The Good Girl

by Fiona Neill

The Number One bestselling author is back with a dark, compelling and controversial novel of one family's darkest secrets.

Fallen in love?
Yet for straight-A student Romy, Ailsa's teenage daughter, there's no escaping the intense attraction she feels towards their youngest son, Jay.

Trusted a stranger?
So when Jay tells Romy his darkest secret, she only wants to help.

Destroyed your family?
But Romy's actions could be the catalyst that tears her world apart...

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Thriller, Book Club, Crime, Mystery, Thriller Suspense

400 pages, Hardcover

First published April 9, 2015

About the author

Fiona Neill is a novelist and journalist. She was born in 1966. Her first novel The Secret Life of a Slummy Mummy, based on her column in The Times Magazine every Saturday, was published in 2007. It was widely acclaimed and went on to become a Sunday Times bestseller that sold in twenty-five countries.

Brought up in Norfolk, she now lives in London with her husband and three children.

Fiona is presenting a five-part series on BBC Radio 4 called Famous Footsteps, starting on January 12th. Find out more about the series by visiting the BBC Radio 4 website.

Reviews

[Lesley Chattaway]

I'm only 37% in and really struggling. What a load of waffle! The author seems more interested in showing off her knowledge of science than giving us an actual plot line ! Not found one character who is believable, much less likeable yet!

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and intriguing read for me this one - especially since I have been the mother of a teenage girl, with all the highs and lows that can bring so could relate in a lot of ways to what Ailsa and Romy go through in this story.

Romy is "The Good Girl" - never having given her parents a moment of worry, the one they rely on to be self sufficient, ever practical and not really requiring much parenting - leaving them to focus on their other children (who are not quite so easy) and themselves as they go through a marriage crisis. Romy however is about to take a wrong step, forcing everyone to reconsider their own actions and attitudes.

There are several layers to the story, all of which are compelling - told in alternate parts by Ailsa and Romy, we start with the news that Romy is in trouble then find out what has led up to it. Beautifully written with two very distinct voices in Ailsa and Romy but with those little subtle "tells" that clarify the mother/daughter relationship, it was very addictive reading, knowing what is coming and simply wishing you could stop it.

Fiona Neill takes an unrelenting look at social media and how it can explode a life, at the same time she gives us a very authentic family drama with some complex interpersonal relationships. Some great characters in here, I imagine everyone will relate to someone and as the story ebbs and flows and external influences take their toll on Romy during her delicate coming of age, it will completely grip you.

Dad Harry was a great character, being a scientist there is a lot of pretty cool information on the brain, how it works, especially when it comes to teenage thought processes - it was an interesting thread running through the narrative that gave it a solid background. Youngest son Ben was gorgeous - I totally fell in love with him, Luke the elder brother was brilliantly normal in many ways and wait until you meet the neighbours!

Overall I thought this was a terrific read - some important issues raised for sure, entertaining in both an informative and often very emotional way, it had a lovely depth to it, great writing, great storytelling and overall one that I would definitely recommend.

Happy Reading Folks!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

It loathes me to say when I don't enjoy a book, because I pick my reads very carefully. I look at the cover, the synopsis and the reviews before I make my mind up. With a fair readers rating, and a cover reminiscent of Gone Girl, I thought this would be just my cup of tea. Unfortunately, I was bored almost straight away.

The entire story is odd. I didn't connect with the characters, nor did I particularly care for them. There didn't seem to be much action, just a lot of talking. The cover makes bold statements based on media reviews - usually a good sign. I just didn't see it. When I began the book I thought, okay, its just a slow burner and it will pick up soon. And it just never did. I was so disappointed.

Not a complete disappointment, there are some parts just interesting enough to hold my attention. I was also mildly irritated by some of the characters names - what kind of name is Loveday, anyway? It felt like the author was trying too hard to be 'out there'.

Unless someone could guarantee me another book of hers was an absolute must-read, I wouldn't be tempted to read any of her other novels.

[Sofiya Hashmi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I recieved an ARC and I have to agree with the other reviewer. It wasn't just too much preamble, as there was just general rambling. I was so disappointed cause this was a great topic that I would love to read about (its one that is also pretty new) and I tried to like it but the characters, the storyline... It was hard for me to read through this and finish, and I found myself having to pick it up and put it down. I wish I could have liked this, I'm sorry I couldn't.

