I loved The Next Girl! It was very well written and I was engaged from start to finish. The ending, wow, did not see that coming. There were many twist and turns throughout the book, some predictable, others not. I will definitely read more of Emiko Jean’s books!!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin General UK for an advance copy of The Next Girl, a stand-alone thriller set in Washington State.

Two years ago Ellie Black disappeared and Detective Chelsey Calhoun, who lost her sister twenty years ago, did everything she could to find her. Now Ellie has turned up, a shadow of her former self and, Chelsey suspects, keeping secrets. Secrets Chelsey is determined to uncover before the next girl is taken.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Next Girl, which has a strong story to tell with a few twists and an explosive resolution. The novel is told mostly from Chelsey’s third person point of view and Ellie’s first person with other characters contributing occasionally. This is a novel of if only and regrets, which gives it quite a heavy atmosphere, even without the subject matter.

The narrative alternates between Chelsey and Ellie, with Ellie further splitting her narrative into a description of her capture and how she is dealing with her release. What she doesn’t disclose is her secrets. Chelsey, on the other hand, is a determined investigator, but she doesn’t appear to be able to move past her sister’s disappearance and presumed death all those years ago. I was surprised to discover that she is married as she seems so emotionally stunted. Ellie has a moving tale to tell and it is well written, really pulling at the heartstrings, whereas Chelsey’s investigation feels a bit all over the place. There is no doubting her desire to solve the case, but there could be questions about her methodology.

I like the pacing of the novel as Ellie’s narrative fits seamlessly into and complements Chelsey’s investigation. The ending is perhaps a bit of a flurry of action and explanations, but when the clues come quick action is required. I’m not sure that I particularly bought the solution, but it seems like a fitting ending to the strong journey to get there.

The Next Girl is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC. This was a fast-paced, twisty thriller that I very much enjoyed. Although I found some of the plot reveals predictable, there were still enough surprises to keep me entertained. I would definitely read more of this author's work in the future.

A very suspenseful and assured thriller that is an enjoyable and gripping read - clever twists and turns.

Thanks to netgalley for providing this advanced copy for the purpose of review.
This was a dark and intriguing thriller. It was well written and there was plenty going on to hold my interest.

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for this.

I was a big fan of Emiko Jean’s Tokyo Ever After and Tokyo Dreaming. With this book Emiko Jean is doing something really different and showing their range. This is a dark crime novel, not a sweet coming of age and journey of self discovery story! Nevertheless Emiko Jean has a lovely writing style and great pacing in whatever genre they are writing in.

This is a thriller and tells the story of a missing girl who has returned two years after she disappeared. We follow two points of view, the first is Chelsea who is a police officer trying to work out who abducted Ellie, the girl who has returned. She’s also struggling with grief after the death of her father and is still traumatised by the loss of her sister when she was a teenager. We also have chapters where we see Ellie’s story and her experience with her abducters.

A very well-written thriller. It’s quite dark and I would recommend checking trigger warnings as there is some upsetting content. This often doesn’t take the obvious route and has plenty of surprises along the way.

I look forward to seeing what Emiko Jean does next but for now I’m glad to find she has two other books already I haven’t read as I really enjoy this author!

Really good and gripping psychological thriller!

Slightly slow burn at the beginning but it really picked up the pace and it was really hard to stop reading.

The plot was really intriguing and I really enjoyed to see how Detective Calhoun conducted all the investigation and how the story developed.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Penguin Books for this great ARC.

When missing girl Ellie Black is found two years after she disappeared Detective Chelsey Calhoun is determined to find out what happened to her. The detective's own sister went missing twenty years previously and Chelsey has searched for her over the years and never finding any answers, When Ellie is reunited with her family she is distant, closed off and is not the same girl.
This is a great read. Believable, scary and hard to put down. Psychologically thrilling, violent and emotional. What happened to Ellie and who is likely to be taken next?

This book was so good! It was intriguing and really drawed me in. I'll be reading more of this authors work.

Elizabeth Black has been missing for 2 years when she is found wandering in the woods. Chelsey, a police officer whose sister was murdered, is determined to find out what has happened to her and prevent more women going missing, Exploring how the past colours the present and the impact of trauma on relationships, this was a tantalising thriller full of twists and turns which kept me reading way past the witching hour.

Good story. Found the first half a little tough to get in to but the second half was great. A lot of shocks.

This is a crime story that centres very much around its main character, detective Chelsey Calhoun, a young woman at the beginning of her career, who has to fight her own daemons in order to solve the case of a girl who disappeared without trace.

A girl vanished two years ago and the investigation had been put on ice due to a lack of promising leads. When Chelsey receives a phone call to confirm that the girl has been found alife, she re-opens her investigation and with it the trauma she suffered since the disappearance of her own sister.

Chelsey’s chances of success are stacked against the odds as a young Japanese woman (adopted into a white family) in a mail/macho dominated work environment and she is often treated as an outcast by her judgmental and racist male colleagues. She is therefore well positioned to call out the injustices and differential treatment individuals experience by the police, depending on their wealth, religion, skin colour – Some daughters were just worth more than others.

I really liked the way how Chelsey in her search to solve the crime looks into the choices people make, how their chosen path is determined by external factors and how family relationships frame our lives. This goes for the choices she makes herself but also for those of all other main characters, which for me makes this book.
What I am not too enthusiastic about are the twists that bring the novel to its conclusion. It surely is a fast-paced page turner but with perhaps a twist too many.

I am grateful to NetGalley and Penguin Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Chelsey, a detective, is investigating the unexpected return of a girl who went missing two years ago. This was such a fun thriller with lots of twists and turns, I didn't want to put this down. The next girl has a unique premise and if sull of suspense. This was a really quick read and I recommend to any mystery thriller readers.

