A bad day at work. A drunken night. A rogue Instagram follow. That’s all it takes to ruin a life … The question is, whose life will be ruined?
When Billie wakes up in a strange guy’s bed, her first thought is: what happened last night? She can’t even remember meeting him. And how the hell did she get to Coney Island?
Then reality bites and the memories flood in – the reason she was in that bar, drinking to start with: today she’s going to get fired. Because yesterday her law firm lost a big case: Jane Delaney v Samuel Grange. And it looked like it was her fault.
It wasn’t.
Yet now Samuel Grange is free to drive off into the sunset in his stupid Porsche and do it all again to another woman. And all Billie can think is: What about the next girl? And the one after that?
But there is nothing she can do to stop him. Unless…
She could expose the truth about him on her own. Then everyone would see what he was really like. And he wouldn’t be able to do it again.
The problem is, the only way to protect the next girl is if she becomes the next girl.
And, well, that could be a little risky … even deadly.
Wow, what can I say about Billie! I really couldn’t decide if I liked her or detested her and what she was doing. I found I kept trying to guess what she was going to do next, if her next foray into the work she felt compelled to do, was going to be more bizarre than the one before.
The story was extremely fast paced that hooked me from the start. It could have easily lost its sense of place, but it didn’t. It was such an original storyline.
Billie’s technical capabilities were amazing, but then again, she needed to be computer savvy to do the things she did!! And basically, this amazement was my main feeling all the way through the story. It’s so full of surprises that I just had to keep on reading.
AND, just when I thought she’d changed her ways and all is ok … It’s not!!
The novel was quite suspenseful in parts but the persistent referencing to social media became somewhat tiresome. In all honesty if I had not been sent the book to read and review, I would not have read the book. Billie Spencer-Tate, a workaholic puts herself at risk every day in varying ways to reveal the real truth. Working as a paralegal she is well placed to encounter situations and people that have been wronged and need her assistance to uncover the truth and right all wrongs.
I found this whole premise questionable and unbelievable. Therefore I struggled with the book but persevered and was not surprised by the plot or revelation or suggestion that Billie has not quite retired from righting wrongs.
The Next Girl is a nail-bitingly tense thriller that kept me awake until I’d finished it.
Billie, a paralegal living in New York, has lost her job by becoming too involved in a case that was decided unjustly. She becomes determined to obtain some sort of justice and develops an extremely risky plan to take revenge on a cruel, controlling, and abusive man.
Living with the aftermath of trauma and struggling with her own grief, Pip Drysdale’s Billie is a strong, resourceful character who I could sympathise with – but mostly I was very scared for her. The other characters come and go, and we don’t know who’s the good guy and who’s the bad, but the cat Button is a constant comfort.
The plot twists, turns, and twists again and I would highly recommend this book for those looking for a fast-paced, domestic thriller to keep them guessing until the very end.
If you like a fast paced, twisty turvy, who dunnit, Pip Drysdale’s latest book “The Next Girl” will not disappoint.
Billie is an ambitious but somewhat naïve paralegal who is seeking to right the wrongs of society. Instead of bringing a prominent doctor to justice for sex crimes against women, Billie finds herself unemployed and on a dangerous path of self destruction, who ends up as a suspect in the doctor’s murder.
The story entwines Billie’s tragic past and her deep seeded desire to help others with the present day to justify her irrational and reckless behaviour. There are a myriad of superficial characters connected to Billie to keep the reader guessing the murderer. At times the plot twists seem farfetched but convenient however necessary to move the story along to its final twist.
Overall, The Next Girl was entertaining and kept me curious to reach the end. I enjoyed the writing style particularly the direct conversation with the reader and I would recommend this book to fans who like suspenseful, fast paced thrillers.
I have read all of Pip Drysdale’s books and have enjoyed them all so my hopes for this one were high.
This was the perfect book for thriller lovers like myself and I found that I couldn’t put it down!
I loved the little bit of romance scattered in, Billie the hot mess that she was I adored, and especially the plot twists…I thought I had things figured out and knew where they were going but no. Definitely a new favourite of her books for me and I will be recommending it to my family and friends. Great twisty, dark thriller!
Wow! Pip Drysdale’s new book The Next Girl is a gripping thriller full of twists and drama to keep you awake and reading until the early hours. I loved the strong female main character Billie, on a mission to right wrongs and expose the true characters of perpetrators who always seem to get off free. Hitting rock bottom, Billie goes after justice for the victims she feels have been let down, with desperate and dangerous actions leading to disastrous and unexpected outcomes. I loved the cast of diverse characters, especially Buttons the cat and Billie’s all-seeing neighbour Mrs Benson. The fast paced chapters, suspenseful writing and desire to find out what happens means this is a book that you won’t want to put down! Highly recommend!
