The Other Girl Review

Title:  The Other Girl
Author:  Erica Spindler
Publisher:  St. Martin's Press
Release Date:  Aug. 22, 2017
Buy/Order Link:  Amazon

My Rating:  4.5 Fantastic ♥'s

*Many thanks to St. Martin's Press, Netgally, and the author for an arc copy of this book.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Justice for Sara and The First Wife Erica Spindler comes The Other Girl, a chilling new thriller about a ritualistic murder of a college professor that sends a small town cop back into the trauma she thought she’d put behind her.

Synopsis:

A horrific crime. One witness—a fifteen year old girl from the wrong side of the tracks, one known for lying and her own brushes with the law.
Is it any surprise no one believed her?

Officer Miranda Rader of the Harmony, Louisiana PD is known for her honesty, integrity, and steady hand in a crisis—but that wasn’t always so. Miranda comes from the town of Jasper, a place about the size of a good spit on a hot day, and her side of the tracks was the wrong one. She’s worked hard to earn the respect of her coworkers and the community.

When Miranda and her partner are called to investigate the murder of one of the town’s most beloved college professors, they’re unprepared for the brutality of the scene. This murder is unlike any they’ve ever investigated, and just when Miranda thinks she’s seen the worst of it, she finds a piece of evidence that chills her to the core: a faded newspaper clipping about that terrible night fifteen years ago. The night she’d buried, along with her past and the girl she’d been back then. Until now that grave had stayed sealed…except for those times, in the deepest part of the night, when the nightmares came: of a crime no one believed happened and the screams of the girl they believed didn’t exist.

Then another man turns up dead, this one a retired cop. Not just any cop—the one who took her statement that night. Two murders, two very different men, two killings that on the surface had nothing in common—except Miranda.

Review:

What a fantastic, chilling read!  Be prepared to be totally immersed in this story as Spindler weaves the past and present into one heart-racing thriller.  I read this book in mostly one sitting, simply unable to put it down.  This is my second book by Erica Spindler and all the proof I need that she deserves a spot on my "go-to" author list.  I look forward to exploring more of her books. 

Detective Miranda Rader is a respected, ten year veteran of the Harmony, La. police force.  She has earned the respect of fellow officers and her commander through years of hard work and dedication to her job.  But it hasn't always been so as witnessed in her sordid past of lies, wild parties, drugs, and alcohol.  How many times can a young girl yell "wolf" before everyone stops believing her?   Fifteen-year-old Miranda found out one dark, rainy night and ended up branded a liar and a slut.  The resulting chaos and devastation led her to flee town, leaving behind the family who turned their backs on her.  Miranda made her own second chance and is a different person now, keeping her old life buried.  That is until the day she's called out to investigate the brutal, ritualistic murder of a beloved college professor and finds a piece of evidence tying her to the murder scene and linking to her buried past.  Things quickly escalate out of control when a cop also turns up dead with evidence pointing an accusing finger at Miranda.  It seems her past has finally caught up with her, placing her in imminent danger as her new life is torn apart.  Is someone seeking revenge by setting her up?  Or is Miranda finally seeking vengeance against the ghosts of her past?

Intense, fast-paced action kept me burning through the pages of The Other Girl.  The detail-oriented plot is enhanced by an atmospheric setting, lending a dark, ominous tone of impending gloom and doom to the story.  The characterizations are spot-on, beautifully crafted, leaving me questioning who I could really trust and whose loyalty is a mask.  There are some twisted surprises in this story . . . some I figured out ahead of the reveal and some I didn't.  Either way, they don't deter from the reading pleasure of this intriguing, mesmerizing suspense thriller.  A Must Read!

My Rating:  4.5 Fantastic, Thrilling ♥'s . . . And that's the truth!

Cross My Heart . . . xxx

♥Sandra♥