DIVA taut, emotive, devastating dark and all-consuming psychological thriller, reminiscent of Play Misty for Me … from the critically acclaimed author of Maria in the Moon and The Lion Tamer Who Lost… WINNER of Best magazine’s BIG Book of the Year 2019 LONGLISTED for Guardian’s NOT THE BOOKER PRIZE ‘A complex and layered tale that charmed me as a much as it traumatised me. An atmospheric, … me as a much as it traumatised me. An atmospheric, haunting and beautifully written page turner!’ C L Taylor ‘Noirish psychological thriller with fascinating, disturbing characters. Compelling, twisty, and seriously addictive. EXCELLENT’ Will Dean ‘As twisty and deadly as barbed wire, this book will leave you breathless’ Erin Kelly __________Stirring up secrets can be deadly … especially if they’re yours… Pregnant Victoria Valbon was brutally murdered in an alley three weeks ago – and her killer hasn’t been caught. Tonight is Stella McKeever’s final radio show. The theme is secrets. You tell her yours, and she’ll share some of hers. Stella might tell you about Tom, a boyfriend who likes to play games, about the mother who abandoned her, now back after fourteen years. She might tell you about the perfume bottle with the star-shaped stopper, or about her father … What Stella really wants to know is more about the mysterious man calling the station … who says he knows who killed Victoria, and has proof. Tonight is the night for secrets, and Stella wants to know everything… With echoes of the Play Misty for Me, Call Me Star Girl is a taut, emotive and all-consuming psychological thriller that plays on our deepest fears, providing a stark reminder that stirring up dark secrets from the past can be deadly… ____________ ‘It’s a slow burn at first until it twists and turns at a head-staggering rate to a devastating climax. Original, moody and totally gripping’ Claire Allan ‘Louise Beech blasts into the world of thriller writing with this moody and tense tale. With secrets, lies and plenty of twisty turns, it’s story is dark and it’s setting eerie and evocative. Definitely one where you might look over your shoulder more than once while reading!’ Fionnuala Kearney ‘An original story and beautifully written, so atmospheric … Dark, mesmerising and utterly devastating’ SJI Holliday ‘Beech has used her unique flair and constructed a crime fiction story that will have you frantically turning the pages until you get to the end’ Michael Wood ‘It’s EXTRAORDINARY – tense, twisted and utterly compelling, written with such raw beauty and unflinching honesty’ Miranda Dickinson ‘A thriller with heart, passion and twists that will surprise even the most astute readers’ John Marrs ‘With Call Me Star Girl, Louise proves that she can blow us all away with her writing powers – in whatever genre she chooses’ Jack Jordan ‘A smart, complex and beautifully written psychological thriller, with a raw intensity at it’s heart. Twisty, addictive and completely compelling, this powerful story will keep you hooked and leave you haunted’ Best Magazine ‘Call Me Star Girl is a unique psychological thriller which is packed with tension and suspense … A dark and atmospheric read which sends shivers down you
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Call Me Star Girl was a difficult book for me to finish. Strange characters, slow moving, and I never really engaged with any of the characters or the plot. Louise Beech painted a great picture, and I did feel like I was present in the happenings. I get the impression Call Me Star Girl was meant to be a thriller, but it ended up being a “who done it” mystery. The ending was disappointing, and do I believe the resolution of who supposedly committed the crime? I do not.
A change in direction of genre but one that pays off—it effortlessly retains Louise’s inimitable voice. A thriller with heart, passion and twists that will surprise even the most astute readers.
An original story and beautifully written, so atmospheric… Dark, mesmerising and utterly devastating.
It’s a slow burn at first until it twists and turns at a head-staggering rate to a devastating climax. Original, moody and totally gripping.
A complex and layered tale that charmed me as a much as it traumatised me. An atmospheric, haunting and beautifully written page turner!
As twisty and deadly as barbed wire, this book will leave you breathless.
Noirish psychological thriller with fascinating, disturbing characters. Compelling, twisty, and seriously addictive. EXCELLENT.
Louise Beech blasts into the world of thriller writing with this moody and tense tale. With secrets, lies and plenty of twisty turns, it’s story is dark and it’s setting eerie and evocative. Definitely one where you might look over your shoulder more than once while reading!
Beech has used her unique flair and constructed a crime fiction story that will have you frantically turning the pages until you get to the end.
It’s EXTRAORDINARY—tense, twisted and utterly compelling, written with such raw beauty and unflinching honesty.
I find many psychological suspense stories formulaic, relying on dark family secrets being slowly peeled away. Star Girl was quite different, being focused on the death of a pregnant woman, Vicky Valbon.
The story is told by Stella and her mother, Elizabeth, who abandoned her daughter at a young age. It jumps back and forth in time, which helps to build tension and suspense as more details are revealed. At times it felt like there were too many background details, slowing the pace and drawing out the story to delay revelations and key developments.
The characters are intense and driven by passion, often selfishly, often darkly, but the author portrays them sympathetically and deeply so you understand them and the way they think and behave. The intensity of the characters drives events and the consequences that lead towards a shocking climax. Several further twists then follow. Though they are clever and reveal what really happened to Vicky Valbon, I thought the twists drew out the ending, just taking the edge off the emotional impact.
Dark, occasionally disturbing, but always intriguing, Call Me Star Girl is a complex, consuming story that will take you on an emotional roller coaster. It will leave you drained but glad you took the ride.
Wow! I think I’ve finally managed to wipe away my tears after finishing Call Me Star Girl, by Louise Beech. I couldn’t put this book down – was obsessed with the wonderful, complex, realistic characters, intrigued by the twisting storyline, and in love with beautiful writing. This psychological thriller is definitely character-led, so it goes at a slower pace but I was pulled along by wanting to know what happens to the people rather than a speeding plot. It will stay with me for some time.