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Such a Nice Girl
‘The thing is, we always believe the best of our own kids. What mother thinks her own daughter will do something terrible? But every bad deed is carried out by a person who was once someone’s child.’
Everyone has secrets. Even your daughter…
The morning after a glamorous, luxury wedding, you and your best friend go to wake your twenty-four-year-old daughters. You open the door to their shared room in the pool-house and find a lamp smashed on the floor, a blood stain on the carpet, a ringing phone – and both girls are nowhere to be seen.
The police come and you discover something shocking. Something inexplicable. Is one of your daughters trying to kill the other? And that’s when you and your best friend begin to unravel what's really going on between the girls.
You need to work together to find your daughters, testing your friendship to its limits. And you can’t help but wonder: which girl is the killer and which is the victim?
Everyone has secrets. Even your daughter…
The morning after a glamorous, luxury wedding, you and your best friend go to wake your twenty-four-year-old daughters. You open the door to their shared room in the pool-house and find a lamp smashed on the floor, a blood stain on the carpet, a ringing phone – and both girls are nowhere to be seen.
The police come and you discover something shocking. Something inexplicable. Is one of your daughters trying to kill the other? And that’s when you and your best friend begin to unravel what's really going on between the girls.
You need to work together to find your daughters, testing your friendship to its limits. And you can’t help but wonder: which girl is the killer and which is the victim?
372 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication May 7, 2026
4147 people want to read
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May 2, 2026I really enjoy this authors work!
I can’t wait to read this one!
🩵🤍🤍🩵
I can’t wait to read this one!
🩵🤍🤍🩵
May 2, 2026
Andrea Mara is ago to author for the twists and turns of a good thriller. She doesn’t muck around, you are immediately thrown into the action and there is no time to breathe, and I love that about her books.
I also love that her characters are so real and are flawed just like we are, she writes about everyday people who are put into an impossible situation. We are not meant to like them all, and boy were there some awful people in Such a Nice Girl. It is a story about friendships being tested, truths being outed and the past not staying in the past.
Set in Ireland, another page turning winner from this author. A fight gone too far, a kidnapping or something more sinister? read it and find out.
Thanks so much to Random House UK, Transworld, Bantam for allowing me to read this book early. Publishes on May 7th.
I also love that her characters are so real and are flawed just like we are, she writes about everyday people who are put into an impossible situation. We are not meant to like them all, and boy were there some awful people in Such a Nice Girl. It is a story about friendships being tested, truths being outed and the past not staying in the past.
Set in Ireland, another page turning winner from this author. A fight gone too far, a kidnapping or something more sinister? read it and find out.
Thanks so much to Random House UK, Transworld, Bantam for allowing me to read this book early. Publishes on May 7th.
May 5, 2026
Absolutely loved this one. It was so interesting and gripping and the twists were amazing. Andrea Mara is a safe choice always, although I always get whiplash from her books so beware! Would absolutely recommend!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I generally have a 'hit or miss' relationship with Andrea Mara however this one was neither. I would normally give it 3 stars however it is losing a star for the point below (which is a minor spoiler so don't read on if you don't want to know more.....)
....There is a point in the novel where they have a photo of one of the characters and they are trying to date the picture by the fact that the character has a nose stud but they then realise that it isn't a nose stud but is instead a speck of dust on the photo...sorry, not buying it.
....There is a point in the novel where they have a photo of one of the characters and they are trying to date the picture by the fact that the character has a nose stud but they then realise that it isn't a nose stud but is instead a speck of dust on the photo...sorry, not buying it.
May 3, 2026
I read this in a day and genuinely struggled to put it down. I absolutely flew through it!
After a wedding, two young women vanish from a pool house. There’s blood left behind, and from there it’s a constant spiral of suspicion, shifting perspectives and second guessing everything you think you know. It’s not just about what happened. It’s about who you believe, and that never feels settled.
This explores adult friendships, long buried secrets and revenge in a way that feels messy, layered and constantly shifting. Loyalties feel fragile, perspectives keep changing, and I was constantly recalibrating as new details came to light.
The pacing is sharp, the chapters are quick, and it’s incredibly easy to lose hours to this without even realising (I mean, did I set out when I picked this up around midday today to read this in a day? No I did not. Yet, here we are at 10ishpm having done just that)!
Twisty, tense and ridiculously addictive. I couldn’t put it down and highly recommend if you love character driven domestic suspense where no one can be taken at face value.
After a wedding, two young women vanish from a pool house. There’s blood left behind, and from there it’s a constant spiral of suspicion, shifting perspectives and second guessing everything you think you know. It’s not just about what happened. It’s about who you believe, and that never feels settled.
This explores adult friendships, long buried secrets and revenge in a way that feels messy, layered and constantly shifting. Loyalties feel fragile, perspectives keep changing, and I was constantly recalibrating as new details came to light.
The pacing is sharp, the chapters are quick, and it’s incredibly easy to lose hours to this without even realising (I mean, did I set out when I picked this up around midday today to read this in a day? No I did not. Yet, here we are at 10ishpm having done just that)!
Twisty, tense and ridiculously addictive. I couldn’t put it down and highly recommend if you love character driven domestic suspense where no one can be taken at face value.
April 30, 2026
It's been a busy few months and I'm hopelessly behind on reviews, but determined to get back on track and what better book to start with than Andrea Mara's latest thriller, which is due to be published on 7 May.
Andrea is renowned for her well-plotted, Irish suburban noir - with All Her Fault having recently been made into a blockbuster TV series starring Sarah Snook - and Andrea delivers again with Such a Nice Girl. It's set in south county Dublin but with a summer setting and a swimming pool in the garden (a rarity in Ireland!), this could be California or the South of France. It makes for a great holiday read (I read it in the Greek sunshine over Easter).
The book opens on the morning after a glamorous wedding, and two lifelong friends awake to discover that both of their daughters are missing, and with a bloodstain on the carpet of the poolhouse, it would appear that one of them is trying to kill - or has killed - the other.
Andrea's books are famously intricately plotted, sometimes to the point where the sheer number of characters takes me out of the story, and I'll often forget what happened in the book almost immediately after finishing it. That didn't happen here. This is a tightly plotted mystery that kept me turning pages and guessing to the end (red herrings galore thrown in). It has TV/film adaptation written all over it. One to pack in your hand luggage; you'll have it finished before you land. 4/5 stars
*Many thanks to Andrea and to Penguin Books Ireland for the advance copy. Such a Nice Girl will be published next week on 8 May.
Andrea is renowned for her well-plotted, Irish suburban noir - with All Her Fault having recently been made into a blockbuster TV series starring Sarah Snook - and Andrea delivers again with Such a Nice Girl. It's set in south county Dublin but with a summer setting and a swimming pool in the garden (a rarity in Ireland!), this could be California or the South of France. It makes for a great holiday read (I read it in the Greek sunshine over Easter).
The book opens on the morning after a glamorous wedding, and two lifelong friends awake to discover that both of their daughters are missing, and with a bloodstain on the carpet of the poolhouse, it would appear that one of them is trying to kill - or has killed - the other.
