Cover Image: The Quiet Girl

The Quiet Girl

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think I have fallen off of thrillers because this was plain boring to me, this just didn't compare to any fast paced thrillers that I have read

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Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Quiet Girl by S.F. Kosa.

Alex and his new wife are on the rocks, but Alex is ready to make amends. When he returns home, he finds that she has gone, and left her ring behind. Is she gone for good? Can it be over already.

Alex comes across a young lady Layla who may be able to help him. But her memory is patchy, and might not lead him down the right road. Can Alex find his wife before it's too late?

This was ok. I'll be honest, I zoned out for a lot of it. I had a hard time getting excited about piecing the puzzles together. It may have been the subtlety of the story written by Alex's wife along with his journey to find her. I don't know, too fever dreamy, just couldn't sink in.

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This was such an enjoyable, exquisitely plotted psychological thriller. The dual plot lines worked exceptionally well and the whole story was unique.

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Gripping! Fast-Paced! And super twisty!
This was a gooder :)

Loved the tagline when I saw it, as it is so perfect.
"Good girls keep quiet. Quiet girls won't stay silent forever."
Dive in.... and wait for it (that's all I'll say)

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review. Please excuse my tardiness in posting my review as my TBR continuously grows and I keep finding so many book with so little time!

So much gratitude for this copy shared with me, always xo

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Phenomenal read. This book is powerful and will have you turning the pages faster and faster as you read. Written in different narratives you will be unable to put this book down.

Alex returns to Provincetown to surprise his wife Mina after an argument to find her gone. Follow Alex in his quest to find her and apologize, while he is also dealing with a crucial time with his company.

Thank you NetGalley, S. F. Kosa and Sourcebooks Landmark for this edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

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This was a very eerie thriller. I've read a ton of thrillers lately and they had become predictable but this one had so many twists and turns I didn't see coming. I cant wait to read more from this author.

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A fast-paced suspense thriller. It did take me a while to figure out what was what, but such a great plot I am glad I stuck with it. Fabulous ending. Recommended.

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It’s been a while since I’ve read a psychological suspense that was predictable on the surface, but was oh so twisty-turny underneath that I loved every minute of guessing just what was going on. S.F. Kosa’s debut novel in this genre, The Quiet Girl, was a fantastic case of an unreliable narrator pitted against an almost too-reliable narrator that’s second guessing everything that he’s knows about his new wife, and it worked so well for me.

Romance novelist Mina goes missing after a fight with her husband Alex, and we get alternating chapters in his point of view and from another woman’s POV named Layla/Maggie. As Alex continues to dig into Mina’s family and friends and her mysterious past while retracing her last steps, he uncovers things that he never knew about his wife. Things that turn his entire world upside down. He doesn’t know who to trust, where his wife has gone, or if he can get her back. I really grew to like Alex, and his loyalty to his new wife was there through thick and thin, even when it looked like she’d just disappeared to do harm to herself. He never gave up on finding out the truth.

The chapters from a mystery woman’s point of view, who is first named Layla and then called Maggie, were a bit confusing at first. I quickly thought I knew what the big reveal was going to be, but it was not exactly what I thought it was. I really enjoyed this these twists and the unreliable narrator aspect of the chapters. Alex didn’t know what he could believe, and we got to investigate and find out things right along with Alex. Mina’s family and friends as well as Alex’s small list of family were fleshed out nicely, so remembering this small cast of characters was no problem.

I give The Quiet Girl a 4.5 out of 5. The tension and suspense in this book just grew and grew as Alex gets closer to finding out the truth about Mina and her past. Finding out things at the same time as Alex made for nice pacing, and the mysteries were revealed only to have more questions be raised. The characters in this book were so laden with secrets, treachery, and some with pure evil, and figuring out who to hate was a big part of the fun of The Quiet Girl. Childhood trauma, hidden pasts, adultery, and immense psychological distress make for an intense psychological suspense. The ending was fitting, and I did feel a bit sad about it.

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This was an interesting read. I found it to be a rather slow read. For me not a lot of page turning suspense. However, a book that many others will enjoy. I somehow have recently read several books dealing with fugue states, dissociative states, multiple personalities, etc. so this theme has become rather humdrum..

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THE TWIST! MY HEAD WAS SPINNING! Super fast paced, and the biggest twist comes fairly early on, but it only intrigued me more.

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The Quiet Girl has a very intriguing storyline that immediately grabbed my attention and soon I was pacing through this suspense thriller.

