Book Review: Girl Number One by Jane Holland
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Eleanor Blackwood was six when her mother was murdered in
the woods. She was there as a witness but for some reason cannot describe the
killer to the police. Eighteen years later, and on the anniversary of her
mother’s death, she finds a body of a woman in almost the exact same spot where
her mother was killed. After going for help the police arrive and the body is
gone.
You would think that this would be setting up a nice mystery
but you would be wrong. Eleanor is a cold, detached character. Most people
would break down when they see a dead body but Eleanor treats it like any other
day. People accuse her of being nuts and instead of being crazy I believe she
had some other kind of mental problem.
Her father is an alcoholic and even hits her at one point in
the story. She sleeps with men that are no good for her. She even sleeps with a
guy that she thinks might be the murderer. She has an “oh well, no big deal”
attitude about the whole thing. Eleanor takes absolutely no effort to keep
herself safe or out of trouble. Even when she gets proof that the killer wants
her to be his “number one” she still runs head on into danger and puts herself
and her friends at risk.
I couldn’t connect with her in the slightest. The men all
treat Eleanor as a pretty object to be protected and ogled. She never quite
gets to stand on her own two feet even though she is a gym teacher and skilled
in martial arts.
This book was just “okay” for me. It was nothing spectacular
and while it was a quick read and somewhat enjoyable there were none of the
twists and turns that I would have liked to see. I guessed who the killer was
about halfway through but I wasn’t that excited to find out that I was right.
The ending was tied up a little too quickly without enough explanation.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in
exchange for an honest review.
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