Jake and Clara meet in first class on a flight from Boston to Denver. After quitting her teaching job and becoming a recluse, Clara has decided to kill herself and thinks the Maroon Bells in the Rockies would form the best background for her final resting place. Jake’s life is spinning out of control: his marriage is dissolving after he caused an accident that severely injured his daughter. It doesn’t help matters that he is having memory issues. A mysterious client contacts Jake to ghostwrite his memoirs.

A thin line between fate and coincidence. The flight to Denver brings out a empathic connection that neither can explain. But as they continue to speak, Jake and Clara reveal a link, a solution to their memory problems... a series of experiments that involves a network of others who are also possibly being controlled. Jake is stuck with rising debt and needs to take this job, but also feels like Clara could help provide the answers he is looking for.

Dead Girl in 2A is a book about memory, greed, and the razor’s edge between enlightenment and violent impulses. Stuck in a cycle of deja vu, these two characters try to piece together their histories and alternate between POVs from chapter to chapter.

The plot tries to advance quickly through short chapters and reveals at the end of each character’s narration, but the repetition of same events becomes tedious. And as the backstory gets clearer, it turns into a book that’s been done before. The main characters are certainly drawn well, but the secondary players fall into those stereotypes of bad guy and henchman.

One thing I did enjoy was the author’s note at the end explaining that there is a bit of truth behind several of the threads. It would be interesting to further investigate these real-life connections.

Overall, Dead Girl in 2A is a book that doesn’t reach its potential. A decent premise is stalled by ‘memory’ issues, which seem to be so fashionable in the thriller genre these days.

2.5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

WOW! This was NOT what I expected from the cover. Further proof that you should not judge a book as such. But truly, the refreshing storyline took me by complete surprise. I was sucked in from the first time this book proved me wrong - within the first few pages. I love a book that keeps me guessing. And the writing was spectacular!

This is my second novel by Carter Wilson, and my love affair with his books are a bit confounding. I've given both this novel and last year's Mister Tender's Girl 3 stars, but they are very high 3 star ratings that I recommend with gusto. While I did feel like this one could have been executed slightly better in terms of length and delving deeper into some of the explanations, I had a seriously fun time reading The Dead Girl in 2A, and if it sounds up your alley, do yourself a favor and go in blind without reading reviews beforehand. I'm purposefully keeping my thoughts vague as to let future readers go in with an open mind, but if you're looking for a highly entertaining summer read that is full of unique twists and turns, put this on on your TBR immediately.

Jake Buchanan feels like he somehow knows the woman seated next to him, in seat 2A, on his flight to Denver. He just isn’t sure how.

Clara, the woman seated in 2A, feels like she knows Jake too.

Just before landing, she reveals that she is traveling to the Colorado Mountains to commit suicide. Jake follows her into the crowded terminal, and thrusts his card into her hands, wanting to, but feeling helpless, to stop her.

This is the supposed to be the story of what transpires after they get off that plane, and the manipulative figure who has brought them together, decades after they first met.

It is.

But, it’s NOT anything like I expected it to be.

Expecting a psychological thriller, I requested this one from Netgalley, but the line I SHOULD HAVE paid more attention to is....”the manipulative figure who has brought them together”.

Think “Anonymous Girl” meets M. Night Shyamalen or perhaps Josh Malerman’s “Inspection” .
More of a “psychological study” or “Government experiment” kind of story.

Hypnotic children’s books about death, drugs, alternative therapy....

If you like that kind of thriller, I think you will be pleased.

But, if, like me, you envisioned something different from the synopsis, this may not be for you, as it wasn’t quite for me. Not bad writing...just a title or synopsis which doesn’t quite fit.

I hate when that happens! 🤦🏻‍♀️

I would like to thank Netgalley, Sourcebooks-Poisoned Pens Press, and Carter Wilson for the digital ARC, I received in exchange for a candid review. This book will be released on July 02, 2019

The Dead Girl In 2A by Carter Wilson is a nightmare...in a good way! Jake is a separated dad on a flight to Colorado to ghostwrite a memoir for an anonymous person. The anonymous employer pays for Jake to sit in first class. Not long after he boards, a young woman sits next to him in seat 2A . Jake feels like he knows her from somewhere but can’t figure out where. She feels the same way. When they are deboarding the plane, she tells him the reason she’s coming to Colorado is commit suicide. She then takes off into the crowd and leaves Jake disturbed. Jake can’t let it go and has to find Clara. I loved pretty much everything about this book. It reminded me of a nightmare you have that you cannot escape. That is the ultimate compliment from me because my favorite kinds of stories are the ones that make me cringe and feel dread. This is a story that will have me thinking about it for some time to come. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. (4.5 stars)

I found this book hard to put down. The storyline is really unique and one we don't see often. This book ticked all the boxes for me. it was unpredictable, twists, turns, lies and secrets. Highly recommend to others.

Requesting The Dead Girl in 2A was one of the best bookish decisions I've ever made. I started reading it a few hours ago and practically devoured it in one sitting! The first page had me hooked immediately and I couldn't put it down. Some pages had me feeling creeped out and unsettled. Twists are expected in these kind of books, and I may have even guessed it already, but I was too busy being drawn to the writing to give it a second thought and was still shocked when it came anyway. All in all, I absolutely loved it! ⠀⠀
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This is a psychological thriller you wouldn't want to miss! I'm excited to get a physical copy once it's published on July. Thanks @sourcebooks and @netgalley for sending this book to me, and @carterwilsonauthor for writing it!⠀
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#TheDeadGirlIn2A #NetGalley

Jake and Clara are sitting beside each other on a plane. Both feel they have met before but simply can not figure out how. After the plane lands in Colorado, the fun begins. They are both lured there in a cat and mouse game. There are lots of twists and it kept me guessing until the end. I did really enjoy the ending. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

I really truly wanted to like this book but I just couldn't. It felt completely unrealistic and sporadic. The writing and flow of the book was good but the story just didn't do it for me.

