Cover Image: The Girl in the Pink Shoes

The Girl in the Pink Shoes

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Member Reviews

I have to confess I didn’t fully read the blurb before requesting this title. I’m actually glad I didn’t as I may have let it pass me by. The subject matter is deeply disturbing obviously. However that said, I did have to keep taking breaks for my sanity, but I was hooked.

This writing is absolutely fabulous. The story has so many twists and turns that I genuinely didn’t see coming at all. The main character Lucy is so endearing, so passionate and determined that I was with her all the way. She’s essentially a private investigator gone rogue vigilante pedophile hunter on a mission to take the trash out for good. Along the way she finds a friend and cohort in Chris a paramedic with an horrific childhood story that’s led him to also turn vigilante.

I note that this is the first in a series, but there was nothing that would suggest to me that it doesn’t work perfectly well as a stand alone. As I said already I found the subject matter deeply disturbing and distressing and for that reason only I’d have to give some serious consideration to following on with the series. Other than that, the writing is excellent, the storytelling absolutely on point and the narration excellent. I’d obviously T/W for child sexual abuse.

I also note that this is a reprint of a 2014 series. I hope it takes off further this time, the author has clearly done their research. I’d not hesitate to recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

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The Girl in the Pink Shoes left my heart feeling so heavy. I knew from the first sentence this book would be good and my feeling was corrent. This book was thrilling and chilling right to the core. The plot was fast paced with twist after twist. I absolutely loved the grey morality of the main character. I sat down and devoured this audiobook in one sitting. The narrator's voice was perfect for this book and she gave me chills! The subject matter is dark but it is handled delicately. I appreciate the approach the author took to a topic as sensitive as pedophilia. I can't wait to read more of Stacy Green's books!

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this alc in exchange for an honest review.

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I had difficulty liking these characters. Lucy was kind of whiney and extremely overbearing. That said, I was able to sympathize with what the key characters had gone through during their lives and how it led to their present day personalities.

I enjoyed the twists, turns, and crazy character connections. I also enjoyed the narrators clear, crisp voice and her low-key (as opposed to overacted) narration.

I would recommend this book to friends and plan to read the next in the series.

DISCLAIMER: I was given this book by Bookouture via NetGalley in exchange for my review. I was not compensated for this review. Cross-posted to NetGalley, The StoryGraph, Goodreads, and Instagram. The Girl in the Pink Shoes was previously titled as All Good Deeds.

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This is my first book my Leanne Kale Sparks and will not be my last! The main character Lucy is interesting she has many sides to her I really liked her! She’s a character that stays with you and you want to know more about her and what she’s doing. I’ve never read a book like this one before so it was something new and different I know what she does is wrong but I can’t help but be ok with it and hope she’s ok and doesn’t get caught. I like the side characters too they were all well written and felt like main characters which I like i now want to know more about them. The plot was interesting with lots of twists I didn’t see coming a young girl was kidnapped and I couldn’t guess by who so that was a surprise. I didn’t see a lot of the story coming it was one shock after another which meant I couldn’t put the book down and read it all night. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend to anyone who’s after a crazy different mind blowing book with a great plot and brilliant characters which leave you wanting more!

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I LOVED this book! I know it's still early in the year but this has got to be a contender for one of my Top 10 reads of 2023.

Lucy Kendall worked as a Child Protective Services Officer trying to ensure the safety of children following events in her own past. After watching the system fail time and time again she left this job to become a Private Investigator to try and protect the children through this avenue. When a local child goes missing, Lucy feels responsible to find this child.

I was gripped the entire way through the book, willing Lucy to find the missing girl alive alongside wanting to delve into her past and her connections further.

I am going to have to go out and get all the other books in this series as soon as payday arrives to find out what else is in store for Lucy Kendall.

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Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced audiobook copy to review. A quick warning, the subject matter in the book may be triggering to some readers/listeners.

Having said that, the story was a compelling listen that moved forward well. The twists were well done and not obvious leaving a satisfying "all tied up" feeling at the end of the book.

I enjoyed this audiobook and would listen to/read another from this author again.

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Hey Jessica- Thank you for the free ARC from Netgalley in exchange of my honest review. I'll give you 4 out of 5 birds for The Girl in the Pink Shoes. Holy heavy! Did I know how intense of a book I was getting into, no... And it wasn't until I read the reviews that I realized this is part of your childhood. First of all I am so so sorry for the pain you have lived through. As far as the book itself, the storyline kept me invested and I needed to know what happened in the end. Is this book for everyone? Absolutely not. It has a major trigger warning. It's a sad reality that as parents we have to protect our children from so much and that there are some parents who aren't willing to protect their own children.

