The New Girl by Ruth Heald
Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 21st January 2022
Published: 25th January 2022
★★★ 3.5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Behind her dream life hides the perfect nightmare.
I couldn’t believe it when I got the call to offer me my dream job. It was right in the heart of the city with a flat provided. I jumped at the chance and within weeks I had made new friends and started to date a wonderful man. For the first time in years, I felt safe.
It’s a world away from the life I ran from…
But soon strange things begin to happen in my flat: odd noises in the night, the feeling that I’m being watched. When I discover an old dress hidden behind my wardrobe and wear it to work, the atmosphere chills instantly. The dress belonged to a girl my boss would rather forget. The girl before me who vanished without a trace.
I tell myself not to worry; that I’m just imagining things. But when a young woman arrives on my doorstep, she warns me to leave my new life behind. She tells me there are more girls like me and we are more connected than I could have ever imagined.
Then I come face to face with the reason I ran all those years ago and it soon becomes clear: someone knows my secret. And they will do anything to keep me silent.
A totally gripping, unputdownable and twisty psychological thriller perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, Gone Girl and You.
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Ruth Heald's exciting new thriller THE NEW GIRL.
I've been a fan of Ruth Heald since her debut domestic thriller "The Mother's Mistake" which is just brilliant from start to finish. So naturally every new release of hers incites an excitement and anticipation of what's to come. This one promises fresh starts and new beginnings for the protagonist who has seen her fair share of ups and downs, not to mention disappointments. Unfortunately, this fresh start isn't what she was expecting.
THE NEW GIRL in this story is Sophie, who had escaped London once before after an incident at university for the safety of home in Dorset. But now she is ready to put the past behind her and move forward...beginning with a job at an ad agency in London. Unfortunately, her boyfriend Charlie doesn't see things in quite the same way. After celebrating ten years since their first kiss at the tender age of fourteen, Charlie springs a surprise on her he is sure she will love.
As he leads her to the cottage by the sea that was once his grandfather's, he proudly announces that he is doing it up for them to settle down and raise a family in. And then he pops the question. Sophie stalls. This isn't what she wants and she flees the house, taking refuge in her childhood home with her father. OK, so maybe Charlie was a bit presumptuous...but after ten years together if it was me I would have thought they'd get married too. And not to mention that cottage by the sea...and the sounds of the ocean through the window at night. To me, that is just pure heaven.
So instead of settling down in their sleepy seaside village in Dorset (which I would prefer to smelly crowded London, myself), Sophie sends out applications to London ad agencies in the hope of securing herself a job. When she is contacted by One Pure "something or other" (I forget the rest of the name) for an interview she can hardly believe it. She travels up to London and meets with James and Cassie, two of the founding members of the company, and together they hit it off. Sophie nails the interview and is offered the job. Better yet, she is offered a flat the company uses for their employees rent-free. Um...
Seriously, how naive can one person be? Hand-picked from a social media post to her dream job with a rent-free flat? Who take her shopping for food, clothing and furnishings? And her bosses just too good to be true? Does she not have any inkling whatsoever that something isn't right? Truly...if something seems too good to be true, then it generally is. But Sophie just welcomed it all with open arms and a naivete that was almost cringeworthy. She should have remembered that nothing comes for free...her experience with Charlie should have told her that. And yet...
And then Sophie begins to hear noises in the night, footsteps outside her door...when she is the only occupant in the building...and a dead rat on her doorstep. And she has the creepy feeling she is being watched. Do people actually feel that? Truly? Then she is approached by a woman claiming to have worked for the company before and she wants to talk to her...but Sophie isn't so sure. When the police approach her regarding her past, Sophie fears her secret is about to be exposed. And before long, Sophie isn't sure who she can trust.
And then she stumbles on a dead body in the flat below hers...
In all honesty, Sophie was too gullible for words. I mean, I generally take people at face value but she took it to a whole new level. She ignored all the red flags and neon signs flashing in her direction, even when warned, and basically dug herself in deeper. She was in a bit of a bind though...new job, new flat and no way of paying rent anywhere else in London except maybe a park bench. Is that why she ignored all the warning signs? Given at all she had endured I would have thought she'd have been more guarded and not so trusting. That went without saying...and yet here she was trusting complete strangers. Even when Charlie turned up several times, which was a little creepy to say the least, she trusted her new friends instead of him who'd she'd known half her life.
The plot was interesting enough but full of holes in my opinion because I really couldn't see a woman being that naive particularly after what she'd been through. Yes, it was a tad far-fetched but it was still fast paced and gripping enough to keep me engaged to the end. I wasn't surprised by the ending or the links to her past as I could see them from a mile off. I didn't trust anyone in the story and hoped Sophie wised up to them before it was too late. No one else is really worth writing about.
THE NEW GIRL is a creepy thriller that had my spidey senses tingling throughout despite my desire to shake some sense into the woman. Sophie has a vulnerability that stems from a previous trauma which has turned he into an unreliable judge of character. And now she's stuck in a flat alone with the threat of someone out there exposing something she would much rather keep hidden. Who can she trust? While Charlie was becoming a tad too clingy and overprotective, I still felt it was a case of better the devil you know than swimming in an ocean of sharks she could not see lurking in the shadows.
A relatively spine-tingling read, THE NEW GIRL is a thriller where you suspect everyone as you try to guess who is responsible. The twists may be unexpected or you may see them coming...it depends on how you read it all. The climax was nail-biting and somewhat exciting but the epilogue was a bit of a letdown as I had expected a bit more to come of things.
Overall, THE NEW GIRL is a reasonably enjoyable read that didn't quite have me on the edge of my seat but it was fast paced and gripping just the same. Didn't quite pack the same punch as the author's previous thrillers but still a good read.
I would like to thank #RuthHeald, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheNewGirl in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Ruth grew up a suburban Buckinghamshire town. She studied Economics at Oxford and then worked in an eclectic mix of sectors from nuclear decommissioning to management consulting.
Seeking a more creative environment, she found a role at the BBC and worked there for nine years before leaving to write full time. Ruth is fascinated by psychology and finding out what drives people to violence, destruction and revenge. She’s married with one daughter and her novels explore our greatest fears in otherwise ordinary, domestic lives.
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