Summer is here and the sun is shining (sometimes).
It’s time for lazy days at the beach and fun road trips.
But the road trip Sadie Hunter is on is anything but fun — she’s hunting a killer.
Eight months ago, Sadie’s 13-year-old sister, Mattie, was found murdered near their home in Cold Creek, Colo.
Mattie meant everything to 19-year-old Sadie, especially after their mom abandoned them and Sadie officially took over raising her.
Neither knows who their father is and the closest they have to family is their neighbour and landlord, May Beth Foster, an older woman who has taken on the role of surrogate grandmother.
After Mattie’s murder, a devastated but determined Sadie buys a cheap car, dyes her hair and runs away, following the meagre clues towards her sister’s killer, hoping to find justice for Mattie — and revenge.
One day, West McCray, a New York producer and radio personality, receives a call from Foster, who wants him to investigate Sadie’s disappearance.
Her car was abandoned outside Farfield with no clues as to where she’d gone.
West is hesitant but he begins to follow Sadie’s trail, broadcasting the investigation on his new podcast, The Girls.
What West discovers is more disturbing than either expected.
Courtney Summers skillfully alternates between Sadie’s journey and the transcripts of The Girls as both West and Sadie track Mattie’s killer.
The author creates a believable story and characters with so much depth that I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn’t a true story.
