Oh my goodness!

This book was not what I thought it would be!

It was much better – and at the same time so twisted and creepy, I get the shivers just thinking about it!

Due to the twist in the book, how things are not what they appear to be, I’m going to be very careful how I write this review. I don’t want to give anything away and spoil you experiencing it for yourself!

The opening introduces us to Paige, a woman who has lost everything. Paige is addicted to pills and an alcoholic, being sexually abused by her doctor in return for additional drugs. It’s fair to say she is messed up.

But despite being introduced to her as she is rude to her mother-in-law, living in a state and not remembering half of what she has been doing due to her drinking, I felt I was still able to connect to Paige’s character. She was desperate and lost; needing help and terrified to go through with it for reasons that become apparent through the rest of the book.

When Paige discovers her husband owned a gun before he died, she starts to wonder what else Ryan was keeping from her. Why does he want a weapon? Their daughter’s murderer had never been found: unless Ryan knew more than he was letting on?

As Paige starts to think she is going crazy – missing items, photographs being defaced, her daughter’s room being cleared – the plot becomes darker and more twisted than you would have guessed.

I honestly thought the story was going to follow Paige as she delves into Ryan’s past, examining what secrets he kept from her with the classic “he-was-unfaithful/he-was-linked/responsible-for-their-daughter’s-death” that appears to be the theme of many of these sorts of thrillers.

The fact the plot goes in a completely different direction kept me gripped. I noticed when writing the review that I hadn’t highlighted any passages. While it meant there were no phrases/sentences that gripped me enough to take note of them, I also believe it is because I was gripped in a fascinated/horrified way that meant I didn’t stop to add bookmarks, I just kept reading.

The narration switches between Paige in third person, and another character in first. Initially, this jarred me as I had to adapt to both the change in character and in narration style. But it doesn’t switch continuously – a middle section is given to this secondary character. This meant that once you settled into a style, you were there to stay.

The pacing remained fairly steady until the final confrontation, where things escalated extremely fast. The change in narration slowed events down as it recapped lost time. This slow pacing worked as I personally felt it enhanced the creepiness and twisted nature of the actual plot and characters.

This is not a book for the faint-hearted. There is a reasonable amount of violence, drug use, alcoholism and lots of abuse scattered throughout.

It is, however, an incredibly gripping read!

Loved this book! Twists and turns and I couldn't put it down!

This was a good read, wuick and easy but sadly I didn't think much about it afterwards. I found the questions raised throughout riveting but didn't think much about it when the book wasn't in my hand. It felt like a quick read for by the pool. I found the trope of self-destructing-woman a bit tiresome in this case. While I can totally understand why the character felt like that, it wasn't written in a totally believable way to me. Maybe I'm tainting this review with how I felt about the ending, rather than how I felt throughout. I was really into this book at the beginning, and then I just...wasn't. It got a little too far-fetched for me and just didn't seem believable.

I've liked Jack Jordan's last book, Anything for Her, but this just felt like the sort of thing you buy at the airport and never think about again once back on british soil.

This book was incredibly dark and disturbing throughout. I have no idea how an author is able to create such a scene and presumably live a normal life! Even a few days after concluding the book I had a strange underlying feel of unease. The book is actually quite short, however the saying good things come in small packages is very accurate here. Each page is packed and not padded out at all. What needs to be said, is. Would definitely recommend.

Absolutely tore through this novel! I really enjoyed it - it was recommended to me by my sister and she wasn't wrong. Dark, creepy and delightful it makes you sleep with one eye open after finishing it. Paige was a fantastic character and I really felt that she came alive for me through the pages. Probably not for the faint-hearted but perfect for fans of dark, thrilling page-turners. Unreservedly recommend. A great gripping read.

Creepy, intense, if you are looking for a page turner, this is for you!

Wow. Quite an intense read with unexpected surprises. While I sped through this novel, I must admit I was a bit shocked by some of the goriness. Yet as far as thrillers go I found it unique and the character development believable. At first it was difficult to like Paige until the story pieced together.
Then you appreciate what she had to endure to survive. Well done. (less)

Paige Dawson: the mother of a murdered child and wife to a dead man. Her life is a never ending nightmare of self abuse and degradation.. she feels she has nothing left to live for ... until she finds her husband’s handgun hidden in their house. We follow Paige as she attempts to unravel the truth about her husband's suicide - why did he need a gun? As the story unfolds, we are as surprised as Paige as to the sinister direction it takes...

