engages your mind and keeps you hooked to the tiny mysteries in the story about what happened next. In "Girls Who Stray" too, the moments when the puzzle pieces clicked together were special to me, and left me breathless when I finally realised what had happened.
Most of the characters are relatable and raw. They are the angels, the vultures and the humans that you see all around you and are maybe even friends with.
The narration is very similar to a stream of consciousness narrative and compels your own thoughts to move towards the same cause. The writing is brutally honest — sometimes lyrical, sometimes jagged — just like trauma itself. You don’t read it as much as you feel it.
The author doesn’t just tell a story — she lights a fire. You can feel her fury, her heartbreak, and her refusal to be silent. And in doing so, she gives voice to every girl who has ever been silenced.
It is definitely a must-read book for all women and girls. Not only to feel provoked and aware but also to feel seen and heard. Read this if you’ve ever been angry, ever felt small, or ever wished someone would just get it. This book gets it. And it doesn’t let you go.
Trigger warning: The book contains themes of abuse, grief, and violence that may be difficult for some readers.
June 24, 2025
Anisha’s debut novel is a story that explores how choices we make at each step in our lives impact our future. Anisha also blends in two major incidents around that time, right into the plot to turn a mirror on the social lens on a woman who likes to explore life. The writing is gripping, and while the storyline might seem a bit slow to a few readers, the true essence of Anisha’s writing lies in the details. Be it the high-rise buildings of Greater Noida, or the protest sites near Jantar Mantar, Anisha takes her time in setting up the plot of the book. As a reader, if you grasp the messaging, the storytelling becomes smoother. The writing is very visual and being a resident of NCR, I could see and visualize the scenes that Anisha wrote. The social messaging of family, societal expectations, crime, and regret is nicely captured. One more aspect that stood out for me were the songs, translated and mentioned. It was a great experience decoding and then fitting the songs in the story. What could have been improved in the book was a bit of proofreading and fact checking. We see a Shatabdi between Delhi and Mumbai, however that does not exist, and while creative liberties in fiction are allowed, such instances can break the flow of the storytelling. The climax of the book is quite poetic and I liked how it combined all the aspects of A’s life, yet leaves some questions open, mirroring life.
Coming to the characters, the book is primarily driven by A and her approach towards life. In the first half of the book, we see this teenager, who wants to escape her circumstances at all costs, without any regards to the impact on the family back home. The transition of A from this teenager to the person we meet on the last page is beautifully captured. Her moral dilemmas form a critical part of the story, and in the second half of the book those questions start popping out more often. Her relationship with her parents is also very beautifully captured. A’s journey through our country is also nicely captured, and the way it forms a boundary between her character traits was good to explore. A’s perspective on social issues, protests and the prevailing situation adds a wonderful layer to the story.
Coming to the characters, the book is primarily driven by A and her approach towards life. In the first half of the book, we see this teenager, who wants to escape her circumstances at all costs, without any regards to the impact on the family back home. The transition of A from this teenager to the person we meet on the last page is beautifully captured. Her moral dilemmas form a critical part of the story, and in the second half of the book those questions start popping out more often. Her relationship with her parents is also very beautifully captured. A’s journey through our country is also nicely captured, and the way it forms a boundary between her character traits was good to explore. A’s perspective on social issues, protests and the prevailing situation adds a wonderful layer to the story.
July 17, 2025
Reading this book feels like stepping inside someone’s mind and witnessing every spiraling thought in all its graphic glory. It’s like boarding a train of overthinking — most thoughts may seem bizarre or repetitive, yet they carry uncomfortable truths that hit hard.
The novel starts on an edgy note, racing ahead and instantly piquing curiosity. You keep wondering where it’s leading, and with every wrong decision A makes, the narrative tightens its grip, hooking you deeper.
One of the strongest aspects is its sharp social commentary — the stark contrast between India and Bharat (as quoted in the book) is striking. It shows how wealth, power, and connections can silence every crime — reminding me of that iconic Game of Thrones moment when Cersei declares, “Power is power.”
This isn’t a book with a straightforward plot or a neat, linear narrative. If that’s what you expect, you might be disappointed. The characters are unreliable; nothing happens for the longest time; and yet, it works.
Why? Because the writing is the real star. It’s sharp, edgy, and fresh — something you don’t often see in contemporary Indian fiction. For a debut author, this is a big, bold risk, and it pays off.
The cities — Delhi, Mumbai, and every other nook and corner the author takes us through — almost feel like characters themselves, adding depth and texture to the narrative.
There is a crime, yes, but no mystery — everything unfolds exactly when intended, and the ending mirrors reality: unresolved, frustrating, and painfully familiar. After all, as the book states, “This is a world in which nothing is solved.”
There were moments in the first part where I wanted to fast forward through certain paragraphs but once I got used to it, I was hooked till the very end. If you’re looking for something different — highly recommend this book.
Thanks to the author and Bloomsbury India for sending me a copy!
The novel starts on an edgy note, racing ahead and instantly piquing curiosity. You keep wondering where it’s leading, and with every wrong decision A makes, the narrative tightens its grip, hooking you deeper.
One of the strongest aspects is its sharp social commentary — the stark contrast between India and Bharat (as quoted in the book) is striking. It shows how wealth, power, and connections can silence every crime — reminding me of that iconic Game of Thrones moment when Cersei declares, “Power is power.”
This isn’t a book with a straightforward plot or a neat, linear narrative. If that’s what you expect, you might be disappointed. The characters are unreliable; nothing happens for the longest time; and yet, it works.
Why? Because the writing is the real star. It’s sharp, edgy, and fresh — something you don’t often see in contemporary Indian fiction. For a debut author, this is a big, bold risk, and it pays off.
The cities — Delhi, Mumbai, and every other nook and corner the author takes us through — almost feel like characters themselves, adding depth and texture to the narrative.
There is a crime, yes, but no mystery — everything unfolds exactly when intended, and the ending mirrors reality: unresolved, frustrating, and painfully familiar. After all, as the book states, “This is a world in which nothing is solved.”
