The Hanging Girl

The Hanging Girl by Eileen Cook

Published by Hot Key Books

October 2017

Two girls, one fatal reading . . . because the truth always lies in the cards

Skye's mother believes she has 'the gift' - the ability to see the future. Skye however can only see the opportunity to make money - and happily fleeces her gullible classmates into handing over their cash to hear their futures through Skye's well-worn tarot cards. But it's all for a good cause, right? Skye needs to save her hard-earned cash to go to New York with her best mate Drew. 

Then the local mayor's daughter, Paige, disappears - and Skye has a tip off about her whereabouts. Skye is uncomfortable about the source and masks the tip off as a vision. 

But things get wildly out of control when Paige is found murdered and Skye is a prime suspect . . .

Anyone who knows me knows I have a love for tarot, so when this book appeared on my radar I knew that I had to read it!  It's set in an American high school and features two best friends Skye and Drew.  They are nearing graduation and all both girls have dreamt of is of moving to New York together.  However Skye has forgotten to mention to Drew that she hasn't actually saved the money to be able to afford to go, and even her tarot card readings for her friends at school isn't going to bring in enough cash to help her out.  Then an offer comes her way following the disappearance of the mayor's daughter and she finds it hard to say no to the money that is offered to her.  All she has to do is tell the police that she has had a vision about classmate Paige and her abduction.  

Suddenly Skye is headline news, and her mother is delighted as she has always claimed that she too has been able to 'see things' and aims to help the police with their enquiries.  As the book progresses however, we soon learn that all is not how it initially seems and that Skye may have got involved with something that is soon going to get wildly out of hand.

I did enjoy this book.  It had a few good twists and turns and an ending that I didn't expect.  I'll certainly look out for more books by this author.

Happy Reading

Miss Chapters x

Final Girls

Final Girls by Riley Sager

Published by Ebury Press

July 2017

FIRST THERE WERE THREE

The media calls them the Final Girls – Quincy, Sam, Lisa – the infamous group that no one wants to be part of. The sole survivors of three separate killing sprees, they are linked by their shared trauma.

THEN THERE WERE TWO

But when Lisa dies in mysterious circumstances and Sam shows up unannounced on her doorstep, Quincy must admit that she doesn’t really know anything about the other Final Girls. Can she trust them? Or...

CAN THERE ONLY EVER BE ONE?

All Quincy knows is one thing: she is next.

There was a lot of hype surrounding Final Girls when it came out in the summer.  I missed out on getting a review copy so had to buy it as soon as I could to see what all the fuss was about.  I have to admit, the hype is real; I really enjoyed this debut novel by Riley Sager.

The basis is that there are three women in America, all totally unrelated to each other but they have one thing in common.  Each was part of a mass murder and each was the only surviving victim in each situation.  They have been labelled as the 'final girls' by the media.  The first of these women is Lisa, and then she is found dead in her bathtub.  Just before she died she sent an email to Quincy asking her to get in touch with her - Quincy does not.  Then Samantha turns up on Quincy's doorstep and suddenly the two meet for the first time.  Quincy prefers not to think about her past life at all, but with Lisa's death and Sam's insistence that she relive the horrors of that night in the woods, the past seems to be coming back to haunt her.  There is only one person she can rely on to help her through this journey, and that's cop Coop, the man who rescued her at Pine Lodge all those years ago.

Yes there may be some unlikely twists and turns in the narrative, but come on, it's fiction for goodness sake, it's not real life and do you know what, this book has a decent ending.  I didn't work out 'whodunnit and I thought the ending was pretty much perfect - and anyone who knows me, or follows this blog knows I can't stand a weak thriller ending (Gone GirI - I rest my case!). Go get this and spend a few hours immersed in a gripping story.

Happy Reading

Miss Chapters x