[M.S. Shoshanna Selo · Rating 2 out of 5]

***CONTAINS SPOILERS ***

The blurb of this book was completely deceiving. From what the blurb described I was expecting a thriller. The story is about the Field family who move to a rural town in Norfolk to escape a difficult secret and have a fresh start. The story centres around Ailsa and her teenage daughter Romy and around Ailsa's secrets and Romy's relationship with the boy next door, Jay whose parents are hippies.

What I didn't like about the book was how there was no storyline. It was very muddled and there wasn't really much of a point to the story apart from the whole sex tape scandal. There were so many scandals and secrets thrown around but none of them get resolved and it almost seems as though the moral of the story is to keep on lying like how Ailsa decides never to tell her son Luke that her husband Harry isn't his biological father or Harry that she slept with someone else before their wedding night and got pregnant by another man.

I didn't really think much of Ailsa and Harry. I found them both hypocritical, deceitful and weak. I found Ailsa's sister Rachel and her father Adam pointless characters to fill in the lack of storyline. I liked Luke, Romy and Ben though and found them genuine and likeable. I felt for Romy especially after the whole sex tape scandal and I found Ben, the youngest child sweet, funny and endearing. I didn't think very much of Jay and I found him a bit cowardly how he didn't stand up for Romy.

Some parts of the story were very gripping and intriguing and it was well written. I like books about secrets and scandals but I always felt that there would be something more but there wasn't. I just felt that the story was too jumbled with everybody's secrets and dramas and it kept going off into different tangents. I was a bit disappointed especially as the blurb made it seem like a thriller. I felt that the writer should have either stuck with Ailsa's story or Romy's. I don't really get why the story was only told through their eyes and not the other characters.

Grade : C-

[A.J. Waines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wasn’t sure what to expect with this book. It has the same title as the excellent psychological thriller by Mary Kubica, so expectations were high. I wouldn’t describe it as a psychological thriller, but it’s a very good book. In particular, due to the way the characters and dialogue come to life making the reader feel like they are standing in the same room. That’s a rare gift!

The story is about the changing dynamics within two families who end up as neighbours, with drama involving the youngest boy, right through to his going-off-the-rails grandfather. The individual characters and their traits are portrayed in beautiful detail and we are led through a whole whirlwind of emotions: humour, sadness, dread and sexual discoveries. I love having a book I can’t wait to get back to and this was it.

[Nick Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though this took a little while to 'get', because I was expecting a slightly different type of book (anticipated a psych thriller, got a family drama with an interesting plot) I did end up quite enjoying it. Though the language was all a touch too ordinary at times, and I couldn't completely escape the feeling this was manipulative Richard & Judy Book Club type stuff, the plot was effective and the voices of the narrators ended up working well. This is a story of a mother and what happens when a pornographic video of her teenage daughter makes it into the public arena from a the phone of her boyfriend - but in truth it is more complex and layered than that, with some powerfully written points of view. It didn't *completely* work - at times I found it heavy handed and parts a little contrived - but it was interesting and thought provoking, even as a non-parent myself.

[Bookread2day]

I think in a way this is what Fiona Neill is simply saying in her new book The Good Girl is that sex tapes can go viral with one click and that shatters the whole family's life.


We often read in the newspapers that famous stars that have made sex tapes with their partner get leaked on to the big wide net and with coverage of the sex tape in the newspaper. It is often the fact that when the famous girlfriend or wife made the sex tape with her boyfriend or husband, when they split up the ex for spite will upload the sex tape onto the web for all to see just to upset their ex girl friend or wife, which sadly effects the ex girl friend or the ex wifes privacy.
In The Good Girl Matt Harvey, the new head of Biology, confiscated a mobile phone from a pupil as he is watching a seventeen-year-old school girl kissing a boy with the girl fumbling for the boy's zip. They end up making an indescent sex tape that has gone viral, it is every where on porn sites and social media. The question is why did they both make this sexual video together?

There are lots of secrets hidden in every corner with two families that are slowly torn apart by what has happened and with the parents own secrets.

[Kobby Gyampoh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Also available on http://chicklitpad.blogspot.co.uk

MY SYNOPSIS

Imagine This: You are the mother of three amazing children. Though they hate you for being headmistress of their school who brought into effect the appropriate length of school-uniform skirts and a ban on mobile phones being used in the classroom.