There were moments in the first part where I wanted to fast forward through certain paragraphs but once I got used to it, I was hooked till the very end. If you’re looking for something different — highly recommend this book.
Thanks to the author and Bloomsbury India for sending me a copy!
July 7, 2025
This book isn’t perfect.But maybe that’s why it feels so real.Girls Who Stray shows life without filters.
The protagonist is nameless, and maybe that’s the point. She could be anyone. A girl who returns from abroad with no job, no plan, and no version of herself that feels worth showing off. She slips into her family home in Noida, into a routine stitched with silence, screens, restlessness, and air-conditioning that hums louder than conversation.
At first, nothing happens. And then slowly, everything does. A relationship begins — not with love, but with need. The kind of need that doesn’t bloom but bruises. She drifts into an affair with a wealthy, older man, and that one choice leads to another… until suddenly she’s caught in something far bigger, far darker, and far more irreversible than she expected.
But this book isn’t about one mistake. It’s about the many invisible ones we live with. The ones made in our minds. The ones we never confess. The ones that come from hunger — for affection, for meaning, for escape.
- What makes this book hit differently?
It’s not flashy. It doesn’t shout. It observes. It lingers in moments we usually skip in fiction — the scrolling, the staring at ceilings, the inner monologues. Anisha Lalvani writes with restraint, with a kind of honesty that’s so sharp it feels like a whisper cutting skin.
💔 What stayed with me
— The emotional weight of the unnamed narrator
— The complex mother-daughter silence
— The way privilege is shown as both protection and prison
— The aching portrayal of being 23 and directionless
— And most of all, the reminder that not all damage is loud. Some sits quietly in your bones.
Yes, it could’ve been shorter. But it’s worth reading — for the honesty, for the discomfort, for the reflection it brings. No drama. No pity.
Just truth—and quiet understanding.
The protagonist is nameless, and maybe that’s the point. She could be anyone. A girl who returns from abroad with no job, no plan, and no version of herself that feels worth showing off. She slips into her family home in Noida, into a routine stitched with silence, screens, restlessness, and air-conditioning that hums louder than conversation.
At first, nothing happens. And then slowly, everything does. A relationship begins — not with love, but with need. The kind of need that doesn’t bloom but bruises. She drifts into an affair with a wealthy, older man, and that one choice leads to another… until suddenly she’s caught in something far bigger, far darker, and far more irreversible than she expected.
But this book isn’t about one mistake. It’s about the many invisible ones we live with. The ones made in our minds. The ones we never confess. The ones that come from hunger — for affection, for meaning, for escape.
- What makes this book hit differently?
It’s not flashy. It doesn’t shout. It observes. It lingers in moments we usually skip in fiction — the scrolling, the staring at ceilings, the inner monologues. Anisha Lalvani writes with restraint, with a kind of honesty that’s so sharp it feels like a whisper cutting skin.
💔 What stayed with me
— The emotional weight of the unnamed narrator
— The complex mother-daughter silence
— The way privilege is shown as both protection and prison
— The aching portrayal of being 23 and directionless
— And most of all, the reminder that not all damage is loud. Some sits quietly in your bones.
Yes, it could’ve been shorter. But it’s worth reading — for the honesty, for the discomfort, for the reflection it brings. No drama. No pity.
Just truth—and quiet understanding.
August 22, 2025
Girls who Stray by Anisha Lalvani is not just any other story of a young girl who finds herself in situations one can never imagine, but through this novel the book not only shows the mirror to the society but also to the unhinged girl that resides in every girl who seldom makes an appearance.
Lalvani's character remaining nameless and handing the narrative entirely to her protagonist comes with a message,a warning that it's just the beginning...
The debut author doesn't mince her words. She doesn't hide behind what would be politically correct which is also why the protagonist remains a personal favourite.
A, lost in her family trying to escape her situation at her home is another scenario that you would least expect to go down into.
The story is majorly set in Delhi -NCR and brings into focus not just one but two heinous crimes committed in the city.
The protagonist travels through different timelines in her life and that's what brings perspective of the character in picture and makes you question the title of the book 'Girls Who Stray'.
The book will make you uncomfortable,it will make you angry and yes you probably might not like the main character but I think it's about time we read about messy, flawed and unapologetic.
Some might identify her with too much privilege, but I wouldn't give you the story.
I loved the vivid description of the city the protagonist travels through. She doesn't travel just through Delhi so even if you don't stay in Delhi you will be able to see other spaces.
What also caught my attention is how Anisha ties up the novel in the end and gives you an experience that will definitely make you ask for more.
I highly recommend this book because this kind of young voice is needed in today's writing in India and Anisha Lalvani delivers with finesse.
Lalvani's character remaining nameless and handing the narrative entirely to her protagonist comes with a message,a warning that it's just the beginning...
The debut author doesn't mince her words. She doesn't hide behind what would be politically correct which is also why the protagonist remains a personal favourite.
A, lost in her family trying to escape her situation at her home is another scenario that you would least expect to go down into.
The story is majorly set in Delhi -NCR and brings into focus not just one but two heinous crimes committed in the city.
The protagonist travels through different timelines in her life and that's what brings perspective of the character in picture and makes you question the title of the book 'Girls Who Stray'.
The book will make you uncomfortable,it will make you angry and yes you probably might not like the main character but I think it's about time we read about messy, flawed and unapologetic.
Some might identify her with too much privilege, but I wouldn't give you the story.
I loved the vivid description of the city the protagonist travels through. She doesn't travel just through Delhi so even if you don't stay in Delhi you will be able to see other spaces.
What also caught my attention is how Anisha ties up the novel in the end and gives you an experience that will definitely make you ask for more.
I highly recommend this book because this kind of young voice is needed in today's writing in India and Anisha Lalvani delivers with finesse.
August 1, 2025
Girls Who Stray is not your normal piece of literature. It took me time to get into its flow, I won't lie, but the scenarios it introduced me to will be worth it.
A book with a different writing style, unnamed protagonist and has double murder. It is a very bold debut work, a moody, restless exploration of modern womanhood in urban India, and a political portrait of alienation. It offers no easy redemption, only the cool burn of recognition.
