Wendy Walker's books never let me down. They are gripping, well paced and you want her characters to persevere. Her newest venture is American Girl - where Charlie, a high school senior with autism - gets wrapped up in a murder investigation in her small town.

Charlie's boss has been killed - he's a very unpopular man and just about everyone Charlie cares about has a reason to want the man dead. She's brought in for questioning after being caught on video hiding - while her boss fought with an unknown person at the sub shop where she works. If she says anything she could get her friends in trouble - so she's not saying a word...literally.

American Girl was well written with an incredible main character in Charlie. The story unfolded a a perfect pace and one of my favourite books of the year.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advanced copy of American Girl!

I will read anything that this author puts out there. Her books aren't the most popular, as far as I can tell, but I am thoroughly entertained every time. I also like that I don't have them all figured out before the reveal starts happening.

In this one, a semi-unreliable narrator seems to have witnessed a murder. And this fact has been caught on a hidden camera, which did not record the murder itself. She's brought to the police station by her high school crush/ex-boyfriend for questioning. There are a lot of potential suspects. There are also a lot of people she is willing to lie for. You'll have to read it to see how it plays out.

Charlie is a 17 year old autistic American Girl, employed at a sandwich shop in a dead end town called Sawyer. Her dreams of escaping the town get sidetracked when she becomes involved in the murder of the shop’s unpopular owner and prominent Sawyer citizen Clay Cooper, and there’s a long list of suspects, all of whom are Charlie’s friends. While the plot device of an autistic protagonist is trendy, the author doesn’t over do it, and Charlie’s affliction propels the plot, and the reader roots hard for her throughout the book. The book can get repetitive, as the suspects and their motives are rehashed one too many times, which slows things down, and the plot does get a little muddled, but overall it’s an entertaining read. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A brilliant story with one of the best main characters I've read. I highly recommend this twisted, dark small town secrets story. No spoilers just a must read xx

American Girl is a compelling thriller that had me guessing and racing to the finale .

What a great cast if characters and none better than Charlie Hudson, who is a 17 year old autistic that is diligently working to afford going to MIT.

She had my heart from her first rule . She had a lot of them . All she wants is to protect those around her .

When her boss ( who owns most of the town) is murdered, the police know Charlie was there .

Charlie is not talking . No way .

Charlie is on a mission to find the killer and the killer is on a mission to eliminate her .

The tension mounts with every page ,with every twist and turn and every secret that comes to light .

Highly recommend you clear your schedule and grab your copy of American Girl and settle in for a compelling read .

I am hoping that Charlie returns in another adventure.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an excellent read .

Another riveting thriller by author Wendy Walker. American Girl's Charlie Hudson is the unforgettable 17-year-old autistic protagonist. Surprises are around every corner. Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Wendy Walker has done it again! Another gripping, psychological thriller that had me fully invested wanting to know whodunit in this shocking murder mystery set in a small town full of secrets and interesting people.

Charlie Hudson, an autistic 17-year-old has been accepted to MIT and has been working hard to raise money to afford her studies. She began working at the Triple S, a local sandwich shop, at the age of fourteen. She never gets an order wrong and has a mind for numbers. Her co-workers are like family to her, and she enjoys working with them. Her boss Clay Cooper employs most of the town in various businesses. He is respected and feared by those who rely on him for their income.

When Clay Cooper is found dead, the employees at the Triple S become suspects. Charlie finds herself at the heart of the investigation and does her best to protect herself and her coworkers.

I enjoyed Charlie and her "rules". She is extremely likeable, and I enjoyed her POV, her desire to protect those in her life, and her relationships with others.

What happened the night Clay was killed? Charlie is keeping mum on what she knows but is willing to do what she can to find out who killed her employer? As Charlie searches for answers, the tension mounts, secrets begin to be revealed, people will show their true colors and the sense of danger will intensify.

There are a few twists and turns and a few reveals along the way. I enjoyed the mystery and was willing to overlook some of the things that took place at the end of the book.

Overall, a very enjoyable psychological thriller and I look forward to reading more books by Walker.

Gripping, well written, and tense.

So I read some other reviews and saw that the majority of folks listened to the book and I absolutely loved reading this on my kindle. It was pulse pounding and fun and I really wanted to figure out the mystery.

"This is just a story about one American girl. And nobody will ever notice."

3.5 stars

American Girl is a psychological thriller/mystery about a 17-year-old caught in the web of the murder of a small-town tycoon.

17-year-old Charlie lives her life by a set of rules. Autistic and on the margins of her friends and family, she finds herself trapped when she witnesses the murder of her predator boss, Coop, who happens to own most of the small, failing town, Sawyer, from which Charlie is determined to escape. With numerous suspects in Coop’s murder, Charlie does all she can to protect her friends and family, putting herself in danger

Charlie is the primary narrator. The reader is trapped in Charlie’s mind the same way Charlie is trapped in her own head, repeating her rules and other coping mechanisms. Charlie is a riveting, if not wholly believable, character. Her narrative revolves around her rules and observations. This book is as much of a character study of Charlie as it is a mystery/thriller.

While the novel starts with a bang, it slows down in the middle, with Charlie recounting the past. The narrative becomes repetitive--not in Charlie’s repetition of her rules and other mantras, but in that sentences are repeated verbatim. The pace picks back up in the last 25%.

This was a mixed bag for me. The first half had me riveted, but as events unfolded, I had to suspend my disbelief, especially toward the end. It all seems too much for a 17-year-old girl to figure out and handle on her own.