Everything’s going perfect, really. Your husband, a neuroscientist, is being supportive at home picking up your children and having dinner on the table before you get back from work. You admit your working hours doesn’t favour you putting your youngest to sleep but you could work around it.

Then the storm hits. A video is brought to your complaint. A sex video in which your perfect straight-A daughter is the lead actress starring alongside a penis. Then suddenly, everything isn’t as it seems.

Who’s the owner of this penis? Why can’t you take the video off the internet? Why does the world have a fetish for children under the age of seventeen engaging in immoral sexual acts?

Most importantly, why did you daughter do this?—a question which leads to powerful secrets you thought you’d shut the lid on after you began a new life.

Ailsa Field’s puzzling and tragic life summed up for your delight.


MY REVIEW


Whew! Thank God, I finally let go off this book to write this review informing you to go buy the hell out of it!

Fantastic Storyline. I am so ashamed I have never read anything by Fiona Neill. She’s brilliant… as you all might know already. But this book is something else.  So Woman’s battling to make her life seem perfect. She has everything together. Until the new neighbours move in. And her family would never be the same again. Of course, it’s easy to shift the blame on the new neighbours. But unknowingly, she finds the new neighbours were just a catalyst for what was already bound to happen. Amazing storyline.── ★


This is one of the few well-researched novels out there, people! It has so much info on the innings of the brain I wondered if I’d stepped into a wrong lecture and was being rewarded (not bombarded) with so much enlightening stuff. I also wondered how long Fiona Neill took to cram all that stuff into penning this insightful novel—I imagined her editors persistently emailing her for her first 10,000. Brilliant information on neuroscience, slut-shaming and the woes of the internet age. A star.── ★★


It’s one of the few books that would make you love internal monologue! Told in the voices of a mother reacting to events before and after the catastrophe—in third person, and a daughter giving her honest view of what her parents are not aware of—first person, it’s engaging and captivating!── ★★★


The two main characters were brilliant! You’d love, Ailsa (which for a larger part of the novel I’d misread as ‘Alisa’) , the headmistress and past English teacher for being very reserved, very supportive of her family and mostly being the man in her family when her husband has failed to man up to situations. She’s the kind of mother you’d relate to and adore. Also, there’s Romy, her clever daughter you’d wish was your own… until she makes the dreadful mistake of shattering her future. A star.── ★★★★


Other characters make this book enjoyable as well. In fact, all the characters! There’s Harry, the supportive husband who’s always looking for a compliment on the meals he cooks. There’s Luke, the son with no direction, bringing as many girls as he can home for the night. There’s Ben, the weird, adorable, err, peculiar youngest son who always hoards the last portion of food in his room. There’s Adam, Ailsa’s father who drinks more than he speaks. Rachael, Ailsa’s sister whose love-life is a mess.  There’s the Fairports—the new neighbours who are sex therapists and their sons. A star to all these characters and the ones I can’t mention because of the length this review is bordering on.


This book is suspenseful! Engaging! I read four hundred pages in a day! That’s double my reading limit! I couldn’t put it down even when I had to break to do my laundry—I was balancing it over a box of detergent and a huge pile of clothes. So many OMG-moments at one point I rolled my eyes at the ceiling wondering when Fiona Neill would keep surprising the hell out of me! You read loads of titles about family secrets, but I assure you, they do not come as close! A star!── ★★★★★


My rating: Six/five stars (6/5 stars)! 


I recommend this book to anyone who wants a title that would keep them on their toes this summer! Anyone who can handle a little more than enough suspense should go get this title! 


Anyone who wants a book part insightful, part subversive, thoroughly entertaining must run to the bookshops now with the title of this book on their lips—The Good Girl by Fiona Neill (—the good writer! Yeah, I’m cheesy like that!)

[Linda Boa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gulped this novel down in one 24-hour period, over two sittings, despite the fact that it’s a 470 page book. However, it’s a fast read, and I didn’t feel that it flagged at any point. There was enough going on for me to keep turning the pages doggedly into the small hours. Fiona Neill is best known for her “Slummy Mummy” columns in The Times, and the book that followed, but this is very different, although her sardonic eye for detail, as well as her trademark humour, is intact. It’s the story of the Field family: mum Ailsa (hyper-organised; ambitious at work – she’s a secondary school headmistress; keeps the family running smoothly – but who’s keeping an explosive secret); dad Harry (neuroscientist; drops in quite fascinating facts about the brain at any opportunity; a good dad, especially with Romy, who shares his passion for science. He loved his job as a lecturer in London – so why did he leave it to relocate to Norfolk with his wife for her new job?); son Luke, who, next to his sister, comes across as a total slacker with more interest in bedding girls than passing exams; daughter Romy, the “good girl” of the title, who becomes distracted with the arrival of an attractive new boy who moves in next door; and lastly Ben, a precocious – but not irritatingly so – nine-year-old, who is somewhat obsessive about collecting strange things and fancies himself as a spy.