The choice of keeping the main protagonist, A, a 23 years old woman nameless on purpose, is because I believe she becomes every young woman tangled in modern urban lives marked by obligation, desire, and disconnection. Her interactions expose the male gaze and patriarchal structures deeply embedded in Indian public life—from crowded metros to social hierarchies
After spending years abroad, she returns to India, moving through the warm and hazy suburbs of Delhi—weighted down by silence, financial struggles, and a family coming apart. As she becomes involved in a relationship with a charming, older married man, what starts as attraction soon evolves into a profound confrontation—with influence, remorse, and the longing to be acknowledged. I really loved how the book showed the various mistakes one does in life and how they weave all the situations in life, sometimes being irreversible.
One thing that helped me read this at a relative speed was the power of visualisation Anisha’s writing has. Some scenes were brutally painted, all raw with emotions. Even the backdrops of the novel had a life to its own. Delhi was definitely a living character here.
The book offers not just a personal coming-of-age story but a broader social portrait.
A book with a different writing style, unnamed protagonist and has double murder. It is a very bold debut work, a moody, restless exploration of modern womanhood in urban India, and a political portrait of alienation. It offers no easy redemption, only the cool burn of recognition.
The choice of keeping the main protagonist, A, a 23 years old woman nameless on purpose, is because I believe she becomes every young woman tangled in modern urban lives marked by obligation, desire, and disconnection. Her interactions expose the male gaze and patriarchal structures deeply embedded in Indian public life—from crowded metros to social hierarchies
After spending years abroad, she returns to India, moving through the warm and hazy suburbs of Delhi—weighted down by silence, financial struggles, and a family coming apart. As she becomes involved in a relationship with a charming, older married man, what starts as attraction soon evolves into a profound confrontation—with influence, remorse, and the longing to be acknowledged. I really loved how the book showed the various mistakes one does in life and how they weave all the situations in life, sometimes being irreversible.
One thing that helped me read this at a relative speed was the power of visualisation Anisha’s writing has. Some scenes were brutally painted, all raw with emotions. Even the backdrops of the novel had a life to its own. Delhi was definitely a living character here.
The book offers not just a personal coming-of-age story but a broader social portrait.
August 11, 2025
🚷 This book isn't meant for casual reading!
This book was reminiscent of Plath's writing, cinematic brilliance of Midnight Sister, and with an absurd character you might also be reminded of Camus.
When you open the book and peruse the prologue and assume that a delicious spicy drama awaits you then you are wrong! This isn't an erotica. This is a mesh of feelings - cold, crazy, chaotic! Girls Who Stray by Anisha Lalvani isn't your regular thriller. It's got edges, bold and sharp. It's a literary fiction folded meticulously behind a thriller. It's going to shock you and bite you. The story, the imagery will linger for long. The essence seeping into your bones.
Girls who stray follows the journey of an unnamed protagonist. Her restlessness and her desires compel her to walk the paths that pull her into a dark abyss. At a tender age of 23 when rest of us might yearn for a stable career she is pushed into an elbow-deep affair with a tycoon. This precarious affair isn't all. She further plays a part in a double murder. The weight of which presses her down. This book is about foolish choices that lead you astray.
This book feels like Karan Bajaj, Kiran Desai and Arvind Adiga all rolled into one!
It's a mosiac of thoughts. A portrait of a woman on a brink. Living on the edge. Morally grey, socially unacceptable, often bold yet making wrong choices in life.
We are inside the head of this character feeling her anxiety, overthinking, her anger, her hate, it's a whirlpool of simmering emotions. She feels deeply and observes keenly. Her inner conflict becomes evident at every turn.
Read the entire book review here 👇🏻
https://ofbookbabiesandmore.wordpress...
This book was reminiscent of Plath's writing, cinematic brilliance of Midnight Sister, and with an absurd character you might also be reminded of Camus.
When you open the book and peruse the prologue and assume that a delicious spicy drama awaits you then you are wrong! This isn't an erotica. This is a mesh of feelings - cold, crazy, chaotic! Girls Who Stray by Anisha Lalvani isn't your regular thriller. It's got edges, bold and sharp. It's a literary fiction folded meticulously behind a thriller. It's going to shock you and bite you. The story, the imagery will linger for long. The essence seeping into your bones.
Girls who stray follows the journey of an unnamed protagonist. Her restlessness and her desires compel her to walk the paths that pull her into a dark abyss. At a tender age of 23 when rest of us might yearn for a stable career she is pushed into an elbow-deep affair with a tycoon. This precarious affair isn't all. She further plays a part in a double murder. The weight of which presses her down. This book is about foolish choices that lead you astray.
This book feels like Karan Bajaj, Kiran Desai and Arvind Adiga all rolled into one!
It's a mosiac of thoughts. A portrait of a woman on a brink. Living on the edge. Morally grey, socially unacceptable, often bold yet making wrong choices in life.
We are inside the head of this character feeling her anxiety, overthinking, her anger, her hate, it's a whirlpool of simmering emotions. She feels deeply and observes keenly. Her inner conflict becomes evident at every turn.
Read the entire book review here 👇🏻
https://ofbookbabiesandmore.wordpress...
December 14, 2024
"India Is a Nokia handset from the early 2000's, retrofitted with a shiny flip cover" (Pg - 44)
I loved this line and could totally relate being a 90's kid.
Girls Who Stray is a coming-of-age thriller novel by Anisha Lalvani that explores the lives of modern Indian youth and the complexities of love, identity, and modernity.
The novel follows a 23-year-old woman who returns to her home in Noida (Delhi NCR) after graduating from an English university. She becomes involved in an affair with a property developer and becomes entangled in a double murder.
The novel explores themes such as sexual agency, power, fear, anxiety, love, existential angst, and death. It also depicts the anxieties of living in a hyper-modern city and the strength to rebel through small acts of freedom.
The novel is set in Delhi NCR and explores the city's vibrant urban landscapes.
Highlights of the book-
1) The Language used is simple and easy to understand. Even a first time reader will easily understand.