Andrea's books are famously intricately plotted, sometimes to the point where the sheer number of characters takes me out of the story, and I'll often forget what happened in the book almost immediately after finishing it. That didn't happen here. This is a tightly plotted mystery that kept me turning pages and guessing to the end (red herrings galore thrown in). It has TV/film adaptation written all over it. One to pack in your hand luggage; you'll have it finished before you land. 4/5 stars
*Many thanks to Andrea and to Penguin Books Ireland for the advance copy. Such a Nice Girl will be published next week on 8 May.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I really enjoyed this book! I look forward to reading other books by this author. There were so many twists in this book I didn’t see coming. But then again I rarely can figure books out. I would definitely recommend this book
Read
May 5, 2026#Gifted
She’s back! Queen of the domestic suspense novel Andrea Mara’s latest is publishing this week and I’m delighted to say it’s another banger. I’m talking can’t-put-down, reading-into-the-middle-of-the-night addictive reading, with a healthy sprinkling of trauma for the parents amongst us.
Siobhán and Grace have been best friends for most of their lives. Their daughters Ré and Luna are now in their early 20’s and on the surface are also pals but the morning after a glamorous wedding the two young women have seemingly disappeared without a trace leaving their mothers panicking. It soon transpires that one of the girls phoned the Gardaí asking for help, saying “my roommate is trying to kill me”.
It’s not obvious whose voice it is, leaving Siobhán and Grace stuck in an impossible situation; finding their kids before one of them hurts the other. But which is the dangerous one?
Soon all sorts of secrets from the past are being revealed in an effort to find the girls, changing all their lives in the process.
What Andrea Mara does really well is take a regular parental fear and flip it; what if it was actually deeply terrifying instead?
Mentioned in the book is that horror of getting a call from Creche to say your kid was involved in a biting incident; every parent would prefer their kid was the bitten party rather than the biter.
This is that but on speed.
My nerves were shot reading it, it’s so carefully plotted and evenly paced, I feel like I was on edge from the first page to the very end. There’s plenty of believable red herrings in here too so I couldn’t guess the ending; which rarely happens to me!
If you’re saving this for your holidays, that’s a great choice but I think this is also ideal for getting anyone out of a reading rut.
Highly recommend!
With many thanks @penguinbooksireland for my early copy. All opinions are my own, as always. Such a Nice Girl is out on the 7th of May.
She’s back! Queen of the domestic suspense novel Andrea Mara’s latest is publishing this week and I’m delighted to say it’s another banger. I’m talking can’t-put-down, reading-into-the-middle-of-the-night addictive reading, with a healthy sprinkling of trauma for the parents amongst us.
Siobhán and Grace have been best friends for most of their lives. Their daughters Ré and Luna are now in their early 20’s and on the surface are also pals but the morning after a glamorous wedding the two young women have seemingly disappeared without a trace leaving their mothers panicking. It soon transpires that one of the girls phoned the Gardaí asking for help, saying “my roommate is trying to kill me”.
It’s not obvious whose voice it is, leaving Siobhán and Grace stuck in an impossible situation; finding their kids before one of them hurts the other. But which is the dangerous one?
Soon all sorts of secrets from the past are being revealed in an effort to find the girls, changing all their lives in the process.
What Andrea Mara does really well is take a regular parental fear and flip it; what if it was actually deeply terrifying instead?
Mentioned in the book is that horror of getting a call from Creche to say your kid was involved in a biting incident; every parent would prefer their kid was the bitten party rather than the biter.
This is that but on speed.
My nerves were shot reading it, it’s so carefully plotted and evenly paced, I feel like I was on edge from the first page to the very end. There’s plenty of believable red herrings in here too so I couldn’t guess the ending; which rarely happens to me!
If you’re saving this for your holidays, that’s a great choice but I think this is also ideal for getting anyone out of a reading rut.
Highly recommend!
With many thanks @penguinbooksireland for my early copy. All opinions are my own, as always. Such a Nice Girl is out on the 7th of May.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A compelling read that will keep you guessing to the end. Interesting plot with likeable characters. If crime fiction is your thing then this book is for you!
April 23, 2026
Review to come
February 4, 2026
Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me with this free advance copy, and I’m writing this review honestly and without bias.
The Queen of the five-star reads has triumphed again! This is a fantastic read with so many twists and red herrings that it will leave your head spinning. The pacing is spot on, full of suspense and wonderfully written with a nice flow to the story. Some great characters are in this, none more so than the two mothers as they try to solve the mystery surrounding their missing daughters. The author really has nailed the intricacies of friendships and relationships. The super ending wraps everything up beautifully. My go-to author has another winner on her hands.
April 25, 2026
3⭐️ It’s hard because this genre just isn’t my genre but I certainly enjoyed the book a lot more than the Freida McFadden shite. Lots of twists & turns that didn’t expect but I do wish it was slightly shorter, I felt the end dragged out a bit for me!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
My Rating: 1⭐️ Trash… I hated this!! This will have spoilers… I can’t help it!!
The thing is, we always believe the best of our own kids. What mother thinks her own daughter will do something terrible? But every bad deed is carried out by a person who was once someone’s child.’
Everyone has secrets. Even your daughter…
The morning after a glamorous, luxury wedding, you and your best friend go to wake your twenty-four-year-old daughters. You open the door to their shared room in the pool-house and find a lamp smashed on the floor, a blood stain on the carpet, a ringing phone – and both girls are nowhere to be seen.
The police come and you discover something shocking. Something inexplicable. Is one of your daughters trying to kill the other? And that’s when you and your best friend begin to unravel what's really going on between the girls.
You need to work together to find your daughters, testing your friendship to its limits. And you can’t help but wonder: which girl is the killer and which is the victim?
Well its been a while but here we are… this was a very big no for me. I came to hate this book and it pissed me off by the end of it so much I wish I had the actual copy so I could throw it against a wall.
I have never read Andrea Mara before, I have heard of her books, I have heard good things but this book will make is so I never read her books again. I cannot deal with anything that was like this again… it was so not thrilling, it was so repetitive and so so so f*cking stupid!!!
The main characters are two mums (Siobhan and Grace) and two daughters (Re and Luna) supposed best friends. They have gathered for a wedding of Grace’s ex husband (Luna’s dad) really… come on who is going to their ex husbands wedding.. like I get that it happens but no… that was enough… but it got worse and worse and worse…
Charles, is on his 3rd marriage, he’s got his first and second born there from different marriages, he’s got his oldest friend (Siobhan) with her daughter (what is their deal is what I am thinking all along) well we find out later that shes slept with him as well… and of course Re is his daughter dun dun dunnnnn.
The disappearance all seems pretty dodgy but there are all these millions of things leading up that could cause the girls to have a fight… there was a mugging when they travelled oooh … and the fact that Re finds out Luna’s dad is her dad too and they are real sisters… ahhhh and then there is the fact that there is an inheritance as well oooh nooo… something is off with the caterer REALLY THE FCKING CATERER…
Then OMG THEN… the wedding planner turns up and shes the girl that stole their pills and jewellery when she was 15 HOLY SHIT CALL THE COPS THIS IS CRAZY… like what is actually happening. Why is all this shit happening what does it have to do with anything. And in amongst it all Grace and Siobhan are blaming each other, blaming each others daughters and then making up and being besties all in the space of every 10 mins.
