Ten years ago, four people were brutally murdered. One girl lived. No one believes her story. The police think she’s crazy. Her therapist thinks she’s suicidal. Everyone else thinks she’s a dangerous drunk. They’re all right-but did she see the killer? As the anniversary of the murders approaches, Faith Winters is released from the psychiatric hospital and yanked back to the last spot on earth … she wants to be-her hometown where the slayings took place. Wracked by the lingering echoes of survivor’s guilt, Faith spirals into a black hole of alcoholism and wanton self-destruction. Finding no solace at the bottom of a bottle, Faith decides to track down her sister’s killer-and then discovers that she’s the one being hunted. How can one woman uncover the truth when everyone’s a suspect-including herself? From the mind of Wall Street Journal bestselling author Christopher Greyson comes a story with twists and turns that take the reader to the edge of madness. The Girl Who Lived should come with a warning label: once you start reading, you won’t be able to stop. Not since Girl on the Train and Gone Girl has a psychological thriller kept readers so addicted-and guessing right until the last page. Praise for Christopher Greyson’s The Girl Who Lived Gold Medal Winner for Best Mystery/Thriller eBook of the Year – 2018 Independent Publisher Book Awards Winner Best Thriller – 2018 National Indie Excellence Awards Winner Best Thriller – 2018 Silver Falchion Award Killer Nashville Voted Most Loved Cover – NetGalley Readers Grab your copy of this highly-acclaimed thriller today!” Christopher Greyson has created a thriller on par with The Girl on the Train, only with more suspects, more danger, and more agony for the young heroine.” – Killer Nashville “The plot turns come fast and furious… Sharp characters enmeshed in a mystery that, particularly in its final lap, is a gleefully dizzy ride.” – Kirkus Reviews
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I quickly became a fan of Christopher Greyson. He has a way of pulling the reader into the tale so that it becomes more than simply a read, but an experience. I will read everything he writes.
This recent (2017) suspense novel compares well to classics such as _I Married a Dead Man_ by Cornell Woolrich, _After Dark My Sweet_ by Jim Thompson, and _Nothing in Her Way_ by Charles Williams.
In each of these, the hero struggles not only with adversaries (law enforcement, con artists and thugs), but also with her or his own defects that result from a traumatic past. The conflict is both internal and external. The hero’s problems are both in the present and the past.
Greyson’s _The Girl Who Lived_ is a pleasure to read not only for the complexity of the puzzle and the intensity of the hero’s struggle, but also because the prose reads effortlessly. To use a figure of speech, not an ounce of fat.
The Girl Who Lived is my first read by author, Christopher Greyson. I was hooked at chapter one. The author was able to grab my attention from the beginning and keep it until the end. I could not put this book down and finished it in one day which is super-fast for me. The cover art for this book was amazing!
I totally loved the main character, Faith Winters. She is a young girl who comes with many flaws but because of that it makes her story real and believable. I was rooting for her throughout the book as she dealt with survivor’s guilt, anger, mental illness, thoughts of suicide, and alcoholism.
I love books with lots of twists and turns and this one did not disappoint. The author had me guessing clear up to the end. And WOW! What an ending! I thought I had it all figured out then NO…back to square one again. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves psychological thrillers and a good whodunit mystery. Five out of five stars for The Girl Who Lived!!!
Thank you Christopher Greyson, Greyson Media Associates, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book to read.
Although the ending was a bit surprising, it was also completely unbelievable. I mean really??? I would have given this only 3 stars but it made me foolishly want to get to the end to see who was behind all the nonsense. I didn’t like Faith as a leading character. She was just too out of control and beyond believable that she could solve any mystery, when she seemed unable to remember what she did the day before. It would be incredibly horrible to be the sole survivor of any traumatic event like your family being killed. Some of the characters I liked (Tommy, Robert) and others I didn’t like at all. I really gave the rating for the surprise ending more than the overall story. I can’t give it 3.5 stars. This could have been such a great story if it made more sense in the end.
-Amazon reviews 9,960+ 83% 5 and 4 stars
-Goodreads reviews 51,300+ avg 3.89
So a lot of people read this and a lot of people liked it. BUT…I have mixed feelings.
What I liked:
-The writing was good.
-At about 50% the action and story really picked up. It was great and very interesting up until about 90%.
-Lots happening.
-You could feel AA meetings.
-There are some twists and turns and surprises.
What I didn’t like:
-It started way too slow. The opening depends on a group murder, but it is never described with tension or any real detail. Missed opportunity I think.
-For the first 50%, it was drugs, drinking, AA meetings, psych hospital, etc. Kind of boring.
-The last 15% or so got confusing, So many characters, some minor at the time introduced, are all brought back into the story.
-Didn’t really like the main character.
There you go. Hard to recommend, but a lot of people liked it.
I would read one from the author again. 🙂
Wow! Just WOW! Talk about twists and turns and guessing on the “Who done it?” Gripping read you just can’t JUST CAN’T put down. I hope I don’t give it away by saying you’ll be so completely surprised!!! If the rest are this good … I’ll be reading more by this author. Kudos!
