Books I've Read: Leave the Girls Behind

 

This was the book my book club picked to read this month, mainly because the public library had multiple copies available via the Libby app.  Perhaps not the best way to choose a book to read; I suspect I'm the only one who finished this one, and I probably wouldn't have if I didn;t commute to work by bus and like having a book to read on my phone.

I'm not a habitual reader of thrillers, but I do like a good one, especially if it has a lot of good twists in it and a character I really want to root for.  This book tried for that, but didn't really succeed.

The main character, Ruth-Ann is clearly damaged from the very first page.  She works in a bar, dropped out of college and is obsessed with true crime.  As we get to know her better, we discover her childhood friend was abducted from a playground and was later found murdered.  So when another child is abducted from the same town - one Ruth-Ann's parents moved away from shortly after the abduction - Ruth-Ann's obsessive curiosity is piqued.

The rest of the book follows Ruth-Ann down the rabbit hole as she chases ghosts from her past while trying to solve the current missing child case.  With the man accused of the original crime long-dead, Ruth-Ann's obsession becomes fixed on finding an accomplice.  She's certain he didn't act alone, and becomes fixed on the idea that it was woman who helped set up the abductions.

Her single-minded pursuit of the truth sends her on a journey around the world and throws her into the orbit of three very different women, one of whom just might hold the key to both today's mystery and the ones that have haunted her since childhood.

Having the MC of this book being so unbalanced is a great idea.  Ruth-Ann sees and speaks to the ghosts of missing girls each night and allows herself to be guided and influenced by their opinions. Her family barely speak to her and the only stable relationships she has are with her uncles, the owner of the bar she works in and her elderly dog.  And all these people treat her like she could break at any minute.  

So, right from the start you begin to guess that Ruth-Ann is maybe not the most reliable character to be guiding us through the story and makes her impulsive decisions feel all the more dangerous and ill-advised.

I didn't hate the book, but it never really engaged me in the way I want a thriller to engage me.  I want to be so invested in the story I can't put the book down.  I put this one down numerous times, only picking it back up because I was on the bus and had nothing else to do.  But bonus points for taking the main character to New Zealand!

So, I don't really recommend this one.  I imagine it might be a good plane read, where you have a long stretch of time to fill and few options for entertainment.  But I certainly found it hard to come back to once I'd put it down.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

The acclaimed author of the “tour de force” (The New York Times Book Review) Before You Knew My Name returns with a fresh suspense novel about a woman haunted by a serial killer and the ghosts he left behind.

Ruth-Ann Baker is a college dropout, a bartender—and an amateur detective who just can’t stay away from true crime. Nineteen years ago, her childhood friend was murdered by suspected serial killer Ethan Oswald. Still tormented by the case, Ruth can’t help but think of the long-dead Oswald when another young girl goes missing from the same town. And when she uncovers startling new evidence that suggests Oswald did not act alone, she is determined to find his deadly partner in crime.

Embarking on a global investigation, Ruth becomes close to three very different women—one of whom might just hold the key to what happened to the missing girl. And her childhood friend, all those years ago.

From an author who “pushes the boundaries of crime fiction in all the right ways” (Alex Finlay, author of The Night Shift), Leave the Girls Behind is another spine-chilling thriller that will linger long after you finish the last page.