For fans of Lisa Jewell, Holly Seddon and Local Girl Missing, All the Wicked Girls is a gripping thriller with a huge heart from an exceptional talent.Everyone loves Summer Ryan. A model student and musical prodigy, she’s a ray of light in the struggling small town of Grace – especially compared to her troubled sister, Raine. Then Summer vanishes.Raine throws herself into the investigation, aided … vanishes.
Raine throws herself into the investigation, aided by a most unlikely ally, but the closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous her search becomes.
And perhaps there was always more to Summer than met the eye . . .
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‘A very real, very rare talent’ Sarah Hilary
’Wonderful’ M. R. Carey, author of The Girl With All The Gifts
‘Chris is so amazing. He just has this real knack of creating characters that you’re completely engaged with . . . I was hooked by his beautiful prose and by the end I was absolutely ruined’ Lisa Hall, author of Between You And Me
‘Extraordinarily good. Gripping and heartbreaking’ Deborah O’Connor, author of My Husband’s Son
’Phenomenal’ Jo Spain
’Stunning’ Michelle Davis
’Remarkable’ Mike Thomas
‘Impossibly good. And beautiful. And melancholy, utterly compelling and difficult to describe. I love this book’ Liz Loves Books
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I thought this was one of the best books that I have read in some time. While the synopsis implies that the book is a mystery/thriller, the story itself is so much more. It is also a coming of age story and in many ways a great character study. The plot is pretty straightforward. In the small town of Grace and nearby areas, girls are vanishing. Rumor has it, that whatever is abducting them isn’t quite human. When Summer Ryan goes missing, her family and friends spring into action to find her before it’s too late. At the same time, a large, dark cloud begins to hover over the town and the people fear a reckoning is coming.
Honestly, the best way to review this might be to simply give a brief overview at the remarkable characters:
Summer and Raine Ryan – twins who are as different as night and day. Summer is thought of as the intelligent, well-behaved one. Raine is the troublemaking boy chaser bound to not go far in life according to the town folk. Raine is a fierce young woman and just may be unstoppable when it comes to finding her sister though.
Joe Ryan – father of the the twins. Has a troubled past and has been in trouble with the law. Joe’s not afraid to side step the law to find his baby girl.
Tommy Ryan – Joe’s brother who watched over the twins while Joe spent years in prison doing time. Tommy is a ladies man but lacks character.
Black – the officer in charge of the case. Black is fighting quite a few personal demons of his own and his abilities for finding the girls are highly questionable.
Peach Palmer – a washed up prostitute whose daughter was one of the first Briar girls to go missing. Peach wants people to recognize that her daughter is a good girl and not like her mother. Peach is involved with Black. Is he just another trick, is she using him to find her daughter, or is it possible she may be falling in love?
Noah and Purv – Two local boys who are considered losers at school. Noah wants to be a police officer (to honor his father killed in the line of duty). Noah knows life isn’t guaranteed though. Purv just wants to escape the abuse he suffers at the hands of his own alcoholic father.
Bobby and Savannah – the town minister and his wife who have suffered an unimaginable loss. These two can’t find solace in each other and are seeking any respite from grief possible (even if that means inappropriate relationships with others).
While this is no means the entire list of characters, it touches on some of the most interesting ones in the story. In addition to the intriguing mystery taking place, there are so many personal narratives that pull the reader in as well. The characterization is so strong, that it’s almost impossible not to get caught up in the struggles each of these characters is facing. This book may be one of the few (if not the only) “mystery” novel that I found myself crying while reading.
Highly recommended!