The Next Girl by Australian author Pip Drysdale is a work of fiction in the psychological thriller subgenre. Filled with suspense, mystery, and plenty of drama.
Billie, a paralegal works for a New York legal firm. They had been working on a case against Doctor Samuel Grange v victim, Jane Delaney. The case went to court and the firm suffered a loss at the hands of Billie’s involvement. She is looking down the barrel at dismissal and to get over her disappointment, drinking an excessive amount of alcohol seems the only option.
The next morning as she wakes, she is in an unfamiliar bed and sees another very real human beside her who she doesn’t recognise. She cannot call to mind how she got there and who he is. Now she must go into memory recall overdrive and figure out what led her there. As memories flood back in, she knows one thing is for sure, today she will be fired.
Samuel Grange, the accused is a wealthy doctor who thinks he is superior to everyone else. With his charge being dismissed Billie is certain his is guilty and will repeat his behaviour and find new women to abuse. But before that will happen, she devises a plan to stop him and make herself his next victim.
The Next Girl draws you in right from the first page, and the more you read, the more you want to read. It stealthily tightens its grip on you, unwilling to let you put the book down until you reach the end.
The narrative’s twists and turns produce a powerful impression, and it will keep you guessing all the way through. I loved how the story was narrated by Billie, her vivid depictions of scenes made reading the book feel like I was right there in the middle of all the action, helplessly watching every movement. Drysdale did not disappoint, delivering revelations and surprises with perfect pacing to make this an ideal and engrossing read.
The characters are skillfully developed with a mixture of relatable likeable and unlikeable people with real lives and the flaws we expect them to have. Billie is a young, feisty, and an intelligent woman with a mind of her own trying to find answers to the many questions in her head. Samuel Grange comes across as obnoxious with an elevated sense of self-worth and more important than others.
This is up there one of the most twisted psychological thrillers I have read. I highly recommend to fans of the genre.
Thank you, Beauty and Lace and Simon & Schuster Australia, for the opportunity to read and review.
A selection of our Beauty and Lace Club members are reading The Next Girl by Pip Drysdale. You can read their comments below, or add your own review.
My love of books started at a very young age. My mum has always been a reader and encouraged me to read, buying me endless book from classic fairy tales advancing to the world of Enid Blyton, CS Lewis, Louisa May Alcott, Kathryn Kenny, Carolyn Keene, Francine Pascal. In my adult years the list of authors is endless and every room in my house is filled with books.
One of my favourite novels is Narnia which has always has a special place in my heart. I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 1978 and when I was given this book to read it let me escape to another world where I felt like I was in the book with all the characters, it wasfun and exciting to escape from reality and eased the ups and downs of the disease at such a young age.
In books nothing is impossible and there is endless potential and hundreds of places to explore or being taken to places that are only made up from the authors’ great minds, the past and future to navigate, characters lives you step into taking you on an emotional rollercoaster ride or being scared out of your wits. I can experience things that I can’t in real life because they’re not possible or real. It challenges my perspective and mindset expanding my worldview.
I find joy, comfort and peace with books, many people may not get it, but I know bookworms like me truly understand. Reading makes my heart happy.
This book took a while to get to me, but it was well worth the wait! It kept me on my toes and kept me guessing and I had no idea how it was going to end. I developed different theories while reading, but none of them were right and I liked that I didn’t know what the ending was. The main character, Billie was complex and intelligent. She keeps track of certain people online and sometimes even does a bit of hacking to get into their accounts – it’s so complex. I finished this off last night reading by candlelight during a power failure and it was the perfect setting for the ending. Thank you so much Beauty and Lace for letting me review this book >:o)
The Next Girl by Pip Drysdale is an excellent read. It is physiological thriller with a touch of romance which keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Billie, a para legal, narrates the story with a touch of humour.
She has been working on a big case. In her enthusiasm to see Samuel Grange exposed for who he is and justice for Jane Delaney, she has made a mistake. Samuel Grange walks free and Billie’s employment has ended.
Most people would let karma take its course, but Billie isn’t most people! Beside karma takes too long!
Billie plans to expose Samuel on her own and that would stop him from doing it again to someone else.