Ever wondered what happens when the mouse catches the cat? It can turn bad quickly, like it did for the characters in ‘The Next Girl’. I loved this book from start to finish and found it hard to put down even though it gave me heart palpitations. Pip Drysdale has a great way of weaving clues and facts in and bringing it all together with some a-hah moments. It certainly kept me on the edge of my seat.
The book is written from Billies point of view. She goes to AA but not for what you think, alcohol isn’t her problem, but that’s her secret. There isn’t a support group for what she is addicted to. The book gives readers an insight to Billie and why she does what she does. She is complicated, misunderstood and extremely dangerous.
Unfortunately for Billie, she’s not the only one good at what she does. I found myself barracking for a girl who is doing the wrong thing for the right reason. Billie is vulnerable, scary as hell but she’s not a murderer even if the evidence points to her.
I was first introduced to Pip Drysdale’s writing listening to her first novel The Strangers we Know on audiobook which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was very keen to read her new novel The Next Girl and was not disappointed!
Billie enjoys her job as a paralegal at a law firm until she is dismissed because they lost a case which they shouldn’t have because of Billie’s interference.
She now turns into somewhat of a vigilante determined to make the perpetrator of that case pay for what he did. Now she is unemployed has very little money and wakes up in a strange person’s bed with no memory of who he is and how she got there.
Thereafter she sets about constructing a way of getting close to the man involved and there are lots of twists and turns that just keep on coming while Billie is on this mission, risking everything even her own life. There are a cast of supporting characters who dip in and out of this book, and I did have a soft spot for Buttons the cat!
This is a fast-paced domestic thriller which hooks you from page one until the end and I would recommend it to readers of domestic noir fiction.
“The Next Girl” is another compelling thriller from Pip Drysdale. It’s fascinating the way she produces distinctive novels that both give you what you expect and surprise you at multiple turns.
Drysdale’s novels tend to feature young women who are, if not obsessive, certainly very single minded about their goals. Which would be fine, except that their goals are often a little… extreme… and unusual.
Drysdale’s plots are deceptively simple when summarised, but rapidly become twisty and complex. Revelations are unexpected and sometimes astonishing, but Drysdale convinces you it’s all credible. That’s partly because of the strength of her characterisation. You absolutely believe that Billie would do and say and think these things, even as you gasp “No!”.
Billie is a character who you’d probably dislike from a character sketch. But following her through this story, she’s surprisingly empathetic. Her story is compelling and you’ll really want to know what happens to her next.
I really enjoyed this. It’s a little on the dark side, but then most thrillers are. The plot is intelligent and interesting, the characters strongly drawn, and the writing involving. Although unmistakeably Drysdale’s work, it is also distinct from her earlier novels and full of surprises.
Billie feels that she has to fight for injustice done to others.
She is determined to expose the truth at the risk of her own safety and personal happiness.
This book is cleverly written and it is a gripping read .
It is a book I would recommend to anyone.
I enjoyed this book very much and was completely engaged from the start. Billie is a smart, savvy, at times scary, young woman who just wants to reverse the lack of justice meted out to bad people and whilst I did cheer her on in this, I was also often on edge wondering about all the things that could go wrong, and wrong they did. A very good plot twist saw her becoming a possible victim of one of her bad people for whom she had seem justice done, which was a direction that I did not see coming. Interesting background to Billie and her family, especially her relationship with her deceased Mother made me feel for her even more. This was a clever and edgy read, the use of current technology was well handled but did not overshadow the story.
A complex and enjoyable book that has many twists and turns and is highly entertaining. I did tend to ‘tune out’ to the parts describing the computer and phone terms Billie uses to bluff and baffle not be caught out while following her ‘victims’. This was only a small criticism though. I have loved all Pip Drysdale’s novels and this will not disappoint her fans.
I loved this book! Billie is a hot mess with a bad ass streak and I fell in love with her straight away. I loved the conversational tone of the story and the music references had me checking & adding on spotify multiple times.
It’s a quick, enjoyable read and one I found extremely hard to put down, I just had to know what happened next and would still love to keep this story going so hopefully Billie will be back in a sequel.
I have other Pip Dysdale books on my want to read list but this is the first I’ve actually read and now can’t wait to read the others.
If you love strong modern female characters with a thirst for revenge then this book is a must read. I’m now going to pass it on to my book club friends as I know they will love it too.