Author: Kate Kerrigan
ISBN: 9781786692597
RRP: $29.99
Publisher: Harper Collins Australia
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
Kate Kerrigan is an author I haven’t read enough of but I really enjoyed It Was Only Ever You, which I also read while on holidays because I remember reading it while driving over the Clyde Mountain on my way to the coast. It was an historical fiction set in the 1950s that had me hooked.
That Girl is a book set in the sixties that offers a little bit of everything in a character driven novel in the time of gangsters. There is romance and mystery and a fascinating era. I look forward to sinking my teeth in.
I will be on public transport for the rest of this week so it would be a perfect reading opportunity; if I wasn’t traveling with four children that will require supervision.
The Harper Collins website has this synopsis:
You can escape a place. But you can’t escape yourself.
Hanna flees the scene of a terrible crime in her native Sligo. If she can just vanish, re-invent herself under a new name, perhaps the police won’t catch up with her. London seems the perfect place to disappear.
Lara has always loved Matthew and imagined happy married life in Dublin. Then comes the bombshell – Matthew says he wants to join the priesthood. Humiliated and broken-hearted, Lara heads to the most godless place she can find, King’s Road, Chelsea.
Matthew’s twin sister, Noreen, could not be more different from her brother. She does love fiance John, but she also craves sex, parties and fun. Swinging London has it all, but without John, Noreen is about to get way out of her depth.
All three girls find themselves working for Bobby Chevron – one of London’s most feared gangland bosses – and it’s not long before their new lives start to unravel.
Kate Kerrigan can be followed on Facebook, Twitter and the Kate Kerrigan website.
That Girl is available now from Harper Collins Australia, Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Harper Collins Australia 10 of our Beauty and Lace Club members will be reading That Girl so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments. I look forward to hearing what they 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!
That Girl by Kate Kerrigan is a thoroughly entertaining and gripping read. It tells the story of three young women, each seeking to escape their pasts and the narrow confines of their Irish village lives, for the lively, big city London scene of the swinging 60s.
I just loved it – what a great storyteller Kate Kerrigan is – I quickly found myself completely immersed in the lives of Hanna, Lara and Noreen as they navigated their way through the hustle and bustle of London life. Each girl is very different from the other and they have come to London for very different reasons, but they are all after a fresh start, wanting to leave their old lives behind and reinvent themselves. However it is not long before each girl’s past catches up with her, and Hanna, Lara and Noreen’s stories and their lives quickly intertwine. Reading how it all plays out is completely engrossing – a real page-turner. I definitely didn’t want it to finish!!
An excellent read – great characters with secret pasts, an interesting and moving storyline, a coming into their own tale for all three women and set against the backdrop of the changing mod world of London in the sixties – what’s not to love?? I thoroughly recommend it.
A big thank you to publishers Harper Collins and Beauty and Lace for supplying this novel ‘That Girl’ by Kate Kerrigan.
This story is a non-stop roller coaster of excitement, surprises and experiences in life that the ordinary person would rarely encounter. The author offers three complicated and differing main characters as we follow their new lives and adventures with gripping interest and awe.
The opening chapter presents a horrific tale of child sexual abuse and you know you’re in for a ride with this book. And so the story unfolds. Three main characters Hanna, Lara and Noreen; young Irish women in the 1960s, each escaping their past and seeking a new life, end up together in London.
Going from the fat into the fire, they are exposed to the life of gangsters, strippers, alcohol and lecherous men associated with the Chevron Nightclub.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A ‘meety’, riveting and addictive read.
Bright lights, big city. “That Girl” is a nice slice of contemporary fiction from Kate Kerrigan. It is a novel that is all about three young women who travel from their small villages in Ireland to pursue different things in London during the Swinging Sixties. This period was an eventful one in history and Kerrigan does a wonderful job of capturing the fashion and spirit of the times.
Lara is an aspiring fashion designer. Annie is a gorgeous model while Noreen is a free spirit wanting to flex her wings and participate in some free loving. Kerrigan’s tale looks at how they negotiate this new town while looking at the power of the female friendship. There are also plenty of twists and turns thrown in for good measure.
“That Girl” is a delightful read that is jam-packed with energy and action. It’s also one fun and breezy book.
This is a fast paced and riveting book to read.
The premise of the story are 3 young women, that come from small Irish villages, and each one is trying to escape something from their past. They all go to London to seek different lives and end up with a lot more than they bargained for.
This is an interesting look at the Sixties in the fast paced world of London. Three girls with different backgrounds that end up intertwined.
