The Forgotten Girls book review

The Forgotten Girls Series: The Suburban Murder Series #1
Genres: Crime
Pages: 227
Format: eBook
Goodreads

In an elite suburb of New York City, girls are dying. That doesn’t happen in Greenvale, with its immaculate lawns, exclusive yacht clubs and multi-million dollar mansions. But behind its perfect façade, its trimmed hedges and luxury cars, a darkness lies. Girls, dependent on Adderall, outmaneuver each other to get into top colleges, while the mothers’ need to live vicariously only makes it worse.

Bella DeFranco is one of the Bronx’s top SVU detectives. At only 37, she disarms everyone with her stunning good looks, yet she is as tough as most men—and a lot smarter, too. Yet when is summoned to Greenvale, she finds herself getting lost in a case that even she can’t comprehend. She stumbles into a land of secrets, a place where husbands hide their pasts from their wives, where friends are not what they seem, and where no one wants to know too much. As she digs deeper into layers of suburban dysfunction, she comes to learn that, behind all the fake smiles, there is a subtle violence--rivaling even her crime-ridden streets of the Bronx.

With a killer on the loose, time running out, and a new partner who never recovered from his washed-up alcoholic days, the odds are stacked against Bella. She is determined, though, to save these girls, whatever the cost. Yet as she gets close, the depth of psychosis she discovers shocks even her….

I am always on the look out for quick and easy reads, The Forgotten Girls was a free download and I thought it would be worth a shot. There is no part of this book where I think the storyline is mind-blowing or the writing is the next classic but it kept my attention and I enjoyed the various parts of the plot. Added with the fact that it only took me a day to read, it really didn’t take up too much of my time so I was able to overlook the not so favourite parts.

Characters in The Forgotten Girls

The Forgotten Girls introduces Bella, a rising star detective specialising in the murder of women and girls, and the story takes off from there. She is transported from the rough streets of her usual neighbourhood and into the sparkling world of Greenville, accompanied by a rugged male partner. I think the main issue with the characters are they’re too perfect, and any flaws they seem to have are superficial. Especially with Bella, it made her character hard to root for at times and even when dealing with awful things she came across a little flat, and lacking depth.

We then have her partner, Mack, who is rough and ready and offers Bella that rugged support. I would have loved to have found out more about what made him tick and the mysterious past that makes everyone so nervous about him being back on the force. It was a shame that he was just an added extra to Bella’s story. There would have been so much more to explore if he had featured more heavily within the story, and I think it was definitely a missed opportunity.

Bad bits in The Forgotten Girls

To be honest if you can get past the flaws within the characters the storyline is actually quite interesting. I did figure out the ending before getting there which was a little frustrating. I definitely think for me the mystery is the biggest part for me, and for that to be spoilt so early on was disappointing. There was a lot of potential that was lost due to over zealous foreshadowing and the 2D characters that lacked depth.

Good bits

I absolutely flew through The Forgotten Girls and I had no problem picking it up. Although there were obvious flaws the story kept me interested all the way through. The saving glory for me was definitely the setting, I enjoyed seeing the lives of the rich through a different lens. It was definitely giving Big Little Lies vibes and I adore anything that reminds me of that wonderful book!

What now?

This is technically the first in a series but I don’t think I’ll be rushing to grab the next one. I have added the series to my Wishlist and I might pick them up if they jump on sale. It’s just not a priority at the moment.

Have you read this series? Should I be rushing to pick the next one up? Let me know!