THE HANGING GIRL BY EILEEN COOK - BOOK REVIEW

 

This is the latest book from the author of last summer's hit With Malice and dare I say this one is even better. The plot is masterfully crafted and the writing perfectly paced.


Hello everyone!

I am back with another book review, today it is of The Hanging Girl by Eileen Cook. Thanks so much to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book for an honest review. As always all opinions are my own.

The story follows eighteen-year-old Skye, a fake psychic who has partnered with the police to help find a missing girl. Skye's 'readings' have never been real, but this time she has the inside scoop - she helped execute the kidnapping, with the promise of half the ransom. However, what was supposed to be an easy trip to the bank is becoming more problematic. The kidnappers want more than Skye originally bargained for and as the plan falls apart, the consequences might just prove deadly.

I really have to hand it to Cook. This book was really well done. I read her previous novel as an e-ARC as well and while I enjoyed it, I felt like it was missing something. She has come a very long way with her latest release.

I loved the slow burn of this thriller. Typically, I am a fan of a faster pace, but Cook worked it so well I have to applaud her. You start out the book knowing all the facts - or at least almost all the facts. But then there is a twist that seems huge at the time but later just becomes part of the story. I was reading it and I remember thinking "Ok, what is going to happen next? Where is the real twist, because I know too much about the story for this to be it." And I was right. Cook did a phenomenal job of throwing new information at the reader - sometimes it was relevant, other times not so much but you never really knew until the end of the book. As the story unraveled and new facts came out, I kept thinking that this was the big reveal. But then there was another one. And again, and again. But it never felt predictable or jarring, I felt like each new development moved the story forward until the very end with the big reveal.

I also think it's funny in both of Cook's recent novels, the justice system seems to fail, one way or another. There are often little consequences for anyone who does anything bad. I'm not sure if that is intentional to help make a cleaner, perhaps more sinister ending or if that was coincidental but it was something I noticed about both her latest books.

This book comes out in October (I've technically read and reviewed it in July) and I think it is a perfect Halloween/creepy read. You never know who to trust and I ended up reading it at night on my iPad and in the dark which didn't help matters. I think it's one of those ones that sneak up on you - you don't really get the full gravity of the creepiness until after you've finished it and let it digest for a bit.

I think what I loved about this book was that it was so unique and unpredictable. I couldn't pin it down and guess what was going to happen next, I just had to roll with the punches. The premise itself and how it all played out was very original and intriguing, I've never read anything quite like it before.

Overall, a great new book from an already great author - highly recommend, especially as a creepy Halloween read!