This goes on for hundreds of pages around and around until the end of fcking time when I want to shoot them all and end it. They are playing rogue citizens where they are trying to solve the disappearance but everyone is holding information back… and more and more secrets keep pouring out ones that make no difference to anything and mean nothing and get us no where.. meanwhile there is a murder … holy shit Charles new wife is deader than a door nail and no one can figure out why… LEAVE IT TO THE POLICE PLEEEEASE nope… we will solve this bad boy while we look for our daughters and have a giant fight AGAIN!!!
Then dun dun dunnnnn we find out the girls are kidnapped… BY THE FCKING CATERER ARE YOU KIDDING ME WHAT IN THE ACTUAL HELL IS HAPPENING. Of course its money motivated and of course why didn't I realise this but there is a fire… omg wouldn’t there be a fire where the girls are stuck, the mums get stuck and everyone nearly dies… like that makes so much sense.
In the end I wish everyone died but they of course don’t and it really ends up making not much sense and I hated it and wanted to set fire to the book but my kindle is pretty new and I think that would have been a disaster … but not more of one than this book.
I cannot express to you enough how much I didn’t enjoy this… the writing is childish, repetitive and boring … how can it be boring you ask with all that going on… well it is… and the amount of times when Grace and Siobhan did the same exact thing was so irritating it sent me into orbit… I just wanted to uppercut the lot of them.
Overall, I do not recommend this book, it is not interesting and not thrilling and it was truly a waste of my time. I stayed up late deliberately to finish it and I hope never to read another book like it in my life.
Thank you to NetGalley, publisher and author for an advanced copy in exchange for a really honest review. I apologise that I hated this book but I cannot lie. I have no doubt that others will love it and have already loved it I am clearly an outlier.
The thing is, we always believe the best of our own kids. What mother thinks her own daughter will do something terrible? But every bad deed is carried out by a person who was once someone’s child.’
Everyone has secrets. Even your daughter…
The morning after a glamorous, luxury wedding, you and your best friend go to wake your twenty-four-year-old daughters. You open the door to their shared room in the pool-house and find a lamp smashed on the floor, a blood stain on the carpet, a ringing phone – and both girls are nowhere to be seen.
The police come and you discover something shocking. Something inexplicable. Is one of your daughters trying to kill the other? And that’s when you and your best friend begin to unravel what's really going on between the girls.
You need to work together to find your daughters, testing your friendship to its limits. And you can’t help but wonder: which girl is the killer and which is the victim?
Well its been a while but here we are… this was a very big no for me. I came to hate this book and it pissed me off by the end of it so much I wish I had the actual copy so I could throw it against a wall.
I have never read Andrea Mara before, I have heard of her books, I have heard good things but this book will make is so I never read her books again. I cannot deal with anything that was like this again… it was so not thrilling, it was so repetitive and so so so f*cking stupid!!!
The main characters are two mums (Siobhan and Grace) and two daughters (Re and Luna) supposed best friends. They have gathered for a wedding of Grace’s ex husband (Luna’s dad) really… come on who is going to their ex husbands wedding.. like I get that it happens but no… that was enough… but it got worse and worse and worse…
Charles, is on his 3rd marriage, he’s got his first and second born there from different marriages, he’s got his oldest friend (Siobhan) with her daughter (what is their deal is what I am thinking all along) well we find out later that shes slept with him as well… and of course Re is his daughter dun dun dunnnnn.
The disappearance all seems pretty dodgy but there are all these millions of things leading up that could cause the girls to have a fight… there was a mugging when they travelled oooh … and the fact that Re finds out Luna’s dad is her dad too and they are real sisters… ahhhh and then there is the fact that there is an inheritance as well oooh nooo… something is off with the caterer REALLY THE FCKING CATERER…
Then OMG THEN… the wedding planner turns up and shes the girl that stole their pills and jewellery when she was 15 HOLY SHIT CALL THE COPS THIS IS CRAZY… like what is actually happening. Why is all this shit happening what does it have to do with anything. And in amongst it all Grace and Siobhan are blaming each other, blaming each others daughters and then making up and being besties all in the space of every 10 mins.
This goes on for hundreds of pages around and around until the end of fcking time when I want to shoot them all and end it. They are playing rogue citizens where they are trying to solve the disappearance but everyone is holding information back… and more and more secrets keep pouring out ones that make no difference to anything and mean nothing and get us no where.. meanwhile there is a murder … holy shit Charles new wife is deader than a door nail and no one can figure out why… LEAVE IT TO THE POLICE PLEEEEASE nope… we will solve this bad boy while we look for our daughters and have a giant fight AGAIN!!!
Then dun dun dunnnnn we find out the girls are kidnapped… BY THE FCKING CATERER ARE YOU KIDDING ME WHAT IN THE ACTUAL HELL IS HAPPENING. Of course its money motivated and of course why didn't I realise this but there is a fire… omg wouldn’t there be a fire where the girls are stuck, the mums get stuck and everyone nearly dies… like that makes so much sense.
In the end I wish everyone died but they of course don’t and it really ends up making not much sense and I hated it and wanted to set fire to the book but my kindle is pretty new and I think that would have been a disaster … but not more of one than this book.
I cannot express to you enough how much I didn’t enjoy this… the writing is childish, repetitive and boring … how can it be boring you ask with all that going on… well it is… and the amount of times when Grace and Siobhan did the same exact thing was so irritating it sent me into orbit… I just wanted to uppercut the lot of them.
Overall, I do not recommend this book, it is not interesting and not thrilling and it was truly a waste of my time. I stayed up late deliberately to finish it and I hope never to read another book like it in my life.
Thank you to NetGalley, publisher and author for an advanced copy in exchange for a really honest review. I apologise that I hated this book but I cannot lie. I have no doubt that others will love it and have already loved it I am clearly an outlier.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4✨
Publication date: 7th May 2026
A gripping thriller for readers who enjoy -
❓Whiplash inducing twists & turns (in a good way!)
❓Page turning suspense
❓A compelling plot that keep you guessing
❓Crime fiction
~ plot ~
When best friends Siobhán & Grace wake up to find both of their daughters missing, the last thing they expect is to hear is a muffled emergency call from one of them accusing the other of trying to kill her. To make matters worse, both Mothers insist that the caller is their daughter & the guilty party, is the other.
Unwilling to budge, determined to get to the truth & desperate to find their daughters they attempt to untangle a web of secrets & lies themselves.
You may think you know someone but you could be wrong… dead, wrong.
~ review ~
Such A Nice Girl is a compelling, gripping domestic thriller full of secrets, lies, deception & betrayal. The characters are complex, mysterious, messy & at one point or another, trust me when I say this - you’ll suspect every single one! Through short, sharp chapters, multiple POV’s & a dual timeline comes a story that tests the bonds of friendship & highlights the strength of a Mother’s love all while diving into an unthinkable scenario - what do you do when your best friend’s daughter is trying to kill your own?
This is my introduction to Andrea Mara & I’m definitely a fan. Her writing is suspenseful, exciting & just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, the rug gets pulled. There’s quite a tangled web with multiple avenues & some confusing/complex dynamics but second guessing & being suspicious of everyone is something I really enjoy! My hands still ache from all of the finger pointing & my neck is in dire need of a massage thanks to the twists & turns.
