Today, nothing is going right for Em. And it’s about to get much worse.
Heartbroken by a recent split, with her 30th birthday looming, she loses her job and her home in the same morning because of two swaggering, dishonest men – the boss who sexually harassed her and the flatmate sleeping with her behind his fiancée’s back. But all Em can think about is catching a flight to attend her sister’s wedding and see her dying mother.
With a record-breaking heatwave, and a serial killer making the streets unsafe, London is completely gridlocked. Em’s life has always been full of men getting their own way, and today the scorched city teems with them standing between her and home. As Em’s troubled past returns to haunt her, she refuses to let them win. Her defiance leads to shocking consequences that soon spiral wildly out of control.
In a world where men don’t listen, and girls have no voice, one woman can change everything.
Today, no one will be staying silent.
Book Info: Book length: 316 pages. Publisher: Headline. Publication Date: 1 May 2023
Natali Simmonds began her career in glossy magazines, then went on to manage marketing campaigns for big brands. She’s now a creative brand consultant, freelance writer, and fiction author, writing gritty and unflinching stories full of complex women and page-turning suspense (and sometimes a little magic).
Simmonds’ dark, feminist thriller debut, Good Girls Die Last, has been optioned for a television series by STV. As N J Simmonds, Natali penned the fantasy trilogy The Path Keeper and Son of Secrets, and in 2022 was shortlisted for the RNA Fantasy Award for the last book in the series, Children of Shadows. She’s one half of paranormal romance author duo, Caedis Knight, and has also written for manga.
When she’s not writing or consulting, she’s a columnist for Kings College London’s ‘Inspire The Mind’ magazine, and lectures for Raindance Film School. Originally from London, Natali now divides her time between Spain, the UK, and the Netherlands where she can be found drawing, reading in her hammock, or complaining about cycling in the rain.
My Review:
This book has been featuring all over Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and everyone is raving about it, so suffering from Acute FOMO, I quickly finished my current read and started this book without really looking at the blurb or reviews.
If you think you’re having a bad day – then you really need to meet Em. It’s Friday, she’s about to leave London to travel home for her sister’s wedding in Spain, she’s hoping to get a permanent position in the company she’s working at, having completed a 3 month temporary contract, it’s also her 30th birthday this weekend plus she’s nursing a broken heart and she’s sleeping with her landlord.
On top of this, she’s been lying to her family about her career and love life and has managed to avoid seeing them for 3 years. However, London is the midst of a record-breaking heatwave, causing total gridlock, halting all modes of transport and she needs to get to the airport desperately.
There’s also the additional complication of a serial killer on the loose – targeting young women in London, d causing panic and mayhem everywhere. Em has had enough – literally, she’s been abused, ridiculed, used, discarded, ignored, objectified and mocked by men and now she’s taking back control and making a stand.
Good Girls Die Last is a shocking yet topical story featuring situations which sadly every female has probably encountered in their life.
This books is GRIM, it’s BRUTAL, it’s UNCOMFORTABLE and it’s DEEPLY DEPRESSING, so if you are looking for a bit of light relief, then this really isn’t the book for you. However, it’s also carries a very important message, is utterly THOUGHT-PROVOKING and so POWERFUL that it left me with a little book hangover.
