The Hanging Girl Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

The Hanging Girl
Author: Eileen Cook
Release Date: October 3, 2017
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers 

Description:

Skye Thorn has given tarot card readings for years, and now her psychic visions are helping the police find the town’s missing golden girl. It’s no challenge—her readings have always been faked, but this time she has some insider knowledge. The kidnapping was supposed to be easy—no one would get hurt and she’d get the money she needs to start a new life. But a seemingly harmless prank has turned dark, and Skye realizes the people she’s involved with are willing to kill to get what they want and she must discover their true identity before it’s too late. 

Praise for THE HANGING GIRL:

"...[The Hanging Girl] is fast-paced; features a very relatable, down-on-herluck protagonist; and boasts a surprise twist that will leave readers arguing long after the book is over. Perfect for fans of psychological thrillers." ―Booklist

"A surprisingly dark thriller that will find a home in libraries where there is a need for strong female protagonists and engrossing mysteries." ―SLJ

"...The multiple twists in the ending pack several hefty wallops of surprise and reward the reader with a more than satisfactory payout." ―Bulletin

You can purchase The Hanging Girl at the following Retailers:

    

I'm a huge fan of thrillers and mysteries, so I was immediately intrigued by the description of this book. I've read the author before and really enjoyed her work, so I had pretty high hopes going in. I have to say that it lived up to any expectations I may have had and actually turned out to be a real roller coaster ride. Even though I really liked this book and all of the aspects involved, there's just something about it that didn't blow me away. It's why I'm not giving it a five star rating - but I can't put my finger on what was missing or why. I know it sounds weird - I really liked everything about the story, but that extra something was missing for me. This is completely my own opinion and has nothing to do with the book itself. I just wanted to make a note of it early on, in case anyone wonders why I write a glowing review and then not give a higher rating.

The most notable things for me about the novel were the plot and the writing style. The story line was full of twists and turns that you didn't see coming and the author keeps you on your toes the entire time. I've read a ton of thrillers, and it's not easy to surprise me anymore, but there were some parts in this book that threw me for a loop. The plot itself was easy to follow along once you got the general idea of what was happening - but then things start to go wrong and ravel out of control, and it all goes to hell. I think the writing style complemented the plot perfectly - the majority of the story is told from Skye's point of view, with a few chapters from Paige's perspective thrown in. This only made things more curious and fascinating for me - especially Paige's part. You'll understand if you read the book. I loved getting to know Skye throughout the novel. She's easy to identify with and I connected with her early on. The author made it seem so natural for things to happen the way they did with Skye - things just keep snowballing and she doesn't quite know what to do, and then it's all gone too far and she's in way too deep. The secondary characters seemed pretty two dimensional and kind of stereotypical, but that didn't really bother me since the main part of the story wasn't about them at all. I really enjoyed this book and definitely recommend it for fans of YA mysteries, thrillers, suspense, and contemporary fiction.

 

Eileen Cook grew up in a small town in Michigan, but would go on to live in Boston and Belgium before settling in Vancouver, Canada with her husband and two very naughty dogs.

In second grade Eileen’s teacher wrote on a homework assignment “I am sure someday you will be an author” which is a tribute to the psychic abilities of elementary school teachers, as well as Eileen penchant for making things up. While she would go on to fill endless notebooks with really bad poetry, short stories, and the occasional start to a novel, she would first go on to pursue a career as a counsellor working with individuals with catastrophic injuries and illness.

Eileen quickly discovered that the challenge of working with real people is that they have real problems and she returned to writing where she could make her characters do what she wanted. Her first novel was published in 2008. Entertainment Weekly called her novel WITH MALICE a “seriously creepy thriller” which pretty much made her entire year.

When not planning murder and mayhem on the computer, Eileen enjoys reading, knitting, yelling at her dogs to stop digging holes and watching hockey (which she is required to do as a new Canadian.)

Eileen is a popular speaker at conferences both in the US and in Canada, provides writing/editorial coaching, and is a mentor/instructor for the Simon Fraser University The Writer’s Studio.

Eileen lives in Vancouver with her husband and two very naughty dogs and no longer wishes to be anyone or anywhere else.

    

 

(1) Winner will receive a Signed Copy of THE HANGING GIRL by Eileen Cook.

Giveaway is open to International. | Must be 13+ to Enter

 

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