This book was disappointing and depressing. A young girl is the lone survivor of a mass murder involving her sister, father, best friend, and the best friend’s mother. Fast forward ten years and we find the survivor with a long history of psychiatric hospitalizations, uncontrolled anger issues and alcohol addiction. Fully two thirds of the book is just her continued downward spiral of drunken binges, angry outbursts, paranoia, and bad decision making. There were no bright spots nor is the main character very likable. She becomes a target, but trusts no one despite offers of help. The ending was as if the author could not decide on who the culprit should be and so he points the finger at just about every character before discarding them for the ultimate evil doer. I still can’t figure out why the perpetrator would wait 10 years to execute a plan. The ending was just too contrived to be believable.
This was basically a good read with some interesting characters. The plot kept me guessing, which I love, however, there were some major plot failures, especially at the end of the story.
The Girl Who Lived by Christopher Greyson was a suspenseful treat with characters that kept you wondering if they could be trusted or not. I disagree with the hater reviews! This book was very well written. I am an author myself and have never met Mr. Greyson. No one has paid me to leave a review. I am reviewing his book because I loved it and he deserves the accolades. I enjoyed the twists in the story and understand why the “girl” that survived was so flawed. Who wouldn’t be? Well, I like my reviews short and sweet. I highly recommend this book and look forward to more from Mr. Greyson!
A sad but real depiction of mental health Illness and addiction caused by trauma. It kept my attention from the first page and I was rooting for the main character who gratefully didn’t let me down.
THE BEST BOOK!!!!!!!
I’ve read several of the “Jack Stratton” series and have enjoyed them. So, when I saw this book and it was a stand alone, I had to check it out. I’m so glad that I took the chance to read something different by this author.
From the first chapter, I was intrigued as to what might happen with this woman would had suffered so much since her 12th birthday and who has caused such pain. No one believes her, no one wants to believe her, and no one seems to care.
This kept me reading way into the night and only took me a day and half to finish. If you want to ride this roller coaster of suspense, psychological warfare, and angst, please take this book home with you NOW.
Plan to read more of Greyson’s book in the Jack series but the fantasy novel “Pure Heart” isn’t my ‘cup of tea’. May come back to that later, who know.
Thanks for a wild ride and good read.
I felt immediately drawn into this story. Faith was not a likable protagonist, but that made her quite real. It’s not that unusual for someone to survive or endure all that she had been through and end up cynical, angry, paranoid, and chemically dependent.
The first 70% of this book was absolutely fantastic. However, I think the story suffered from too many suspects. When Greyson introduces us to these various people they are all compelling and integral parts of Faith’s reintegration to her hometown. Unfortunately, when Faith begins to get too close to answers and those responsible begin to close in on her – her suspicion of every. single. person in rapid succession is too much. The final reveal ends up being slightly anti-climactic.
Overall, it was a good mystery/suspense and an enjoyable weekend listen.
Amy McFadden does a great job bringing Faith to life: her fear, confusion, frustration, anger, and determination. She also gives a large cast of secondary characters unique voices, accents, and mannerisms that made this enjoyable.
If you like psychological thrillers, this book is for you! The book is a quick read, keeps you guessing, and keeps the suspense level high!
Faith Winters and her sister, Kim, Drive our to their family cabin on the night before Faith’s 13th birthday. They were meeting their father and Faith’s best friend and her mother there. But instead, Faith was the only one who lived- the rest were brutally murdered.
Fast forward 10 years, Faith is being released from a mental health institution, and the anniversary of the murders is nearing. Faith swears she sees the murderer, but no one believes her. She doesn’t know who to trust. Her therapists, the police, and members of her survivor groups are all suspect. Faith follows clues, but is someone following her?
The story traces along to an explosive conclusion.
I will definitely look for more novels from this author!
#TheGirlWhoLived #ChristopherGreyson
Enjoyable plot with light character development. No another author trying to cover unsustainable creativity with soft literary porn.
I could not read this book fast enough! The suspense, twisty turns, shocking character changes and the unbeatable ending makes this a 5 for me! This author is new to me, but after this I will check out his other series.
Great book. Took me a couple of chapters to get into but once I did it was simply marvelous. And the plot twists, double wow. Surprise ending wasn’t expecting. You seriously need to read this book. Borrowed through Prime but I will buy if I see it in sale.
The book makes you really feel sorry for the main character. I wanted to keep reading to see if she would remain safe. Who can she trust? She didn’t know. I wanted to keep reading to find out if she was right.
I downloaded the audiobook version of The Girl Who Lived as part of Audible’s exclusive bonus downloads this month and I don’t regret choosing it at all. It says it is a thrilling suspense novel right there on the front and that’s exactly what Greyson delivers. I loved the main character, who after a horror filled night becomes an alcoholic hell-bent on destruction. She felt very realistic to me and I don’t know if that says more about my own psyche or about Greyson’s writing skills. There were so many twists and turns in this story and every time I thought i’d figured out just who was in on it, the tables turned again. I felt as half crazy as the main character by the end from all the second-guessing I was doing. I will say the one thing that kept this from being a 5 star read for me was the ending. It just didn’t seem to fit the rest of the book. I don’t like spoilers so I won’t give it away. It’s a SOLID 4 star read and the main plot wrap up is done really well, it was just the after the fact stuff that felt a little too… out there… for my liking.