Just finished. Twisty twisty, twisty. Perverse. Pedophilia, alcoholism, secret lives, more lies than you can count. Snappy, sarcastic dialogue. Main character who you feel sorry for, dislike, but like at the same time. Skeeved out but really enjoyed! #dutton

Two Sisters, A Dysfunctional Family, and Murder

Virginia is messed up. She drinks too much, takes pills, and avoids her family. She’s the older sister and has always felt second best to Jenny. Jenny, her younger sister, is the beauty queen, her mother’s favorite. Then Jenny quits the pageant circuit and her mother begins to fall apart.

The family disintegration really begins when Jenny is found murdered and the family secrets threaten to be exposed. The rape and murder of a thirteen-year-old pageant queen is big news, and the family is in the spotlight. The primary suspect is an older man who has followed all of Jenny’s pageants. Because of her own background, Virginia doesn’t believe he’s guilty and sets out to find out what really happened.

In this psychological thriller, the focus in on the sisters. Chapters are told in alternating points of view between Virginia and Jenny. I thought this was a very effective presentation. We get a chance to know both sisters. However, aside from the two girls, I thought there were too many characters. This may have been designed to increase the number of potential suspects, but for me it diluted the suspense.

The plot was easy to follow. The murderer was obvious to me from fairly early in the story. However, that may be because I read a lot of psychological thrillers and this book followed the pattern. The ending does have a twist, but if you already suspected the killer, it doesn’t work as well as it might.

I received this book from Dutton for this review.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had a little bit of a hard time with the beginning with the 13/14 year old girl who was raped and murdered. Mainly because I have a daughter the same age.

However, this was very well written even though it took me a while to get into it . Jenny was the golden child and her older sister Virginia just never seemed to be able to live up to her. In fact Virginia can be catorized as a hot mess. Virginia is a compelling character actually who has a lot baggage and I actually felt for her more than anyone else in the book. The rest of the characters were meh to be honest. Virginia was the only one I really wanted to know more about and was invested in.
Of course the main focus of the book is who killed Jenny and it was not what was I expecting.

The story of two sisters, one of whom is dead, and what happened to get to that point. We hear from both perspectives, the one sister who always seemed better than the other. It only took me a couple sittings to read through, as it kept my attention.

Lovely book.

4/5 Stars

I really loved this. This was dark, twisty and took some routes I wasn’t expecting. I had to knock off a star because of how it ended, I really didn’t like how it all played out. I understand why it did, but I wanted something different. It really did surprise me and I didn’t want to put it down.

The Prized Girl is Amy K. Green's début novel, an exceedingly dark and gritty story of one woman's search for the truth about the death of her younger sister. It's a novel that doesn't pull punches as it digs into the lives of what most people would consider to be the perfect family so be wary if dysfunctional families aren't your favorite thing to read about.

Thirteen-year-old Jenny has been murdered, and the small New England town her family calls home is left reeling. Jenny was smart, pretty, and popular, the kind of girl who seemed to have the whole world at her feet. She was involved in a number of high profile beauty pageants, and the authorities believe one of her fans became obsessed with her and took her life. Most people who knew Jenny are satisfied with this line of reasoning, but her older half-sister Virginia isn't so sure.

Virginia didn't know Jenny all that well. True, they sat across the table from one another every week at Sunday dinner, but Jenny was fifteen years younger than Virginia and the two had little in common. Where Jenny was the apple of her family's eye, Virginia is viewed as a general screw-up and nothing she does is able to endear her to her overly strict father and perfectionist stepmother. In spite of her lack of real knowledge about Jenny's life, Virginia can't help but think there's more to the story of the teenager's death than the authorities are letting on, and so she begins doing her best to reconstruct her sister's final days in hopes of learning what really happened.

If you're looking for a heroine who always does the right thing and appears to have her life completely together, Virginia isn't going to be easy for you to warm up to. She makes a ton of mistakes, some of which could have been easily prevented if she had only stopped to think before acting. Even so, there's something endearing about her, especially as you learn more about her troubled past and how it affects her in the present. She does grow quite a bit over the course of the novel too, so your initial impression of her may change as you read.