2) The supporting characters have been brilliantly written and add up to the story perfectly.
3) The Narration is crisp & Clear.
4) The story is not unnecessarily stretched, which keeps the story engaging. The book is a few hours read as it is under 285 pages.
5) The story can be visualised in front of the eyes, as it happened with me throughout.
Girls Who Stray is a testament to the strength and complexity of women’s voices, making this story a mix of real estate dons, crime & twisted nature of love.
I loved this line and could totally relate being a 90's kid.
Girls Who Stray is a coming-of-age thriller novel by Anisha Lalvani that explores the lives of modern Indian youth and the complexities of love, identity, and modernity.
The novel follows a 23-year-old woman who returns to her home in Noida (Delhi NCR) after graduating from an English university. She becomes involved in an affair with a property developer and becomes entangled in a double murder.
The novel explores themes such as sexual agency, power, fear, anxiety, love, existential angst, and death. It also depicts the anxieties of living in a hyper-modern city and the strength to rebel through small acts of freedom.
The novel is set in Delhi NCR and explores the city's vibrant urban landscapes.
Highlights of the book-
1) The Language used is simple and easy to understand. Even a first time reader will easily understand.
2) The supporting characters have been brilliantly written and add up to the story perfectly.
3) The Narration is crisp & Clear.
4) The story is not unnecessarily stretched, which keeps the story engaging. The book is a few hours read as it is under 285 pages.
5) The story can be visualised in front of the eyes, as it happened with me throughout.
Girls Who Stray is a testament to the strength and complexity of women’s voices, making this story a mix of real estate dons, crime & twisted nature of love.
February 17, 2025
Novels can be plot-driven or character-driven, but Girls Who Stray is distinctly theme-driven. At its core, it explores urban loneliness and a persistent sense of emptiness, with each character finding their own twisted way to cope.
Reading Girls Who Stray feels like stepping into the protagonist’s (A) unfiltered inner monologue, streaming live. Yet, beneath the chaos, a story arc emerges, acting as a loose but persistent thread. Readers access A’s raw and brutal thoughts as she navigates the wreckage of her parents’ divorce, her dying grandfather’s nostalgia, joblessness, a useless degree, a looming student loan, an affair with a married real estate tycoon, and—most unsettling of all—her conscious/unconscious/subconscious involvement in a crime. Sound intense? It is.
From the very first page, Anisha drops readers onto a high-tension wire with no time to settle in. The novel is relentless—either something is happening in A’s mind, or something is happening around her. There’s no space to breathe.
Anisha’s prose oscillates between beautiful and chaotic but is never dull. Her attention to detail is remarkable; even inanimate objects take on a life of their own. This isn’t an easy read—the sheer emotional weight and thematic depth demand breaks to process everything unfolding inside A’s mind.
Would I recommend it?
✔ Yes—if you relate to the inner turmoil of a young woman trying (and failing) to make sense of her world.
✖ No—if you prefer a linear narrative with a well-defined arc and find intensity overwhelming.
Reading Girls Who Stray feels like stepping into the protagonist’s (A) unfiltered inner monologue, streaming live. Yet, beneath the chaos, a story arc emerges, acting as a loose but persistent thread. Readers access A’s raw and brutal thoughts as she navigates the wreckage of her parents’ divorce, her dying grandfather’s nostalgia, joblessness, a useless degree, a looming student loan, an affair with a married real estate tycoon, and—most unsettling of all—her conscious/unconscious/subconscious involvement in a crime. Sound intense? It is.
From the very first page, Anisha drops readers onto a high-tension wire with no time to settle in. The novel is relentless—either something is happening in A’s mind, or something is happening around her. There’s no space to breathe.
Anisha’s prose oscillates between beautiful and chaotic but is never dull. Her attention to detail is remarkable; even inanimate objects take on a life of their own. This isn’t an easy read—the sheer emotional weight and thematic depth demand breaks to process everything unfolding inside A’s mind.
Would I recommend it?
✔ Yes—if you relate to the inner turmoil of a young woman trying (and failing) to make sense of her world.
✖ No—if you prefer a linear narrative with a well-defined arc and find intensity overwhelming.
July 22, 2025
✍🏻Girls Who Stray is a bold and unsettling portrayal of a young woman spiralling through the darker alleys of Delhi—and of her own mind. The unnamed protagonist, shaped by a broken family, a sick grandfather, and the disillusionment of returning to India with a foreign degree but no prospects, finds herself lost in a city that reflects her inner chaos.
✍🏻The storytelling is fragmented and at times disorienting, which mirrors the protagonist’s unravelling mental state. This may challenge the reader, but it also adds to the raw intensity of the narrative. The novel fearlessly explores the world of lust, power, patriarchy, and the invisible pressures that push a woman toward self-destruction. Her descent, marked by entanglement in two murders and haunted by her inner demons, is as disturbing as it is thought-provoking.
✍🏻However, the book tries to take on too much—from AI and urban decay to societal hypocrisy and gender injustice—and ends up losing some clarity and impact. The scattered themes and haphazard structure left me feeling more confused than immersed at times.
✍🏻That said, Anisha Lalvani’s writing is fierce and unapologetically bold, bringing attention to how society often punishes women more harshly than men for the same choices.
This book can definitely work for readers who appreciate experimental, gritty storytelling and aren’t afraid of discomfort. But personally, I found it a bit disappointing due to its lack of narrative focus.
✍🏻The storytelling is fragmented and at times disorienting, which mirrors the protagonist’s unravelling mental state. This may challenge the reader, but it also adds to the raw intensity of the narrative. The novel fearlessly explores the world of lust, power, patriarchy, and the invisible pressures that push a woman toward self-destruction. Her descent, marked by entanglement in two murders and haunted by her inner demons, is as disturbing as it is thought-provoking.
✍🏻However, the book tries to take on too much—from AI and urban decay to societal hypocrisy and gender injustice—and ends up losing some clarity and impact. The scattered themes and haphazard structure left me feeling more confused than immersed at times.
