The good girl. Such a sad story of the consequences of abuse. Can we ever rise above what is done to us in our youth. If you are feeling low, this is not the book you will want to read

This book was well written, but it wasn’t the best book for me. I had no idea how it would graphically detail abuse, rape, & torture - especially in children. If these topics don’t make you cringe, it’s definitely a good book. The most interesting part is you know who’s responsible from the very beginning. For me, that takes away some of the joy, but definitely fascinating.

Thank you to Michelle Dunne and NetGalley for allowing me access to this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, because this was an incredible story with a plot twist that stole my breath.

The characterisation and the descriptions of the world that Grace and Amber inhabit are truly spectacular and the author really encapsulates the grim reality of poverty. This is well written, well paced and utterly heartbreaking, with the addition of Maggie’s chapters really twisting the knife.

This was my first time coming across Michelle Dunne, but I hope it won’t be the last.

This was a DNF at 20% for me. The narrator is fine but too many things happened that doesnt leave me hope for how the story goes and how the writing fairs.

Author using silly lines to try and convey some profoundness? "I like slugs because they dont pretend to be something they arent" that was laughably bad. And a 19yr old trying to convince a millenial to use facebook is just out of touch with how young people are that I just don't have high hopes. Not to mention due to these minor but easy to avoid writing blunders, I am not sure if the author is going to tackle the morality in a good way when it comes to the MC. Just rather pass on this one.

The Good Girl is a dark, creepy, heavy, and twisty psychological thriller about the fact that no one knows what goes on behind closed doors and no one understands the depth of the scars left by abuse and neglect. This turned out to be a much more gripping and disturbing read than I expected, but it's well written with exquisitely developed characters and the narration was incredibly well done. Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the free ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Intense! This excellent book isn't the usual whodunnit as we know from the start who the killer is, but what we do discover over the dual timelines in the story is why.

Grace and Amber suffered horrifying abuse throughout their childhood and have learned to depend on each other. The level of abuse they were subjected to left lasting effects on the two women, with far reaching and disturbing consequences.

A sweet and kind serial killer, hiding in plain sight!

Fabulous narration by Emer Heatley.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Michelle Dunne and Dreamscape for an ARC in return for an honest review.

The Good Girl was almost TO real for me. I had a quite a few moments where I had to just pause and try to breathe.
The way Michelle Dunne writes about abuse is just gut wrenching, and for me, it took me back to when I was a child, and that was absolutely frightening.

With that said this was an incredible book.
The way Dunne portrayed the bond between siblings, the torture, the emotional abuse, I’m just in awe.

I loved the narrator Emer Heatley, she truly brought this book to life.

I definitely want to recommend this book, but please, be aware of the triggers such as:
- Extreme child abuse (lots of it)
- Rape
- Drug use
- Abuse overall (lots and lots, and lots.)

A huge thanks to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, Michelle Dunne and the narrator Emer Heatley for this amazing opportunity.

To start, this book needs to have a whole page of just trigger warnings. It's not a light, easy read by any means, it's dark and it's heavy. Assault, murder, abuse (child and otherwise), spousal abuse, trafficking, mental illness, drug addiction and probably a couple of others that I'm forgetting.

I have to start by saying the narrator? 10/10 probably one of my favorites that I've heard so far!

Now the actual book. This one is gonna stick with me for a while. Grace and her sister definitely didnt have the best childhood and that honestly is an understatement but now grace is an adult and she has decided to start kidnapping and torturing men. But why? What's the motive? Will they be able to save any of them? Will they be able to save her?

This book tackles HEAVY topics that unfortunately are apart of reality. I think the author did a great job at portraying things like PTSD and how going through a trauma at any point in your life can break you. It showed how one small act of kindness can change someone's world even if for you, it was insignificant. This story was such a love story to the sister bond that it broke my heart. Grace would do ANYTHING for amber. She protected her, feed her, loved her, all while being a child herself and needing all of those things as well. I'd say more but I don't want to ruin any part of the reveals that happen along the way!

