The Perfect Girl by Gilly MacMillan

Book Description:

Published: March 10, 2016

Format: Audio/OverDrive

To everyone who knows her now, Zoe Maisey – child genius, musical sensation – is perfect. Yet several years ago, Zoe caused the death of three teenagers. She served her time. And now she’s free.

Her story begins with her giving the performance of her life.

By midnight, her mother is dead.

The Perfect Girl is an intricate exploration into the mind of a teenager burdened by brilliance. It’s a story about the wrongs in our past not letting go and how hard we must fight for second chances.

Review –

It took me forever to get into this book and I found it very convoluted and was indeed surprised by the ending but I still only gave it a three out of five stars.

Zoe’s step-brother, Lucas, had written a script for a movie/play where he revealed that his father abused his mother before she died.  Right before the concert, Lucas had emailed the script to Maria and Zoe as a warning that his father was dangerous.   Maria had kept Zoe’s criminal past from Chris and he found out about it the night she died.  It was Lucas who accidentally pushed Maria down the stairs, but he recorded everything on his cell phone.  Zoe convinced him to turn the video in and say that Chris was the murderer.  It worked.  The cops arrested Chris.

Sorry about the spoilers but if I hadn’t already read it, I would NOT read it. I really hope the next book I read by this author is better. To me, this one was a “bit of a time-waster”.

 

 

 

What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan

Book Description:

Published: December 1, 2015

Format: Audio/OverDrive

In a heartbeat, everything changes…

Rachel Jenner is walking in a Bristol park with her eight-year-old son, Ben, when he asks if he can run ahead. It’s an ordinary request on an ordinary Sunday afternoon, and Rachel has no reason to worry—until Ben vanishes.

Police are called, search parties go out, and Rachel, already insecure after her recent divorce, feels herself coming undone. As hours and then days pass without a sign of Ben, everyone who knew him is called into question, from Rachel’s newly married ex-husband to her mother-of-the-year sister. Inevitably, media attention focuses on Rachel too, and the public’s attitude toward her begins to shift from sympathy to suspicion.

As she desperately pieces together the threadbare clues, Rachel realizes that nothing is quite as she imagined it to be, not even her own judgment. And the greatest dangers may lie not in the anonymous strangers of every parent’s nightmares, but behind the familiar smiles of those she trusts the most.

Where is Ben? The clock is ticking…

Review –

Author Gilly Macmillan alternates between two narrators in her mesmerizing debut novel: Rachel Finch, a grieving mother whose eight-year-old son, Ben, disappears from the Leigh Woods in Bristol, England  10 months after her husband left her for another woman; and Detective Inspector  James “Jim” Clemo, who tirelessly searches to find Ben.

Rachel can’t forgive herself for letting her son run ahead of her in the forest, and Jim blames himself for not solving the case sooner. In the aftermath of the investigation, Rachel learns disturbing things about her past and comes to the painful conclusion that she can trust only a few people in her life. Meanwhile, Jim suffers from severe depression that leads to acute insomnia and panic attacks, causing his department to mandate counseling sessions. The suspense intensifies as suspects are ruled out, and the media relentlessly pursue Rachel for negligent supervision of her son. 

Excellent book that will keep you guessing to the end.