I really enjoyed reading this book and found it very hard to put down.
Thanks to B&L and Kate Kerrigan for the opportunity to review this fantastic book.
Wow!!! I absolutely loved this book. I didn’t want to put it down, I just had to keep reading until the end. I will definitely be reading Kate’s other books.
‘That Girl’ has a little bit of everything. It is a story of family, secrets, lies, relationships, love, courage and strength. It is a powerful story of finding oneself, great friendships and above all new beginnings.
The story revolves around three Irish girls : Hanna, who is running from an abusive past; Lara, who is running from a broken heart and Noreen who is just out for a good time . They are all escaping Ireland for their different reasons. They end up meeting in London and living together in the ‘groovy’ swinging sixties. I loved the backdrop of life in fashionable London during this period despite the violence and the gangsters.
There is a bond between the girls as they are all looking for a safe place physically and mentally. Be prepared for twists, emotion and lots of heartwarming moments.
It’s a beautifully written story and I really enjoyed it. Love it when an author takes you on a journey and you feel invested in the lives of the characters.
Thank you Beauty and Lace, Kate Kerrigan and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and review. A definite 5/5
This book very much reminded me of a Monica McInerney novel. That said, I did quite enjoy it!
It tells the story of three Irish girls who are all at a sort of crossroads in their life and wanting a change in their lives for various reasons.
Hannah is escaping the unwelcome clutches of her step-father, Lara has just broken off with her boyfriend who has decided to go into the priesthood, and Noreen just craves the sort of wild life that other girls of her age are experiencing before becoming tied down in life.
They go to London in search of a more exciting life, and end up in predicaments that they all never saw coming. This book was a little bit chick-lit for my liking but the the story lines were quite good for each girl, but I felt it finished rather abruptly with a wrap up of “where they were now”.
Thank you to Beauty & Lace Bookclub for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest opinion.
This is a well written and entertaining book. I loved reading it on my daily commute and was completely,enthralled in the book. I loved the writing style which kept me reading well into th night. Highly recommended for anyone who wants a good fast paced engrossing book. Loved it!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading That Girl by Kate Kerrigan.
It was one of those novels that I could easily pick up and start reading and get so engrossed before you know it you are at the end of the book.
The stories revolves around 3 Irish girls , all with different reasons to want to escape their lives and look to something different.
They move to London in search of more for their lives and end up in interesting predicaments.
Hannah, Lara and Noreen are engaging characters that you will love to meet in “That Girl” .
I would recommend this novel to anyone wanting a lovely , enjoyable and engrossing novel.
Thank you to Beauty and Lace and Harper Collins for allowing me to read and review this novel.
‘That Girl’ by Kate Kerrigan is a book I probably wouldn’t normally pick up and read mainly because it’s different to the genre I normally like to read, butttt I did quite enjoy this read, so big thanks to Beauty & Lace and Harper Collins for the chance to read and review That Girl.
Set in London in the mid 60’s, three Irish girls escape there Irish home towns to London.
Hanna flees from Sligo after a terrible crime is committed, if she runs to busy London, changes her name and reinvents herself perhaps the police and her past won’t catch up with her.
Budding clothing designer Lara dreams of marrying her childhood sweetheart Mathew and settling in Dublin, but Mathew has other ideas it seems and breaks Lara’s heart when he confesses he wants to join the priesthood. A humiliated Lara flees from Dublin to London.
Noreen, Mathews twin sister is the opposite to Mathew and craves some adventure, breaking it off with her fiancé John she heads to London and lands on Lara’s doorstep.
Lara lands a job at a sleazy nightclub Chevrons owned by Bobby Chevron, a feared gangland boss where she also meets Coleman who helps her dreams of becoming a fashion designer.
Hanna meets Lara and the two are immediate acquaintances with there shared Irish homeland and move in together.
Noreen also bunks with them when she arrives in London and Lara lands her a job at Chevrons.
Although all three love the freedom that London initially brings, they soon see a darker side with there involvement with Chevrons, friendships are tested and they all realise you can run but your past always has a way of catching up you, as all there pasts start to entwine and lives are put in danger, will they manage to come out unscathed?
I quite enjoyed ready That Girl, although there were a lot of characters that had there own little snippets it didn’t seem like it was too much or too confusing, there little snippets all played a roll in the overall story. The only thing I did find confusing sometimes was when Bobby was referred to as Chevron in the same bit as Coleman, the similar names made exchanges a little confusing.
Although the plot was fairly easy to read you were still left guessing just which way it would go and what would happen. A page turner right until the end.