With Charlie being a teen, the overall tone has a YA feel, but Charlie isn’t mired in YA problems. Rather, her experiences and keen observations propel her into adulthood way too early. The mystery behind Coop’s death and Charlie’s part is compelling and kept me turning the pages.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Wendy Walker has been an auto buy author for me for years, I will forever read everything she writes. American Girl is definitely in my top three reads from her! I loved getting to know Charlie, she was such a smart character that I was rooting for her from the start. I would love to see where life takes her after the epilogue, but for this story itself we got a great conclusion.

Charlie works at a sandwich shop in her small town, and the sleezy owner ends up murdered. Her friends who worked or were closely linked to the sand which shop come under suspicion, and Charlie knows she needs to do what she can to protect them.

I’d definitely recommend picking this one up!!
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC.

American Girl by Wendy Walker showcases why this author is a must-read and why I’m a long-time fan. American Girl is another brilliant psychological suspense which will keep you eagerly turning pages. Wendy Walker has a unique narrative voice that sets her apart from other authors in this genre showcasing her ability to build suspense over time and leave readers with just enough intrigue to keep them hooked. A true page-turner.

The story is primarily told from the POV of a 17-year-old protagonist, however at no point did the book feel like a young adult novel and at times, I had to remind myself that the main character was just a teen. The authors portrayal of a character with autism was handled sensitively and authentically and felt seamlessly integrated into the character’s identity, rather than a shoehorned effort for diversity’s sake. The story is set in (and raises themes around) a small-town community where everyone could be a suspect and explores themes around family, friendship and human relationships.

The pacing of American Girl is spot-on and at no point did the story feel padded out or rushed. It was a true testament to the author how they picked up all the questions and loose threads and wove them together to present a satisfying and rewarding conclusion. American Girl is a testament to this authors brilliance and is a must-read for fans of psychological suspense. Wendy Walker truly deserves all the praise and recognition and they are an author that I never hesitate to recommend.

This book took a little while to get into, but once I did I couldn’t put it down. I really liked how the main character was written, and I appreciated how much thought and obvious research went into writing about a character with autism. Overall, it was a good story with a twisty end.

Another great read by one of my favorite authors.

American Girl by Wendy Walker was exciting, fast paced and I was totally invested.

Highly recommend

Thank you for the opportunity to preview American Girl. Wendy Walker is a contemporary author and a very good writer. I think this book is more of a YA and with that said it is still a good book.
Charlie is autistic and lives in a small town and she just wants to go to college, and mostly get out of the town she lives in.
Charlie lives with her mom and stepdad but she’s an outsider.
Charlie works at a diner and all is well till the owner dies and Charlie is at the center of the crime.
She knows a lot but she’s not gonna tell her secrets but maybe she will. To save her family and friends Charlie will do anything
Good book but a bit wordy
3 5 stars

2.5⭐️ rounded up
Ugh I had high hopes for this one!! Nothing exciting happens in the first 65%. Just inner dialogue of the MC on what she should do and her rules she’s made up. It starts to pick up and then rushes to wrap everything up. Disappointing!!

3.5 stars. I liked the idea of this story being told from an autistic teenager's POV. I liked the beginning of the book but it started to get repetitive very fast and started to drag. I like playing detective but there wasn't much to go on, just the inner thoughts of the main character who seemed to know what happened but wasn't sharing many details with me, the reader. A lot of things were finally revealed around 80%. It wound up being an interesting mystery that that unfolded in a way I didn't expect.

Read if you like slower suspense mysteries and small town settings. Thank you Blackstone Publishing, NetGalley and Wendy Walker for the arc. American Girl releases on October 17, 2023.

Tomatoes, pickles, onions, lettuce😁

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I might. The mystery was solid & you certainly won’t guess correctly in the first half. I also enjoyed reading of a different protagonist, a teenager on the spectrum. I think it was told well. Not lessening the person at all, only showing that she was different, as we all our, in our own way. Four solid stars!

While I love Wendy Walker’s book, this wasn’t my favorite but I did really enjoy it. I couldn’t figure out the ending, which I thought was well done.

“American Girl” by Wendy Walker



“We were all just trying to figure out how to be, in our own ways.” - Charlie Hudson

In this suspenseful whodunit that’s equal parts murder mystery, thought-provoking reflections about life, small-town drama, and manual to the brain processes of a neurodivergent high school senior, Charlie is a 17-year-old autistic girl caught between her dream of getting out of her dead-end town and the troubling security camera footage that places her at the scene of the murder of that same town’s most powerful man, and her boss, Clay Cooper. One of her methods for navigating a world that doesn’t often function in a way that naturally makes sense to her centers around a series of rules by which she lives her life, for example, “Rule Number One: If someone says the same thing over and over again, that means they don’t believe it.” As Charlie’s observations about the way people relate to one another rang true one after the other, I highlighted line after line, and found myself reflecting on how much our society would benefit from being able to learn more broadly from the perspectives of neurodivergent people. In “American Girl”, this idea is front and center, as Charlie uses her rules & her unique perspective to put together the pieces of the puzzle presented to her.

I was able to snag an advanced copy of this book from Blackstone Publishing/ NetGalley, but make yourself a calendar reminder to go grab your own copy on pub day: October 17th!

I was really hoping for more from Wendy Walker's latest novel. It didn't quite live up to my expectations of a thrilling mystery. I found the storyline to be very straightforward, with no real guessing involved. In fact, it was quite boring. The characters lacked depth and the storyline was predictable. I suppose this book would be better suited for those who prefer a more simplistic read, without the need to play detective.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for letting me read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.