This story is a heartbreaking thriller which I will not be forgetting any time soon!

Thank you NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for an audio eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I requested the book because I was intrigued by the line „Would You Know a Serial Killer If She Served You Coffee?“.
Sadly, this book wasn’t for me and I had to DNF it. It’s a very graphic and detailed book about abuse. Mainly, about child abuse and the consequences during said child’s life as an adult.

If you want to read this book, I really hope you like it. BUT I can’t express enough how important it is to look up the Content Warning for this book beforehand.

Some of the very graphic TW: rape, child abuse, abuse, drug abuse

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for allowing me to listen to this audiobook!

Where do I start?
I *really* enjoyed this book!
From the first chapter I was completely hooked,
I was waiting with bated breath wondering what would happen next.
I felt like I got involved really quickly with the characters and how they interacted with each other and how their storylines progressed.
It was a sad story really with revenge mixed in.
Very thought provoking and delicately handled.
It’s the first book I’ve listened to by this author and it will not be my last.

What do we really know about people behind closed doors? Grace, abused as a child, is holding a man tied up in her home. The reader knows what is going on, but finding out about Grace’s background is horrific. Grace is friends with police officer, Jerry, who is investigating the missing men in their area. While the story was enjoyable, the characters were all morally grey. The details are very graphic so if you cannot handle that, then this one is not for you. Told through multiple POVs, this psychological thriller shows how those abused when younger can turn out in their lives.

Thank you Netgalley, Michelle Dunne, and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook! A great narration by Emer Heatley! This book was just insane and I absolutely loved the psychological aspect to this! I'm a psychiatric nurse by trade and I always get so excited when there is some type of psychiatric aspect to a book and this met the bill!! So good and highly recommend!

The Good Girl by Michelle Dunne is absolutely twisty and gory and fantastic! I loved every minute of it and I did not want it to end! It might be a bit too much for some readers but it does come with a content warning. However, I enjoyed it a lot and I would like to read more books by this author. Highly recommend!

"Would you know a serial killer if you met one? What if she served your coffee every day?"
This is what brought me to read the book. But I don't think it has as much to do with the story as I would've liked. There should have been more serial killer vibes.

Grace's story literally broke my heart. Her and Amber deserved so much more than what they got.
Except for the girls, all the other main characters got what they deserved. Oh, and Jerry. He deserves all the happiness.

TW: child abuse, child rape, drug use, murder, torture.

3.75 stars.

4⭐
Genre ~ crime thriller
Setting ~ Ireland
Publication date ~ book ~ March 7, 2024, audio ~ June 18, 2024
Est Page Count ~ 342 (65 chapters)
Audio length ~ 10 hours 10 minutes
Narrator ~ Emer Heatley
POV ~ multiple 3rd
Featuring ~ multiple timelines, torture, child abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, child rape, murder, drug use

We meet Grace, our main narrator, as she's tending to a man held captive in her home.

As the story progresses we learn that Grace and her younger sister, Amber, were victims of abuse, starvation and neglect when they were very young.

We hear from a detective, Jerry, who tried his best to be there for Grace and Amber. I give him an A for effort because he really tried.

A truly heartbreaking read that's dark and disturbing and definitely difficult to read/listen at times. It's probably one of the most disturbing I've read.

Narration notes:
Overall, she did fine, but I wish there was a male narrator.

