Book Review: The Liar’s Girl

I want to thank NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate this opportunity and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Will Hurley was an attractive, charming, and impressive student at Dublin’s elite St. John’s College-and Ireland’s most prolific serial killer. Having stalked his four young victims, he drowned them in the muddy waters of the Grand Canal. Sentenced to life imprisonment when he was just nineteen, Will is locked away in the city’s Central Psychiatric Hospital.

Freshman Alison Smith moved to the Big Smoke to enrol in St. John’s and soon fell hard for Will Hurley. Her world bloomed … and then imploded when Liz, her best friend, became the latest victim of the Canal Killer-and the Canal Killer turned out to be the boy who’d been sleeping in her bed. Alison fled to the Netherlands and, in ten years, has never once looked back.

When a young woman’s body is found in the Grand Canal, Garda detectives visit Will to see if he can assist them in solving what looks like a copycat killing. Instead, Will tells them he has something new to confess-but there’s only one person he’s prepared to confess it to. The last thing Alison wants is to be pulled back into the past she’s worked so hard to leave behind. Reluctantly, she returns to the city she hasn’t set foot in for more than a decade to face the man who murdered the woman she was supposed to become.

Only to discover that, until now, Will has left out the worst part of all …

I give this book 4 out of 5 Thrilling Stars! I really liked this book and thought it had major potential to be a 5 star in my opinion. The issue I had with this book it felt like it was really slow in the beginning and felt like it took forever to get to the thrilling stuff and meat of the story.

Once we get through atleast the first 60 pages or so it was quite suspenseful and thrilling. The plot was great and the characterisation was good as well. I also liked how unique the twists and turns of this story was.

There was a lot of page turning moments and know that this story will capture a large amount of readers’ attention! Man did some of it make me cringe!

I just think with the beginning it set me off a tad but definitely a book that I would recommend to people who love thrillers who enjoy a slow burner because it ended up being really good and surprising. Overall, I liked this story and am glad I read it because it had me keeping the lights on and had me cringing at some points with the intensity!

Responses

  1. Just when my interest goes up I start to read your review and see “slow”….eek, probably not for me then which is a shame being set overseas and my love for virtual traveling and mysteries.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I know how much that slowness gets to you as well Carrie! I upped my rating to a 4 because it was crazy once it started but still the beginning did drive me CRAZY at the time. Lol but maybe it’s my attention span.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Well mine is probably worse, I just want to get to the action or answers.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Lol. I guess I am a bit impatient myself to be honest!!!😕 I am like geez get on with it!

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Hehe yep, that’s the feeling.

            Liked by 1 person

            1. Hehehe. I am guilty of that for sure! I hope you have a great New Year’s Eve Carrie!😊

              Liked by 1 person

            2. Thanks Dani, Happy New Year to you too! 🙂

              Liked by 2 people

  2. “Alison fled to The Netherlands” 😀😀Nice, as of course this is my home country as you well know. I usually only enjoy slow starts if eventually it picks up, and it was worth it in the end. Sounds like this one was though. Love the premise and I always like serial killer stories in the first place (Hmm….this actually makes me sound really creepy 😂😂). Another winning review from an inspiring woman. Loved it 😘😘❤️

    Liked by 3 people

    1. I think you would really like this one Michel! Also yes it was why I was more intrigued by the Netherlands!😍 I just kept getting thrown off with the beginning because of my attention span!😂 Thanks so much for your love and feedback!😘

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Well here is me hoping you get to visit this country one day 😊😊
        Honestly I usually have problems staying focussed on a book when it starts of slow. My current read (The Star Wars novel Thrawn) has pretty much the same problem. But…it seems to be picking up now, so I guess I will stick to it.
        And of course you are welcome: it is more than deserved.😘😘❤️❤️

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    2. I upped my rating to a 4 for this one because looking back it was quite thrilling and do recommend!😘

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Well, I’m definitely looking forward to reading it. I plan on really getting up to speed with reading next year. Way too far behind lol 😂😂

        Liked by 1 person

        1. It’s all good as a reader you will always be behind on your TBR!😉 Just the way it goes and we have to go with the flow!😁 I have thousands of books on my TBR! Hehe.

          Liked by 1 person

          1. Haha, I took a look at your to read list just the other day, and I saw the number of books on it 😮😮 It made me smile, and I guess my to read list is just about 1/20 of yours lol. So I guess I shouldn’t be complaining lol 😂😂

            Liked by 1 person

            1. No you shouldn’t and it grows daily!😄💖📚📚📚📚

              Liked by 1 person

            2. Yes it does, and I guess that won’t end until I die lol (which I’m not planning in doing anytime soon either 😊😊) ❤️❤️

              Liked by 1 person

  3. Serial killer, an Irish location for a change, slow-burning start. All good in my book. And the cover is suitably restrained too! This doesn’t sound at all ‘cozy’. 🙂 x
    Best wishes, Pete.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Oh no definitely not a cozy one Pete! I think you would like this one! Especially after the book you recommended to me!😊 Thanks for your feedback! xoxo

      Liked by 1 person

      1. My thoughts exactly. 🙂 x

        Liked by 1 person

        1. I upped my rating to a 4 on this one Pete because looking back at it. It really was quite thrilling once it picked up!😗

          Like

  4. Yes I like the sound of this!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes it was quite thrilling! I upped my rating to a 4 because it was really suspenseful once I got through the beginning!😄📚

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Hmm. Even with the slow beginning, this sounds like my kind of book. Fantabulous review Book Sister!🤗

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks so much Book Sister!!!😍 Now looking back at the book even though some parts aggravated me I wanted to change my rating to a 4! I think you would enjoy this book!😊

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Yep.. Sometimes these thrillers have a slow start just to set the table. My recent thriller was slow in the beginning too.. And for at least 50% of the book too. Great review, Dani. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Fab review Dani. I tend to stay away from slow-burners because I get bored/distracted easily. I like the premise and setting of this one though so might give it a try.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks so much Diana!😍 I also get distracted easily but the location and the twist was pretty nice!😊

      Liked by 1 person

  8. wonderful review.. an interesting read..I too have recently reviewed a recent launch – The Wild Cat – a thriller , a deviant tale of a young woman who unknowingly becomes victim of Cyber Crime through an online dating app.
    It’s an intriguing story dealing with Cyber safety for women.

    Here goes the review :

    Book Review | The Wild Cat |Trilogy Book 1

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks for sharing! Also thanks so much!😄💖💙📚

      Liked by 1 person

  9. This sounds like a really good read – your write-up has definitely intrigued me! I’ve been looking for some new books to suggest at my next Book Club meeting, so definitely gonna suggest this x

    Liked by 1 person

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About the author

Sophia Bennett is an art historian and freelance writer with a passion for exploring the intersections between nature, symbolism, and artistic expression. With a background in Renaissance and modern art, Sophia enjoys uncovering the hidden meanings behind iconic works and sharing her insights with art lovers of all levels. When she’s not visiting museums or researching the latest trends in contemporary art, you can find her hiking in the countryside, always chasing the next rainbow.