And just as Romy and Ben start to wonder about the inconsistencies in their parents’ story of why they had to move to Norfolk, the new family arrive next door, the Fairports. Romy is instantly drawn to Jay, the youngest of the two brothers. However, Ailsa isn’t so keen on the family – Lovedale and Wolf are successful sex therapists, who take a very relaxed view to parenting. They plan to build a “sweat lodge” in the large back garden and run sexual healing retreats, which as you can imagine, is the sort of idea practical Ailsa finds ludicrous.

With Ailsa preoccupied at work, and Harry and the rest of the family enjoying the Lovedale’s company, the stage is set for a string of events – a domino effect, almost – which end in disaster, and are partly initiated by the lies told by Ailsa and Harry regarding the move, despite the fact they were only trying to protect their family.

There are also some other great characters – Ailsa’s dad Alan, mourning the death of the wife he feels he treated badly throughout much of their marriage, moves in, drinking too much and driving Harry, who’s trying to write a book and is left to cope with him all day, to distraction; and Rachel, her sister, who tries to shirk her responsibilities to her father, still resentful for the way she feels he treated her mother, leaving Ailsa with even more on her plate. She also has a disastrous track record with men, which is compounded when she starts dating someone a bit too close for Ailsa’s comfort.

Neill has a fine understanding of families and the different dynamics within them, and this is one reason why the book is such a pageturner. When describing Ailsa looking for an alternative for her father when it becomes clear he is no longer safe living alone, she writes,
“…she reluctantly flicked through a couple of brochures for old people’s homes with optimistic names that belied the fact that they were places where people went to die. Ocean Heights. The Pastures. Sunshine Dreams. With all their talk of staff ratios, singing groups and puréed food they sounded like the nursery schools she had scouted for Ben in London.”

Ultimately the book is a salutary warning about the dangers of social media and internet pornography. As Jon Ronson showed us in So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, these things are like genies – once they’re out of the bottle, they’re impossible to get back in.

This is a compelling read, and I can easily see it being one of the big hits for late holidays. In fact, even if you’re staying at home, I’d suggest you grab a copy. I rarely get through a book so quickly, so that speaks for itself. I just couldn’t put it down.

Recommended for fans of: Paula Daly, Liane Moriarty, Nicci French standalones.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read the word dopamine so many times in a novel. I learned about dopamine in year nine but apparently it makes you a super science professor if you talk about it constantly. This book just didn't work for me. It seemed very Ian McEwen-esque mixing science with literature to no avail. The characters were so overtly middle class that it becomes alienating, how many average families, and that is what the book is trying to get at, have a uni professor and headmistress as the parents? Just moving from London to Norfolk on a whim. It is brave for talking about the fairly modern phenomenon of Internet porn addiction but the characters are unlikeable and it has a very alienating effect. 3 stars.

[Margaret Madden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romy is sixteen and has just moved with her family to a sleepy, rural town in England with her family. Life suddenly seems brighter when they get some new neighbours, with two teenage sons. A bohemian family, Romy finds herself drawn to handsome Jay, while her conservative mother struggles to hide her distaste of the neighbours lifestyle. Hippies, sex therapists and far left, they represent everything that Romy's parents are not. Meanwhile, young love leads to Romy uncovering her new boyfriend's secret and making an offer that may change her life forever. In a parallel story, her parents secrets are about to be uncovered and may make things worse.


A difficult book to review as it has multi-layered stories with different themes. I was expecting a psychological thriller but it is more of a literary read with added thrill. The ending is placed at the start of the novel and the story unfolds gradually. A little to slow unfurling, I found the story lost its momentum for the middle third of the book. The dangers of online activity and the lack of privacy is one that all parents of teens worry about. This story looks at the issue, but the teenage Romy is an unusual example of a sixteen year old, so it was hard to see her making this mistake. She was far too clever a character to do something so blatant. Her inner sense would have kicked it, long before allowing such momentous act to be filmed on camera. Her younger brother was actually really annoying and the product of a very odd coupling of parents. Her mother and father's mistakes also seemed improbable.

