2017 Book #74 – The Other Girl by Erica Spindler

51EoaKhZDyLTitle: The Other Girl
Author: Erica Spindler
Date finished: 9/1/17
Genre: Fiction, thriller
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: August 22, 2017
Pages in book: 247
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Where I got the book from: NetGalley
NOTE: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Blurb from the cover:

A horrific crime. One witness—a fifteen year old girl from the wrong side of the tracks, one known for lying and her own brushes with the law.
Is it any surprise no one believed her?

Officer Miranda Rader of the Harmony, Louisiana PD is known for her honesty, integrity, and steady hand in a crisis—but that wasn’t always so. Miranda comes from the town of Jasper, a place about the size of a good spit on a hot day, and her side of the tracks was the wrong one. She’s worked hard to earn the respect of her coworkers and the community.

When Miranda and her partner are called to investigate the murder of one of the town’s most beloved college professors, they’re unprepared for the brutality of the scene. This murder is unlike any they’ve ever investigated, and just when Miranda thinks she’s seen the worst of it, she finds a piece of evidence that chills her to the core: a faded newspaper clipping about that terrible night fifteen years ago. The night she’d buried, along with her past and the girl she’d been back then. Until now that grave had stayed sealed…except for those times, in the deepest part of the night, when the nightmares came: of a crime no one believed happened and the screams of the girl they believed didn’t exist.

Then another man turns up dead, this one a retired cop. Not just any cop—the one who took her statement that night. Two murders, two very different men, two killings that on the surface had nothing in common—except Miranda.

My rating:  4.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book tells the story of Miranda Roder, a cop in harmony, Louisiana. She’s called into work late at night on a murder case, the son of the President for the local college was murdered in a brutal way. While searching his house though, she discovers a news article about her arrest from twenty years ago when she was 15. And then her fingerprints are found at the crime scene even though she wore her gloves the whole time. And the Police Chief, her boss, suspects her of killing the guy. Miranda gets taken off the case but she can’t let it go and so decides to do some investigating of her own. Along the way, her new relationship with her partner Jake and her friendship with local bartender Summer lend Miranda the resources she needs to look into who might be framing her. And as more bodies start to pile up, she needs all the help she can get to solve this case.

Overall I liked this book a lot. The story line was interesting and original and kept me on my toes. The plot twists were really good but I thought Miranda could’ve put the pieces together a little quicker. The conversations between characters at a couple points were stilted or lacked depth but it wasn’t so bad. And I felt like the plot was inventive enough that it was easier to look past some of the smaller downfalls. This was a pretty quick read and I didn’t want to put it down. I liked that the author tried to throw off the reader a little but at the same time they felt a tiny bit off within the story line at a couple points. Like with Jake’s sister towards the end and Jake’s cryptic message it made me start to think things but it never explained really why it ended up being included in the story. Overall though it was good, ending was a little sad but I really liked it.

The bottom line: This book was awesome! I loved the mystery and all the surprise twists, I thought the plot was really well done. Some of the conversations were awkward but other than that this was really good, I would recommend.

Link to author website

Click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page

One thought on “2017 Book #74 – The Other Girl by Erica Spindler

  1. Pingback: 2017 Monthly Status Update: September | Rebeccabookreview

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