The Fourth Girl by Wendy Corsi Staub is about teen Caroline who vanished twenty five years ago from the infamous Haven Cliffs on prom night. Her three closest friends have been keeping a secret from that night a long time, but this anniversary is different. A man in the same town shows up dead, and the timing is far from coincidental.

This is a book I really wanted to love, but it just felt like the story didn’t really ‘start’ until the halfway mark. After that point, it was a much faster read and I was able to follow the storyline and become engaged with the plot.

With four main characters and switching between three of their POV’s, there is already a lot of switching narrative voices, to then add in a twenty five year timeline jump, it does get confusing. On top of that, there was an abundance of back story, not just for the girls, but for their families, the town, the Haven Cliff House etc. I understand that to flesh out characters this is needed, though I feel as though it was excessive. Many times I was taken out of the story to be told things like how one of their mothers was declining from dementia ect and found myself wanting to be back in the story of the girls. The ending also still left many questions open ended and I was left feeling a bit underwhelmed.

It was a decent read, but it could have been much stronger and fast paced if the unnecessary parts were cut and the conclusion was as detailed as the backstory.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. Pub date is set for 01/04/25.

Thank. you to Wendy Corsi Staub, Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The beginning of this one dragged so bad. I found that it didn't hold my attention.

A 25-year-old mystery resurfaces when secrets buried since prom night—when Caroline vanished into the woods, threaten to unravel the lives of her three friends, Midge, Talia, and Kelly. Now a detective, Midge uncovers chilling connections between Caroline’s disappearance and a present-day murder. With sharp twists and dark revelations, the story delves into the weight of promises and the haunting grip of the past.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and author Wendy Corsi Staub for the opportunity to review the advance copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is a must read! It's a story of friendship, secrets, love, deceit, lies, and finding the truth. The twists and turns will have you on the edge of your seat needing to read more. Wendy Corsi Staub, I don't know how you do it!

I really enjoyed the premise of this book - a group of four friends who are very close, and then one of them goes missing and they drift apart, before eventually ending up back in their hometown to revisit the past. I loved the way each character charted their own path and how they handled the situation with their missing friend differently. However, there were a few things with this story that I didn't love, and I felt like the ending was rushed. I think this book may be setting up for further stories with this same group of women, so I'd be intrigued to see how that progresses.

#TheFourthGirl #NetGalley
An ok read.
On prom night, Caroline Winterfield walked away from the ruins of an abandoned mansion called Haven Cliff and into the woods…never to be seen again. Only her three best friends know what really happened. But a secret is a secret, and a promise is a promise—even when it shatters lifelong friendships. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of that night, Midge, Kelly, and Talia reunite at Haven Cliff, now a gleaming architectural jewel. But they aren’t alone. Someone is watching. Someone who knows what really happened to Caroline—and to the man who now lies dead a stone’s throw from where she was last seen.
Police detective Midge knows she’s dealing with a murder the moment she sees the item clutched in his lifeless hand. Only three other people in the world would grasp its significance. That means Kelly and Talia are either involved or in danger, because Caroline is long gone…or is she?
It was an ok read. It was dragged unnecessarily.
Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for giving me an advance copy.

I really liked this book. The characters are all beautifully portrayed, including the missing fourth girl. There were several twists and turns to keep me interested to the end. It is a lovely portrayal of young friendships and the way they can knit back together in the right circumstances.

A nail biting story of a disappearance and three friends who know something but will not share what they know. Gives off Pretty Little Liars vibes.

On prom night, Caroline Winterfield walked away from the ruins of an abandoned mansion called Haven Cliff and into the woods…never to be seen again. Only her three best friends know what really happened. But a secret is a secret, and a promise is a promise—even when it shatters lifelong friendships.

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of that night, Midge, Kelly, and Talia reunite at Haven Cliff, now a gleaming architectural jewel. But they aren’t alone. Someone is watching. Someone who knows what really happened to Caroline—and to the man who now lies dead a stone’s throw from where she was last seen.

Police detective Midge knows she’s dealing with a murder the moment she sees the item clutched in his lifeless hand. Only three other people in the world would grasp its significance. That means Kelly and Talia are either involved or in danger, because Caroline is long gone…or is she?

Loved it. Will recommend to others.

This book is an intriguing mystery that involves four women who were best friends in high school. One (Caroline) of them seemed to disappear the night of their prom for reasons she would not tell her friends. Years later, one of the group (Midge) is not a police officer in their hometown. When another of their group moves home to be closer to her mom, she buys the mansion where Caroline grew up and the third decides to come for a visit, the friends hope that Caroline will come back to visit. Mysterious notes and the death of Caroline's former boyfriend.build suspense about her return and what she wants if she is back. The story flashes between the past and present with a surprising ending.

This was a slow burn for me. I wasn't into it right away, but I'm glad that I kept reading! I wanted to keep reading all the way to the end and didn't guess what was going to happen. Well written

There were different POVs and different timelines and they weren't well organized. The characters blended together; none of them having unique personalities. The ending was predictable as well.

A dramatic psychological thriller that will leave you wondering who the real killer is right up to the end. Find out how one lie can destroy multiple lives and set a group of friends on divergent paths.

This book had a really great premise -- excellent atmosphere, shifting POVs, twisty -- but it just fell flat. The pacing was extremely off -- the first half was a slog and the actual final conflict was all resolved within the last few pages. Also I didn't like just how many loose ends were left to the story -- it seemed like lazy writing to me. The 'plot twist' was honestly pretty obvious and I was expecting something better. I also just thought there were an unnecessary amount of flashbacks and only some of them ended up being relevant. Overall, I think good effort, but this book needed significantly more edits than it got.

This suspenseful page-turner kept me hooked from the start. Three friends reunite to face the dark secrets of their past, and as the mystery unravels, the twists and turns had me questioning everything—especially who can be trusted. If you're into thrillers with secrets, lies, and a creepy, atmospheric setting, this one’s definitely worth the read.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the eARC.
This is the story of 4 girls who are best friends, until 1 of them goes missing. The other 3 know why and have been sworn to secrecy and the knowledge has plagued them for 25 years.
The book is good, but also confusing what with the different timelines; plus I also at times found it difficult to
differentiate between the girls.
However, the story was good enough to keep me reading, even though I did guess the ending.
3 stars rounded up to 3.5

This was solid but it definitely started SLOW for me. It picked up in the middle, but I wasn't as invested as I could've been in the characters or the plot. Still. It was entertaining and bingeable!

Caroline Winterfield,walked away from her family home, The home is known as Haven Cliff. She is never seen again. Her friends,Kelly, Talia and Midge, all know what happened but have kept her secret for a 25 years. Kelly has restored Haven Cliff to its original luster. Now the girls are supposed to have a reunion at Haven Cliff.
People have been dying. People from Carolines graduation party at her home. .Is Caroline back, is she taking her revenge on her past classmates, or is someone doing it for her. Thanks netgalley.

I loved this book as it kept me reading long into the night! Ir begins with four friends, Midge, Talia, Kelly, and Caroline--all 16--as they make a promise to each other. and share matching charm bracelets with each of their initials on them--T I C K--so they are bound together with love. The novel then jumps to the present as Midge--now the police chief--discovers two dead bodies that may or may not be connected to each other. What happens in-between will have you gasping for breath as Staub shakes you around like a rag doll! It's one of those thrillers that will stay with you and have you hugging your friends and family closer!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

I tried really hard to enjoy and get into this book but unfortunately it really didnt work for me. I found myself being bored and not wanting to pick it up so I had to DNF.