I loved the way the author allows readers to get to know both Jenny and Virginia. The story is told in alternating chapters, moving back and forth in time between Virginia's investigation and the days leading up to Jenny's death. We get a clear picture of who Jenny was as a person, rather than simply seeing her as the victim of a violent crime. She was an extremely troubled girl, and spending time in her head allows us to see all the ways her friends, family, and teachers failed her.

My description may give you the idea that The Prized Girl is just another thriller involving a murdered girl, but trust me when I tell you it's so much more than that. It's a book that grows more and more complex with every page you read, a story chock full of unexpected twists and turns that kept me glued to iPad for hours on end. Every single character we meet has something to hide, and I loved uncovering their many secrets.

Amy K. Green has crafted a masterful story of secrets, lies, and betrayal that put me in mind of Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects. It's not that the plots are similar, but the tension that simmers just beneath the novel's surface evoked similar feelings in me as I read. This is a remarkable portrayal of human frailty, and I'm so excited to see what the author has in store for us in months and years to come.

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This first novel by Amy Green should in no way be her last. I received an ARC of this psychological novel from Netgalley and Publisher Penguin group. The comments and review are my honest opinion. This is a book about an older stepsister, Virginia, that has never found her way in life and the rape and murder of her younger sister, Jenny, a thirteen year old beauty, the pageant winner, the perfect daughter until she wasn’t.
There is no champion or winner in this book, except perhaps the destructive relationships that led to murder. I hope the author’s next book lives up to this excellent debut.

The Prized Girl by Amy Green is a 2020 must read. I had plans to read for an hour or so, and didn't put this book down until it was done. If you are a fan of tension, well developed characters, and having no idea what comes next; this is the book for you!

Just wasn’t for me. I was disappointed in the ending. Wanted more for the lead character.
I did find the dual storyline interesting and there were a lot of nicely written twists and turns.

Not for me. I’ve had this on my kindle for several months and I’ve started and abandoned it 5 or 6 times.

I love this genre, and I’m always excited to read debut authors. I enjoyed the various twists and turns, as well as the dual POV (alternating from the weeks prior to the murder, as told by Jenny – the victim, to current day by her sister Virginia). That format helps the reader have a full picture, allowing them to figure out the killer along with the characters. The pacing was a bit slower than I prefer in this type of book, and the dialogue occasionally felt stilted. The ending of this dark tale paves the way for a possible sequel.

This book was a hard one for me to read, a lot of really terrible things happen to the two sisters who share chapters. A lot of the story wasn’t for me, only because of how upsetting it was, not because the author didn’t do well writing about it. I always love a book about sisters!

My thoughts are back and forth, but overall I think there are a lot of honest emotions that both sisters feel in this book and it isn’t all smoothed over, they’re both allowed to feel that without the book trying to explain why. I liked that part!

Thank you so much for a copy of this book!

The Prized Girl is a strong psychological thriller with an addictive mystery throughout. Green's writing is addictive and fast-paced. Filled with twists and turns, the suspense will have readers on the edge of their seats. Highly recommended to readers looking for the next hit mystery/thriller. Be sure to check out The Prized Girl today.

My Review:
Debut author Amy K Green has a winner in The Prized Girl.

The story is a psychological suspense novel about: a 14 year old pageant queen found murdered in a small New England town, and her sister's search for answers.. There is enough twists and turns to keep you at the edge of your seat until the very end.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. It is definitely an intense mystery, but one you must read. Highly recommend this novel for anyone that enjoys a great psychological thriller.