Billie is so focused on her plan to bring him down, she has missed the fact that other people have the same plan for her!
A dangerous game plays out.
Thankyou to Simon and Schuster and Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read this great book.
Firstly, thankyou Beautyandlace and Simon&Shuster for the opportunity to review ‘The Next Girl’ by Pip Drysdale.
Twenty four year old Billie Spencer-Tate works in a civil firm and has been involved with a case for Jane Delaney who was in a controlling relationship with Dr Samuel Grange.
Unfortunately Billie does something unethical and as a result loses her job. Also the case against Dr Grange is lost.
She has previously done some questionable acts in the past to right wrongs for others, and is determined to expose Dr Grange even it means putting herself in danger.
I could say so much more about this exciting on edge of seat book, and the gutsy Billie, her love of music inherited from her mother and her determination and bravery.
Billie had always wanted to work in the justice system working her way to becoming a lawyer. She relishes her job as a paralegal helping attain justice for victims of crime. When her latest case goes terribly wrong, her clients abuser is acquitted and, she loses her job. Billie decides to avenge the victim by exposing the man for what he is and to do this she must become his next victim.
The Next Girl is narrated by Billie and she is so stressy and hyper it made me stressed just trying to keep up with her. I feel she would have been a more believable character if she was calmer, more level headed and calculating.
The Next Girl is a vigilante style story with lots of mysteries running through it and I found the not knowing, rather than drawing me in, was confusing at times.
With themes of toxic masculinity, online bullying, and revenge versus justice, The Next Girl is timely and compelling.
I did enjoy the story it just isn’t my favourite by Pip Drysdale.
Thank you Beauty and Lace and Simon & Schuster Australia for the opportunity to read and review “The Next Girl” by Pip Drysdale. This book started right at the heart of the story and had me hooked from page one, the characters were very real and the storyline was easy to follow. It was well thought out and led the reader through the story of a court case and its demise not only for the victim but also Billie who was the para legal who had found a witness that would be the key to wining this case, but then to only find that on the day of the court case the witness changed her story and in effect changed the course of Billie’s working career as a lawyer and saw the court being lost.
The demise of the case led Billie to hit the town and drink too much … ending up in a strangers bed… or so she thought.
The next day Billie set out on a course to expose the perpetrator, Dr Grange, and get some justice for Jane the victim and any future victims. The story is quite deep and has a number of twists that are well thought out and written, which take takes the reader on a journey with just enough back story to round out the current events, it even covers the story of how Billie came to own a cat and its previous owners and how this is pivotal to the story drawing the link between the stranger and Billie. The events that follow are fast paced and dangerous as Billie sets her sights on exposing the truth. A series of unexpected events however change this course for Billie and she is now facing being a suspect in a murder.
If you are looking for a story that is unpredictable, with a touch of a love story with mystery intrigue and a bit of a psychological thriller then this is your book. I will be looking out for more books written by Pip Drysdale as she is an exciting writer that leaves no stone unturned when there is a story to be told.
Thank you Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read The Next Girl by Pip Drysdale.
I absolutely loved this thriller!!
Billie is a complex character always with good intentions, a lot of bad luck, and with a few dead bodies thrown in!
You will love the twists and turns throughout this book and mystery of who done it!
Highly recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Next Girl by Pip Drysdale was a cracking read and I loved it!
On the surface, the main character Billie is everything; smart, beautiful, witty, with a great career as a paralegal and an awesome music collection, until it all goes wrong, very wrong. Finding herself fired from her job and the man she knows is guilty, walking free, she decides to set about exposing the truth about him so that he can’t hurt anyone again. This is where things get really interesting and slowly you find out more about Billie’s past and it’s intriguing to say the least! Her backstory is heartbreaking, exciting, compelling and more. You discover that she is such a complex but awesome person plus, her taste in music and love for animals made me like and respect her even more! I really liked the other characters in the story, the music references and that it all felt so ‘now’. I just thoroughly enjoyed this book, found it easy to read and it kept me guessing and absorbed right to the end. Oh that ending too…!
Thanks so much to Beauty and Lace and Simon & Schuster for allowing me the chance to read this fantastic book. I will be excitedly sourcing more of Pip Drysdale’s books!