✍🏻That said, Anisha Lalvani’s writing is fierce and unapologetically bold, bringing attention to how society often punishes women more harshly than men for the same choices.
This book can definitely work for readers who appreciate experimental, gritty storytelling and aren’t afraid of discomfort. But personally, I found it a bit disappointing due to its lack of narrative focus.
August 27, 2025
Girls Who Stray by Anisha Lalwani is not your conventional coming-of-age story, it’s raw, chaotic, and dangerously unflinching. We are introduced to an unnamed female protagonist who starts narrating and unravelling her life of witnessing the divorce of her parents as well as her unfulfilled dreams. I liked the way the author captured the restlessness of youth caught between privilege and alienation, desire and destruction. What starts as a sharp portrayal of self-doubt and misplaced choices quickly spirals into an intoxicating mix of lust, betrayal, and crime, set against the gritty underbelly of a hypermodern Greater Noida.
The author's debut is as witty as it is unsettling. I could feel her prose thrum with a restless energy, pulling you into the messy vulnerabilities of a woman who knows she’s straying but keeps going anyway. It’s a darkly funny, sharp-edged commentary on urban loneliness, the blurred lines between survival and indulgence, and the choices we regret even as we make them.
If you’ve ever found yourself drawn to stories of flawed women, reckless love, and the dangerous thrill of living on the edge, Girls Who Stray will stay with you long after the last page. A fearless debut that cements this author as a bold new voice in contemporary Indian fiction.
I am intrigued to read her future works given how she captured the contemporary pulse of lust, betrayal and crime.
The author's debut is as witty as it is unsettling. I could feel her prose thrum with a restless energy, pulling you into the messy vulnerabilities of a woman who knows she’s straying but keeps going anyway. It’s a darkly funny, sharp-edged commentary on urban loneliness, the blurred lines between survival and indulgence, and the choices we regret even as we make them.
If you’ve ever found yourself drawn to stories of flawed women, reckless love, and the dangerous thrill of living on the edge, Girls Who Stray will stay with you long after the last page. A fearless debut that cements this author as a bold new voice in contemporary Indian fiction.
I am intrigued to read her future works given how she captured the contemporary pulse of lust, betrayal and crime.
September 5, 2025
A Dazzling debut! Blazing commentary from an unknown narrator with sharp undertone of fear. A restless, agitated, story of urban woman and her choices, consequences will give you a jolt.
Adult life and the problem she solved with her wits and naked power hunger suddenly appeared on the horizon. City life, opulent lifestyle and waves of greed, the narrator constantly balancing an unbalanced existence, her dilemma is powerfully embedded in pages.
It's a story that regulates around the world which is hidden under the carefully crafted drakness of society, and a girl who is probably struggling with her childhood psychological trauma that she doesn't know existed, slowly her mental manipulation unfolded layers of her life. Unfiltered and unflinching bold tone conveyed the internal monologue, a stream of consciousness punctuated with disorganised desires and forces her to go deeper into darkness.
Without any quote this narration made me feel drab and exhausted, I was desperately missing other perspectives and because of the length of the book I think this book is capable of giving readers reading slumps or feeling dead inside because too much aggressive, delusional streaming for a long time is not so healthy to read.
My only complaint is the length, it could be better. Otherwise this is a powerful riveting depiction of greed and a trapped human mind..
I am absolutely stunned by the Anisha Lalvani's talent, definitely will try another shot for her bow.
Adult life and the problem she solved with her wits and naked power hunger suddenly appeared on the horizon. City life, opulent lifestyle and waves of greed, the narrator constantly balancing an unbalanced existence, her dilemma is powerfully embedded in pages.
It's a story that regulates around the world which is hidden under the carefully crafted drakness of society, and a girl who is probably struggling with her childhood psychological trauma that she doesn't know existed, slowly her mental manipulation unfolded layers of her life. Unfiltered and unflinching bold tone conveyed the internal monologue, a stream of consciousness punctuated with disorganised desires and forces her to go deeper into darkness.
Without any quote this narration made me feel drab and exhausted, I was desperately missing other perspectives and because of the length of the book I think this book is capable of giving readers reading slumps or feeling dead inside because too much aggressive, delusional streaming for a long time is not so healthy to read.
My only complaint is the length, it could be better. Otherwise this is a powerful riveting depiction of greed and a trapped human mind..
I am absolutely stunned by the Anisha Lalvani's talent, definitely will try another shot for her bow.
January 7, 2025
BLURB
Girls Who Stray follows A, a 23-year-old navigating heartbreak, guilt, and a double murder after an affair with a real estate tycoon. Set in a fractured, hypermodern Noida, this gripping debut explores bad choices, fleeting freedom, and the search for belonging.
REVIEW
I loved “Girls Who Stray” because it’s brutally honest, darkly funny, and painfully relatable.
Anisha Lavlani masterfully captures the messiness of being in your twenties like the bad choices, the self-doubt, and the longing to belong which I think most of us have experienced or are experiencing currently.
And it is set against the backdrop of a city that is as complex as its characters.
A’s flaws make her human, and her self-awareness makes you root for her even when she spirals. The mix of personal heartbreak, suspense, and sharp social commentary kept me hooked from the very beginning till the last page.
You should read Girls Who Stray because it is more than just a thriller. It is a deep dive into the twisted nature of love, power, and identity.
If you are someone who enjoys stories that balance gripping plots with raw emotions and clever writing, this book will resonate with you.
It’s a powerful reminder of the mistakes we make, the consequences we face, and the small acts of courage that help us survive.
Recommending this beautiful book to all my book lover friends.
Girls Who Stray follows A, a 23-year-old navigating heartbreak, guilt, and a double murder after an affair with a real estate tycoon. Set in a fractured, hypermodern Noida, this gripping debut explores bad choices, fleeting freedom, and the search for belonging.
REVIEW
I loved “Girls Who Stray” because it’s brutally honest, darkly funny, and painfully relatable.
Anisha Lavlani masterfully captures the messiness of being in your twenties like the bad choices, the self-doubt, and the longing to belong which I think most of us have experienced or are experiencing currently.
