Book Review: The Next Girl by Carla Kovach

This was a strange one.

A gripping thriller with a strong female lead, a varied and diverse cast and an intriguing mystery. We’re led on a long and detailed investigation into the identity of a newborn who’s been found on the steps of a church which leads to the realization that the mother – who disappeared years ago and was presumed dead – is still out there somewhere.

It’s a crime thriller-mystery that checks every single box, yet…

I don’t know. I didn’t like it, for some reason. It’s weird, because I feel like I should. I usually do, but somehow this book didn’t hit the right spot for me.

To begin with I blamed it on the language. I usually love UK thrillers (I lived in England for half a decade and I miss it every day) and British crime is usually top notch, so I know it’s not that, but at the start of the book I kept being pulled out of the story by small things. I’m not sure I can put my finger on exactly what, but all authors are different, we all write differently, so I shook it off and carried on. The story still intrigued me, so there was no reason not to continue, right? (If you’ve followed my blog and read my reviews before, you now I almost NEVER, not finish a book).

So I kept going.

And the story is good, it’s not that. It’s interesting and detailed, there’s tons of stuff going on, and yet…

I found myself bored and losing concentration. Maybe it has to do with my headspace at time I was reading this, but I felt like nothing ever happened. Don’t get me wrong, tons of stuff happened, like I said, but it felt like it didn’t matter. No matter what lead we found during the investigation I just felt like it never led anywhere. As if we just went, “oh, well it’s not this,” then carried on at the same exact pace, waiting for something to fall into our hands.

I don’t know. Me and this book just didn’t vibe. If you’re looking for British thrillers, Cayla Korvach comes with a highly decorated CV, so I’m sure you’ll find more than enough books to add to your TBR pile. But unfortunately, this didn’t do it for me. Not this time, at least.

As always – I want to direct you to my own books. It’s weird to pitch after feeling like I just stomped all over this book, but anyway – if you’re into fast-paced crime thrillers and creepy psychological horror, look no further. I also have a couple of science-fiction & fantasy short stories under my belt. You can find it all here. Thanks for your support.

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