We were sent a copy of The Prized Girl by Amy K. Green which is published by Harper Collins for review. Keep on reading to find out more about the book and what we thought of it.
Jenny Kennedy appears to have it all. She’s the perfect daughter, the popular girl at school and a successful beauty queen. But then Jenny is found dead in a murder that rocks the picture-perfect, small town she grew up into the core.
Her estranged half-sister Virginia finds herself thrust into the spotlight as the case dominates the news and is desperate to uncover who killed Jenny. But she soon realises that maybe Jenny’s life wasn’t so perfect after all.
Infused with dark humour and driven by the sisters’ captivating voices, ‘The prized girl’ tells a heart-breaking story of missed connections, a complicated family and a town’s disturbing secrets.
What I thought of the book
‘The prized girl’ is a gripping crime and murder mystery novel that really successfully pulls together the threads of different lives within a community living at close quarters. The story alternates between a third-person account of the events leading up to younger sister Jenny’s death and the first-person narration of Virginia, Jenny’s older half-sister, as she refuses to accept the ‘easy’ arrest the police initially make and tries to uncover the real killer herself. Shifting between the two perspectives reveals some clues and motivations, leaving others concealed, resulting in a genuine sense that any one of the people intertwined into Jenny’s story could have been responsible for her death.
For me, the characters in ‘The prized girl’ kept me turning the pages and unable to put it down. At first, it seems that all of the women in the novel are victims and the male characters have life all their own way. As the plot develops, the reader questions this assumption from page to page. Realistically, the characters’ actions are driven by their individual histories – and the claustrophobia of their shared, small-town history; false assumptions; unintentional misjudgements; missing information and the desire to connect to, or disconnect from, each other. Putting herself at the centre of the investigation into Jenny’s death, Virginia is eventually well-placed to realise each person’s motivations, leading her to eventually look at her own life and relationship with her sister.
Jenny and Virginia’s story is full of ‘what if’s. The backdrop of #MeToo make these questions utterly plausible, but here is another of the novel’s strengths. Abuse, paedophilia, power dynamics and the exploitation of attraction are all addressed here, but as sensitively as possible. Scenes are powerful, but not gratuitous; resolved, but leave questions in the mind of the reader. All of this combines to make ‘The prized girl’ a disturbing read, but ultimately accessible and satisfying. The questions raised by the book, the characterisation within it and the genuine human interest in the storyline widen its appeal to an audience who might not normally consider a crime novel. It’s definitely one I’ll be recommending to my friends and I look forward to Amy K. Green’s next book.
How much is the book and how can you buy it?
The paperback retails for £7.99. You can buy it from publishers Harper Collins here, where it is currently on offer for £5.59
About the author
Amy K. Green was born and raised in Boston, New England, and is now partly based in L.A. ‘The prized girl’ is Amy’s first novel. She also works as a Production Accountant, most recently on the movie adaptation of ‘Little Women’. At her goodreads page, Amy says “Working in accounting on movies is a little like cleaning the costumes at Disney World; it’s not glamorous, but you get access to more behind the scenes details than you’d ever want.”
About the book
Title: The prized girl
Author: Amy K. Green
Publisher: HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780008334475
Format: Paperback
Trimsize: 198x129mm
Pages: 384
Review by: Sharon Corbally
You may want to read this:
Book review: ‘Folk tales of rock and stone’ by Jenny Moon
Book Review: Halfway to MMXX – The Year 2020: It Begins by Anthony Mays
Book Review: Bridge to Eternity by Romola Farr
* We were given a copy of the book in return for a feature. All opinions are our own.
15 comments
It’s great when you find a good page-turner. It’s good to hear the books addresses serious issues well. I’m pleased that you enjoyed it.
Thank you so much, it was a good read
The Prized Girl sounds like it is a really powerful read, and although it covers challenging issues, I like how you have said that is done in a sensitive manner. Thank you for sharing your review.
Your welcome Laura, it is a great book and worth reading x
I will admit that crime novels are not usually my thing, but am intrigued by this book now and do love a good book that you just can not put down x
Now that most of us are practising social distancing, reading a good book is so important
We’re stocking up on books to read and love a good murder mystery! This sounds right up our street! Need more recommendations to last 12 weeks!
No problem at all Bella, more book reviews will be shared in the coming days
This sounds really good. I love to read and something that grips me and keeps me turning the pages is just perfect. It’s a new author for me, thanks for the intro. Mich x
Your welcome, we love to intro great books on our blog
Not my usual genre of book, however, the storyline sounds like one that I would enjoy – sounds like a real page tuner
It was indeed and I enjoyed reading it, thank you Sarah
I am after a new book to read and this sounds right up my street.
That sounds great, I love to read, but have so little time at the moment.
Hope you find the time Emma