And it is set against the backdrop of a city that is as complex as its characters.
A’s flaws make her human, and her self-awareness makes you root for her even when she spirals. The mix of personal heartbreak, suspense, and sharp social commentary kept me hooked from the very beginning till the last page.
You should read Girls Who Stray because it is more than just a thriller. It is a deep dive into the twisted nature of love, power, and identity.
If you are someone who enjoys stories that balance gripping plots with raw emotions and clever writing, this book will resonate with you.
It’s a powerful reminder of the mistakes we make, the consequences we face, and the small acts of courage that help us survive.
Recommending this beautiful book to all my book lover friends.
July 25, 2025
Book Review Ahead»»
Book - Girls Who Stray
Author - Anisha Lalvani
Pages - 296
Published - November 18 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
A young woman comes back to India after getting a degree from the UK that now feels useless to her. She is bored, tired and almost clueless but soon finds herself at the centre of a double homicide. The story follows the nameless protagonist trying to make do with the choices she makes, and regret a lot of them.
I think that the blurb of this book really undermined how fabulous the book really was. But I believe that's how good books work, right? You undersell a bit, and then throw something so fabulous at the readers they can't recover from it. This is more or less exactly what Lalvani does in her debut. The story begins with a prologue that is downright scary— a disturbingly graphic description of a crime happening. As we truly step into the story, you see a protagonist that incites both a certain dislike and an ample amount of empathy. But it does the intended job: showing that 'good girls' don't (and shouldn't) exist.
The writing and narration format is interesting. A story built in a non-linear format makes the plot more promising and with Lalvani's writing that leans toward poetic chaos, the reader's experience only enhances.
A story that stays with you long after you're done with it, Girls Who Stray is a brilliant debut.
Book - Girls Who Stray
Author - Anisha Lalvani
Pages - 296
Published - November 18 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
A young woman comes back to India after getting a degree from the UK that now feels useless to her. She is bored, tired and almost clueless but soon finds herself at the centre of a double homicide. The story follows the nameless protagonist trying to make do with the choices she makes, and regret a lot of them.
I think that the blurb of this book really undermined how fabulous the book really was. But I believe that's how good books work, right? You undersell a bit, and then throw something so fabulous at the readers they can't recover from it. This is more or less exactly what Lalvani does in her debut. The story begins with a prologue that is downright scary— a disturbingly graphic description of a crime happening. As we truly step into the story, you see a protagonist that incites both a certain dislike and an ample amount of empathy. But it does the intended job: showing that 'good girls' don't (and shouldn't) exist.
The writing and narration format is interesting. A story built in a non-linear format makes the plot more promising and with Lalvani's writing that leans toward poetic chaos, the reader's experience only enhances.
A story that stays with you long after you're done with it, Girls Who Stray is a brilliant debut.
July 15, 2025
Girls Who Stray—Anisha Lalvani
A 23-year-old unnamed protagonist who returns from the UK and struggles to find a job here. She lives with her father, grandfather, and a male nurse. Her parents were separated. She is in a relationship with a man who is old and already married.
The story of darkness and survival. It left me feeling void. The pain that lingers after finishing this book. The inner monologue of the protagonist made me relate a lot. Initially, you won’t get what’s coming, but it’s worth the wait. This isn’t your usual page-turner thriller. It had its own unique story, yet the story is etched forever in your mind.
The author's debut book silently made it to my heart to etch forever. The writing was a piece of cake to dwell on the storyline. The comparison between modern India and the early 2000s was accurately described. You get to experience the life choices we make, societal norms, and crime. Though I never visited NCR Delhi-Noida, I could visualize the story. The climax sums up the protagonist's life all together.
The story was real; that’s why it stays long. This isn’t for faint-hearted people. If you brace yourself for the journey and get heart-wrenching, go ahead and read this one without any doubt.
A 23-year-old unnamed protagonist who returns from the UK and struggles to find a job here. She lives with her father, grandfather, and a male nurse. Her parents were separated. She is in a relationship with a man who is old and already married.
The story of darkness and survival. It left me feeling void. The pain that lingers after finishing this book. The inner monologue of the protagonist made me relate a lot. Initially, you won’t get what’s coming, but it’s worth the wait. This isn’t your usual page-turner thriller. It had its own unique story, yet the story is etched forever in your mind.
The author's debut book silently made it to my heart to etch forever. The writing was a piece of cake to dwell on the storyline. The comparison between modern India and the early 2000s was accurately described. You get to experience the life choices we make, societal norms, and crime. Though I never visited NCR Delhi-Noida, I could visualize the story. The climax sums up the protagonist's life all together.
The story was real; that’s why it stays long. This isn’t for faint-hearted people. If you brace yourself for the journey and get heart-wrenching, go ahead and read this one without any doubt.
July 15, 2025
Girls Who Stray, is a book with an intriguing title and an intense plot. This book is a haunting exploration of feminine desire, rage, and redemption.
Here is a young woman who comes across as regular, decent and family oriented but like the majority us of her gender, she is also constantly at war with herself. She lives in a broken family, she yearned to be seen, noticed and even somewhat appreciated but all she receives is alienation. Her lack in life makes her seek power, strength, freedom and most importantly her self-esteem in the different world all together. Her quest to complete herself leads her to a charged affair with a powerful shady man, bad alliances and even a double murder. But this is not a crime novel in the traditional sense—it’s more intimate, almost disturbingly so.
A messy, volatile, suffocating—and utterly real—inner world of a woman is brilliantly portrayed in this book. It crawls deeply into the crevices of a woman’s psyche and dissects the internal battle between self-sabotage and self-assertion, between submission and rebellion.
There’s no moral high ground here, no black-and-white righteousness—just a woman trying to survive the chaos she’s partly created and partly been thrown into.
Here is a young woman who comes across as regular, decent and family oriented but like the majority us of her gender, she is also constantly at war with herself. She lives in a broken family, she yearned to be seen, noticed and even somewhat appreciated but all she receives is alienation. Her lack in life makes her seek power, strength, freedom and most importantly her self-esteem in the different world all together. Her quest to complete herself leads her to a charged affair with a powerful shady man, bad alliances and even a double murder. But this is not a crime novel in the traditional sense—it’s more intimate, almost disturbingly so.
