The Girlfriend | Michelle Frances | Book Review

The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances
PLOT: 4/5
CHARACTERS: 4.5/5
WRITING STYLE: 4.5/5
CLIMAX: 4/5
ENTERTAINMENT: 4.5/5 

“What if it went on even longer, for a year, or two? Perhaps they’d just bump into each other on the street one day. Nod an acknowledgement to each other. Perhaps so much time would pass, they’d get used to being without each other- but this thought was so unbearably sad, it almost made her stagger, collapse weakly onto the sofa.”

Michelle Frances, The Girlfriend

My musings

A couple of months ago, I had put out a poll on my YouTube channel’s community tab page, asking my viewers what genre of books would they want me to read next. More than fifty percent of them responded with mystery, thriller, and horror books, and ever since then, I have been deliberately picking up more from these genres. 

The Girlfriend is a book I discovered while browsing on my Storytel app and upon reading the blurb, I was certainly intrigued. For a long read, that spills into more than 450 pages, I was able to finish the book in two days. This, more than anything else, is an apt indicator of how badly I was hooked to the story of Laura, Cherry, and Daniel.

Read on to know more about the book and about my experience of reading it.

What to expect?

Expect a psychological thriller on the lines of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl and Paula Hawkin’s Into the Water. Expect a lengthy albeit gripping read that will keep you hooked right till the end. Expect a domestic thriller that capitalizes on the inherent tensions present in a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship. Expect a domestic thriller that is highly entertaining.

Who can read?

The book is written in a simple language and hence can be picked up by a beginner-level reader without any struggle on the language front. However, the length of the book might act as a deterrent to many beginner-level readers. That being said, it is a book that will be enjoyed by all categories of readers – from beginners to voracious. 

The story as it goes

Laura is a lucky woman. Blessed with a rich and luxurious life, Laura has a lot to thank for. A flourishing career in Television production, a house full of luxury and riches, a successful and hardworking husband, and a handsome and caring son, Daniel who loves her to the moon and back. 

But all that changes when Daniel meets Cherry. Cherry is smart, vivacious, and gorgeous. She is also intelligent, hardworking, and a tad cunning. While Daniel falls head-over-heels in love with Cherry, it is not Daniel that Cherry is interested in. Instead, in Daniel, she sees a wildcard for a life out of poverty. In Daniel, she sees her redeemer. She falls in love with Laura’s lavish life and she wants every bit of it.

Laura, the ever benign and adoring mother welcomes her son’s choice with open arms but little does she know that Cherry is not at all as she seems. And before Laura realizes it, her life is pushed on a path of destruction. 

When tragedy strikes, a lie told out of necessity and desperation becomes the final card that unravels the beginning of the end. 

Will Cherry manage to snatch Laura’s life?

Will Daniel ever manage to see through Cherry’s web of lies?

Will Laura fall victim to Cherry’s conniving?

Will The Girlfriend ruin all their lives?

How good are the characters?

The characters of the book are quite interesting. Much attention and space have been given to Laura and Cherry. We get to see their point of view, perspectives, motives, and the inner workings of their mind. I love how their characters are not just typically black or white, but they all have shades of grey. Daniel’s character could have been a little more dynamic and cunning. He seemed out of depth and too goody-goody for my taste, but Cherry and Laura take away the attention from that flaw. Another character, Wendy, played a surprise role in the overall scheme of things.

The pace and the hook

The book is fast-paced and gripping. The pace kicks in right from the very start. Just when the scene is being set and characters are being introduced. The tension starts soon after and it is this tension and anticipation of bad things to come, that keeps the reader turning page after page.

The book slows down around the time of the tragedy and a little monotony creeps in. But the plot shifts gears soon enough and mystery and dread are back again with a bang!

How good is the writing style?

Set in parts of London and the nearby suburbs, The Girlfriend manages to introduce the reader to the lives of both the ultra-rich and the struggling poor. It manages to contrast their stark realities and captures the rich-poor divide in a new light. Though there are many cliches throughout the book, and parts of it will bear resemblance to many books that one might have read before, I certainly cannot deny its entertainment quotient. 

What did I like?

Unlike some other psychological thrillers that tend to get too graphic and gory, I love how the book doesn’t deal with distasteful violence.

What could have been better?

The character of Daniel could have been explored better. There was a considerable lack of depth and flavour in his character. Some sections of the book were unnecessarily long, and the climax was a bit hastily written. 

Is the climax good?

For me, it was difficult to predict the climax. Even though the general flow could have been predicted, there was no way the hows, whats, and whys could have been figured. Yes, it was done a tad hastily especially when compared to the part that immediately preceded it, but I still loved how it gave a befitting end to the story of Laura, Cherry, and Daniel. 

It all comes down to entertainment

There is no dearth of entertainment in the book. Barring a few slow chapters, most of the book is fast-paced and gripping, with elements of mystery and intrigue playing their part in keeping the reader hooked right till the end.

In the end

In the end, The Girlfriend is an unputdownable thriller that narrates a gripping story of love, greed, power, and riches. Highly entertaining and fast in pace, it makes for a compelling read for all psychological thriller and domestic thriller lovers.

The final verdict

Go for it!

Pick the book if

Skip the book if

  • You don’t like psychological thrillers.
  • You are looking for a short read.

Can’t wait to read it? Buy your copy of the Girlfriend using the link below.

Amazon

Other psychological thrillers that you can check out –

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