#BlogTour-‘The Girl In The Woods’ by Patricia MacDonald

About the book…

Welcome to my first Black Thorn Books blogtour for ‘The Girl In The Woods’ by Patricia MacDonald!

“I have to tell you something. I did something bad.”

Fifteen years ago, Blair’s best friend Molly was murdered.

Fifteen years ago, Adrian Jones went to prison for it.

Fifteen years ago, the real killer got away with it.

And now, Blair’s terminally ill sister has made a devastating deathbed confession, which could prove that the wrong man has been imprisoned for years – and that Molly’s killer is still out there.

Blair’s determined to find him, but the story behind Molly’s death is more twisted than she could imagine. If she isn’t careful, the killer will ensnare her and bury Blair with his secret.

This was a brilliant, whipsmart crime novel that I completely adored and devoured!

It’s the first novel by Patricia MacDonald that I have read but I am absolutely hungry for more. In this, she sets out a prologue that creates the tone for the whole of the novel where Blair and Molly,both schol friends go home to Blair’s house to study.

Molly’s parents are out of town, Blair has taken her in but she lives with her sister Celeste,and her uncle Ellis whose Nazi memorabilia and aggressive attitude is both terrifying and utterly believable. Following an argument in which Molly tries to support her friend’s attempts to go to software camp, Ellis throws Molly out of the house,leaving her to walk home on her own-a journey which she does not survive.

Flashing forward 15 years, Celeste is terminally ill with the cancer that killed her and Blair’s mother. Blair has managed to fulfil her life long ambition(and also her promise to Molly) and works in software ,returning home to Ellis’ house to be with Celeste in her final days.

Just before taking her final breath, with the fear of death and salvation upon her, Celeste reveals to Blair that the man who was convicted of Molly’s murder didn’t do it. She could have given him an alibi, but as he was black, and she was young and vulnerable to Ellis, she lied and said that she was not in his car when he gave Molly a lift home.

Reeling at this revelation, whilst trying to cope with her sister’s death and deal with her sister leaving custody of her nephew to her best friend Amanda instead of herself, Blair decides to try and tackle the one thing that she can-exonerating Adrian Jones.

But in stirring up this old case, Blair has absolutely no idea what she is heading for in her quest to bring justice to both Molly and Adrian,it is far from straightforward or free from danger.

‘The Girl In The Woods’ is so tragic-the details of what happened to Molly are not immediately revealed, the prologue intoduces her and then has her exit the story but she does not really go, she lingers on to haunt both Blair and the reader . You are 100% travelling with Blair as she tries to navigate the legal system, and the police, who seem satisfied that a deathbed confession is not legally binding in terms of presenting new evidence for an acquittal.

It has a quiet strength in highlighting attitudes towards race, gender and religious intolerance in a way that is uncomfortable but necessary. People like Ellis exist and his way of behaving resulted in Molly losing her life-his principles being worth more than her safety.

Further to this it is a portrait of small towwn America-how does freedom of expression work if that freedom is used to promote hatred and violence towards a section of that society?

It is a crime novel, a whodunnit and a tale of suspense which is a lot to fit into a relatively small space. I found myself reading every single word, and finishing this 236 page novel well after I had expected it to. It is rich and full of character and plot, and I would thoroughly recommend it to mystery lovers!

About the author…

Patricia Macdonald’s darkly hypnotic tales have captivated readers across America, as well as in France, where she is a #1 bestselling author.

Her previous novels include ‘Suspicious Origin’,‘Secret Admirer’ ‘, ‘Not Guilty’, and the Edgar Award-nominated ‘The Unforgiven’. She lives with her husband and daughter in New Jersey, where she is working on her next novel.

Twitter @blackthornbks