Killing The Girl: A story of murder and redemption

This was an unusual book with an unusual story that kept me captivated. I can’t believe the emotions that went on in this girl’s life. I loved the story and the character’s. I love how this author writes too! The author will let you feel everything that is going on in the story. I will forever remember this book!

Killing the Girl by Elizabeth Hill is a cautionary tale about lies: how pervasive they can be and how much damage they can do. Carol is sixteen years old and pregnant when she kills Frankie. She calls her neighbor, Perry, to come and help her and he does. They bury Frankie under a tree, build a bench by the grave and live their lives. Carol is not able to live. She gives birth to her baby, Francine, in a stupor born of exhaustion she wakes up one night, believes her daughter dead, carries it outside and goes back in to be engulfed in flames started by a candle left in her bedroom. When Perry comes again, to rescue her, she is not able to tell him that the baby’s body is outside and he is badly burnt trying to find her. Francine was alive, although very ill. Carol ends up giving the baby to the father’s adoptive parents and spends some time in a mental hospital. Eventually she comes home and lives as a hermit for most of the rest of her life, riddled with the guilt of Frankie’s death. There are so many more details that make this a devastating story. Spoilers abound.

Killing the Girl is a heartbreaking tale. Carol is a very complex character that loved with the whole heart of a sixteen-year-old girl, and because of lies is never able to mature. Perry, her neighbor, has loved her his whole life, but is never able to give himself over to love so it manifests itself in many unhealthy ways. Carol pushes away her family and the few friends she had, deepening her loneliness. It is frightening to see her 40 years later, after living with this burden all these years. She is pushed into mental illness and becomes drug ridden, not out of necessity, but to protect the lies of others. It is an intriguing tale, but one of a person so broken, that it brings on the deaths of people who might not have died, had they not lied. The truth nearly breaks Carol’s heart, but frees her in a sense. Kind of a depressing book. Enter Carol’s world carefully, it is dangerous there. Recommended with caution.

I received a free ARC of Killing the Girls from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #killingthegirl

I confess. My review of Killing the girl.

First I would like to thank BOOKSIRENS and the author for sending me a complimentary copy for an honest review.

Carol Cage decides to relieve her conscience and confess to a heinous crime surrounded in sex and greed which she committed decades ago. The only thing is Carol’s memories are vague and are not clear about what did actually happened. This was a psychological thriller that is very gripping and begins to pick up speed the minute you read into the book. It begins slowly at first with very descriptive images of her estate and its surroundings. However, I just chalk that up to setting up the story. Lol. Carol begins to tell what happened years ago in the form of a diary entry. Only the reader doesn’t know if what she recalls is real or imagined b/c she lives in her own reality. This book was a well-written physiological thriller I will never forget. It had so many twists and turns it made my head spin. However, it kept me reading. Lol. Along with a perfect surprise ending. I loved it. This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I will definitely look for more books by this author in the future.

If you’re a fan of dark twisty thrillers, this is a book to consider.

Our MC, Carol, has a dark past and for decades she got away with the darkest deed a person could do. However, a chain of events start that will reveal the truth. Against herself, Carol decides to write her confession because she isn’t quite sure herself what happened all those years ago.

This book is slow to start, but once it gets started, it is thoroughly gripping. In the beginning, there are lots and lots of descriptions which may seem overdone but after the halfway point in the story, this information becomes significant. The story that’s told is very emotional and mysterious because we learn throughout the story that Carol has a very twisted version of her own reality. She made plenty of bad decisions because of this and dealt with the fall out on her, leading her deeper into the center of her own delusional mind.

As a fan of psychological works, I am always excited to find great new authors in the genre and Elizabeth Hill certainly fits the bill.

Killing The Girl, the debut novel by author Elizabeth Hill, is an intriguing and mysterious read! During her teenage years, Carol Cage went through stages of regret and guilt and lived a life full of loneliness. Living with her mother, Carol feels as if she no longer has a place to put her roots down. Feeling distraught and guilty over different circumstances, Carol begins to write her “confession” of sorts. Through her eyes, Carol begins to reveal what had taken place to cause the feelings of grief and unforgivable sins to take place. With a mix of different characters, the truth that had been hidden so well, soon becomes clear. Is Carol a murderer or just a victim of circumstances beyond her control? Will the truth finally bring the closure that Carol needs? Author Elizabeth Hill has written a masterpiece! I look forward to seeing more from this exceptionally talented author!