There are two story lines here. One is a husband coming home to find his mysterious wife missing, leaving behind her wedding and engagement rings. Now plot would definitely give you the Gone Girl vibes. Even the characters Alex and Mina resemble Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike from the movie!

Another storyline has a young woman who works in a Cafe in quaint little Provincetown and seems to forget selective memories and suffers terribly to assemble her life.

Soon these two stories will unite for Alex to Find Mina and for Layla to find herself.

I have to admit that I was rather disappointed that such a promising storyline had become so predictable once the main twist was revealed. I did enjoy reading about the setting of Provincetown and the pace of the book was consistent.

Many thanks to Sourcebooks for proving an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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I don’t even know where to begin with this book. The Quiet Girl by S.F. Kosa was just simply, page turn worthy on another level. I had no idea before the book that the author was a clinical psychologist. She truly brought her expertise and knowledge into creating a brilliant character-driven suspense novel that truly takes you on an emotional, plot twisted ride that truly was a fun one. If this was her debut in this genre, I can’t wait to find out what book she comes out with next similar.

The book took on a dual narrative that I thought was very clever in developing the plot. It was more about how the events unfolded and what we learn as a reader through both independent storylines that merge through the plot twists and turns. There may be a moment in the book that becomes uncertain but it deliberately shifts the plot and once you get there, there’s no turning back. There isn’t a moment that I felt like I wanted to put it down. I had to pace myself because I felt like the book was so intricate from the woven details that taking it slow absorbed the maximum satisfaction with the unraveling as it progressed.

We are introduced to Alex, a tech executive, and Mina, a romance novelist who hasn’t been together that long. They were married in under a year and found themselves in a disagreement. Mina decides to seek some time alone to retreat at their cottage and without a trace she’s gone. With the intention of trying to work things out, upon seeing her wedding rings, he’s left him with many answered questions and uncertainty.

After a few days go by with no signs of her returning, he decided to go to the police. They look at it from the perspective as maybe she decided to have some time away to herself. Since nothing major happened in their neck of the woods and considering the time they’ve known each other, there wasn’t any evidence that seemed to indicate some bad occurred. With the instance to look at the case, you know the spouse is always the one that becomes the first suspect.

Feeling frustrated, he decided to investigate on his own and almost gave up. No new leads or indicators in any directions until one day he received a lead that made him question everything that he thought he knew about his life with his wife and her. What was in the dark comes to light. As the dual plot unravels, secrets are revealed and twists in the plot made it impossible to want to put it down.

Overall, there isn’t anything about the book that I didn’t enjoy. I truly believe having that clinical psychologist experience enables us to get into the heads of these characters and experience every moment and emotions with them. The duality of the of the plot was creative and interesting for the unraveling of the suspense. It pushes you to want to know more because it piques the interest of the reader to make you want to know what happens. There is so much more to the book that I want you to experience without giving it away. Take your time and enjoy every moment of this one. I’d recommend adding this to your tbr list!

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The Quiet Girl was an unexpected surprise. The story follows two timelines. The first follows Alex who is trying to find his missing wife. The second follows Layla who seems to be missing all memory of where she came from. I will admit to almost DNFing the book. However, there was something that was revealed about 25-30% in that made me change my mind. I was sure that story was going in a certain direction, but I was completely wrong. I'll just say that it was an interesting and unique way to frame the story. It really worked for me. I also didn't call the ending, so that was a bonus. I definitely recommend this one.

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Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview The Quiet Girl by SF Kosa. This is a debut novel, and quite good.

When a husband goes to his home to see his wife, his plan is to make up with her. He knows things are not going well, so he is prepared to make things better. When he arrives, she is not home, her wedding ring is on the table and he is convinced that things are going to be hard. His search for his wife brings him to meet a girl who is strange - she's got the possible key to finding his wife and things are about to get weirder.

The plot builds and tells the story thru different narratives. Good debut and solid mystery.

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A debut psychological suspense read that will grab you and not let go until you find out what happened to Alex's wife, Mina.

Mina is a successful romance writer who seems to have everything going for her. When Alex meets her at a book signing at the local book store it is love at first sight. One night the couple has a fight over having children, although Alex has a daughter with his first wife he desperately wants to have a child with Mina. Shortly after their fight Mina disappears. It turns out Mina was keeping some very deep, very dark secrets about her past from everyone.

The chapters alternate between Alex's search for his wife and Maggie, a young girl in trouble. There are so many twists and turns in this story. So many secrets coming at you from the left and then the right. It took me a while to figure out Maggie's connection to Mina, but to me that was the best part of the plot. Trying to figure out what happened to Mina, and what major trauma had happened to Maggie that made her forget who she was at times will have you turning the pages late into the night.

