Author: Lynne Vincent McCarthy
ISBN: 978-1-74354-812-7
RRP: $29.99
Publication Date: 26 June 2018
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
Lonely Girl is the debut novel of Lynne Vincent McCarthy and it has also been developed for film. It is a novel that is disconcerting and dark, the cover image gives a strong sense of disturbing darkness to me and I like the look of it.
Ana lives in a small Tasmanian town and she has decided to end her life, she is watching the clock waiting for the right time. She doesn’t think people will mourn her, or remember her. She thinks they see her as strange and reclusive.
A spanner hits her plan when the police find the body of a local woman because Ana was the last person to see her alive and she thinks she knows who killed her.
This premise has got me hooked, I’m deeply intrigued at the way all of this is going to come together. McCarthy has twisted stereotypes and created a unique protagonist. McCarthy is a script advisor and screenwriter so I would bet she knows how to build suspense and keep us hanging on, I can’t wait to hear what our readers thought.
Lonely Girl is published by Pan Macmillan and is available now from Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan 10 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members will be reading Lonely Girl so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below. I can not wait to hear what our readers think.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
The Lonely Girl follows a girl called Ana who is planning on ending her own life and is waiting for the right time to do it. When a women is found dead in the town and Ana thinks she may have been the last person to see her alive this changes Ana’s plans and she decides to find out what happened to ‘that girl’.
The book is dark but is very well written. It has a few twists and turns and it is great to learn more about Ana’s character as the book progresses. Even the ending leaves you wanting more!!
I really enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down! Thank you Pan Macmillan and Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read this book, I loved it!
Lonely Girl by Lynne Vincent McCarthy is a dark and disturbing look into the life of Ana which had me staying up late and turning the pages of a deeply compelling book. Lonely Girl is set in Tasmania, and follows the life of Ana and her dog River and tells how they are watching the clock and marking the days until she can end her own life.
Ana thinks that people will remember her as the strange, reclusive daughter of the local pariah if they remember her at all. Ana’s life has been weird to say the least, brought up by her grandmother and mother (who died when Ana was young and Ana blames herself for her death). Ana’s grandmother appears to not have had the time for her either though Ana nursed her through her final days as well, inheriting the house.
On the day that Ana has decided to end her life, police find the body of local woman, Rebecca Marsdan and for Ana this changes everything as Ana was the last person to see Rebecca alive and Ana thinks she knows who killed her. What happens next changes Ana’s life and is terrifying in parts, compelling in others and sometimes a little identifiable.
Thoroughly enjoyed Lonely Girl and am interested in the next book out by Lynne Vincent McCarthy. Thank you to Beauty and Lace and Pan Macmillan Australia for allowing me to read this book.
Lonely Girl
Ana grew up in the shadows, a wallflower merely existing and not relishing life in any manner. Ana had unusual ways and grew up being told that she was different. Her childhood no doubt shaped her future and it was no surprise that she didn’t form bonds and attachments with people. Her world only existed for her faithful companion River; the pet dog. River was her ‘person’ and when he became frail with age and illness, she felt like life wasn’t worth living and planned to end it all.
However, when a strange twist of fate saw Ana witness an incident which later became a crime scene, she becomes less focused on her and Rivers demise and more obsessed by the case and where things start to get a bit oddly twisted.
I would happily recommend this novel as while it was eerie and disturbing it made for an entertaining read. Lonely Girl will leave you trying to fathom the storyline up until the end and beyond. Knowing that it was Vincent McCarthy’s first novel I would be keen to follow her writing journey and hope she continues!
Thank you, Beauty and Lace Book Club, and Pan Macmillian Australia for the reading and reviewing opportunity.
Lonely Girl by Lynne Vincent McCarthy tells the story of a reclusive young woman named Ana who lives alone with her faithful old dog. Ana knows she will have to be kind and have him put to sleep when the time comes, and she plans to commit suicide at that time.
After the body of a local woman was found ANA realises she was the last person to see her alive and thinks she knows who killed her. She goes on a personal quest to uncover the killer in her own unique way. It is a dark and somewhat disturbing book, but I could not put it down until finished.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace Book Club and Pan McMillan for the opportunity to read and review this book
Thanks for the chance to read this one, a very interesting book. The subject matter has been described as dark, I found it terribly sad. Ana cannot see life beyond the life of her beloved dog River, who is not long for this world. The first part of the book develops her character, her love for her dog, and the eerie emptiness of her life. The writing is easy to enjoy, and the story meanders around until the change and the mystery part of the book (no spoilers). I give it 3/5 as a well performed book, enjoyable, many thanks.
The review by Emma Viskic on the front of the book Lonely Girl by Lynne Vincent McCathy describes it as Dark, disturbing and utterly compelling. Having just read Lonely Girl I found this to be a very true comment.
Ana has grown up in a house devoid of any emotional attachments from either her mother or grandmother and during these years she lives in a lonely fantasy world until she is given a dog River.
Now grown Ana ,with limited social skills,a small job in a pharmacy,finds herself alone in the house after her mother and grandmother have both died. Her beloved dog River is dying from cancer and Ana decides that she will commit suicide at the same time as she thinks there is nothing left for her after River passes.
After stealing the means to commit this act she is sure all this will come to pass soon, but a woman is murdered near her home and Ana believes that she may have been the last person to see her and also the person who caused the woman’s death.
As things spiral out of control in Anas life I found it hard to put this book down as there was one twist after another. Definitely dark and disturbing.
Thankyou Beautyandlace, Mc Millian and Lynne Vincent McCarthy.. What a great very different read.
Lonely Girl by Lynne Vincent McCarthy is quite a dark and disturbing book, yet I really got into, because of the writing style.
The story is about Ana, whose mother was the town weirdo, and grandmother who was not much better. Ana has become a recluse and her whole world revolves around her pet dog River, and the woods that she lives in, in Tasmania.
Ana decides after finding out that her dog is really ill, that she will take her own life, as she fears that she has nothing to live for. She counts down the days and nights until she is going to end it, and then on the day that she has planned, she finds out that she is the last person to see a girl alive, before she is murdered. This gives Ana a distraction and she plans on finding the man that has done this.
With twists and turns, this book keeps you turning pages fast.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan and B&L for giving me the chance to review this book.
Lonely Girl is a captivating suspenseful thriller that I could fall into and see myself in Ana.
Ana is without any real family after a slew of deaths that has left her with her partner in crime, her dog, River. River is suffering from the effects of old age and Ana is unsure how to go on without him. She plans out the perfect scene, River is euthanized while she silently slips away after overdosing on pain killers.
However after a scene in the back of a van all that changes. A murder, the suspect, Ana is captivated.
Lonely Girl has so many twists and turns that it’s hard not to want to keep reading on.
I absolutely loved this and will be looking for the next novel from this first time author.
Mystery/thriller reviews are always difficult to write without revealing spoilers, but I’ll have a shot.
I loved the premise of “Lonely Girl” and didn’t at all suspect the dark, twists that were to follow. The bond between Ana and her dog River broke my heart and the intrigue as to how Ana would solve her dilemma kept me speed reading until the end. Would recommend to those for fans of the thriller genres with female protagonists.
Thank you Pan Macmillan and Beauty and Lace for the read.
Lonely Girl, is a dark book where Ana can’t see life beyond what she has with her dog River, this book kept me up many night so enthralled by what was coming next. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Things aren’t always as they appear.