A messy, volatile, suffocating—and utterly real—inner world of a woman is brilliantly portrayed in this book. It crawls deeply into the crevices of a woman’s psyche and dissects the internal battle between self-sabotage and self-assertion, between submission and rebellion.
There’s no moral high ground here, no black-and-white righteousness—just a woman trying to survive the chaos she’s partly created and partly been thrown into.
September 5, 2025
"Girls Who Stray" by Anisha Lalwani is a daring, compelling debut that had me hooked from the first page. The story follows A, a young woman fresh from university, as she navigates the chaos of her own life and the hypermodern, often unforgiving city of Noida. Author captures the anxieties, contradictions, and contradictions of youth with incredible precision ~ A is flawed, anxious, and overthinking every step, yet her self-awareness makes her endlessly relatable.
The novel’s brilliance lies in how it blends coming-of-age struggles with dark thrills. From entanglements with a property developer to a double murder, the tension never lets up, and the pace keeps you turning pages late into the night. But beneath the crime and chaos, there’s a deep exploration of love, heartbreak, and the small acts of freedom that define adulthood.
Author writes with wit, audacity, and a sharp eye for detail, making "Girls Who Stray" as intellectually engaging as it is thrilling. It’s a story about choices, moral ambiguity, and the messy, intoxicating journey of growing up, and it’s impossible to forget once you’ve met A.
NO DOUBT, WHY PEOPLE LOVE THIS BOOK . I AM GLAD I FINALLY READ THIS BOOK. ❣️
The novel’s brilliance lies in how it blends coming-of-age struggles with dark thrills. From entanglements with a property developer to a double murder, the tension never lets up, and the pace keeps you turning pages late into the night. But beneath the crime and chaos, there’s a deep exploration of love, heartbreak, and the small acts of freedom that define adulthood.
Author writes with wit, audacity, and a sharp eye for detail, making "Girls Who Stray" as intellectually engaging as it is thrilling. It’s a story about choices, moral ambiguity, and the messy, intoxicating journey of growing up, and it’s impossible to forget once you’ve met A.
NO DOUBT, WHY PEOPLE LOVE THIS BOOK . I AM GLAD I FINALLY READ THIS BOOK. ❣️
October 9, 2025
You may try reading lots of thrillers in your life but this thriller is not just a usual thriller ,,,this debut novel by Anisha Lalvani hooked up you from the beginning till the end .
The story follows a girl who returns to Delhi after studying abroad .
The girl who is lost in her own zone and trying to finding herself in the busy streets of Delhi .
Not just she is lost but a quiet person ,struggling financially and emotionally both .
And for the comfort love , she falls in love with a tycoon ,an old married man to acknowledge herself for better love ,attention and the piece of comfort .
But it didnt seem like that soft loving vibes when it took a turn out involving in double murders,,,dark and furious and when feels like everything is changing apart silently .
Author’s writing about the character will make you think about multiple things for so many times , the writing is simple to understand keeping it fast paced mode .
The book beautifully speaks about the character to define it in deeper way and the emotions , the plot twists ,everything sinks very well .
If you are someone who is like into reading about thriller as a protagonist ,which is quiet but dark this book is for you .
August 1, 2025
🌟 Rating: 4/5
The Girl Who Strays is a quiet, introspective novel that slowly pulls you into its world — one that oscillates between the chaos of modern India and the silence of being emotionally adrift.
The story follows an unnamed narrator who returns to Noida after studying in the UK. She feels more like a spectator in her own life, passively drifting through the city’s routine — and that stillness, that lost feeling, is captured so well, it ends up mirroring our own experiences. The book explores the duality of India and Bharat, of progress and tradition, of ambition and numbness.
There’s a double murder, a dark look into the real estate elite, and a subtle but sharp commentary on the depravity of the ultra-rich. But this isn’t your typical fast-paced thriller — and that’s actually a strength. The slow pace gives room to breathe, reflect, and absorb. It also highlights the monotony and emotional emptiness the protagonist is trying to escape.
As a debut, this novel is edgy, layered, and surprisingly poetic. It paints a rich picture of urban disillusionment and the quiet conflicts of a generation torn between two worlds.
The Girl Who Strays is a quiet, introspective novel that slowly pulls you into its world — one that oscillates between the chaos of modern India and the silence of being emotionally adrift.
The story follows an unnamed narrator who returns to Noida after studying in the UK. She feels more like a spectator in her own life, passively drifting through the city’s routine — and that stillness, that lost feeling, is captured so well, it ends up mirroring our own experiences. The book explores the duality of India and Bharat, of progress and tradition, of ambition and numbness.
There’s a double murder, a dark look into the real estate elite, and a subtle but sharp commentary on the depravity of the ultra-rich. But this isn’t your typical fast-paced thriller — and that’s actually a strength. The slow pace gives room to breathe, reflect, and absorb. It also highlights the monotony and emotional emptiness the protagonist is trying to escape.
As a debut, this novel is edgy, layered, and surprisingly poetic. It paints a rich picture of urban disillusionment and the quiet conflicts of a generation torn between two worlds.
August 20, 2025
“Girls Who Stray” by Anisha Lalvani is a sharp, atmospheric debut that captures the chaos of a young woman’s return to a home she barely recognizes. Told through the lens of “A,” a restless 23-year-old fresh out of an irrelevant degree, the novel unfolds in the uneasy sprawl of Noida, where emotional and societal fractures run deep. Lalvani’s writing is introspective and immersive, diving into themes of alienation, poor choices, and the contradictions of female agency in a society quick to judge. The plot simmers slowly but deliberately, weaving in real socio-political events and local color that ground the story in a vivid, lived-in world. A’s voice is both biting and vulnerable, and her spiral from a desperate affair to a haunting double murder feels unsettlingly plausible. What truly elevates the book is its attention to detail: songs, settings, and silent tensions add layers to the narrative. Though not a fast-paced thriller, it rewards readers who sit with its discomfort and ambiguity. A compelling blend of literary fiction and noir, Girls Who Stray is not just a story about crime. It’s about consequence, loneliness, and the quietly radical act of choosing your own chaos.