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but it did leave me with far too many questions that remained unanswered like how (without revealing spoilers) things remained hidden and undetected for so many years, That said, this is a good read and am grateful to Netgalley for the ARC in return for this honest review.

Dark, disturbing and brilliant - well worth a read!

Great read! The author tells a great story. I look forward to more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is a rather disturbing and creepy psychological thriller. The story begins with an unstable, unreliable and unlikeable female narrator. Her self-destructive story unfolds as she tells the story of her daughter and her husband's deaths. There is a major twist thrown in at the end of Part 1 (of 3 parts). After that, the storyline and character development drops off. This is a short book and a very quick read. I was rather disappointed in the last 2/3 of the book.

Another great book by Jack Jordan! Can't say too much without giving the game away, but this book will keep you awake at night as you say just one more chapter!!!....I read it in two sittings and wanted more, loved the lead character and the storyline was believable. Great read!!!

This was extra hard to review as 50% of the book was ok, I was spooked and intrigued by the hidden gun and phone. We never get to know anything about the gun as there is no explanation at all.. Super strange right, as it is in the explaining of the book as a big teaser. So after half a book of being intrigued, there is this turn with the revelation (that in itself took 2 seconds, no buildup just straight in no kissing.) The rest of the book has no finesse, a big blur of "stuff". I'm really sorry as i feel this could have been a nice read, if the writer didn't cock it up so to say.

Awesome, riveting story. I breezed through it with ease!

It's been ten years since Paige lost her daughter Chloe and it's been 2 months since she found her husband dead in the bathtub. Numbing her pain with pills and wine, Paige is reluctant to let go of her past. Stumbling upon her husband's hidden gun, she starts to uncover his secrets. Putting herself in danger, she's blind to the truth. Her life isn't hers to gamble.

Jack Jordan brings to life a tale of murder, suicide and addiction. He successfully got inside of a woman's psyche and delivered to the reader, a woman on the brink of self destruction. My Girl is a enticing thriller with quite the unforeseeable plot twist. I devoured this book in the span of a couple hours. A quick read worth every minute.

I do wish there was a bit more depth to a couple of the characters that show up later in the book. But regardless, My Girl caught me; hook, line, and sinker.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Great read and easy to follow story line. Look forward to reading more from this author

"I’m not going mad. Someone is taunting me.
I’m not doing this. I would remember.
I’m not losing my mind."
Paige Dawson’s life has spiraled out-of-control. Preferring to drown her grief and hide from reality, Paige has relinquished her self-respect and dignity to remain in a drug laden and alcohol stupor.
Excerpt:
"For the first few seconds after she woke, Paige Dawson lived in a world where her husband Ryan was snoring lightly beside her, and her daughter Chloe was sleeping peacefully in the next room. When reality slowly trickled in…[she] reached in the dark [for] the tray of tablets…and picked up the half-empty wine bottle and took a swig."
Ten years ago, her only daughter, Chloe, 14 at the time of her abduction, was murdered savagely. After an exhaustive search, Chloe’s dismembered arm was found frozen in a nearby river, fingertips reaching to the sky for recognition. Her husband, Ryan, had tried to rescue Paige from her despair but at some point lost his own will to live. Two months ago, he slashed his wrists in the bathtub forever scarring what was left of Paige’s sanity with the image of his lifeless body.
Ryan’s mother, Paige’s father and her cleric brother, Maxim offer support and counsel but nothing seems to stop her from her self-destructive path. Her repeated social misconduct during her blackouts only further alienates her from help when she begins to question strange encounters and disturbances in her home. No one believes her when she reports someone has been in her house and removed items, cut her husband’s face out of every photo album, and cleared her daughter’s room of memorabilia.
As the story gains steam, I was ready for intrigue and some intense suspense. But it wasn’t long before I felt like I was in a train wreck that just wouldn’t end. Wild and crazy things happened that showed great imagination but they seemed to come out of no-where. One twist caught me by surprise but after the shock of discovery, I was disappointed that we weren’t given background on the reason for the character’s behavior.
The author has great potential and unquestioningly has writing talent. Hopefully, as his literary career matures, he will better develop his characters lives and avoid repetitive actions intended to create suspense but serve only to dull the story. Keep writing, Jack Jordan. I will look for your next book to see where you have strengthened your focus. You've got what it takes, kiddo. Keep trying.