From the TBR Pile: Blog Tour:The American Girl by Kate Horsley

Friday, August 19, 2016

Blog Tour:The American Girl by Kate Horsley

Author: Kate Horsley

Publisher: William Morrow

Date of publication: August 2016

On a quiet summer morning, seventeen-year-old American exchange student Quinn Perkins stumbles out of the woods near the small French town of St. Roch. Barefoot, bloodied, and unable to say what has happened to her, Quinn’s appearance creates quite a stir, especially since the Blavettes—the French family with whom she’s been staying—have mysteriously disappeared. Now the media, and everyone in the idyllic village, are wondering if the American girl had anything to do with her host family’s disappearance.

Though she is cynical about the media circus that suddenly forms around the girl, Boston journalist Molly Swift cannot deny she is also drawn to the mystery and travels to St. Roch. She is prepared to do anything to learn the truth, including lying so she can get close to Quinn. But when a shocking discovery turns the town against Quinn and she is arrested for the murders of the Blavette family, she finds an unlikely ally in Molly.

As a trial by media ensues, Molly must unravel the disturbing secrets of the town’s past in an effort to clear Quinn’s name, but even she is forced to admit that the American Girl makes a very compelling murder suspect. Is Quinn truly innocent and as much a victim as the Blavettes—or is she a cunning, diabolical killer intent on getting away with murder…?

Told from the alternating perspectives of Molly, as she’s drawn inexorably closer to the truth, and Quinn’s blog entries tracing the events that led to her accident, The American Girl is a deliciously creepy, contemporary, twisting mystery leading to a shocking conclusion.

The American Girl is about, well, an American girl who is in France as an exchange student. One day, she stumbles out of the woods and, after getting hit by a car, loses her memory. The host family she was staying with is missing and she gets blamed for their disappearance.

I have kind of mixed feelings about this book. Ultimately, it ended up being an just OK. For the most part, I liked the mystery and the conclusion. The story was all tied up into a nice, neatly packaged ending. It just, for me, took a bit too long to get there. None of the characters were particularly likable. I had a hard time buying some of the things that happened in the book. Such as, what detectives wouldn't take the patient's iPhone and hack into it? Especially if they needed answers. Also, how did no one check that Molly was really Quinn's aunt? I can't imagine France is that lax in their security at hospitals. Those are just a couple of examples that took away from my enjoyment of the book. I guess this will have to be a book that you need to judge for yourself.

About Kate Horsley

Kate Horsley’s first novel, The Monster’s Wife, was shortlisted for the Scottish First Book of the Year Award. Her poems and short fiction have appeared in a number of magazines and anthologies, including Best British Crime Stories. She credits Crimeculture, a site dedicated to crime fiction and film offering articles, reviews, and interviews with writers.

Find out more about Kate at her website, and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube,Instagram, and Google+.

Tour Stops

Tuesday, August 2nd: A Bookish Way of Life

Wednesday, August 3rd: A Bookworm’s World

Thursday, August 4th: Literary Feline

Monday, August 8th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Tuesday, August 9th: Kahakai Kitchen

Wednesday, August 10th: Luxury Reading

Thursday, August 11th: Bibliotica