"Nice Girls" is a fast-paced thriller that delves into the dark underbelly of suburbia, exploring themes of deception, revenge, and the pressures of societal expectations. Catherine Dang's writing style is sharp and engaging, drawing readers into a world where appearances can be deceiving and secrets lurk behind every facade.

Filled with twists and turns, "Nice Girls" keeps readers guessing until the very end. Dang skillfully builds tension throughout the narrative, creating a sense of unease that lingers long after the final page is turned. However, the pacing is a bit uneven at times, with certain sections of the novel feeling rushed while others drag on.

Dang creates a diverse cast of characters that are well-developed and multi-dimensional, each grappling with their own demons and desires, whose lives intersect in unexpected ways. However, some readers may find it difficult to connect with the characters on a deeper level, as their motivations and actions can feel somewhat contrived at times.

Overall, "Nice Girls" is a solid thriller that will appeal to fans of the genre. While it may not offer the most compelling plot or characters, its fast-paced narrative and suspenseful atmosphere make it a satisfying and enjoyable read for those seeking an escape into the world of suburban secrets and lies.

This book started out strong for me, but ending up being a "did not finish" because it couldn't hold my attention and I just didn't connect with the story.

Mary gets expelled from her ivy league college and returns to her hometown. When some "nice girls" start disappearing, she's pulled into the police investigations. This is a book about girls who aren't nice at all. It was okay.

When Mary, quiet, chubby, studious Mary — who made it out of her small Minnesota hometown to go Ivy — when Mary returns to her hometown a college dropout, thin, sophisticated, and seemingly haunted — she can't help feeling like nothing is as it should be. So when her former childhood friend and on-her-way influencer Olivia disappears — Mary becomes obsessed.

In a sentence: A page turner with a very unlikeable main character and an unsatisfying ending. I had high hopes for this book but it did not deliver. Thank you for the opportunity to read this one early.

Not my favorite book, I really just did not like the main character. Mary's personality was one that I found hard to keep me engaged in the story. I worked to finish the book.

This title definitely slipped through the cracks of the overwhelming Deluge of books and everything going on during the whole everything was locked down period of time. In fact, I'm not sure that I have ever heard anyone other than myself talk about this book which is a shame.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House, William Morrow for letting me read this book.Nice Girls by Catherine Dang is a quick murder mystery in a small town.

I wanted to like this book so badly, but it was all over the place. Mary was constantly pointing fingers. She was all over the place, and sometimes her logic was hard to follow, finding breadcrumbs and having wild theories about who and why, killed it for me, and not to give any spoilers... but at the end of the book, she used the person's full name repeatedly every time the person was mentioned, which extremely irritating for some reason. She/he and him/her work just fine instead of the full name. It had promise but it was just too much with the unlikable Mary and there was just something missing.

Mary used to be such a nice girl. She was the resident whiz kid of Liberty Lake, Minnesota—the quiet, chubby teen with the scholarship to an Ivy League school. But three years later, “Ivy League Mary” is back—a thinner, cynical, restless failure who was kicked out of Cor­nell at the beginning of her senior year and won’t tell anyone why. Taking a job at the local grocery store, Mary tries to make sense of her life’s sharp downward spiral.

Big DNF from me. Definitely not making me want to know what happens. I wanted to like this one, but unfortunately I'm putting this one down. Just not for me!

*Thank you @williammorrowbooks for the copy in exchange for an honest review. Review not posted to Amazon/Goodreads because less than 4 stars or DNF.*

I loved this engrossing mystery! It is not like all the other thrillers out there, and offers intriguing characters and a well developed storyline that you truly care about.

Good plot, good characters, this one definitely kept me guessing the whole time. I Would love to sell this title to my readers, a lot of whom prefer a good thriller. My first by this author and I look forward to reading mor in the future.

Will review in the future, was offered as a free book with no review needed. However, as soon as I read this I will review. Thanks for offering free reads for Book Club Girls.

I tried to read this book multiple times and was always unable to finish. I think the author has potential. This just wasn’t grasping my attention.

I tried about 20% of this one but it just wasn't working for me- after talking with some trusted sources, I don't think this book is for me.

Nice Girls is an intriguing mystery with plenty of twists and turns throughout. The story follows Mary who used to be such a nice girl. Three years ago, she was the chubby, nerdy scholarship kid at Ivy League School. Now, she's a thinner failure getting kicked out of Cornell University and nobody knows why. When rising social media star Olivia goes missing, everyone obsesses over her. Except Mary knows Olivia isn't the vision of perfection she makes herself out to be. Olivia used to be Mary's best friend. And Mary is beginning to wonder if her disappearance is tied to another missing person deemed a runaway. The mystery is a bit of a slow-burn, but intriguing none the less. Highly recommended! Be sure to check out Nice Girls today.

Catherine Dang made me fall head over heels for this book "Nice Girls." I was fully absorbed. My breath was taken away. Until about....70% of the way in when my love soured. Most of this book is amazing! The ending is over the top, but some will love it.
Mary was the awkward girl in high school. She left Liberty Lake on a mission to become the biggest success the school had ever known. She was accepted to Cornell and her dream was coming to fruition Until she was expelled her senior year. Now she's back at home and fully ashamed of what's become of her. .
Liberty Lake is befuddled when Oliva, a rising Instagram star, goes missing. How funny. She was Mary's childhood bff. Mary becomes a detective and and investigation takes place.
Mary was unlikeable, but I've been known to enjoy a heroine that I love to hate. Not so much with Mary. That along with the end make this a 3.5 stars from me.

You know there will always come a point, in a book like this one, where the main character will go off to the deserted cabin in the woods without telling anyone. Maybe she'll have a good reason, maybe she's just the reactionary sort. I knew early on that Nice Girls would definitely have that scene, but the thing that just sticks in my craw is that she announced it's arrival by mentioning, for the first time in the whole novel, that she'd forgotten to charge her phone the night before. Come on.

I loved reading as I kid but struggle to find time as an adult. It’s often impossible to sit down to focus. While this book was not a favorite it and I didn’t finish but may try again later, I’m sure it’s not you, dear book, it’s me.

Mary was an unpopular girl in high school, she was an overweight, nerdy, and awkward so when she got her scholarship to Cornell this was her chance to show them all… that was until she got kicked out of Cornell. So “Ivy League Mary” didn’t make it at the IVY league school, but no one knows why really and it’s all a bunch of whispers when Mary is seen working at the local grocery store back in her small town. Mary seems to have nothing else going for her back in her small town so why not look into two missing girls. I instantly thought of a dark twisted “Mean Girls” take on this when I first heard about it and after reading it, I loved some aspects of it, but in other places it faltered some to me and seemed to veer off direction. Mary’s character was a little to scattered for my liking but there were some good climactic points. Thank you NetGalley for the copy. I give in my opinion 3.5 stars mostly because Mary was just so hard to keep up with at times she was all over but I liked the book overall.