Something I love is how the drama starts when the book starts. You’re thrown right into things, no slow buildup or drawn out introduction. In saying that, there are times when the pacing slows & things become a tad drawn out but as you move through the book, it soon picks right back up again.
Another thing to mention is Siobhán & Grace’s investigation because like, really!? Granted, this is a work of fiction but there are times where things feel a little too farfetched. It’s not something that greatly affects the enjoyment factor of the book but as it’s something I picked up on, I still want to mention it.
Character wise there are a lot of names, relationships & complicated dynamics to keep up with & it did take me a bit of time to get to grips with everything/everyone.
I didn’t really vibe with Grace, Luna, Siobhán or Ré, but for me that’s not necessarily a bad thing. A fictional character evoking real feelings (albeit good or bad) is the mark of a great author!
~ final thoughts ~
Overall, this was an enjoyable read! Thrilling, entertaining, suspenseful & at times, emotional. The short, snappy chapters with cliffhanger endings make it easy to power through & despite there being quite a few things going on, the ending is well put together & does a great job of tying up any loose ends.
This would be a great book for anyone who enjoys page turning reads that keep you guessing.
Thank you to Transworld/Bantam Books UK, NetGalley & Andrea Mara for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. This is my honest opinion & I’m sharing it voluntarily❣️
Publication date: 7th May 2026
A gripping thriller for readers who enjoy -
❓Whiplash inducing twists & turns (in a good way!)
❓Page turning suspense
❓A compelling plot that keep you guessing
❓Crime fiction
~ plot ~
When best friends Siobhán & Grace wake up to find both of their daughters missing, the last thing they expect is to hear is a muffled emergency call from one of them accusing the other of trying to kill her. To make matters worse, both Mothers insist that the caller is their daughter & the guilty party, is the other.
Unwilling to budge, determined to get to the truth & desperate to find their daughters they attempt to untangle a web of secrets & lies themselves.
You may think you know someone but you could be wrong… dead, wrong.
~ review ~
Such A Nice Girl is a compelling, gripping domestic thriller full of secrets, lies, deception & betrayal. The characters are complex, mysterious, messy & at one point or another, trust me when I say this - you’ll suspect every single one! Through short, sharp chapters, multiple POV’s & a dual timeline comes a story that tests the bonds of friendship & highlights the strength of a Mother’s love all while diving into an unthinkable scenario - what do you do when your best friend’s daughter is trying to kill your own?
This is my introduction to Andrea Mara & I’m definitely a fan. Her writing is suspenseful, exciting & just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, the rug gets pulled. There’s quite a tangled web with multiple avenues & some confusing/complex dynamics but second guessing & being suspicious of everyone is something I really enjoy! My hands still ache from all of the finger pointing & my neck is in dire need of a massage thanks to the twists & turns.
Something I love is how the drama starts when the book starts. You’re thrown right into things, no slow buildup or drawn out introduction. In saying that, there are times when the pacing slows & things become a tad drawn out but as you move through the book, it soon picks right back up again.
Another thing to mention is Siobhán & Grace’s investigation because like, really!? Granted, this is a work of fiction but there are times where things feel a little too farfetched. It’s not something that greatly affects the enjoyment factor of the book but as it’s something I picked up on, I still want to mention it.
Character wise there are a lot of names, relationships & complicated dynamics to keep up with & it did take me a bit of time to get to grips with everything/everyone.
I didn’t really vibe with Grace, Luna, Siobhán or Ré, but for me that’s not necessarily a bad thing. A fictional character evoking real feelings (albeit good or bad) is the mark of a great author!
~ final thoughts ~
Overall, this was an enjoyable read! Thrilling, entertaining, suspenseful & at times, emotional. The short, snappy chapters with cliffhanger endings make it easy to power through & despite there being quite a few things going on, the ending is well put together & does a great job of tying up any loose ends.
This would be a great book for anyone who enjoys page turning reads that keep you guessing.
Thank you to Transworld/Bantam Books UK, NetGalley & Andrea Mara for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. This is my honest opinion & I’m sharing it voluntarily❣️
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
It’s the morning after a wonderful wedding and Siobhán wakes at her close friend Charles’ house with a thick post champagne head. However, there’s a rumble of concern as when she looks at her phone her 24 year-old daughter Réiltín known as Ré, has phoned her several times in the wee small hours. Siobhán and Grace go to the pool house to check on their daughters only to find concerning signs, the house in a mess and a stain that looks suspiciously like blood. A call is made to the Garda and that’s when things start to get really strange as two detectives quickly arrive and play them a whispered recording sent to the emergency services. “ my roommate has a knife… we’ve had a fight and she’s threatening to kill me…”. Grace thinks it’s her daughter Luna and Siobhán thanks it’s Ré. What on earth is going on? One thing is certain, this will definitely test and stretch the bonds of friendship between Grace and Siobhán.
Andrea Mara never fails to pull me into the storytelling and I’m all in immediately as the concerns, the fear and the panic for the two young women are palpable. It’s all quite cloudy too as the wedding celebrations make memories hazy and this adds to the atmosphere of intrigue and potential deception. The dynamics between all concerned are complex and grow ever more so over the next day or so, deepening the mystery of what might have happened. The various relationships are conveyed well and my suspicions flip backwards and forwards, in the wrong directions! Some characters are very likeable, some are not and some really fool me as there’s a great deal of subterfuge and a fair bit of betrayal into the bargain.
This is the very definition of a domestic thriller slow burner, at times it feels a tad drawn out but then the author throws in a revelatory bomb that pulls me up sharply. The pressure and tension ramps up in the last quarter of the book and it becomes very twisty as Grace and Siobhán go to desperate lengths to try to find their daughters probably driving the lead Garda officer insane!
Overall, it’s another compelling page turner from this talented author.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House U.K./Transworld for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.
Andrea Mara never fails to pull me into the storytelling and I’m all in immediately as the concerns, the fear and the panic for the two young women are palpable. It’s all quite cloudy too as the wedding celebrations make memories hazy and this adds to the atmosphere of intrigue and potential deception. The dynamics between all concerned are complex and grow ever more so over the next day or so, deepening the mystery of what might have happened. The various relationships are conveyed well and my suspicions flip backwards and forwards, in the wrong directions! Some characters are very likeable, some are not and some really fool me as there’s a great deal of subterfuge and a fair bit of betrayal into the bargain.
This is the very definition of a domestic thriller slow burner, at times it feels a tad drawn out but then the author throws in a revelatory bomb that pulls me up sharply. The pressure and tension ramps up in the last quarter of the book and it becomes very twisty as Grace and Siobhán go to desperate lengths to try to find their daughters probably driving the lead Garda officer insane!
Overall, it’s another compelling page turner from this talented author.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House U.K./Transworld for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam Books for the ARC.
“Every bad deed ever is carried out by a person who was once someone’s child.”
BFFs Siobhan and Grace are attending the 3-day wedding celebrations of Grace’s ex-husband, Charlie and the highly strung Emma Rose. Their daughters, Ré and Luna, have always been best friends too.
But on the morning after the wedding, neither daughter can be found. The pool house where they were sleeping is trashed, the door left open, and there’s something that looks like blood.