I wish that parts of the book would have gone into more detail as I was left wanting more when it came to what they went through as children.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Review can be found on Goodreads.

Carter Wilson writes seriously freaky weird books - and I mean that in the best possible way...

This was yet another example of his devilishly clever mind playing with the concepts of good and evil, memory and secrets. He bats them about like a cat toying with a mouse, demonstrating a single-minded intent to disrupt the reader's preconceptions every step of the way. He couples that with an innocent "who, me?!" face as he teases out cosmic truths and self-realizations, all the while whisking his characters from side to side along seemingly random but ingeniously devised paths until you're left with a battered, dizzy, reeling sense that nothing will ever look quite the same... It's an incredibly intricate, involved, brilliant manner of storytelling that I find remarkably compelling and highly entertaining.

The back and forth narration really made this one pop for me. I don't always love it as a narrative style; it often feels to me like the author is trying to have the best of all worlds, shuffling perspective to force first person action into a third person omniscience and avoid having to resolve plot issue that would not otherwise make sense. Not so AT ALL here. Wilson uses the back-and-forth as another form of toying with the reader, and it works perfectly. Couple that with a spot-on use of backstory revelation, foreshadowing, and a steady tension building, and the result is a fantastic tale that feels supernatural, leaving everything on the table as a possibility, right up until the Big Reveals lead you down the true path. It's a helluva story and I loved every minute of it!

This review will appear on my blog, Jill-Elizabeth.com, in June 2019.

A slightly misleading title lead me to believe that this was a crime thriller, however, I read it and, while different, I did enjoy the premise of the story. It was a little slow moving though and I sometimes found myself skimming through it to get to the end.

I really liked the mystery in the beginning of this book. Until about 40%, I was fully invested. Then some information was revealed and it turned the book into something that was not advertised. Wasn't really feeling it. The ending was satisfying though!

A title like The Dead Girl in 2A caused me to pause and think that just sounds interesting. After reading the book, I can tell you it was very riveting.

The story is about a Jake, an author who is setting out on a trip to Denver. He has been hired to write the biography of a wealthy businessman. On the plane, he sits next to Clara. Both feel they know each other but can't figure out why. Before parting ways, Clara admits she is traveling to Colorado to commit suicide.

Later Jake meets the businessman. This man tells Jake about how he survived a mass shooting event that took place at a mall. Slowly Jake starts to connect the dots about how he knows Clara. There is a connection between Jake, Clara and the mall shooter.

As Jake digs into the past, he finds a deeper conspiracy. The more he finds out causes him to question who he can trust or not.

The story has a slow building pace. It is never dull. However, once the action starts to kick it keeps building. During much of the story, there are just enough sprinkled in clues for the reader to guess what the conspiracy is. At the same time, the psychology of the story makes you question if it is a clue or is Jake paranoid.

I enjoyed this book. After the halfway point, it was hard to put down — just the right mix of action and suspense. Anyone looking for a thriller to pick up should check out The Dead Girl in 2A by Carter Wilson.

NetGalley provided a free review copy of this book for this unbiased review.

The Dead Girl in 2A is an intricately woven and thoroughly brilliant psych suspense thriller. Taut, dark and a twisty perfection
Awesome book, Love this author style. There were times that I had to make myself put this book down. This is the first time that I have read anything by this author and it will not be the last. I am giving this, book 5 stars. Great read.

First, thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read an e-galley of this book.

I couldn't put this book down! Jake and Clara are sitting next to each other on a flight to Colorado. Jake is sure he has met Clara before, they just don't know where it could have been, but they both feel the tug that they have met each other some time.

During the flight, Clara reveals something stunning to Jake, but when they land at the airport, Clara gets lost in the crowd. This story takes you on the journey of what happens after they land.

Prepare for an all-nighter!
#NetGalley #TheDeadGirlin2A #UpAllNight

Looking for an riveting read, with many twists and turns? Grab a copy of this! You are sure to get lots of THRILLS, CHILLS, and TENSION! A must read for my fellow thriller lovers!
Will use in a challenge and recommend to the members of Chapter Chatter Pub.

A very interesting read . Twists and turns to keep you engrossed. Wondering which way the author is going to take it. Nice and easy to read. Flows well. Enjoyable to read

**Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy

This was a great book and I can't wait to read more by this author.

Jake and Clara meet on a plane and instantly get the feeling that they know each other. What follows is a thrilling ride to put the pieces of their lost memories together.

The Dead Girl in 2A by Carter Wilson is a conceptually unique thriller, and not at all what I was expecting from the outset.

When Jake Buchannon boards a plane from Boston to Denver enroute to a ghostwriting assignment, his seatmate in 2A is Clara Stowe, a woman who divulges that she is travelling to Denver in order to commit suicide. The seatmates both have a sense that they know each other, but they are unable to pinpoint the context of this familiarity. Upon landing in Denver, the two go their separate ways, but a sense of paranoia has settled around Jake, who has been struggling with memory loss. The plotline dips and weaves between past and present as Jake struggles to retrieve just out of reach memories, and he has no idea whom he can trust as present events continue to throw him into a bewilderingly downward spiral.

The novel touches on the use of scopolamine, also known as 'devil's breath', and I did find some of the details pertaining to such a bit difficult to follow. Otherwise, a well-executed concept that is unique to anything that I have read previously.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks, and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC.