Book Club: That Girl

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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.

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19 thoughts on “Book Club: That Girl

  1. Coincidentally a couple of days before starting this book That Girl, I had just finished reading It Was Only Ever You by Kate Kerrigan which I thoroughly enjoyed.

    I found Kate’s writting style effortless and engaging from the first chapter. I enjoyed the characters, the era, the location, the lot!!

    This book really has a bit of everything, love, suspense and friendship. It’s a binge readers delight as it’s a hard one to put down! Definitely one I will recommend to friends!

    Thanks to Beauty and Lace and Harper Collins Australia for the chance to read and review this book.

  2. That Girl is a women’s fiction tale of friendship, love, self discovery and new beginnings that harks back to the shifting times of the swinging sixties. Author Kate Kerrigan crosses life in small town Ireland, with life in the hustle and bustle of busy London. That Girl is an engrossing tale of three women making a new life and name for themselves.

    That Girl isn’t the first book I have read by talented storyteller Kate Kerrigan. After rating Kerrigan’s previous novel, It was Only Ever You, as one of my top ten reads of 2016, I was excited about the prospect of reading and reviewing her much anticipated latest release. A back cover author endorsement via bestselling author Cecelia Ahern states, ‘mesmerising and moving. Just beautiful’. I couldn’t agree more, this is a very apt quote and perfectly encapsulates Kerrigan’s writing.

    Kerrigan’s latest is told from the viewpoints of three main characters. I quickly developed a strong level of empathy for Hanna. Poor Hanna who suffers incredible abuse at the hands of her stepfather and I wasn’t at all surprised by the turn of events that took Hanna away from her home in Ireland. I was on edge for most of this book, wondering if the past would catch up with Hanna. Supporting Hanna in the spotlight is Lara. I also felt very sorry for Lara, who lost her long time love to the priesthood. I also cheered Lara on, in the hope she would succeed in breaking into the fashion business in London. The third and final primary character in Kerrigan’s novel is Noreen. I felt only a small connection to Noreen. However, I did think that Kerrigan did a good job with this character. Through Noreen, Kerrigan shows the changes and new forms of freedom women of this era began to experiment with. Noreen was certainly free spirited and spunky! Rounding off the character list are a number of supporting characters, most of these are male, some are agreeable and some I wanted to see the very back of. Each character Kerrigan placed in That Girl was well formed and had a decent role to play in the events of the book.

    The best part about That Girl was the era and setting. When the three girls in this novel make the move to London, they base themselves in King’s Road. This specific area of London holds a personal connection for me. My father and his family lived in this area, until they moved to Australia in the 1970’s. With my family roots grounded in the main locale of Kerrigan’s latest, it was easy to develop affection for this book. Recalling some locale anecdotes from my father and grandmother of their old stomping ground, I believe Kerrigan has done a brilliant job of bringing to light this setting. Kerrigan’s inclusion of the glamour of this strip, the hub for mod culture and the heavy influence of fashion, is also offset by the darker side of this area. The references to gangland bosses, dodgy nightclub operatives, violence, booze, drugs and the sex industry reveal the murky side to London in the 1960’s.

    Kerrigan also does a very good job of capturing the social attitudes and changing moral codes of this time, particularly through her exploration of the character of Noreen. This is contrasted to the restrictive and prescriptive life of Ireland, which all three women in these novel were hoping to escape from. This aspect makes up the crux of the novel and the way in which it all pans out, complete with a few twists, turns, complications and intrigue makes the reader want to see this novel through until the bitter end. I must mention how much I liked how Kerrigan wrapped up That Girl. Kerrigan flashes forward in time to the year 1975, where we get an update on the changed lives of the characters we have grown to know and care about through the experience of reading That Girl.

    All in all, I can safely say I very much enjoyed my experience with That Girl. I loved how the book was able to transport me to the swinging sixties in a progressive city of the time, flashy London. I hope this proves to be a book that reaches out to many readers.

  3. I absolutely loved reading Kate Kerrigan’s novel That Girl. It was like having a cup of tea and cake with your best friend
    This is a coming of age tale of three young woman; Hanna,Lara and Noreen. Each of these women are running away, from 3 very different things.
    The girls are thrown together in Swinging London. Living together in a dilapidated flat, they are forced to deal with their past. They learn that behind glamour, there may be ugliness. Most of all though, all three discover strengths and talents they never knew they had

  4. That Girl by Kate Kerrigan

    This is the tale of three young women who leave Ireland to move to London in the 1960’s looking for freedom.
    They share accommodation, and the story tells how each of them finds work and settles into a different lifestyle.
    Mixed into everything is a background of Gangsters and crime, and the girls get caught up in the world of Clubs, gangland bosses and fear.
    This is a well written journey into the swinging sixties when life is changing, skirts are short, sex is available, and London is the place to be. But no one can disappear forever, and the girls find that the past has a way of catching up with them.

    I enjoyed this book. It was easy to read, and any gangland violence wasn’t overly done. It was hard to put down as the reader wants to see what will happen next. It had an ending I couldn’t predict, which rounded out the story.

    Thank you to Beauty & Lace Book Club, and to Harper Collins Books, for the chance to read this book.

  5. I have been a long-time fan of Irish Kate Kerrigan since her first book, Recipes for a Perfect Marriage, came out in 2005. Since then I have devoured her standalone books, including her latest, That Girl. With its bold cover, That Girl is a warm tribute to the swinging 60s and the power of female friendship. It also sensitively deals with child abuse, sexual freedom and marraige through the three leading ladies Hanna, Lara and Noreen.

    Whenever I read a chic lit book, I usually have a favourite character. To my surprise, I enjoyed spending time with all women equally. Told in the third person, the story begins with Hanna as she deals with the fallout of death in her family. Hanna has a heart-breaking history that had me riveted, especially when she took matters into her own hands. Initially quiet and submissive, Hanna was stronger person then I thought she was as she escaped Ireland and headed to London, where she met Lara.

    Lara was the total opposite of Hanna, outgoing and confident, despite her rocky start to romance. Lara is running away from her partner who has made a decision that is not compatible with marriage. She too is unwaveringly brave as she moves to London where she unknowingly takes up a job with gangsters. Lara’s true passion lies in fashion though and I enjoyed reading about the clothes from this era. The pain that Lara felt from her finance could have hardened her heart against life but she keeps her innate kindness when she takes Hanna under her wing.

    The third and final member of the gang is Noreen, probably the one girl I could least relate to as she was the polar opposite of me in many respects. Noreen is Lara’s finance’s sister who decides that marriage is no longer for her. As a long time friend of Lara’s, she finds her to London to experience the freedoms that it has to offer. Physically, Noreen is very much a country girl with her curvey pale skin but she is outspoken and bold, unafraid to stand up for herself and those around her.

    Learning about 60s London together with the girls was a lot of fun but also a lesson in far women’s rights have come

  6. “That Girl” by Kate Kerrigan is a story of three young women Hanna, Lara and Noreen. They travel from their small home villages in Ireland to London, so they can spread their wings.

    Hanna must flee a terrible event in her home town of Sligo. She decides to just vanish, give herself a new name and begin a fresh new life in London.

    Lara has always loved Matthew and thought she would marry him and live happily ever after but unbeknown to her Matthew wants to join the priesthood. Heartbroken and not knowing what to do with herself she decides to head for London and ends up in King’s Road, Chelsea. Where her life really takes a change.

    Noreen, Matthew’s twin sister who loves her fiancé John, but is missing something in her life craves a change also moves to London. London has it all, parties, sex and fun but unfortunately Noreen is about to get way out of her comfort zone.

    All three women end up working for one of London’s gangland bosses, and the many changes that they are wishing for in their lives are about to happen, but not all are for the best but bring the women closer together.

    The story has a bit of everything, family, secrets, relationships, and love. It shows how finding oneself, friendships and that new beginnings are possible.

    A great read and I would highly recommend.

  7. Wow just wow. Kate you are simply Brilliant.
    Gripping and entertaining. The perfect combination of excellent writing and a plot that is just strange enough to be real lol.

    Kate writes in such a lovely style and it is easy to keep saying .. Just a few more pages.. when you really should go to bed! I admit, I read to long and late and really loved this book. I will absolutely be reading again and recommend this to anyone after a great book with intriguing storyline.

  8. I absolutely loved ‘That Girl’ by Kate Kerrigan. Initially telling the separate stories of 3 young Irish women who eventually find themselves in London in the bustling 60’s. On finding each other they are then able to tackle the challenges of their pasts and work towards new romances and identities.
    The book begins with the story of Hanna and I was captivated from this very moment, wanting to know more about her unusual relationship with her step father.

    ‘That Girl’ will keep your attention the whole way through and I found the ending rather enjoyable.

    I previously was given the opportunity from Beauty and Lace to read Kate Kerrigan’s ‘It Was Only Ever You’. I did find some similarities in the storyline and was definitely able to identify that I was reading another of Kate Kerrigan’s books from the writing style. I cannot wait to read more from this author.
    Thank you Beauty and Lace.

  9. Totally enjoyed this book. It was one of those I don’t want to put it down novels.
    Highly recommend it to anyone

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