I received a free copy of this book from BookSirens. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book is a hot mess. I considered many things before writing this review, because it begins with such promise. I chose to read it because I loved the preview I downloaded from BookSirens. Carol Cage is writing a confession regarding her former lover, Frankie Dewberry, before his body is discovered in her orchard when construction begins on a new road. The first half of the book covers young Carol as she matures into a teenager and meets Frankie. The second half of the book deals with old Carol, as she deals with the aftermath of the discovery.

The first half of the book introduces us to Carol, her best friend Sarah, their neighbor Perry and, when Carol is sixteen, Frankie Dewberry. Her love for Frankie is instant and all-consuming. He is wealthy, polished, and four years older. She is a young girl from a council estate whose father died when she was eight. She is mesmerized by Frankie, and totally blind to his faults. Despite warnings from his godmother, Thora, she and Frankie begin a mad affair. He easily charms, and seduces her but he is not what he appears. Without risking too many spoilers, this is how Frankie ends up dead.

The author does an excellent job with young Carol. Her voice is authentic, and bold. She is confident, intelligent, and determined to have what she wants. However, she is too matter-of-fact in her descriptions. Details and conversations are left out, key events listed instead of described. There is a great deal of “tell” and not enough “show.” It is not always clear who is speaking to whom. Several times I noted that there should be more description as to what is happening, especially during key events. Certain life-altering events and losses get barely more than a few sentences or a vague shocked reaction. This seems out of character for an impressionable young girl whose life is rocked to its foundations with loss and change.

The author also does an excellent job with Frankie. He is a classic narcissist and abuser. He finds a vulnerable young girl, thinks he can mold her to his will, then, when he realizes he is trapped in the situation he created he turns nasty. Frankie has very few redeeming qualities, but his superficial charm and smooth words make it easy to see how a sixteen year old girl from a deprived background would see him as a prize.

In the first half of the book, the author does an excellent job of portraying Carol as unstable. She is all over the place. Smart but incredibly naïve. Independent, but determined to have Frankie. She is conniving, then repentant. Full of prayer and magic, then full of murder. She is selfish and believes everyone wants to hurt her even as she longs for her old life with family and friends. When a series of losses upend her life, you can see how Carol would become a recluse.

It is in the second half of the book that everything goes to hell in a handbasket. The switch from young Carol coping with the aftermath of Frankie’s death to old Carol waiting for his body to be discovered is abrupt, with no details of the intervening years. Suddenly, she is old. She is losing her home, and she is making decisions about her future that do not match up with what she anticipates happening.

There are numerous other things that make no sense. Huge parts of the narrative, necessary to understanding the events surrounding Frankie’s death, are missing. These parts are also necessary to fathom why the murder occurred and why the guilty party chose to murder him. It’s a bit frustrating at times because certain details need fleshing out and yet they are written as if the reader should just know what happened.

There is also the titular girl. Who is she? Who is killing her? This is never fully explained. There are many possibilities as to who she could be. There are actual girls, and there are metaphorical girls. No one conclusion wins out over the rest.

The whole unraveling of Frankie’s murder is a morass of nonsense. The premise of who did it, and why, is a good one. But there is absolutely nothing in the first half of the book, or the second, that would lead one to believe that the person responsible would do what they did for the reasons they did it . There is also no hint that Perry is capable of the crimes Carol believes he committed. No inclination that he is a dangerous sociopath until the book is almost over. The author also tends to write one thing, and then later make that thing something else. In one chapter, she is jealous of an employee she believes has design on Perry. In another chapter, she wants to kill Perry because he’s a terrible person. The whole narrative seems like a game of pickup sticks, where all kinds of plot devices are strewn about and as you pick up each one, others fall apart.

I do not say this to be harsh. There is the germ of a very, very good book here. With some revision and editing and a clearer vision of what the book should be from beginning to end, this would be an excellent book. The author has talent but lacks the focus to tie all the threads of the narrative together. If editorial revisions are made to this book, I welcome the chance to give it another go.