Ten years after the vicious murders that took her beloved older sister, Faith Winters perpetuates a pattern of addiction and self destructive behavior, leaving behind a trail of distrust and skepticism from her community. Following her release from her long-term stay at a psychiatric hospital,  Faith returns to her hometown and spirals into an alcoholic depression as she navigates her own anger and shame as a survivor. That is until she makes the decision to hunt down her sister’s killer on her own – and subsequently finds a target on her back.

The Girl Who Lived by Christopher Grayson, published November 2017, earned a top spot in my mind for a good thriller and I wish I had picked it up sooner.

One of Grayson’s talents showcased in this novel is creating and maintaining interesting and believable characters, and being able to present them in a way that can make you assume with confidence that they are the guilty one. One thing in particular I enjoyed was how as getting Faith’s point-of-view, I was left having to decide if Faith was as reliable of narrator as we are led to believe, and I didn’t feel like she could truly be ruled out until the truth was revealed. I finished the book feeling whip-lashed, pleasantly taken off guard and satisfied by the ending. The little reveal at the end was great too, and satisfied my line of thinking about Faith’s reliability. 

On top of the enticing plot, The Girl Who Lived  has perfect pacing and tone for keeping readers engaged and wondering. I felt like the reveal came exactly when it needed to, and the set up gave no indication of what was to come. Truly an intense experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read and will be reading more from this author in the near future.