The Girl Who Left by Jenny Blackhurst
Twenty-five years ago, a local girl went missing. Now, another girl comes back…
When five-year-old Elsie Button was snatched from a garden in a sleepy town on the Welsh island of Anglesey, and a local man later confessed, it sent shockwaves through the tight-knit community. How could one of their own do such a thing? Especially when his own little girl was the same age – and the victim’s best friend.
Kathryn and her family left under the cloak of darkness one night, unable to bear the shame, and the anger of their neighbours. She hardly remembers that time. Now, she suffers the consequences of living under an assumed name, always looking over her shoulder. Her dad has not spoken a word to her since he went to prison. She is haunted by the question: why did he kill Elsie?
When another child is taken from the same garden, twenty-five years to the day of Elsie’s murder, Kathryn is determined that this time she’ll be on the right side. She’ll join the search and atone for her father’s deed, and maybe, just maybe, get the answers she wants. But she’s not prepared for the long memory of the locals, nor the risks of going back. Not everyone on the island wants the truth to come out, and they’ll go to extreme lengths to stop that from happening.
A gripping must-read psychological thriller from the #1 bestselling author Jenny Blackhurst. Unmissable for fans of K. L. Slater, C. L. Taylor and S. E. Lynes.
About the author
Jenny lives in Shropshire where she grew up dreaming that one day she would get paid for making up stories. She is an avid reader and can mostly be found with her head in a book or hunting Pokemon with her son, otherwise you can get her on Twitter @JennyBlackhurst or Facebook. Her favourite film is Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, but if her children ask it's definitely Moana.
Review
‘The Girl Who Left’ is a fantastic psychological thriller that has me captivated from the get-go! I loved the inserts of humour which helped to counterbalance the dark plot of a young girl going missing and the historic murder of 25 years ago.
Kathryn visits her dad in jail every month and only asks him one question ‘where is she’? He sits in silence. He is not an ordinary father, 25 years ago he killed Kathryn’s best friend and the body has never been located. Kathryn is messed up by this event and has never settled in her life, has been charged with DUI’s and can't hold a job. When she finds out that another girl from the small Welsh town she once lived in has gone missing, especially when she hears its from her old house she rushes to help out with the search and maybe find out some answers to what happened 25 years ago.
There are two POVs - Kathryn and Maggie and I loved both of them. They were strong, intelligent, spunky and funny! I would certainly read a series of police procedurals if they featured Maggie. The portrayal of Kathryn I thought in particular was excellent and she came across as a very flawed and real person who has suffered from trauma. There was a lot of empathy in the author’s treatment of all the characters and I loved her style of writing.
The premise of the book I found to be entertaining, well-paced and full of twists and turns and I loved the location of Angelsey. There was the ability to make it feel like a ‘locked room’ with the closure of the Menai bridge, plus the closeness of the community coming together to help search for the girls was a great touch.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one, let me know if you pick it up!
