‘Would you know a serial killer if you met one? What if she served you coffee every day?”
– The Good Girl
[ About The Good Girl ]
Grace Murphy doesn’t seem like the type of woman who’d have a man cable-tied to a chair, slowly dying in her house. She keeps to herself and goes through life working as a barista, and caring for her sister, showing her the love they never had as children . . .
Police officer Jerry Hughes knows about Grace’s brutal and troubled childhood; his own life was deeply affected by it.
Jerry still checks in on the sisters from time to time. But recently he’s been distracted by work. Men are going missing—and they seem to have nothing in common except for an uncanny physical resemblance to someone from Grace Murphy’s dark past . . .
[ My Review ]
The Good Girl by Michelle Dunne published March 7th with Bloodhound Books and is described as ‘a totally absorbing psychological thriller’. From the fantastic hook in the opening paragraph, The Good Girl never lets up, with Michelle Dunne taking her readers on a dark and brutal journey into the life of Grace Murphy, a young woman on a destructive mission with vengeance in her heart.
Grace Murphy lives on the northside of Cork working in a local café. Out of choice, Grace lives alone, but her younger sister lives across the road in the original family home. Grace is a very solitary, private person and is extremely particular about certain aspects of her life, almost to the point of being obsessive. But Grace has reason, especially when there is a dying man cable-tied to a chair upstairs. Grace has a reputation in her community, with few willing to cross paths with her, except for local police officer Jerry Murphy and an elderly neighbour Maggie. Grace has had a tough life but on the exterior she possesses a calm quality, a capable edge that wards off any bullyish behaviour from any of her neighbours. Grace Murphy is very much left alone, the way she prefers it after living the life she has.
Jerry Murphy knows Grace. He knows her sister, her mother and the past they all share. Jerry has known Grace since she was a young girl and has always kept an eye out for her, protecting her and her sister as much as he could. Jerry has seen a lot of unpleasant activity over the years. Married to the job, he’s known as been fair but also a strong believer in justice. He has cast a protective shadow over Grace throughout the years, but in recent times he has let his attention slip a little.
Reports have come in of a number of men not returning home. These men are unrelated and, through examination of their personal history, they have nothing in common. Jerry and his team get caught up in this investigation, with his superiors looking for answers. A possible serial killer roaming the city streets is not something anyone wants to consider. Jerry takes his eye off Grace a little, while his time is wrapped up with this case, but Grace also has an elderly neighbour Maggie keeping tabs on her. Maggie drops in daily to the café. She’s a bit of a local legend but few people know Maggie’s past and this is how she likes to keep it.
As the days roll by, suspicions are raised regarding the missing men but, with no evidence, the police have little to go on. Jerry though, like a dog with a bone, has his own ideas as he starts to connect a few dots. Grace makes regular contact with Jerry, concerned for her younger sister and Jerry continues to assist when he can. He carries a certain element of guilt for Grace’s past and he feels obligated to look out for her. Their relationship is fragile at the best of times but also quite hopeful.
Grace Murphy is quite possibly one of the darkest protagonists I have ever come across in a work of fiction. Michelle Dunne has created a stupendous individual who causes so much difficulty for the reader in deciding how to process her behaviour. Is she extremely smart? Is she delusional? Is she fearless? Is she quite mad? These are all the thoughts that will go through your mind as you read this compulsive psychological thriller that will have you completely riveted to the page. There are quite a few brutal and graphic elements to this novel so do be aware of this if you are triggered by certain issues.
What’s really intriguing about The Good Girl is that we know who the guilty party is from the beginning yet Michelle Dunne keeps the intensity heightened as the plot unravels in a phenomenal manner. I absolutely devoured The Good Girl, barely coming up for air. This is an addictive read and, strangely a novel that will stay with me for many of the wrong reasons. My heart was broken with some of the more disturbing descriptions as the past was revealed. Michelle Dunne doesn’t spare us with the details, with depictions that are so visual you can almost smell them, yet the need to keep turning the pages is compulsive.
The Good Girl is an astoundingly clever, disturbing and all-consuming novel. Michelle Dunne has a ingenious and sinister mind, with an ability to take the reader into a very dark place, a place where terrible things do happen but also, strangely enough, where there is hope and, as for Grace Murphy, well I think I’ll let you all decide that one for yourselves. Bravo Michelle!!
The Good Girl ~ Purchase Link
[ Bio ]
Born and raised in the harbour town of Cobh, Co Cork, Michelle joined the Irish army at the age of 18, where she went from recruit, to infantry soldier, to Peacekeeper with the UN, to one of the first female instructors back home in Ireland.
During her time in Lebanon, tracer rounds lit up the sky above her and artillery rained down, while she got to experience first-hand the camaraderie between soldiers and the reality of their lives. She also got to see what it’s like for ordinary families, forced to live in conflict zones. These experiences have inspired much of her work to date.
The Good Girl is Michelle’s third thriller and takes a long look at the darker side of life. Her other work includes While Nobody Is Watching and The Invisible, a series of thrillers featuring former soldier, Lindsey Ryan as she tries to adapt to her new life in the clutches on PTSD. The series is currently in development for television.
Michelle is also organiser and programmer of the Spike Island Literary Festival, which takes place on Ireland’s very own Alcatraz.
X ~ @NotDunneYet
