Reckless Girls

This book was thrilling and kept me guessing up until the very end. I could not guess what was going to happen next. The tension was thick and the mood was very ominous. It was a fun 'stranded island' trope read that was not your typical mystery/thriller, while keeping the best parts of mystery/thriller in tact.

Reckless Girls has major Agatha Christie vibes. That alone was enough to get my attention. Rachel Hawkins drops a small group of twenty-somethings onto an isolated Pacific island where paradise starts looking suspicious very quickly. Everyone arrives with secrets, relationships begin cracking, and the growing list of questions turns the reader into another investigator trying to figure out who is lying. The way the mystery unfolded was easily my favorite part. Hawkins details multiple characters, shifting timelines, suspicious behavior, and pieces of the past that gradually change what we know about the people on Meroe Island. I am a sucker for a mystery that makes me collect clues as I read. I had plenty to work with here. The story moves FAST. My audiobook experience occasionally worked against me because I had a harder time keeping the characters, timelines, and smaller clues straight. I felt mixed feelings about my satisfaction with the final twists. There was a lot of tension and suspicion which had been built around these characters. Discovering drugs were behind a major piece of the motive felt disappointing. I wanted something more inventive after spending so much time wondering what everyone was hiding. The final twist helped win me back. Lux’s Robin Hood style transformation gives the ending a fun and unexpected edge. Reckless Girls is a fast and twisty island thriller that includes a closed circle mystery, suspicious strangers, tangled histories, and asks its reader to solve the puzzle before the characters do. I would probably choose the physical or ebook format if I read it again. This story rewards being able to flip backward and double check details. Pick this up if you are an Agatha Christie fan looking for something modern, tropical, and messy.

*3.5 Stars*
I liked- but didn't love this book. A slow burn starting off, with a slightly somber middle- however it more than made up for that by the end.

Usually not one to read thrillers but this one was sooooooo good! I don’t read fast and I read / listened to it in 3 days! Not too scary / gory. To me the thriller part was PG until the very end. Language wise it’s R since there are a lot of fbombs and smut - wise it’s around PG13 only 2 or 3 smutty scenes but not too explicit . It’s about a girl who cleans hotels but her boyfriend gets a $50k job to bring 2 girls to an unknown island for one of their spontaneous whims. The ending had so many surprises! I really enjoyed it!

Finished the book in two days. The title definitely describes the characters! It was the perfect quick read with just the right amount of suspense. I’d recommend for an easy beach read!