Customer Reviews

The Wicked Girls

Every nasty aspect of modern life is here - 'feral' children, journalists who'd sell their own mother for a lead, vigilante mobs, and the poor and ignorant who are exploited at every turn. But here you're given a glimpse of what lies behind all of this stuff of tabloid nightmares.

The scenes in which we re-live the event that triggers the story are very compelling, I was drawn into that world of naive decision making and catastrophic impulses which make your adult reader self want to cry 'Stop!'.

I would have loved to know more about what happened to many of the characters, even the ones who are completely repellent are fascinating.

A really good thriller, well written, well plotted and with enough 'nasty' to make you glad it's just a story.

Marwood has constructed a crime thriller with obvious allusions to the lives of other well documented child murders with the perpetrators being children themselves and how they assimilate back into society on release. Choosing her protagonists to be two women puts a neat twist onto the whole criminal responsibility of children as most of the well known cases tend to centre on male perpetrators. This, I found, was the most well-executed aspect of the book as the reader's sympathies shift and sway as more of the original crime unfolds throughout the book as Kirsty and Amber find themselves in grudging contact with each other as a serial murder infiltrates a small seaside town where Amber lives, and where Kirsty as a journalist goes to report on the events. The whole serial murder storyline I did find a little forced although it did serve as a backdrop, although unconvincing, to play out Kirsty and Amber's stories and I did find the final denouement a little far-fetched with just one too many unbelievable coincidences. I appreciate that Marwood wanted to capture the small-town mentality of this insular seaside town but thought it would be more feasible that a figure that was pillioried as much as Amber would maybe have `lost' herself better in a big city and this would have made the whole serial-killer aspect of the story, in terms of setting, a little more believable and I was surprised that she had remained undetected for as long as she had. Having said that I would recommend this book for the depth of humanity Marwood brings to her protagonists as she reveals little by little the tragic events of their youth and how this markedly affects them in their very different upbringings post-release and this alone makes `The Wicked Girls' an interesting read and a great choice for bookgroups as there are many talking points and potential areas of conflict ripe for discussion...

This book is an absolute page turner and a real thriller - but so much more than that. Alex Marwood shows real understanding for the psychology behind criminal types and their motivations. The writer evokes characters that are living and breathing and really transports you to their world. The Wicked Girls is incredibly atmospheric, drawing you into the winding dark lanes and seedy underbelly of a crumbling seaside town and the lives of the people that live there. I think this book would make a great tv series or movie. Very much looking forward to the next one!

It's been a while since I've read a book this good. I've read a few that were supposed to be this good, but they turned out over-rated, not this one though. It's that rare thing: fantastic storytelling, believable characters, dialogue you can almost hear, all wrapped up in a cracking good plot.

Alex Marwood is a talented writer who has a way with words, so no surprise she is a journalist, writing under a pen name. I never lost track of where we were and where we were being taken, despite the story switching between the lives of two different characters, who are inextricably linked, and flicking between past and present. It's expertly handled.

The story is set up nicely from the start. There's been a murder way back, now there's a serial killer on the loose, and the paths of the two so-called wicked girls of the title cross again. Two or three potential murderers are presented to us early on, and I guessed who it was a few chapters in (which isn't like me), and their motivation not long after that, but even so, it was cleverly done and didn't spoil my enjoyment.

A book hasn't moved me to tears for a long time, but this one did, with a heart-wrenching scene that I won't give away. The author is very good at creating tension, then cranking it up. It's scattered with ironies, some cruel, others bittersweet. Some of the gritty reality is hard to take, especially the dynamic of Amber and Vile Vic, but before it gets uber-dark towards the end, the humour carries it through, along with the humanity of the more likeable characters in a cast that came straight from real life. The only exception is the snobbish mother of one of the two girls who is a caricature.