The Prized Girl
by
Amy K. Green
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Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this ARC ebook.
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This story is told in a back and forth story line between Virginia now; and Jenny before her untimely demise.
**
Jenny was a beautiful 14 year old girl. Her mother started her in beauty pageants at a young age and she was always top of the pack. Through her pageant career she came across Benjy, whom I believe was a bit touched. He was her biggest fan, until one day she gave him a note saying she was done with the pageant world. This is when Jenny's life started to take a nose dive. Her mother lost get grip on reality and her daughter.
One day Jenny is found brutally murdered and raped. The only suspect any one cares to point the finger at is Benjy. That is until Jenny's 1/2 sister, Virginia, starts to stick her nose in the case. You see Virginia has her own set of problems. She's a drunk who also likes to mix her drinking with a couple ambien to really forget her troubles. Virginia has her own set of demons she tries to keep at bay during her investigation... you see when she was Jenny's age, 14 years old at the same high school she started sleeping and having a relationship with her math teacher Mark Renkin.
As the story unraveled my mind was seriously doing a ping-pong when I thought I finally figured out who killed Jenny. Seriously at one point my mind was spinning with WTF could it be.
Amy Green did a great job keeping my on my toes; as once again the murdered in this was not anticipated in the slightest.

4-5 stars, overall. This book was amazing in some spots, while not my favorite in other parts, but overall I felt it was a good, suspenseful read. This is the authors first book, which with that in mind really made me want to give the full 5 stars, because I think it was pretty chilling, thrilling, and well written. There was some lacking in character development and the ending was not my favorite, but overall, well written and a quick suspenseful read.
Will make sure I buzz it up!

The Prized Girl definitely lived up to my expectations! I remember seeing the cover and reading the description months ago and knew right away I had to read it.

Jenny, teenager and ex-beauty queen, is found murdered in the woods. The cops have a prime suspect and think the case is easily solved. Jenny’s older sisters, Virginia, has other ideas.

As Virginia begins to look more into Jenny’s life and murder, she uncovers much more about the people in her town.

I loved the format of this book! It alternated between Jenny in the time leading up to her death, and Virginia investigating after.

I also enjoyed how The Prized Girl kept me guessing. I wasn’t able to figure out the murderer before it was revealed and I definitely didn’t see the ending coming.

The ending was my only hang up and the reason I’m giving this book 4.5 stars instead of 5. I do think the last bit was setup for a possible sequel so I look forward to hearing it that happens!

I enjoyed this book but found it to be a little to slow paced for my liking. I'm glad I finished it but you can't always expect a great ending to make up for a not so great book.

Wow. So that happened...

This was one of the strangest books I've read in a while, full of intensely unlikable characters, nearly every one of which is villainous at some point (if not many points). It's dark and rambling and meanders - but it works, and I was hooked from the opening pages and read the whole thing in a day (in fact, in practically one sitting).

Green has written an overlapping, complex nightmare of broken people in destructive relationships. It's depressing as hell if you think too closely about it all - but it's a great read. The pacing is uneven. Everyone is unreliable and self-interested. The secrets are thicker than pageant girl's makeup. It's a gloriously dark tale, well written and well, if obliquely, crafted. And Amy K Green is now firmly ensconced on my to be watched list...

This novel pulls at the heart strings a bit. A teenage girl found dead in a field, raped and murdered. As a former pageant girl turned rebel, there are no short list of suspects, but the police have focused on just ONE. The only problem with that is, her sister doesn't believe the guy is guilty and starts her own investigation into her sisters murder.

The novel starts off and we know right away: Jenny is dead. Virginia is Jenny's older half sister, but they are not close. Apart from Sunday dinner at her parents house, Virginia avoids her family like the plague. She's unemployed, gets blackout drunk on Saturday nights and spends most of her day hoping to get back to bed. Overall, she is not the most likable character and since this book is told in two view points (Jenny's and Virginia's) that brings the novel down a bit.

As we start reading Jenny's point of view we discover she has quit pageants prior to the events in this book taking place. Her life at home isn't great, her mother drinks too much and her dad is gone 5 days out of the week for work. She doesn't really relate to her friends anymore and isn't looking forward to the same extra curricular activities she used to, like cheer leading. Jenny's is a much more likable character than Virginia in terms of reading her point of view and I enjoyed those parts more.

Overall the story was eye opening but I don't want to spoil any of the "twists." Admittedly, I did not have the right suspect but looking back I should have figured it out as it didn't come out of nowhere. I was disappointed in the ending though.