I guess you’re probably wondering about the next girl. Because there’s always another girl, right? A girl waiting to be taken. To be swept away. I’ll tell you about her.
It’s been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun lost her sister, and she’s been searching ever since; for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. Happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work.
Until one day, local teenager Ellie Black is found in Washington State woods. Two years after her disappearance, she’s an echo of herself, but alive.
But something’s not right about this girl. Where has she been, and who is she protecting?
Chelsey has to find out. For herself, for her sister, and before the next girl is taken.
Book Info: Print length: 368 pages. Published by Penguin on 9th May 2024
My Thoughts:
Emiko Jean is a New York Times best-selling author of adult and young adult fiction and this is my first book by her, although I have got Mika in Real Life sitting patiently on my kindle and will bump it up my toppling TBR pile . Originally published as The Return of Ellie Black, it’s been retitled The Next Girl and is available to buy now.
This is the tragic and uncomfortable story of Ellie (Elizabeth) Black. A young girl who was abducted at the age of 15 and held captive for just over 2 years before managing to escape. Found wandering in the woods miles from home, she’s traumatised and won’t talk about where she’s been or who took her.
Detective Chelsey Calhoun has been looking for Ellie since she disappeared without a trace from a party and now that Ellie has been found Chelsey isn’t going to stop investigating where she’s been and who is responsible, because this case is personal to her.
Digging deeper into the abduction she finds there are other missing girls and when a body is discovered and linked to Ellie, Chelsey knows she has to find the perpetrator before any more girls are killed.
This is a tightly plotted thriller which kept me glued to the pages. The characters voices were so authentic and powerful. Ellie’s story is brutally raw and uncomfortable when she recounts her life up to and including the abduction. It’s harrowing and disturbing and in places really difficult to read.
If you are looking for a tense thriller which will keep you guessing throughout, then grab yourself a copy of The Next Girl which is available to buy now.