Great that it's so current, with references to riots, phone hacking and News of the World reporters being out of work. Given the author's profession, it's surprising the facts weren't better researched and this was one of a few downsides that niggled and took it down a notch from a 5 star rating:

* The way the female nightworkers seemed unperturbed about a young woman being murdered and her body dumped at their workplace - no fear for their own safety, even though one of them had a stalker. Even more unrealistic, the female reporter walks the streets alone late at night after doing research on the murder story at a nightclub, straight after attracting the attention of two creeps, one of whom had been following her. And she sets off without a thought for her safety. It was done for dramatic tension, but even so. A drunk teenager might have done that but not a professional, married, mother of two children.
* No mention of either of the child murderers having had CRB checks done on them for their jobs, even though both are working with the public and particularly as one starts off working day shifts at a funfair. And strange that their partners weren't informed of their past by the authorities, seeing as they were out on licence. And at least one of them should have been granted anonymity to protect her own children.
* There are quite a few howlers in terms of legal issues and police procedures but to list them would need a spoiler alert.

Despite all that, it drips with authenticity. It's a great read that draws you in and grabs hold of your interest. I hope the author keeps up the standard and writes more of this calibre. I'm looking forward to the next one.

I heard about The Wicked Girls via Twitter. The joys of social media and connected devices meant that within a few minutes it had arrived on my Kindle. I'll say up front that I absolutely loved this - it gripped me from first to last. It's taut and tightly plotted with excellent definition of characters. The Wicked Girls of the title come to life both as their teenage selves and the adult versions. They and those around them are fully 3 dimensional and I felt that I came to know them as the story progressed. There are some interesting changes of pace - almost cinematic in slowing down to establish a sense of normality and speeding up as crimes unfold. Whilst the idea of getting inside the heads of children who have killed may not seem attractive I would urge you to read this - it is not all as it seems (can't really say more here without plot spoiling).

I am not one for long wordy reviews, not being an author myself. :-)
This is a brilliant read. I couldn't put it down, and find myself really gripped throughout. Highly recommended.

Such a satisfying read! It's fast moving, with a skillfully woven plot and a cast of well drawn characters (grotesque, sympathetic and other...)and locations. Hard-to-put-down not just on account of the plotting/pace/characterisation, but also because of the writing - you sense the author's enjoyment in creating these characters, there's plenty of humour in the dialogue. The danger for me with such a gripping story is the temptation to skip the odd paragraph to find out what happens next even faster. This back-fired as I had to re-read - on account of the brilliant prose. You can't afford to miss any of it. Some sentences are so perfectly, rhythmically balanced that I had to pause and read them over and over again!
Accomplished and entertaining writing and an exciting new name to watch out for - I can't wait for the next one.
It would make a fantastic film.

As with previous reviewers, I can only agree. This was a great read: well-written characters, page-turning plot and some interesting issues raised and discussed along the way. The characters, especially of the 'Wicked Girls' of the title were captivating, if not always likeable - but always real. I found myself awake in the middle of the night trying to work out how it would all end. A really enjoyable, thoughtful novel, I'm looking forward to see what Alex Marwood will do in the future.

This was quite a readable book and the topic of rehabilitated child murderers trying to assimilate into society was an interesting one. However, the dull characters and stereotypes started to annoy me. I started getting bored with the predictability of it and just wanted to finish it to see if there would be an interesting twist at the end. Sadly there wasn't.
The author's decision to completely abandon the rules of English grammar irked me somewhat too. Ironically, one of the characters was described as having sensitivity to the misuse of grammar. I too developed this condition as the author played fast and loose with the rules. It was not just for dramatic effect; the whole book was written this way

This novel has all the key ingredients required for a page-turning thriller: character, plot and pace. Alex Marwood makes us feel sympathy for characters who, on the surface, we should despise. The psychological element to the book allows the pace to ebb and flow in such a way that the reader cannot help but be moved along with it.

I doubt there will be anybody who hasn't followed a harrowing news story and been quietly fascinated - this story is disconcerting in the way it goes beyond what makes the titillating headlines to the reality underneath. It's also nice to see such an evocation of place in an English setting. Normally something this vivid is only seen in the American city-scapes.

Definitely recommended - looking forward to the next book from this author already.