When the mums report the girls missing, the guardai play them a 999 call received in the early hours. One of the girls reporting that the other was trying to kill her. But both mums think the voice sounds like her own daughter…
This was absolutely the perfect thriller book! I was so hooked throughout. Once the story and Siobhan and Grace’s investigation really got going, it became impossible to put down.
The chapters switch between now and the day before/day of the wedding, with cliffhangers at the end of almost every chapter so that you have to read at least two more to get to what happens next!
It becomes quite frantic as the search and clues intensify. It was soooooo gripping, tense and fabulously plotted. There are so many layers to the story, and at no point did I guess something that was going on.
I loved how the uncertain picture of what happened on the night throws a spotlight on the friendships between the mums and the girls. Do they know their daughters - and each other - as well as they thought they did? What were the girls fighting about that made one of them turn violent? It was an interesting exploration of both friendship and motherhood.
This was my second book by Andrea Mara and now I absolutely need to read everything she’s ever written!
“Every bad deed ever is carried out by a person who was once someone’s child.”
BFFs Siobhan and Grace are attending the 3-day wedding celebrations of Grace’s ex-husband, Charlie and the highly strung Emma Rose. Their daughters, Ré and Luna, have always been best friends too.
But on the morning after the wedding, neither daughter can be found. The pool house where they were sleeping is trashed, the door left open, and there’s something that looks like blood.
When the mums report the girls missing, the guardai play them a 999 call received in the early hours. One of the girls reporting that the other was trying to kill her. But both mums think the voice sounds like her own daughter…
This was absolutely the perfect thriller book! I was so hooked throughout. Once the story and Siobhan and Grace’s investigation really got going, it became impossible to put down.
The chapters switch between now and the day before/day of the wedding, with cliffhangers at the end of almost every chapter so that you have to read at least two more to get to what happens next!
It becomes quite frantic as the search and clues intensify. It was soooooo gripping, tense and fabulously plotted. There are so many layers to the story, and at no point did I guess something that was going on.
I loved how the uncertain picture of what happened on the night throws a spotlight on the friendships between the mums and the girls. Do they know their daughters - and each other - as well as they thought they did? What were the girls fighting about that made one of them turn violent? It was an interesting exploration of both friendship and motherhood.
This was my second book by Andrea Mara and now I absolutely need to read everything she’s ever written!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The morning after a family wedding, two mothers go to wake their daughters in the pool house, and instead find a smashed lamp, a bloodstain on the carpet, a phone ringing unanswered, and both girls gone. What follows is a chilling unraveling of secrets as the police investigation raises an unthinkable question: is one daughter trying to kill the other? Best friends Grace and Siobhan are forced to work together to find their missing girls, even as suspicion, guilt, and long‑buried tensions begin to test their friendship to its limits.
I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. The twists and turns kept me constantly guessing, even when I was convinced I knew exactly where the story was heading (which happened about a dozen times), I was quickly thrown off track and sent down an entirely different road. Andrea Mara does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut and the reader morally off balance, never quite sure who is the victim and who might be the killer.
Character wise, I connected far more with Re and Siobhan than with Luna and her mother, Grace. There was something about Luna and Grace that felt fake, translucent, and sneaky, an unease that lingered whenever they were on the page. In contrast, Re and Siobhan felt grounded, with stronger character structure and a clearer moral compass, which made them far more likeable and believable. The strained friendships added real emotional depth to the story and elevated it beyond a standard missing persons thriller.
This would make a fantastic TV adaptation. I can easily imagine it as a gripping suspense drama, with all its twists, shifting perspectives, and slow burn revelations translating perfectly to the screen.
Thanks to NetGalley, Random House and Transworld Publishing for an arc in return for my honest review.
I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. The twists and turns kept me constantly guessing, even when I was convinced I knew exactly where the story was heading (which happened about a dozen times), I was quickly thrown off track and sent down an entirely different road. Andrea Mara does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut and the reader morally off balance, never quite sure who is the victim and who might be the killer.
Character wise, I connected far more with Re and Siobhan than with Luna and her mother, Grace. There was something about Luna and Grace that felt fake, translucent, and sneaky, an unease that lingered whenever they were on the page. In contrast, Re and Siobhan felt grounded, with stronger character structure and a clearer moral compass, which made them far more likeable and believable. The strained friendships added real emotional depth to the story and elevated it beyond a standard missing persons thriller.
This would make a fantastic TV adaptation. I can easily imagine it as a gripping suspense drama, with all its twists, shifting perspectives, and slow burn revelations translating perfectly to the screen.
Thanks to NetGalley, Random House and Transworld Publishing for an arc in return for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Such A Nice Girl begins with that all too familiar gnawing feeling of when you wake up from the night before knowing something has happened but you just can’t quite grasp what level of disaster is about to unfurl. A silly little missent text or a raging row with mounting repercussions for all involved?
Such A Nice Girl follows best friends Siobhán and Grace and their daughters, Ré and Luna, (also best friends, aren’t they?) on the morning of day 2 of a perfect boujee poolside Foxrock wedding. What should be a morning nursing hangovers and preparing for that ever dragged out second day, quickly escalates into a chaotic search for the two girls, Ré and Luna. Soon, almost everyone is questioning what they thought they knew about their seemingly perfect progenies and their Insta perfect lives.
Andrea tells the story in her usual punchy, pacy and riveting style, immediately ensnaring the reader into a messy entangled web of deceit, resentment and fragile friendships. Telling the story through multiple points of view and timelines, Mara yet again leaves the reader perpetually wobbling at the side of the cliff as they finish each chapter.
As with all of her previous impeccably plotted books, there are plenty of breadcrumb trails for the reader to eagerly follow and, inevitably, as I sat with my little smug head thinking, I’ve got this one, I realised I was quickly stumbling head first into a leafy SoCoDu cul de sac! The ending came thick and fast, with multiple moments that forced me to put down that Aperol Spritz and just like that I was in the final pages watching it all get wrapped up in a way that I never saw coming.
We’ve seen Andrea recently shoot to worldwide fame with the internationally acclaimed TV version of All Her Fault. With its shifting perspectives, neck-breaking twists and universal relatability, Such A Nice Girl is sure to be next to make it onto our screens.
Gripping, full of twists and absolutely impossible to put down, Such A Nice Girl is the perfect bingeable holiday read for Summer 2026.
If you enjoyed this review come follow me on Instagram @TravelsEatsReads for more
Such A Nice Girl follows best friends Siobhán and Grace and their daughters, Ré and Luna, (also best friends, aren’t they?) on the morning of day 2 of a perfect boujee poolside Foxrock wedding. What should be a morning nursing hangovers and preparing for that ever dragged out second day, quickly escalates into a chaotic search for the two girls, Ré and Luna. Soon, almost everyone is questioning what they thought they knew about their seemingly perfect progenies and their Insta perfect lives.
Andrea tells the story in her usual punchy, pacy and riveting style, immediately ensnaring the reader into a messy entangled web of deceit, resentment and fragile friendships. Telling the story through multiple points of view and timelines, Mara yet again leaves the reader perpetually wobbling at the side of the cliff as they finish each chapter.
