TWO BOYS LOVED HER.
BUT WHICH ONE KILLED HER?On a dark night two years ago, teenagers Rob and Paige broke into a house. They beat and traumatised the occupants, then left, taking only a bracelet. No one knows why, not even Luke, Rob’s younger brother and Paige’s confidant. Paige disappeared after that night. And having spent her life in children’s homes and the foster system, no one cared enough to look for her.
Now Rob is out of prison, and probation officer Wren Reynolds has been tasked with his rehabilitation. But Wren has her own reasons for taking on Rob as a client. Convinced that Rob knows what happened to Paige, and hiding a lifetime of secrets from her heavily pregnant wife, Wren’s obsession with finding a missing girl may tear her family apart…
Thanks to Viper Books for allowing me to jump on their blog tour for the very recently released A Ruined Girl by Kate Simants, as well as approving me for a sneaky pre-publication read via Netgalley. For those of you who are unaware, this heartbreaking thriller was published in hardback and e-book on the 27th of August and is available to purchase here. If you’re a paperback reader, you can pre-order for the March 2021 release here.
I already knew that A Ruined Girl had me in its literary grasp from the prologue, the way in which Kate wove the sentences that beautifully tied into paragraphs and then chapters had me immediately edging the end of my seat, I knew that this book was a thriller that was going to have me hooked on its every word.
We are introduced to Luke and Paige quite swiftly, we also come to understand the bond they share – one that many of us may be lucky enough to not understand. Both Luke and Paige live in a home for children who have yet to be fostered, where everyday is dog eat dog and where the bonds created mean everything. Luke is in love with Paige, in a life where nothing is sure, she is his sanity and someone who shares his personal burden. The way Kate ties these characters together will create for an emotional level. One part of the kaleidoscopic storyline that will have you angry, sympathise and fall in love with the characters, while keeping your focus on the mystery that echoes throughout the storyline. Two brothers, one missing girl and a tale of friendship that also feels like it borderlines obsessive love will utterly intoxicate you until before you know it, it’s over and you’re left in a catatonic emotional state.
One thing that grips me as a reader is a dual storyline, whether that’s a narrator or timeline. Well Kate has created both! We have Rob’s story after he’s released from prison, Wren’s POV as she digs deeper into her parolee while juggling her personal life – with these POVs we also get a trip to the past through the eyes of Luke prior to Paige’s disappearance. Each viewpoint adds further layers to the already deep storyline, creating a more disturbing revelations and adding to the book’s getting under your skin factor. Each piece of the puzzle allows us, the readers, to submerge ourselves into the lives of the characters, allows us to be drawn into the setting and feel the every changing atmosphere of A Ruined Girl.
What I admire about Katie’s writing, is her attention to details which is apparent throughout the pages of A Ruined Girl. Kate has taken extra care to research the themes throughout the novel, from probation to children’s homes, while also drawing from her own investigative history into profiteering at the expense to vunrable children. This, I think, gives a whole other dimension to the storyline, one that creates a new level of horror. Together, A Ruined Girl is a stunningly crafted thriller, knitted together with threads of real life to create a fictional tale of love, heartbreak, lies and scandal. Bravo Kate!
Thanks again to Viper Books for taking this blogger on tour with them! A Ruined Girl is definitely one that you need to get your hands on ASAP! Don’t believe me? Check out the other posts by some absolutely cracking bloggers by searching the hashtag #ARuinedGirl
Until next time,
Happy reading!
The Reading Closet 