The marketing and blurb suggested one book, but reading it proves another novel entirely.
A good read, if a bit too long.

[Catriona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this as part of a Goodreads giveaway and devoured it in a day.

I went into it knowing very little and unsure of what path the book would take. However, in less than 24 hours, I am left hoping for another Fiona Neill book to follow this. The themes and topics in the book are very current and relevant - family upheaval, addiction, sex and digital footprint. Digital footprint alone allowed me to self reflect - Neill has explored the dark areas of the internet in an excellent way and I only hope others think about it in how same way I have.

My only real negative to this book was that I wanted to know more about Luke's character and the relationship he has with his parents. This could have been an entire book on it's own (which, if written, I would happily read!)

I would recommend this to anyone interested in digital footprint and the effects this can have in family life and I have already passed this book on to my mother. Cannot wait for Fiona Neill's next book!

[Lakshmi Vijayakumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first three-fourth of this book is an anticlimax. No other word could describe it better. It’s confusing and there are so many subplots that you start questioning your own understanding of the prose.
The last quarter of the book is what prompted me to add an extra star to what was going to be my original rating.
The way the author handled the emotions of pain, heartbreak, shame and disappointment made me feel all of these emotions, deep down. It isn’t pretty, it makes you look at the time we live in with disgust, but isn’t that what art is about? Art is not supposed to be beautiful. It’s supposed to make you feel something. And the last quarter of this book is POIGNANT.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this expecting it to be a thriller... it really wasn't a thriller.

If I knew this book was more of an adult contemporary than thriller, I wouldn't have picked it up.

I felt like this book was much longer then it needed to be. It was nearly 500 pages, which just felt too long.

I also didn't like the amount of scientific jargon in this book. It felt very detached and made it hard to read at times

I thought the writing was just okay but I couldn't connect to the characters.

I was pretty much bored while reading most of the book.

I wish this book wasn't marketed as a thriller because it's not and it's very misleading. Overall, I wasn't impressed at all

[Christa Bass · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to rate 2.5. I found this a little dull. It has an interesting and topical premise but I think it plods along way too much to make you care about any of it by the last chapter. Shame.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and intriguing, interspersed with humour. A story of a family in turmoil. Loved it.

[Joy Burniston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange lives

found this quite boring, a bit rambling and repetitive in parts the three quarters of the way into it the story came together. not a book I can say I really enjoyed or that I'd ever read again. it did show up the dangers of teen lives in our digital age.

[Esmeralda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a rather confusing and long read where it's not clear what the story is working towards. Maybe it would've been more enjoyable if it was shorter and to the point.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Driven by characters far more than plot (not necessarily a bad thing, but a bit more plot wouldn't have hurt in this case) - but mostly this is let down by there being far too much exposition. Still, worthy of 3.5 stars, which drops it in just above my average rating.

[Phoebe Langston · Rating 1 out of 5]

The longest way of telling you not to make a sex tape

[Jo Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars A family saga which was easy to read. However, what was unexpected was how it explained the impact of revenge porn, not something I’d read about before. The academic paper at the end of the book outlining a young woman’s experience in 2011 and what has happened since in terms of revenge poem and attempts to legislate and the impact it’s had on women across the world was very informative, whilst also horrifying

[Julie Mestdagh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read on a current and sensitive subject. Neill manages to bring the story in a capturing way, partly thanks to switching the narrator between mother and daughter from one chapter to another. I appreciate how the novel not only is about the dangers of the internet, but at the same time manages to weave in some typical marriage and parent-children issues too. I enjoyed the scientific part to it as well, though I do believe it was just a little too much, and the story in itself could actually be told in about a 100 pages less. I enjoyed reading the book and was very keen on reading on to know what would happen next, I was kind of disappointed in how it ended. If you think about, not many new elements are added to the story in the last 100 pages. And I would actually have loved to learn more about Romy's future. But all in all a very nice read that I enjoyed.

[Megan Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, really got into this story line, every character has a role to play which kept me reading on. Some very relevant topics for teenagers and as a teacher found it very eye-opening with it being based around a school!

