My latest book recommendation is 'Such a Nice Girl' by Andrea Mara. It is a gripping psychological thriller about two women whose close friendship is suddenly put to the test when their daughters go missing.

Such a Nice Girl

By Andrea Mara

(Published by Transworld Digital)

Andrea Mara is a crime novelist from Dublin, Ireland, where she lives with her husband and three children. Her most recent novel, 'It Should Have Been You', was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller in the UK, and an Irish Times number one bestseller in Ireland. Her 2024 novel, 'Someone in the Attic', was a number one bestseller on Kindle and spent ten weeks in the Irish Times bestseller charts. The paperback was a UK Sunday Times top ten bestseller. Her 2023 book, 'No One Saw A Thing', was a Sunday Times, Irish Times and Kindle Number 1 bestseller.

'Hide And Seek' (July 2022) spent five weeks in the Irish Times bestseller charts and was shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards. 'All Her Fault' (July 2021) was Sunday Times Crime Novel of the Month, a Sunday Times and Irish Times Top Ten Bestseller, and Kindle Top Five Bestseller. It was shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year in the An Post Irish Book Awards and has been adapted for TV, starring Sarah Snook (Succession) and Dakota Fanning (Ripley).

Her first book, 'The Other Side of the Wall', was shortlisted for the Kate O'Brien Award 2018 and was an Amazon number one bestseller in Irish Crime. Her second book, 'One Click', was shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year at the 2018 An Post Irish Book Awards, and a number one on Amazon in Irish Crime and Northern Irish Crime. Her third novel, 'The Sleeper Lies', published in February 2020, was an Irish Times Top Ten Bestseller.

THE AUTHOR

PLOTLINE  

Siobhán and Grace have been friends since college. Having grown up together, their daughters, Ré and Luna, are also friends. However, while attending Grace's ex-husband's lavish wedding to his new wife Emma-Rose, that friendship is suddenly put to the test when both girls are not only discovered missing the following morning, but with a smashed lamp, a missing phone and blood on the carpet, all evidence seems to point to the fact that one of them may have hurt the other. As neither Siobhán nor Grace want to believe that their daughter could possibly be the attacker, feelings are inevitably strained.

Unable to sit back and wait for the gardaí (Irish police) to discover what happened to their daughters, Siobhán and Grace decide to carry out their own investigation, much to the annoyance of Detective Aisling O'Connell, the officer in charge. However, neither of the two women are prepared for the truth of what happened to Ré and Luna, nor the danger they have put themselves in by going it alone.

MY REVIEW

'Such a Nice Girl' is a clever mystery that hits the ground running and keeps the tension growing right from the start. Set in Dublin, the story revolves around a dysfunctional group of people, who have come together for a family wedding which is overshadowed by the disappearance of the groom's daughter and her friend. However, as an investigation into the disappearance of the girls – and possible murder of one of them – is set in motion, secrets that the family have kept from one another for over 20 years are gradually revealed.

I really enjoyed this novel. It is a real page turner from start to finish and I found it hard to put down. Each of the characters are well drawn and relatable, and with twists and turns of the story, it will continually keep you guessing. The ending when it comes will be a complete surprise and I can thoroughly recommend it.

'Such a Nice Girl' is published by Transworld Digital and is available in eBook, paperback, hardback and audio formats from Amazon. It is also available in hardback and paperback from Waterstones and Foyles.