I received a copy from Netgalley.

 

A fun twisty YA mystery novel.

 

The heroine, Candi “Skye” Thorn, goes by her middle name “Skye” (can’t say I blame her there) does tarot reading for her classmates at school as a way of making some extra cash. She and her best friend Drew have this idea that when they graduate they’ll finally be able to ditch their small home town and head off to New York and live in an apartment together. BFF comes from a wealthy family, Skye lives in a crappy apartment with her mom and money is an issue.

 

So Skye has a regular job and reads tarots for extra cash. Skye is fake, she reads off intuition and good guesses. She’s not part of a crowd, pretty much a loner and has a somewhat blunt personality I quite liked. She’s a lot more down to earth than most girls her age, and has a fairly logical sense of reality. (I.E. not all convinced that this dream of going to New York is really going to happen) Skye does come across as rather cynical. But given her circumstances it’s believable for her character arc. Her mom is actually convinced she is a real psychic. And appears to be kind of a flake.

 

When a popular, rich girl of a local very important Judge, Paige goes missing, Skye starts having “psychic” visions relating to Paige and her disappearance. She winds up working with the police one really grumpy and dismissive detective and one who seems a lot nicer and more inclined to listen to what Paige has to offer. Especially when some of Skye’s “visions” start panning out and yielding actual results. Basically the old good cop, bad cop routine. And of course Skye’s mom is thrilled her daughter is exhibiting “psychic” abilities.  And eventually Paige’s parents come into the plot.  Along with an angry ex boyfriend of Paige’s who doesn’t believe a word of what Skye says and is convinced there is more going on.

 

He’s not far wrong.

 

Skye has gotten herself involved in something that turns out to be darker than she had ever imagined. Initially it seemed like a good idea to make a bundle of money. Only the drama has escalate and things are going badly wrong and people are turning out to be nothing like she expected. Nothing goes according to any sort of plan and then a dead body turns up. And now Skye is thrown into a murder investigation.

 

Which reveals even more twists. It was quite a tense and fast paced plot, and very well written. Interesting characters, and I will say I didn’t actually guess what was going on in this one. The last few sort of twists were pretty damn good, and I liked the way it all wrapped up and concluded.

 

I’ve liked everything I’ve read by this author so far so this is definitely one that will be going on my auto-buy list.

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Bonnier Zaffre/Hot Key Books for approving my request to view the title.

It was definitely the cover of this book that made me really want to read it. The tarot card on the cover really drew me to the book and made me want to find out what it’s about and ultimately read it. I love absolutely anything to do with the paranormal and I’m also an amateur tarot card reader myself so this seemed right up my alley right from the get go.

'The Hanging Girl' is gripping from the very first page and isn’t once predictable. The plot twists have you on the edge of your seat, keeping you turning page after page wanting to know and find out more, and I loved that.

The characters were pretty well developed and some were even likeable and I dare say relatable at times.

I’m not usually a quick reader by no means but “The Hanging Girl” kept me hooked and I managed to read it without two nights. I would definitely read more books from Eileen Cook in the future!

Look I know this was a spin on the Amanda Knox story that took place in Italy. However, other than that, I really don't get why Eileen Cook insisted on the book taking place there. We don't get a sense of Italy at all. We also take a long way around to figure out what happened. When the truth is revealed I pretty much laughed cause it doesn't make sense at all. 

 

The story follows 18 year old Jill Charron. She finds herself in the hospital in a lot of pain and wishing for her best friend Simone. Jill is shocked to find that she has been in a the hospital for several weeks, and her friend Simone is dead in an accident that it appears Jill is responsible for. 

 

I didn't like Jill from the first. Maybe because she sounds robotic and not normal at times about things we get to see from her POV. I need to have a bit of empathy for a main character instead of feeling bored by her and waiting for the other shoe to drop. I also didn't get why Jill was even friends with Simone based on the tidbits we get to read via other people and what is said/not said about their friendship. When we get to the reveal I just rolled my eyes. I was wanting something else there that would be surprising. Cook definitely does not hide anything at all, you know which way the story is going since the story is littered with clues. 

This book really didn't work for me. I swear unreliable narrator stories only work if there's an actual twist to be had. Also including texts, transcripts, etc to break up the book didn't help either. You don't know who people are exactly and it just made things confusing. The reveal was laughable. 

I am not quite sure why this didn't work as well for me as I'd like, but somehow though I enjoyed reading it, I can't say it was great.
This is a typical Eileen Cook book as it is suspenseful and much more than what it seems at first glance.

I liked the underlying depth of this. As I read on and the twists kept coming, I loved seeing new aspects to the characters, trying to understand their actions and motives.

The characters started off feeling a bit flat, but I still could relate to Skye and her issues. Not that I have any experiences similar to hers, still Cook managed to convey Skye's motives and feelings, that I understood her. I didn't really like any of the characters much, but I don't think this is what Cook was trying to write. These aren't likable characters, they are all flawed and some what troubled. Yet I cared for them. I wanted things to somehow work out for Skye, even though I knew she messed up big time and despite the fact she got herself into this somehow.
I basically find myself having a love hate relationship with most characters. I think they are very human and yet maybe they are too bleak or too flawed to actually completely relate. Brilliantly done in relation of the story.

The storyline felt a bit bumpy at times and despite me loving the idea, I never got really into it. I think this might be where my iffy feelings about the book comes from, maybe.
I can't say I agree with the end in some ways, but I do think it fits with the characters and somehow, it felt right. I am sure some readers won't be okay with it however.
Some twists or most I did anticipate and I totally reveled in that. I think Cook is great a throwing out mysteries and twists, murky enough to solve them just enough to keep you guessing and suspecting.

Again I am not sure why I didn't enjoy this that much, it could be simply a case of mood so the classic it isn't you, it's me scenario.

The Hanging Girl is dark, full of suspense and snark. Very cleverly done, yet I didn't get really into it. I can however only recommend to give it a go.