[Grace Kelsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book is very bad.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this book only really got going in the last quarter, by which time I was pretty much fed up with the characters, the plodding story and the excessively long chapters. Just about gave it 3 stars for the final quarter but could easily have rated it lower - 5.5/10.

[Aaron Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picture the scene: it's the end of July and I have been dragged along to a music festival I don't want to go to for the weekend. It's boring, sure, but I have a good book to read (The Three) and a tent with a portable light to read it in and with. Everything's swell, but then it happens: I finish the book, but there's still two days left to endure. I need a new book and I need one fast.
Nestled among the usual, boring supermarket books, The Good Girl was definitely the shiniest (and cheapest) of turds and seemed readable at the time. Oh, how wrong I was.
I've read bad books, but I've never read a book quite as boring as this one. The author has this terrible habit of wandering off on their own tangent every other sentence, and the tangents themselves usually take up a couple of pages, even if they're completely boring and irrelevant. So dull and long are these tangents that I've forgotten once or twice what's happening at that point in the book - take, for example, the chapter where Ailsa is sitting in the Italian restaurant and suddenly the author wants to tell us all the details about her relationship with her husband. By the time that snore-fest had finished I'd completely forgotten she was even in the restaurant and what she'd come there to do.
The names, too. In a family full of ordinary names like Luke, Ben and Rachel, where on Earth did Romy and Ailsa come from? It seems like the author was trying too hard to make them seem unique, to me.
And finally, to address a quote from a review on the inside cover of the book. It states: "Neill's characters are so cleverly depicted, you feel as if you've met at least one of them before." Now, I don't know if the reviewer is friends with aliens or if they've just never had contact with another human before, but either way that statement is wholly untrue. I could go on a rant about each individual character and how silly and cartoonish they all act, but then this review would probably be longer than the actual book itself.
All in all, the author could've taken out at least 200 pages of this drivel and still had the exact same book at the end of it for all the unrelated and unimportant nonsense she put in. I want my month of suffering back, Neill.

[Claire Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Quite a shocking read. Difficult to review without giving away any of the many strands that make up an explosive storyline. The story revolves around the outwardly successful, middle class Field family; Mum Ailsa is a head teacher of a secondary school, Dad, Harry, is a neuroscientist writing a book about teenage thought processes, eldest child Luke is a bit of an underachiever, youngest son Ben is curious and inquisitive, but has issues and has been assessed for every condition from autism to adhd. Middle child, Romy is the good girl of the title: Super bright and conscientious.

The book's main theme is sexual politics and how sexual behaviour has changed in the Internet age. Parents should read this, specifically parents of girls should read this... Scary stuff!

All of the characters are well written, even the supporting cast of Ailsa's dad and sister, the young biology teacher Mr Harvey and the hippy family next door who practice sexual therapy (ew!)

I loved this book. It is a rewarding read, not least because I learned such a lot from it, thanks Harry!

[Barbara Elsborg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It was a thought provoking book that explored relationships inside families and between families and colleagues and friends - all around the concepts of responsibility, decisions and consequences. It wasn't the thriller I'd sort of expected but it was a story that kept me turning the pages.
I didn't like the way we were sort of misdirected at the start. It was no surprise to learn who was being talked about - calling her 'girl' seemed unneeded to me. I WAS surprised at the end - I hadn't suspected the 'culprit' and I liked the tension in that final scene that brought everyone together. By then I worried for the safety of certain characters! This is more of a delving into character type book than a plot driven one. I expect many won't like some of the people but then who in life is perfect. I thought the author did a good job of showing parental angst, sibling difficulties etc.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very promising story line with some interesting characters and in the beginning I was keen to read on. However, by about page 300 I was simply reading as fast as possible in order to reach the end.
For me, there were too many strands to the story - it was as if the author had tried to cover all the possible modern-day dangers and scenarios associated with teenagers, social media, mobile phones etc for fear of leaving something out. Less might have been more.
I found it hard to relate either to Ailsa or to Romy, both of whom exhibited some rather unbelievable traits eg otherwise-intelligent Ailsa's ostrich-head-in-sand approach regarding baby-fathers and blood groups and Romy's vacillations between ultra-precocious maturity and immature naivety.
The neighbours were catalystic to the plot, at times injecting humour but were stereotyped beyond (my) belief.
On the whole, an OK read but about 150 pages too long.