THE GIRL I USED TO BE

Que up a married woman who's overcome a secret past. Now a successful businesswoman, she's "taken advantage of" by a shady character who's now sending mysterious messages and demeaning photos. She can't go to the police, nor trust any of her friends to stay mum, because her husband might find out. And if he does, it's for sure he'll immediately stop loving her and take away the young son she loves so much. Instead, she decides to handle everything all by herself - meaning that she must up the ante on her lies until the muck threatens to bury her kneecaps.

Stop me if you've read this one before.

I have - several times. In fact, it's not all that different from the author's first book, Gone Without a Trace. Although both are well written (which, for the record, is why I'm quite comfortable awarding 4 stars), I can't say I was fond of any of the characters in either book. 

Here's how it goes: After moving on from her teenage trauma, Gemma Brogan is married to a stay-at-home husband, has a young son named Rory and owns a real estate firm in England. The real estate industry is slowing, though, and to her growing dismay, Gemma's husband Joe just doesn't seem interested in finding a job to boost their income and allow her to slow down her own work pace. The at-home resentment builds, and then Gemma takes an overnight trip to an industry conference where, by her own admission, she gets thoroughly drunk. She can't recall much of what happened, but she knows it was nothing good when she gets an explicit photo and a few other telling messages. To her credit, she does speak with a policewoman, but the discussion never goes anywhere because, remember, she's terrified that someone might find out.

And that's where I pretty much tuned out. As I emphasized in my review of the author's first book, I've got zero tolerance for whining, paranoid females who, instead of taking charge, keep digging their own holes deeper (and, as my late mother was fond of saying, don't "have the sense God gave a little gosling.") That said, I kept at it, mostly because I'd accepted an advance copy in exchange for an honest review and simply won't go back on my word.

And in the end, honestly, I'm quite sure those who don't share my dislike of wimpy "heroines" will enjoy this book. It hits all the requisite high notes to qualify as a psychological thriller, serves up twists, turns and surprises  - at least for those who haven't traveled this road before - and even comes with what I call a Robert Browning ending ("God's in His Heaven, all's right with the world"). For all of you, then, what's not to like? Go for it!

The Girl I Used to Be by Mary Torjussen (Berkley Publishing Group, April 2018); 368 pp.