It’s been a while since I’ve read a psychological suspense that was predictable on the surface, but was oh so twisty-turny underneath that I loved every minute of guessing just what was going on. S.F. Kosa’s debut novel in this genre, The Quiet Girl, was a fantastic case of an unreliable narrator pitted against an almost too-reliable narrator that’s second guessing everything that he’s knows about his new wife, and it worked so well for me.
Romance novelist Mina goes missing after a fight with her husband Alex, and we get alternating chapters in his point of view and from another woman’s POV named Layla/Maggie. As Alex continues to dig into Mina’s family and friends and her mysterious past while retracing her last steps, he uncovers things that he never knew about his wife. Things that turn his entire world upside down. He doesn’t know who to trust, where his wife has gone, or if he can get her back. I really grew to like Alex, and his loyalty to his new wife was there through thick and thin, even when it looked like she’d just disappeared to do harm to herself. He never gave up on finding out the truth.
The chapters from a mystery woman’s point of view, who is first named Layla and then called Maggie, were a bit confusing at first. I quickly thought I knew what the big reveal was going to be, but it was not exactly what I thought it was. I really enjoyed this these twists and the unreliable narrator aspect of the chapters. Alex didn’t know what he could believe, and we got to investigate and find out things right along with Alex. Mina’s family and friends as well as Alex’s small list of family were fleshed out nicely, so remembering this small cast of characters was no problem.
I give The Quiet Girl a 4.5 out of 5. The tension and suspense in this book just grew and grew as Alex gets closer to finding out the truth about Mina and her past. Finding out things at the same time as Alex made for nice pacing, and the mysteries were revealed only to have more questions be raised. The characters in this book were so laden with secrets, treachery, and some with pure evil, and figuring out who to hate was a big part of the fun of The Quiet Girl. Childhood trauma, hidden pasts, adultery, and immense psychological distress make for an intense psychological suspense. The ending was fitting, and I did feel a bit sad about it.
Find THE QUIET GIRL
Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads
About S.F. Kosa
S.F. Kosa is a clinical psychologist with a fascination for the seedy underbelly of the human psyche. Though The Quiet Girl is her debut psychological suspense novel, writing as Sarah Fine, she is the author of over two dozen fantasy, urban fantasy, sci-fi, and romance novels, several of which have been translated into multiple languages. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and their (blended) brood of five young humans.
Connect with S.F. Kosa
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
Giveaway
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S.F. Kosa’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS for THE QUIET GIRL:
Instagram tour:
Monday, August 10th: @bookpairings
Tuesday, August 11th: @girlsinbooks
Wednesday, August 12th: @suzysbookshelf
Thursday, August 13th: @the.caffeinated.reader
Friday, August 14th: @travelling.the.pages
Saturday, August 15th: @hannah_reads
Sunday, August 16th: @lyon.brit.andthebookshelf
Monday, August 17th: @thephdivabooks
Tuesday, August 18th: @thebookclubmom
Wednesday, August 19th: @welovebigbooksandwecannotlie
Thursday, August 20th: @theocbookgirl
Friday, August 21st: @shobizreads
Saturday, August 22nd: @biblio.jojo
Sunday, August 23rd: @one.chapteratatime
Review tour:
Monday, August 24th: @jessicamap
Wednesday, August 26th: @hooked.by.books
Thursday, August 27th: The Romance Dish – guest post and excerpt
Friday, August 28th: @bookmama789 and The Bookish Ramblings of Bookmama789
Monday, August 31st: Book Reviews and More by Kathy – guest post or excerpt
Monday, August 31st: Nurse Bookie and @nurse_bookie
Tuesday, September 1st: Bewitched Bookworms
Wednesday, September 2nd: @bookishwithwine
Thursday, September 3rd: Palmer’s Page Turners
Friday, September 4th: @readswithrosie
Tuesday, September 8th: Blunt Scissors Book Reviews and @bluntscissorsbookreviews
Wednesday, September 9th: @gingersbookclub
Thursday, September 10th: From the TBR Pile
TBD: Tuesday, August 25th: What is That Book About
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