As with all of her previous impeccably plotted books, there are plenty of breadcrumb trails for the reader to eagerly follow and, inevitably, as I sat with my little smug head thinking, I’ve got this one, I realised I was quickly stumbling head first into a leafy SoCoDu cul de sac! The ending came thick and fast, with multiple moments that forced me to put down that Aperol Spritz and just like that I was in the final pages watching it all get wrapped up in a way that I never saw coming.
We’ve seen Andrea recently shoot to worldwide fame with the internationally acclaimed TV version of All Her Fault. With its shifting perspectives, neck-breaking twists and universal relatability, Such A Nice Girl is sure to be next to make it onto our screens.
Gripping, full of twists and absolutely impossible to put down, Such A Nice Girl is the perfect bingeable holiday read for Summer 2026.
If you enjoyed this review come follow me on Instagram @TravelsEatsReads for more
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Best friends Siobhan and Grace and their daughters Re and Luna are attending Charlie's wedding to Emma Rose at his stunning home in Ireland. The day after the wedding they go to wake the girls who are staying in the pool house, but they are nowhere to be seen, a lamp has been smashed and there's blood on the carpet. Siobhan and Grace immediately call the police who take the news very seriously when they hear the address they're calling from, it seems they received a call in the night from one of the girls who believes the other was going to kill her. Neither of the mums believe their daughter is capable of something like this but, they know they have to put that to one side and find them both, before it's too late.
Such A Nice Girl is the latest domestic thriller by Mara which begins on the day after the wedding and proceeds to go back and forth across various timelines past and present, which brings great depth to the story as the author drip feeds the history of the characters and then layer by layer strips it all back to what happened way back in the past and how it has a huge impact on the present. This is a fast paced tale from one of my go to authors, where I know as soon as I open the book that it's going to be a rollercoaster ride from start to finish. Her characters are always well grounded and realistic, some of them rather unlikable and there's a few of those this time round, the plot is dark in places with lots of twists along the way and I wasn't certain at all where it was heading but nothing prepared me for where it did end up, what a curveball! Another excellent read full of secrets and lies that would test the strongest of friendships to their limit, and then some!
I'd like to thank Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.
Such A Nice Girl is the latest domestic thriller by Mara which begins on the day after the wedding and proceeds to go back and forth across various timelines past and present, which brings great depth to the story as the author drip feeds the history of the characters and then layer by layer strips it all back to what happened way back in the past and how it has a huge impact on the present. This is a fast paced tale from one of my go to authors, where I know as soon as I open the book that it's going to be a rollercoaster ride from start to finish. Her characters are always well grounded and realistic, some of them rather unlikable and there's a few of those this time round, the plot is dark in places with lots of twists along the way and I wasn't certain at all where it was heading but nothing prepared me for where it did end up, what a curveball! Another excellent read full of secrets and lies that would test the strongest of friendships to their limit, and then some!
I'd like to thank Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The morning after a luxurious wedding Siobhan and best friend Grace go to wake up their daughters. But when they get there they find the room ransacked, with them no where to be found. When the police get involved, they discover something shocking. Has one of the daughters tried to kill the other? The need to work together, testing their friendship, to discover the truth. Who is the victim and who is the killer?
Having read a few books by this author, I trust her to write compelling, mysterious thrillers and finding the concept of this one interesting, I was keen to read. This definitely ended up an original take on the missing person thriller and was one of the twistiest stories I’ve read in a long while! My mind kept changing all over the place and when I thought I had it figured out, the author managed to pull the rug out from under me again. There were lots of fun, surprising moments and it was clever at the end seeing how it all came together, with everything from before making sense.
The story started as a slow burn and I wasn’t sure at first if it would grip me, however it helped to develop the background and sooner or later I was hooked, feeling the tension and suspense. The author did a great job at dropping red herrings and cliffhanger chapters, meaning before I knew it, I had finished the book. The characters were developed well and I could feel their turmoil, even if some were more unlikeable than others.
I would recommend this to those looking for a domestic thriller that keeps you guessing and will be catching up on the books I’ve missed by her. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5, due to the multitude of twists and turns that kept me on my toes. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.
Having read a few books by this author, I trust her to write compelling, mysterious thrillers and finding the concept of this one interesting, I was keen to read. This definitely ended up an original take on the missing person thriller and was one of the twistiest stories I’ve read in a long while! My mind kept changing all over the place and when I thought I had it figured out, the author managed to pull the rug out from under me again. There were lots of fun, surprising moments and it was clever at the end seeing how it all came together, with everything from before making sense.
The story started as a slow burn and I wasn’t sure at first if it would grip me, however it helped to develop the background and sooner or later I was hooked, feeling the tension and suspense. The author did a great job at dropping red herrings and cliffhanger chapters, meaning before I knew it, I had finished the book. The characters were developed well and I could feel their turmoil, even if some were more unlikeable than others.
I would recommend this to those looking for a domestic thriller that keeps you guessing and will be catching up on the books I’ve missed by her. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5, due to the multitude of twists and turns that kept me on my toes. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in return for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
‘Such a Nice Girl’ by Andrea Mara focuses on the shocking disappearance of two lifelong friends, Luna and Re, at the end of the glitzy wedding between Charlie, Luna’s father, and his third wife, Emma Rose. Mothers and close friends Grace and Siobhan are distraught and become even more concerned when it appears that one of their daughters may have fatally wounded the other. But why?
Andrea Mara does again what she does best by giving the reader a plot that twists and turns at every opportunity. She captures well the nuanced friendship between the adult women and the reader quickly appreciates just how different they are. Will this catastrophe test their friendship to the limit or will they join forces as they hunt for their daughters?
Pleasingly, it isn’t easy to figure out who is involved in this crime or how they have managed it. It is only towards the end of the novel that the motives as well as the methods are gradually revealed and much of the backstory lends credibility to these. However, it’s more problematic to believe that the families of these girls can be quite so actively involved in solving the crime and just as difficult to accept that the police are as tolerant of their interference as they seem to be. Ok, there are some words of warning from Inspector O’Connell but, frankly, her forbearance is extraordinary!
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
Andrea Mara does again what she does best by giving the reader a plot that twists and turns at every opportunity. She captures well the nuanced friendship between the adult women and the reader quickly appreciates just how different they are. Will this catastrophe test their friendship to the limit or will they join forces as they hunt for their daughters?
Pleasingly, it isn’t easy to figure out who is involved in this crime or how they have managed it. It is only towards the end of the novel that the motives as well as the methods are gradually revealed and much of the backstory lends credibility to these. However, it’s more problematic to believe that the families of these girls can be quite so actively involved in solving the crime and just as difficult to accept that the police are as tolerant of their interference as they seem to be. Ok, there are some words of warning from Inspector O’Connell but, frankly, her forbearance is extraordinary!
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Andrea Mara’s Such A Nice Girl was my first read by this author, and it turned out to be a fantastic introduction to her work. Packed with secrets, lies, deception, and affairs, this twisty thriller kept me hooked from the very start. Told through dual timelines and multiple POVs, the story cleverly unravels layer by layer, revealing just enough to keep you constantly guessing.