Chelsey Calhoun, detective extraordinaire and protector of women and girls.

I had a great time reading this, Chelsey is a detective investigating the unexpected return of a girl who went missing two years prior, while still dealing with the death of her sister years before.

A classic detective thriller, I had fun predicting the twist and turns, rooting for Chelsey and our missing girl Ellie. The writing was easily digestible and entertaining with just enough suspense to keep my saying oh just one more chapter then.

It didn’t do anything crazy despite the third act twist, hence my four stars but it’s a great time and I would highly recommend.

I loved the premise of this book, a young girl whose been missing for 2 year reappears! But not everything is as it appears. I really enjoyed the chapters from the missing girls perspective but found the detectives chapters a little slower and harder to connect with. From the half way point I found things dragged but then resolved super quickly. Although I couldnt predict the twist and did enjoy that, it was quite far fetched. Overall this just fell a little flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me an advance reader copy of this book.

The Next Girl by Emiko Jean

This was a heart wrenching and intense thriller which, although it made me cry at multiple points, I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

There were no dull moment in this book. Right from the very beginning, the plot had me gripped and it only got better. The author has managed to weave a intricate net of mystery surrounding Ellie, yet as the story goes on we begin to see that there are many layers to this plot line. I really enjoyed that the author kept throwing in red herrings, making us believe we had solved the case , only to then discover we couldn't have been more wrong. The mystery behind Ellie and her return kept me guessing throughout. I also enjoyed that there was this underlying plot line regarding Chelsey and her sister Lydia which, at first glance, seemed irrelevant to the main story. However, the author cleverly weaves all of these mini storylines into one, to create a huge tangle of mystery and deceit. At the end, in an action packed, nerve-wracking couple of chapters, the author then cleverly untangles this mystery right before the readers eyes. I found the ending to be a good way to wrap up all the drama, with a very large surprise added in just to keep the readers on their toes.

The characters were very well-written and had real depth to them. The author writes most of the book in third-person, yet it then switches to first-person so we hear and see thing from Ellie's perspective. This was a clever tactic and really allowed the readers to get a glimpse into Ellie's fragile mental state and allowed us to see the mental turmoil she is experiencing. The author does a very good job at sensitively writing about trauma and portraying to the readers the severe, long-lasting effects this has on the girls. I found hearing about what the girls had been through really upsetting and this was all due to the authors brilliant writing and the way she tells the story with such sympathy. Although this was an incredible plot and story within itself, it is the authors great writing that made this so hard hitting and enjoyable.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5 stars, and it has quickly become one of my favourite thrillers that I have read this year. I am really interested in checking out some of Emiko Jean's other writing, as I really loved the way this story was written. A big thank you to Netgalley and Emiko Jean for providing me with this ARC in return for an honest review.

What is your name?
My name is Elizabeth Black.

Two hikers discover a girl who says she is Ellie Black who has been missing for two years. Detective Chelsey Calhoun, originally in charge of the case, is roused from her bed to investigate. The last time Ellie is seen before she disappears is approximately 11:30 pm at a motel party she organises. Chelsey questions all who have had contact with Ellie including family and school friends and that just serves to deepen the mystery of the girl. The story is principally told by Chelsey, whose perspective on the impact of the case on an officer is insightful and by Ellie, whose honest reflections of her old self is heartbreaking. Despite the fact that Ellie is found alive, why does have just Chelsey have a feeling of foreboding about her return? She just has to get to the truth.

This is an immersive mystery/psychological thriller, which inevitably doesn’t always made make for easy reading. The two central characters are extremely well portrayed and pertinently observed. Chelsey is complex and complicated, her background and things that have occurred within her family means that she carries burdens. However, this is probably what drives her to go the extra mile as an officer, she also has empathy but equally doesn’t miss much. The contrast between Ellie before her abduction and on her return is stark. Then she’s a lively young lady, pushing boundaries and exhausting her parents therefore a typical teen! On her return, she’s a shadow, haunted by her shocking experiences, she’s grieving and suffering. It’s heartrending. She has lost her identity and everything that makes her, her and you really feel for her.

As the story of the last two years of her life become clear, the story becomes darker and darker and more and more shocking. The author doesn’t excellent job of examining the psychological impact of captivity, the strong bonds that are made, the manipulation, the sacrifices, as well as the physical and mental toll. It shocks you to the core and makes you feel a whole range of emotions.

The victimology is done extremely well too, Ellie like others taken before her are all from low income families, who apart from family, in reality no one will miss much. I know, it’s absolutely terrible to even suggest it. The police searches won’t be as thorough as someone from a wealthy background, nor will the press be as interested. I’m afraid it’s true, look at the continuous press interest in pretty Madeline McCann versus those who are say, of colour. Different, much? This is one of the most unsettling, unsavoury aspects of this tragic story, which is full of off notes and uncertain vibes that knock you off kilter, if not off your feet entirely.

There is much to praise in this novel however, I am very unconvinced by the ending. It’s not bad per se, but it is a bit out there, somewhat left field and it’s not what I’m expecting. I don’t hate it but by the same token I don’t love it either.

Overall though, it’s a gripping read, though very far from an easy one.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Penguin General UK for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Fast paced and engaging. I really enjoyed this book. Some twists I didn't see coming. Will certainly look for others by this author.

I could not get into this book. Something just fell flat and I was unable to finish it. I don’t enjoy animal cruelty and I found that the premise was interesting and a perfect thriller but the connection to the characters and plot felt non existent.

I will start by saying the killing animals is a massive no for me and it did make me feel a bit sour about this...

This blurb reminds me of a BBC drama a few years ago so I did go into this wondering what the similarities would be, but the story was super engaging, and I would recommend to fellow crime/ thriller readers