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This book was pretty good. I think the concept of Lucy as a private investigator, but also a “Dexter” serial killer is kind of cool. It will be interesting to see where the rest of the series goes.

I feel like the ending to this story was kind of…blah. I was expecting more of a twist I guess. And I feel like the story was going really well until things got muddled in all of the Justin/Lucy/Chris/Todd backstory storylines. After that, I felt confused and then it ended.

The audio was decent. The narrator isn’t my favorite but she did a good job.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and Stacy Green for allowing me to read!

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Kendall is an EX-social worker worker who takes it upon herself to take out pedophiles. When she learns a little eight-year-old has gone missing she takes The initiative to involve herself in the case. The girls next-door neighbor was one of Kendall‘s first social working clients and she feels had you done something then another little girl wouldn’t have been murdered. To make matters worse the older boy Todd who is the brother of the murderer is now the detective investigating the eight year olds disappearance. She promises the girls mom she will find her before it’s too late but Canci? Is Jesse the killer that he was made out to big and does he have Kylie? To make matters even crazier Kendall is befriended by a serial killer who only kills bad guys. I know people love vigilante Justice but let’s keep in mind thats what lynching was. Sometimes it’s inevitable that we take the law until our own hands but planning and being the judge of an execution is not one of those institutes I do not agree with pre-wheeling violence just because you think it’s deserving. Some people think those in the LGBTQ community and minorities in America should be taken out and if we agree with one we should agree with the other maybe when this book was first published this is all good in culture but I feel in 2022 not so much. Also I thought the narrator of the book had a nice voice but I also felt as if my neighbor down the street was reading the book to me I don’t know if it was our Philadelphia accent or watt and it’s not that her voice was unpleasant I think it was just missing a certain quality that I can’t put my finger on. Having said that I did listen to the whole book and can see that the author is very talented but I’m just not one for vigilante justice in the fact that they had a serial killer who only killed bad guys had me rolling my eyes. I would still recommend this book because this is just a pet peeve of mine and maybe others will love it I DK. I received this book from netGalley and Bookoucher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

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4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Pub Date: January 30th, 2023

The narrator did and amazing job, I had the luxury of listening to the audio together with reading the ebook, which made the experience nicer..

This is a really good start to what promises to be an addictive series.
The Girl in the Pink Shoes is enthralling page turner with Twists and turns throughout the book that will keep you on your toes.

Its heartbreaking because of the sensitive nature of the storyline.

TW: Suicide, Child Abuse

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Oh my goodness, I couldn’t listen to this one fast enough. Green had me at the first sentence. I’m not a killer.
This book is definitely a dark psychological thriller in which the good guy (Lucy Kendall) does bad things but with good intentions. Lucy is a former Child Protective Services worker turned private eye. She feels “the system” has failed so she takes things in her own hands – eradicating the world of bad people. Lucy doesn’t things of herself as a serial killer, she is just making things right in the world.
Hang on for a twisted ride.
Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for this ARC

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Lucy Kendall started her career as a social worker, but too many years of watching the system fail has jaded her. Lucy likes to see justice served, and she's willing to go to any length to ensure it's done. So, now working as a private detective with a lot more leeway, Lucy feels much more comfortable.... until a case from her past collides with a current case involving a missing child.

I really enjoyed this book. At first the characters seemed a little farfetched, since the vigilante angle is addressed basically on page one, but as the story develops and the characters are fleshed out a little more, it walks the line and manages to be at least mostly believable. '

I would definitely read more from this author, but I did struggle with the narration on this one. It almost sounded like the narrator was adding extra "U"s to words, or maybe just leaning hard on them unnecessarily. "Coping" become, "Couuping" and it was a little distracting. Good voice, good acting, just weird accent.

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The Girl in the Pink Shoes is a mystery surrounding a disappearance of a young girl named Kailey. The protagonist Lucy is a private investigator that is looking into the case and trying to find out what happened to Kailey.

Lucy is not your normal PI. She used to work for child protective services but left when she saw how the system fails. She became a PI and a vigilante. As a vigilante, she was going after sexual predators who found a way to beat the system. She has good intentions but Lucy is a murderer. The book does get you to like her even though she is capable of vile acts, that’s what good writing can do.

The story kept me interested. I needed to know what happened to Kailey. You will dive into a very dark world to find out the truth.

My biggest complaint about the story was that some of the plot twists were thrown at you just to be a twist and they did not even matter. It’s something strange that I have not seen done often. I don’t think that tactic to get more twists works but thankfully the overall story is strong enough to carry you past that.

This was my first book by Stacy Green but I don’t think it will be my last. This mystery is worth your time.