At its core, this is a story about friendship, but with a dark and emotional edge. I found Siobhan and her daughter more likeable and genuine, while Grace and Luna came across as more superficial, which added an interesting contrast between the characters. Andrea Mara does a great job of building their histories and relationships, making them feel real.
I particularly enjoyed how the past was revealed in small snippets throughout the book. It made me question everything and come up with plenty of theories along the way especially surrounding the central mystery: whose blood is it, who is the victim, and who is hiding the truth?
The tension builds steadily, with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged. While I did feel the story lingered slightly after the main reveal, it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment.
With strong character development, a gripping plot, and a compelling writing style, this is a well written and engaging thriller.
I’ll definitely be picking up more from Andrea Mara in the future.
At its core, this is a story about friendship, but with a dark and emotional edge. I found Siobhan and her daughter more likeable and genuine, while Grace and Luna came across as more superficial, which added an interesting contrast between the characters. Andrea Mara does a great job of building their histories and relationships, making them feel real.
I particularly enjoyed how the past was revealed in small snippets throughout the book. It made me question everything and come up with plenty of theories along the way especially surrounding the central mystery: whose blood is it, who is the victim, and who is hiding the truth?
The tension builds steadily, with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader engaged. While I did feel the story lingered slightly after the main reveal, it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment.
With strong character development, a gripping plot, and a compelling writing style, this is a well written and engaging thriller.
I’ll definitely be picking up more from Andrea Mara in the future.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Siobhán and Grace have been best friends for almost longer than they can remember and when their daughters, Ré and Luna, came along, they formed their own friendship. Now twenty-four years later, the four of them are all invited to the wedding of Grace’s ex-husband, Charlie. But the morning after the wedding the girls are nowhere to be found and the room they slept in shows signs of a disturbance: a lamp smashed on the floor, a blood stain on the carpet and Ré’s abandoned mobile. What’s worse is that it appears that no one else was involved and one of the girls has done this to the other. But how could this happen? They are both such nice girls! And if they’re not who they appear to be, which one is the killer and which one is the victim?!
With little to go on, the police are struggling so Siobhán and Grace need to work together in order to stand the best chance of finding out what happened to their daughters but will this be the end of their friendship too?
This latest thriller by Andrea Mara, out on 7 May, is full of twists with an ending impossible to guess: two of the things I absolutely love about Andrea’s writing. One thing I struggled with a little is that are quite a few characters introduced all at once at the start so I did have to create a little list just to help me cement who was who.
With little to go on, the police are struggling so Siobhán and Grace need to work together in order to stand the best chance of finding out what happened to their daughters but will this be the end of their friendship too?
This latest thriller by Andrea Mara, out on 7 May, is full of twists with an ending impossible to guess: two of the things I absolutely love about Andrea’s writing. One thing I struggled with a little is that are quite a few characters introduced all at once at the start so I did have to create a little list just to help me cement who was who.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
{AD-PRPRODUCT}
Grace and Siobhan have been best friends for over 30 years. Their daughters, Luna and Ré, are also best friends. A three day wedding should be a joyous occasion that brings them all together but after the morning after the ceremony, the girls are gone. Left behind is signs of a struggle, possible blood and a chilling 999 call from one of the girls. But who is calling for help and who is holding the knife?
Andrea Mara has done it again! Such a Nice Girl is a gripping domestic thriller that not only packs a punch but delves into the depths of friendships, family and how secrets can put a strain on such relationships. This story is built up through short, snappy chapters and multiple timelines making it into a true page turner. Thriller lovers will obsess over where this narrative is going but between red herrings, shocking twists and unreliable characters, they will be on the edge of their seats! It really is expect the unexpected.
Thank you @penguinbooksireland & @bantambooks for this copy! Such a Nice Girl is out May of this year and I have no doubt it'll be the hit of the summer!
Grace and Siobhan have been best friends for over 30 years. Their daughters, Luna and Ré, are also best friends. A three day wedding should be a joyous occasion that brings them all together but after the morning after the ceremony, the girls are gone. Left behind is signs of a struggle, possible blood and a chilling 999 call from one of the girls. But who is calling for help and who is holding the knife?
Andrea Mara has done it again! Such a Nice Girl is a gripping domestic thriller that not only packs a punch but delves into the depths of friendships, family and how secrets can put a strain on such relationships. This story is built up through short, snappy chapters and multiple timelines making it into a true page turner. Thriller lovers will obsess over where this narrative is going but between red herrings, shocking twists and unreliable characters, they will be on the edge of their seats! It really is expect the unexpected.
Thank you @penguinbooksireland & @bantambooks for this copy! Such a Nice Girl is out May of this year and I have no doubt it'll be the hit of the summer!
April 14, 2026
📚👀🩸 Such a Nice Girl – Andrea Mara 🩸👀📚
IS YOUR DAUGHTER THE VICTIM… OR THE KILLER?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🗓️ Out 7th May 2026
Blurb ⤵️
The morning after a glamorous luxury wedding, you and your best friend go to wake your twenty-four-year-old daughters…
But when you open the pool house door, something is very wrong.
A smashed lamp.
Blood on the carpet.
A ringing phone.
And both girls are gone.
As the police investigate, a chilling question emerges…
Is one daughter trying to kill the other?
My thoughts 💭
A huge thank you to @bantambooksuk for including me (and the rest of the Mara-thon crew 🥹) on this journey reading this alongside 30+ people in a buddy read has honestly felt like being part of a little bookish village 🫶📚
If you’ve been here a while, you’ll know I love @andreamaraauthor books and this one absolutely delivered.
✨ Fast paced
✨ Multiple timelines
✨ Twists, turns & SO many secrets
✨ That addictive “start at the chaos and work backwards” trope (my fave 👏🏻)
Every chapter left me needing more, and my brain was in full detective mode… yet I still didn’t get it right 🫣🤣
Verdict 👇
If you’re building your thriller summer TBR… this one needs a spot. 📚🍹🕶️
IS YOUR DAUGHTER THE VICTIM… OR THE KILLER?
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🗓️ Out 7th May 2026
Blurb ⤵️
The morning after a glamorous luxury wedding, you and your best friend go to wake your twenty-four-year-old daughters…
But when you open the pool house door, something is very wrong.
A smashed lamp.
Blood on the carpet.
A ringing phone.
And both girls are gone.
As the police investigate, a chilling question emerges…
Is one daughter trying to kill the other?
My thoughts 💭
A huge thank you to @bantambooksuk for including me (and the rest of the Mara-thon crew 🥹) on this journey reading this alongside 30+ people in a buddy read has honestly felt like being part of a little bookish village 🫶📚
If you’ve been here a while, you’ll know I love @andreamaraauthor books and this one absolutely delivered.
✨ Fast paced
✨ Multiple timelines
✨ Twists, turns & SO many secrets
✨ That addictive “start at the chaos and work backwards” trope (my fave 👏🏻)
Every chapter left me needing more, and my brain was in full detective mode… yet I still didn’t get it right 🫣🤣
Verdict 👇
If you’re building your thriller summer TBR… this one needs a spot. 📚🍹🕶️
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Everyone knows at this point… if Andrea Mara writes it, I’m already obsessed.
So when Penguin Random House Australia surprised me with her newest release, I was actually screaming. Immediate drop everything and read moment.
