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Book Review: Such a nice girl by Andrea Mara

Such a Nice Girl by Andrea Mara was my first book by this author, and the premise immediately drew me in. The idea behind the story was intriguing and I found myself hooked from the start, eager to discover what had actually happened. One of the strengths of the novel is its twists. For much of the book I believed I had figured out the direction the story was heading in, only to be proven wrong. Mara does a great job keeping the reader guessing, and the tension around the mystery kept me turning the pages. However, the characters didn’t work quite as well for me. While the fear and desperation of parents whose daughters have gone missing is understandable, the behaviour of the two mothers sometimes felt exaggerated and unrealistic. At times their actions felt more frustrating than believable. I also found the opening section a bit repetitive, and there were a few plot elements that felt slightly far-fetched, seemingly included to create additional twists. Despite these issues, I still ...
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Review: The Vanishing Place by Zoë Rankin — A strong debut that lost its way in the edit

I went into The Vanishing Place by Zoë Rankin with high hopes and for a while, it really delivered. The concept? Fantastic. The writing? Solid. The atmosphere? Tense and gripping. For the first half, I was certain I had a new 5-star thriller in my hands.


We start with two timelines: the present, where we follow the main character navigating her trauma, and the past, which gradually reveals what she’s been through. It’s a structure I love… simple but effective, especially when the emotional threads begin to tie together.


But then… at around 70% in, a third timeline suddenly appears. Not just a flashback or one new character, but a whole group of them. It was jarring. I found myself rereading pages just to keep track, while also thinking, “I know what’s going on! Why wasn’t this introduced earlier?”


That new section takes up a good chunk of the book (about 20%), and while it explains something crucial, it ends up draining the tension from the main story. It felt like a late addition, something that could’ve been brilliant if it had been integrated gradually throughout instead of dropped in all at once.


It’s such a shame, because everything else really worked for me: the tone, the pacing, the emotional weight of Anya’s story. The writing shows promise, and I’d definitely pick up whatever Zoë Rankin writes next.


So while this one wasn’t quite the 5-star read I hoped for, I still think it’s a strong debut… just one that could’ve used a firmer editorial hand.


⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.


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