Title: The Good Girls
Author: Sara Shepard
First published June 2, 2015
368 pages, ebook
ISBN: 9780062074546 (ISBN10: 0062074547)
Rating: 4.07
Overview
Harper, Emily, Rachel, Olivia, and Chloe are five friends who have made some questionable choices in their past. While they discussed getting revenge on their cheating boyfriends, they never actually intended to harm them.
But when their exes start turning up dead, the girls are left wondering if someone is out to make them pay for their words. As the police investigate the murders, Harper, Emily, Rachel, Olivia, and Chloe must race to uncover the truth before they become the next victims of a vengeful killer.
About the Author
Sara Shepard earned her degree from NYU, and later pursued an MFA at Brooklyn College. Throughout her life, she has had the pleasure of calling numerous cities her home, including New York City, Brooklyn, Tucson, and Philadelphia.
Today, she resides in Pittsburgh, PA. Her popular series, Pretty Little Liars, draws inspiration from her upbringing in Philadelphia’s Main Line.
Editoral Review
Sara Shepard, the author of bestselling book series “Pretty Little Liars,” brings readers her latest thriller, “The Good Girls.” First published on June 2, 2015, the book falls under the mystery and thriller genre and follows a group of high school students in a small town who are caught up in a web of lies and secrets. The book centers around the disappearance of two teenagers, Mackenzie Wright and Parker Curtis, who seem to have vanished without a trace.
As the police investigation unfolds, it becomes clear that the two girls, who seemed to be perfect, had deep, dark secrets that were threatening to be exposed. Tension heightens as the plot thickens, and the main characters, including the missing girls’ best friends, become suspects in the case.
As the story progresses, readers are drawn into a complex web of deceit, betrayal, and manipulation that keep them guessing until the very end. Shepard deftly weaves together multiple plotlines, characters, and clues that listeners will love to speculate over as they try to figure out what has really happened to the missing girls.
The writing is engaging with a fast-paced, action-packed plot that is guaranteed to keep readers on edge. Shepard’s prose is easy to read, flows smoothly, and is full of suspenseful scenes that make it hard to put the book down.
However, the characters in The Good Girls are not well-developed, causing difficulty in becoming attached to any of them. Shepard also struggles with pacing, leaving some plotlines unresolved and detracting from the overall story’s cohesion.
However, even with its flaws, the book remains a thrilling read for fans of the mystery genre. The themes of the book relating to social class, privilege, and the difficulty of adolescence, are also worth mentioning.
Shepard paints a realistic picture of the pressures young people face in today’s society, particularly when it comes to fitting in and meeting society’s impossible standards. Overall, “The Good Girls” is an enjoyable read that is worth picking up for fans of the genre.
While it may not be a work of literary genius or rival other classics in the genre, it has enough suspenseful twists to keep readers hooked, and will appeal to fans of Pretty Little Liars and other mysteries with a teenage focus. Rating: 3.5/5 stars.