Once everything comes to light it is mind blowing. That was one ending I didn't see coming.
This one is available now!

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WOW! What a WILD RIDE!!! To be honest, when I first started reading this book, I was a bit confused. I wasn't hooked from the beginning like some thrillers. But by a few chapters in....I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!!! In the first few chapters, it jumped around a bit and I was a bit confused (which was the point, of course) and once I got just a couple clues and started to see the direction the book was going I knew it would be a five star read for me. As a psychology nerd, psychological thrillers are one of my favorite genres and this one was a winner!
I don't want to give too much away here but the book definitely kept me guessing right down to the last couple chapters! You know there are soooo many secrets and suspect everyone is hiding something..but...what? And what happened to Mina? There were so many surprising twists and turns you don't see coming and this book will definitely keep you turning the pages--you will probably read the entire thing in a single weekend, just like I did! The book is fast paced, exciting, and full of suspense. If you love psychological thrillers, this book is one you DO NOT want to miss!

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Ack! This one is hard to review.
One part of me thinks those who love psychological thrillers will also love The Quiet Girl. It's twisty and dark as Alex tries to find out what happened to his missing wife.
The other part of me must admit that twisty was often confusing. There are two story lines and for a long time it is unclear if the second story is present or past or even real. Fans may tout twisty, but I think it was unnecessarily confusing. Also most of the characters have multiple names, except for Alex. Not sure if saying why is a spoiler or not. Anyway, as you can imagine, I didn't enjoy trying to figure out who was who as we jumped from one narrative to the other.
Could be just me. I was a little tired when I read it.


Oh - The Cover is amazing. I didn't even see the woman at first.

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What an amazing book. This one kept me hooked from the first chapter. Just when I thought I had the story figured out, there would be a twist. Couldn't read this fast enough. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

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Thank you to @sfkosa @bookmarked and @tlcbooktours for this gifted copy of The Quiet Girl in exchange for an honest review! If you are a fan of psychological suspense, dueling narratives, and characters with lots of secrets to uncover, then this is a book for you to check out. I do want to mention trigger warnings for abuse and rape.

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Synopsis from the publisher: When Alex arrives in Provincetown to patch things up with his new wife, Mina, he finds an empty wine glass in the sink, her wedding ring on the desk, and a string of questions in her wake. The police believe that Mina, a successful romance author, simply left, their marriage crumbling before it truly began. But what Alex finds in their empty cottage points him toward a different reality: Mina has always carried a secret. And now she’s disappeared. In his hunt for the truth, Alex comes across Layla, a young woman with information to share, who may hold the key to everything his wife has kept hidden. A strange, quiet girl whose missing memories may break them all. To find his missing wife, Alex must face what Layla has forgotten. And the consequences are anything but quiet.

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This book was a bit slow to start but quickly picked up, and maintained a very steady level of building suspense with the dueling narratives that unfold in the alternating chapters. Some characters are not entirely like able but not in way that takes away from the story. This is a book full of so many secrets that you never really know who it’s telling the truth or what will come next. This book is currently available in ebook and paperback released August 11th. I think this book would make an amazing audiobook with the alternating storylines, but currently there isn’t an audiobook version available.

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Do certain books ever get a song stuck in your head? I found myself humming the theme song from Pretty Little Liars while reading this one❤️

3.75 stars almost 4 stars!

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Newlywed author Mina is a missing person. Her husband Alex has a hard time time getting anyone to take it seriously, or to help him find her.

The Quiet Girl is a good psychological thriller, with strong romance-novel stylistic undertones (this is perhaps deliberate, since Mina herself is a successful romance writer, with aspirations toward something darker and more serious.)

The book's pacing is dynamic, its plotting is devious, its setting (Cape Cod) comes alive. Some of the other elements of the story didn't quite measure up to this level, but it's still a compelling read.

In general, the best chapters were in the third person, about Layla and Maggie. The chapters in first person, narrated by Alex, were filled with his frantic tension, but the present-day characters weren't as deeply portrayed as were the people who filled the alternate storyline.

Some nit-picky reader items: My focus was thrown off numerous times by some odd verb choices (one example: the heat bled from the cake as the layers cooled.) And that first chapter, from Mina's point of view, was the worst in the book. I almost stopped reading (glad I didn't!)

So, a mixed bag. Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advance readers copy.

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