November 15, 2025
The Girl Who Strays by Anisha Lalvani
Picked this up because the blurb sounded different, and honestly, it delivered. We follow A, an unnamed protagonist who feels like she could be any of us coming back home with a degree that means nothing, dealing with a messy family, bad decisions, and a city that never slows down.
The story starts off simple but slowly turns intense as A gets pulled into an affair with a married man… and eventually into the shock of double murder. The tension builds so naturally that you don’t even realise when it starts gripping you.
Lalvani’s writing is sharp, messy, honest sometimes lyrical, sometimes jagged which fits A’s mind perfectly. She’s flawed, impulsive, insecure, and very real. No redemption arc, no easy lessons. Just a young woman spiralling through life choices in a city full of inequality.
This isn’t my usual genre, but it kept me completely hooked. Different, bold, and unsettling in the best way.
Thanks to Crossword Bookstore and the author for the copy!
Picked this up because the blurb sounded different, and honestly, it delivered. We follow A, an unnamed protagonist who feels like she could be any of us coming back home with a degree that means nothing, dealing with a messy family, bad decisions, and a city that never slows down.
The story starts off simple but slowly turns intense as A gets pulled into an affair with a married man… and eventually into the shock of double murder. The tension builds so naturally that you don’t even realise when it starts gripping you.
Lalvani’s writing is sharp, messy, honest sometimes lyrical, sometimes jagged which fits A’s mind perfectly. She’s flawed, impulsive, insecure, and very real. No redemption arc, no easy lessons. Just a young woman spiralling through life choices in a city full of inequality.
This isn’t my usual genre, but it kept me completely hooked. Different, bold, and unsettling in the best way.
Thanks to Crossword Bookstore and the author for the copy!
June 25, 2025
A coming-of-age thriller novel that tells a tale of darkness and survival
My rating: 4.2/5
A story that keeps you guessing as to what's happening and what the protagonist is talking about almost till halfway into the book, so much so that it tends to confuse you for the first few pages. But the patience is worth it, because though the female lead is problematic and someone who you might even dislike, the story and the way it unfolds makes you question everything around you, right from the urbanization/modernization we're rapidly clinging on to, to the way the world accepts, ignores, and even embraces the class-divide between the uber rich and the underprivileged.
Full review: https://wp.me/p6XQyB-6GM
Check out with my interview with the author here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLFOZw8oQFt/
My rating: 4.2/5
A story that keeps you guessing as to what's happening and what the protagonist is talking about almost till halfway into the book, so much so that it tends to confuse you for the first few pages. But the patience is worth it, because though the female lead is problematic and someone who you might even dislike, the story and the way it unfolds makes you question everything around you, right from the urbanization/modernization we're rapidly clinging on to, to the way the world accepts, ignores, and even embraces the class-divide between the uber rich and the underprivileged.
Full review: https://wp.me/p6XQyB-6GM
Check out with my interview with the author here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLFOZw8oQFt/
November 13, 2025
Girls Who Stray is a lush, aching portrait of womanhood-equal parts rebellion and restraint. Anisha Lalvani writes with the tenderness of a handwritten letter and the quiet fury of a love left unanswered. The women in this novel don't simply break rules; they unravel them, thread by thread, like a blouse slipping off a shoulder in the dark.
Each page feels like a song you've heard before but couldn't place-melancholy wrapped in jasmine-scented silk, echoing with the ghosts of choices not made.
The narrative is cinematic, intimate, and bruised with longing, filled with moments that shimmer like a dress in late-evening light.
At its heart, it's a story of girls told to behave, who instead chose to feel, to ache, to stray.
The author gives us not perfect women, but real ones-and in doing so, reminds us that straying is sometimes how we find our way home.
Each page feels like a song you've heard before but couldn't place-melancholy wrapped in jasmine-scented silk, echoing with the ghosts of choices not made.
The narrative is cinematic, intimate, and bruised with longing, filled with moments that shimmer like a dress in late-evening light.
At its heart, it's a story of girls told to behave, who instead chose to feel, to ache, to stray.
The author gives us not perfect women, but real ones-and in doing so, reminds us that straying is sometimes how we find our way home.
September 18, 2025
The writing is unflinching. It shows desire, shame, and power as they really are. A’s thoughts are raw and sharp. At times they are hard to read, but that is what makes them powerful.
A is not a perfect heroine. She makes choices that are flawed, sometimes reckless. Yet you understand why she does them. Her loneliness and her need to escape make her actions feel real, even when they hurt.
Delhi and Noida are more than background here. The streets, cafés, night drives, and quiet corners shape A’s journey. The city feels alive and restless, just like her.
Girls Who Stray is not a light read. It will not comfort you. It will make you pause and think. It is raw, bold, and unsettling. It shows you the messy truth of choices and their cost.
A is not a perfect heroine. She makes choices that are flawed, sometimes reckless. Yet you understand why she does them. Her loneliness and her need to escape make her actions feel real, even when they hurt.
Delhi and Noida are more than background here. The streets, cafés, night drives, and quiet corners shape A’s journey. The city feels alive and restless, just like her.
Girls Who Stray is not a light read. It will not comfort you. It will make you pause and think. It is raw, bold, and unsettling. It shows you the messy truth of choices and their cost.
August 7, 2025
Girls Who Stray is a book that might feel a journey you can’t make anything of but suddenly you start understating things but by the time you complete reading the book you would again be on the road to understand what you should make of it.
The book is written in nonlinear fashion with mention of different situations and a running commentary of the society that makes you keep noding throughout.
The book is not for everyone but for those who can actually get into a person’s mind and not get restless
The book is written in nonlinear fashion with mention of different situations and a running commentary of the society that makes you keep noding throughout.
The book is not for everyone but for those who can actually get into a person’s mind and not get restless
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