The character development in this book is undeniably its strongest suit. From the protagonist's initial struggles to their eventual growth, the author skillfully weaves a narrative that captivates and engages. Each character feels distinct and fully realized, with motivations and flaws that make them relatable and dynamic. The evolution of relationships and the depth of emotional exploration add layers of richness to the storytelling, drawing readers deeper into the narrative.
However, where the book falls short is in its ending. Despite the careful buildup and intricate development throughout, the conclusion feels rushed and inadequately developed. It lacks the same thoughtfulness and depth that characterizes the rest of the story, leaving readers with a sense of abruptness and unresolved questions. The pacing shifts suddenly, and key plot points are either hurriedly resolved or left dangling without sufficient closure. This abruptness detracts from the overall impact of an otherwise engaging narrative.
Nevertheless, despite its flawed ending, I would still recommend this book for its entertainment value. The journey through the characters' growth and the complexities of their relationships offer a compelling read that is difficult to put down. Readers who appreciate well-crafted characters and immersive storytelling will find much to enjoy and ponder throughout the book, despite the somewhat disappointing conclusion.
Overall, while the ending may leave something to be desired, the strength of the character development and the entertainment factor make this book worth delving into.

Proceed with caution, but proceed if you can stomach it.

I might be the outlier here, but if you're looking for a gripping thriller/mystery/whodunnit, this might not be what you're looking for. But if you're interested in a gut-wrenching, well-written account of an abusive childhood and its ramifications, "The Good Girl" might just be for you.

"Standing on her doorstep with her brown cardigan pulled tightly across her chest, Grace Murphy didn't look like someone who had a man, sitting in his own filth, slowly dying in her spare room."

What's not to like about an intro like this? The book had me hooked from that first sentence. However, while it is advertised as a psychological thriller, it actually didn't hold much suspense or thrill for me - from the very beginning, it is clear that it is Grace who is doing some very bad things, and the why becomes obvious very quickly and holds no thrilling reveal.

Beware that this is a book mostly about abuse in all of its forms. Sexual abuse, child abuse, child sexual abuse, drub abuse, you name it, it happens (the content warning to that effect was much appreciated). So it is definitely hard to read. I usually do okay with that kind of content if it's done in a thriller (say, any book by Karin Slaughter), but since this book lacked the thrilling elements for me, and instead read more like a well-written, but ultimately depressing, examination of the continuous cycle of abuse and the lasting damage suffered by some victims, it was hard to stomach.

I stuck with it because it is well-written, and I would definitely read more books by this author. The ending was somewhat surprising, so I added another half star for that.

I listened to the audiobook, and the production was excellent; the narrator did an outstanding job.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"The Good Girl" is slated to be released on July 18, 2024.

The Good Girl by Michelle Dunne
Format: audiobook
Release Date: 6/18/24
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

A dark, heavy thriller for big sisters! The Good Girl was a tough listen but truly such a great book. It’s a little different from your typical thriller in my opinion, which is always a nice change.

It’s hard to say much about this book without giving too much away, but we follow two Irish sisters who had a very rough childhood in Cork. Written with a dual timeline, we get flashbacks of their traumatic younger years and then their current day timeline as well!

When I say this is slightly different than a standard thriller, I mainly mean there are not a ton of twists or gotcha moments. The reader is sort of in on the nefarious activities from the jump, but I was still so invested to see how the story played out for the sisters & the Garda detective who has been keeping an eye on them throughout the years.

This is definitely a dark, somewhat heartbreaking read (and probably hit closer to home for me than some because how close my sister and I are tbh) so I recommend checking out content warnings before giving it a go! That said, if you do decide to read The Good Girl I think the narrator did a phenomenal job with the audiobook and that format is certainly one I would recommend!

3.5 ⭐

I love a good thriller and can usually handle the darkest stuff but this story seemed like right from the beginning we were getting major details about how Grace is torturing her victim and the abuse she had endured.

Grace seems like such a "normal" person in her everyday life but behind closed doors...watch out. We know who is behind the disappearances but we get the "before" on what caused her to commit this AWFUL crimes.

This is a hard one to read and I probably wouldn't have read it if I knew how much detailed abuse and torture I was about to read.

I haven't read anything by this author. I actually enjoyed the writing of this book. It was told really interestingly. Will pickup more from this author.