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I enjoyed this book, as I do most books written by this author. The best way I could describe this book/story is it is like an onion. There are so many layers to the story, and the author hooks you in by building a solid foundation right away, a likeable hero for a main character, and numerous suspects. All of these together keeps you guessing until the bitter end. There are some personal icks/triggers that keep me from giving it a full 5 star review, but it is still a great story that kept me wanting to know the outcome.

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The Girl in the Pink Shoes by Stacy Green
Narrated by Amelia Sciandra

Private Investigator Lucy Kendall is a strange one. She has great empathy for victims but Lucy is also a very dangerous woman. After losing her fifteen year old sister when Lucy was eleven and losing that sister due to abuse that was not acknowledged by their mother, adult Lucy became a caseworker for Child Protection Services. But in the end it was too much for her. Too many abusers getting away with what they had done, only to do it again. So now Lucy is a private investigator with a few assistants who knowingly or unknowingly help her with her very own form of justice.

This story has the potential to upset since it is about abuse and the victims are kids. I have no idea of how plausible some of the events in the story are (especially when it comes to the police work side of things) and it seems that there are a mountain of coincidences. I have to ponder that mountain some more but I do know I enjoyed the story very much. I didn't like Lucy when the story began but as I saw more of her past and knew what motivated her, I couldn't help warming up to her, somewhat. Laws and rules seem to mean little to her and she's probably never going to stop this thing she does that is very, very unlawful, but I grew to like Lucy and her tiny band of helpers, which will grow by the story's end.

The narration is low key, which I prefer compared to overacting. Just like the story, the narrating grew on me, too, and I hope the future books have the same narrator. There are future books, Lucy and company have more work to do.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

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This just wasn't for me. I wanted to love it - I love a female hero, but she was very dark and spoke of others in incredibly demeaning ways. It felt like she went from intro to hates everyone in the course of 6 pages.

Unfortunately, I never connected with the characters and just wanted to get through this one as quick as possible.

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I am not one for giving on on books once started but sadly this was one which I just had to put down. I persevered for a while but realised that the content and language used towards others by the main character, was just too brutal and destructive. I am sure that some will not be as effected as myself but this is just not a book for me.

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Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook ‘The girl in Pink Shoes’ - previously published as All Good Deeds’.

The very first chapter sucked in me in - talk about building suspense and setting the tone!

Lucy Kendall is our very flawed - yet very likeable - main character. A former CPS worker who is now a private investigator with a questionable side hobby. Lucy is extremely well-developed and so are the other important characters in this book.

Stacy Green is impressive with her research on sex offender and criminal behaviors as well as CPS and police procedure which made this very smooth to read.

This was a fast-paced, gritty read that I highly recommend!

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I really like Stacy Green and enjoyed immensely her Nikki Hunt series set in the remote forests of Stillwater, Minnesota. Living in the UK and never having visited Minnesota and their remote villages, I really enjoyed the series and the setting., I was there with Nikki, vividly all the way!
This new series introduces us to her new character Lucy Kendall who is a private investigator, former CPS case worker. Lucy's devotion to fighting for children's abuse goes over and beyond as she decided to choose the vigilante path... I was very sceptical in the beginning when I discovered the vigilante aspect of the mystery story as I do not enjoy them generally but I trusted the author and her emotional intelligence proved in the previous series that I read. I was not disappointed... This vigilante story is not as straightforward as it seems and roots itself from a personal dark past which the author explores with much empathy.
The main crime environment involving children's sexual abuse and paedophilia is hard to read sometimes but covered well.
The mystery plot is fantastic and the whodunit aspect is first class. I literally was suspecting everyone and could not decide on a culprit right till the end. Very well done!
The narration part of the book conducted by Amelia Sciandra is absolutely fantastic and really adds to the experience of simply reading it yourself. Her different male and female voices are expertly done. One narrator to look out for...
Really looking forward to the next instalment of the series...

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The Girl in the Pink Shoes by Stacy Green is not for me as I despise vigilante justice books. Lucy is too hateful for my liking, calling human beings pigs, trash, scum, and fat, among other things. I am by no means condoning anything, but her hate is just accepted because others are less than human to her (and most of our society), even though she acknowledges that some (if not all) were abused themselves when they were children and not given the help the needed.

Lucy has no personal accountability or responsibility for her actions, everything is everyone else's fault - except for the people Lucy hates. This hypocrisy is irritating because she doesn't see how alike she is to the people she hates. Also, everything was so farfetched and convenient. I had to force myself to finish it.

I give this book 1.5 stars rounded up to 2, but only because I recognize I am not the intended audience. There are a plethora of people that have given this book 4 or 5 stars, likely living vicariously through Lucy. I definitely will not read the other 3 books.

Amelia Sciandra was an okay narrator.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio for providing me with an ALC.

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