And wow… she didn’t just deliver, she completely outdid herself.
This book had me hooked from the very first page. Those short, punchy chapters? Absolutely addictive. I kept saying “just one more” and suddenly I was halfway through.
We follow two best friends whose lives unravel overnight when they go to wake their daughters… and they’re gone. There’s blood. Panic. Questions you don’t want the answers to. Is someone hurt? Or is something far more sinister at play?
What unfolds is a tense, twist-filled story told across dual timelines (one of my favourite things), where secrets slowly rise to the surface and nothing feels certain. The tension? Relentless. The twists? Sharp. And yes… I gasped more than once.
This is Andrea Mara at her absolute best. Gripping, unsettling, and impossible to put down.
At this point, it’s not even a question. If she writes it, I’m reading it.
Another easy 5 ⭐️ read for me ✨
So when Penguin Random House Australia surprised me with her newest release, I was actually screaming. Immediate drop everything and read moment.
And wow… she didn’t just deliver, she completely outdid herself.
This book had me hooked from the very first page. Those short, punchy chapters? Absolutely addictive. I kept saying “just one more” and suddenly I was halfway through.
We follow two best friends whose lives unravel overnight when they go to wake their daughters… and they’re gone. There’s blood. Panic. Questions you don’t want the answers to. Is someone hurt? Or is something far more sinister at play?
What unfolds is a tense, twist-filled story told across dual timelines (one of my favourite things), where secrets slowly rise to the surface and nothing feels certain. The tension? Relentless. The twists? Sharp. And yes… I gasped more than once.
This is Andrea Mara at her absolute best. Gripping, unsettling, and impossible to put down.
At this point, it’s not even a question. If she writes it, I’m reading it.
Another easy 5 ⭐️ read for me ✨
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Siobhan and Grace have been best friends since university. Their daughters, now 24 have been raised together and the tow women love that Ré and Luna are also besties - except apparently they're not! Luna's Dad, Charlie is getting remarried and the morning after the wedding, the girls have vanished leaving behind a trail of blood and a whispered message on a 999 call. One of them has hurt the other one, but who is the attacker and who is the victim?
This is such a clever concept; as well as being a twisty thriller, it explores the pressure that was put on Siobhan and Grace's friendship as they desperately hunt for their daughters, desperately trying not to judge and apportion blame on one or other of the girls, but inevitably, the tension is off the scale!
I found myself rooting more for Siobhan and Ré as I found them more likeable than Grace and Luna, but then it turns out they all have secrets and Siobhan's is perhaps the biggest secret of them all.
Emotional, tense and gripping, I devoured this in a day!
4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Andrea Mara and Random House, Transworld for an ARC of this book.
This is such a clever concept; as well as being a twisty thriller, it explores the pressure that was put on Siobhan and Grace's friendship as they desperately hunt for their daughters, desperately trying not to judge and apportion blame on one or other of the girls, but inevitably, the tension is off the scale!
I found myself rooting more for Siobhan and Ré as I found them more likeable than Grace and Luna, but then it turns out they all have secrets and Siobhan's is perhaps the biggest secret of them all.
Emotional, tense and gripping, I devoured this in a day!
4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Andrea Mara and Random House, Transworld for an ARC of this book.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Luna and Ré have been best friends since birth. Their mothers are best friends too, so it’s no surprise the four of them are together at Luna’s father’s wedding. But the next morning, both girls are missing. Their room is in disarray, and blood is found on the floor…
Then the police reveal they received a phone call from the address, from a female they are being attacked by their friend.
Where are Luna and Ré? What happened that night? And who made that chilling phone call?
I found Such A Nice Girl to be a quick, enjoyable read. The short, snappy chapters and shifting timelines kept the pace lively. Although I guessed the first few twists, the final reveal genuinely surprised me. I did feel the ending dragged slightly, but overall it’s a well‑paced thriller with plenty of turns to keep you hooked.
If you’re already a fan of Andrea Mara, this feels like her doing what she does best — and it’s definitely one to add to your TBR ahead of publication on 7th May.
Then the police reveal they received a phone call from the address, from a female they are being attacked by their friend.
Where are Luna and Ré? What happened that night? And who made that chilling phone call?
I found Such A Nice Girl to be a quick, enjoyable read. The short, snappy chapters and shifting timelines kept the pace lively. Although I guessed the first few twists, the final reveal genuinely surprised me. I did feel the ending dragged slightly, but overall it’s a well‑paced thriller with plenty of turns to keep you hooked.
If you’re already a fan of Andrea Mara, this feels like her doing what she does best — and it’s definitely one to add to your TBR ahead of publication on 7th May.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
After a glamorous wedding, two best friends wake to every parent’s nightmare… their daughters gone, a bloodstain in the pool house, and a chilling call: “my friend has a knife…”
From there, I was completely hooked. The tension is immediate, but it’s the unravelling of friendships and secrets that really grips. For two women who share everything… there’s a LOT they’re not saying.
Suspicion constantly shifts. Ré or Luna… victim or attacker? Every reveal twists things further, and just when you think you’ve cracked it… you really haven’t.
I loved how past and present collide, with hidden relationships and “small” details building into something much darker. I was suspicious of EVERYONE.
And the pacing?! Classic Mara. Short, sharp chapters, relentless cliffhangers, and zero chance of stopping at one more chapter. Our buddy read chats were full of wild theories and “I HAVE NO IDEA” moments.
Twisty, addictive, and brilliantly layered - Andrea Mara does it again!
From there, I was completely hooked. The tension is immediate, but it’s the unravelling of friendships and secrets that really grips. For two women who share everything… there’s a LOT they’re not saying.
Suspicion constantly shifts. Ré or Luna… victim or attacker? Every reveal twists things further, and just when you think you’ve cracked it… you really haven’t.
I loved how past and present collide, with hidden relationships and “small” details building into something much darker. I was suspicious of EVERYONE.
And the pacing?! Classic Mara. Short, sharp chapters, relentless cliffhangers, and zero chance of stopping at one more chapter. Our buddy read chats were full of wild theories and “I HAVE NO IDEA” moments.
Twisty, addictive, and brilliantly layered - Andrea Mara does it again!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
After having a few books by Andrea Mara on my ever-growing TBR list, I was thrilled to be given the chance to read an advance copy of Such A Nice Girl before it hits the shelves—and I’m so glad I did.
It took me a little time at first to get used to the range of characters, but once everything clicked into place, I found myself really drawn into the story. From there, it became an engaging and immersive read that I didn’t want to put down.
The twists towards the end came thick and fast and genuinely kept me guessing. Just when I thought I had things figured out, another twist would come along and completely knock me off my feet. It made for a really exciting and satisfying finish.
Overall, a gripping and cleverly plotted thriller that I’d definitely recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC
It took me a little time at first to get used to the range of characters, but once everything clicked into place, I found myself really drawn into the story. From there, it became an engaging and immersive read that I didn’t want to put down.
The twists towards the end came thick and fast and genuinely kept me guessing. Just when I thought I had things figured out, another twist would come along and completely knock me off my feet. It made for a really exciting and satisfying finish.
Overall, a gripping and cleverly plotted thriller that I’d definitely recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC
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