I ended up - shockingly - finishing this via Edelweiss. I'll post a review as soon as possible.

I'm DNFing this for two reasons. First of all, the girl hate is insane. The main character can't stop mentioning how stupid every other girl is. But I would usually stick it out - I've read plenty of books with that issue.

Anyway, that's not the issue I'm having with this book. My main issue is I can't read on the computer. I'm physically incapable of doing this. I got 100 pages in and it took me around three hours. I usually read at a rate of around 100 pages an hour or faster. This is not working. I'm sorry.

If a kindle version becomes available, I'd love to read and review it.

Thanks to NetGalley and HMH Books for Young Readers for the opportunity to read and review The Hanging Girl by Eileen Cook! On the front cover of the book is a nailed sign stating “TRUST NO ONE. DECEIVE EVERYONE.” I was immediately interested in the book’s contents! The synopsis is even more intriguing. Skye, a tarot card reader, has absolutely no money and doesn’t want to let her best friend Drew down. The two of them plan on living together in New York after high school but Skye doesn’t know how to make that happen. Because of money problems, Skye becomes part of an elaborate kidnapping scheme and, even though she wants out, Skye keeps getting pulled in even deeper. The mystery has many twists and keeps changing until the end of the book. An impressive mystery worth 5 stars!
I received a complimentary copy of this book for voluntary consideration.

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.

I don't have a ton of thoughts about this one. I enjoyed it enough to read it all in one day. I liked the characters and I definitely didn't see some of the twists coming. That being said, the idea wasn't that unique and I was not a fan of the ending (or the increasing number of f-words showing up in YA novels).

This book had me hooked from the start, I stayed up until 3:30am to finish reading it. No regrets.

This books is suspenseful, intriguing and well written. I found myself constantly asking if I could truly trust our MC Skye due to her past but I couldn't help feel connected to her.

I don't really want to write too much for fear of spoiling any of the twists but great and engaging read.

The Hanging Girl was a quick and fun read. The novel started by getting to know a little bit more about the main character Skye. She was aching to get out of the small town life and she made the decision to help a girl fake her disappearance in order to have enough money to start over. I loved how ambitious and quick witted Skye's character was. She was constantly ahead of the game and was a quick thinker.

Things quickly went south for Skye's plan and she was forced to search out the person who made the kidnapping plans take a dark turn. I loved how the suspense of the novel continued to build and build until the very end. I definitely did not see the ending coming and it was pretty shocking! I didn't particularly like the ending of then novel, but the other 99% was great! I would rehoming this novel to YA readers who like light suspense/thrillers. Thank you to NetGalley and HMH Books for Young Readers for sending me this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Skye is close to her high school graduation. She has a best friend, Drew, who has everything; big house, nice clothes, full refrigerator. Skye does not have these things. Skye lives in a grungy apartment with her mother and works part time at Burger Barn to have enough money to pay the bills and have enough food to eat. She and Drew have always dreamed of moving to New York City, sharing an apartment and having adventures. Drew can afford to have this dream, Skye can not.

Skye makes extra money at school using a deck of Tarot cards to read her classmates' fortunes. Although she feels some guilt for scamming her peers, she needs the money. However, when one of her classmates goes missing, Skye has to use her "gift" to help the police locate her.

When the web of lies becomes too much for Skye to keep up with, her entire future seems to hang in jeopardy. Can she continue to lie to Drew? Can she trust her mother not to interfere with her own "psychic" abilities? Will the police see what's really going on?

The Hanging Girl is a psychological thriller that will appeal to a wide variety of readers. Although Skye is in high school, the content is mild enough for younger students. There isn't any sexual content and the violence is not graphic. I think this story is appropriate for middle to high school students, and most adults!

I enjoyed reading this book, mainly because of its original plot and characters. It's often hard to find an 'original' YA book, hence was pleasantly surprised at finding this one. There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me reading, and the characters were diverse and interesting. That said, the plot sometimes felt a little 'rushed' and I felt it needed fleshing out in parts, hence the lower rating. Would recommend to readers who enjoy YA thrillers and books with plenty of surprises.

It's very hard to review this book without spoiling the whole thing really. I can't even say 'it's like a young adult version of ________' because that's definitely going to give away the first big twist [there are about 3 throughout the whole book]. I will just say that if the summary sounds interesting to you I would definitely recommend you give it a try, it's very fast paced and easy to read and just whenever you think you know what's going on it gets flipped upside down. I am especially impressed with the ending because most authors don't have the guts to portray main characters in a morally gray light so it was definitely a breath of fresh air to me. Check this out if you're looking for a different kind of mystery thriller book that doesn't just follow the standard narrative.

As soon as I started reading The Hanging Girl, I was hooked. Skye Thorn is such a wonderfully morally gray protagonist. The reader is never sure whether or not to trust her as a narrator, particularly as Skye’s secrets are slowly revealed throughout the book, revealing her as a liar and manipulator. However, I couldn’t help but feel empathy toward her as the circumstances surrounding her decisions were revealed. I liked her character development in this book, I felt as if it was nuanced and realistic. Plus that ending was absolute perfection.

The Hanging Girl is full of twists and turns that will keep you engaged, intrigued, and constantly reevaluating what you think you know. I can’t say too much without ruining some amazing plot twists but I loved how the mystery unfolded. Even though I was able to figure out some of the kidnapper’s plan at the beginning, I still enjoyed seeing how everything fell apart and how the game changed (after which I was able to guess almost nothing correctly). Additionally, most of the secondary characters were hiding secrets of their own. It was interesting to see how the repercussions of those secrets played out.

If you’re looking for an entertaining YA mystery thriller that will keep you guessing, definitely pick this one up. I know that I’ll be reading some of Eileen Cook’s other thrillers soon, I’m intrigued to see how they compare to this one.

I don't have much to say about this one. It was OK. I knew pretty much right from the start what some of the twists were going to be. The plot wasn't exactly original. Nor did I particularly care for any of the characters. On top of that, the ending fell a bit flat for me as well. That said, it was a relatively quick read, and I found it engaging enough that I finished it. So that is a checkmark in the plus column for it I guess.

While this story kept me going, I just sort of felt it lacking. It was neither a page turner, nor a DNF. While I didn't necessarily predict the ending, it was just kinda BLAH for me. I would definitely recommend this to a friend who likes a mystery, but this just sort of fell flat for me.

Thanks to HMH Kids for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

When I read the synopsis for THE HANGING GIRL by Eileen Cook I was immediately intrigued. Tarot cards, psychic readings, finding a missing girl, and all behind it is a teenage girl. Who doesn't like supernatural elements mixed in with solving a mystery?

Candi Thorn, or Skye as she's better known, has a love-hate relationship with her eccentric mother. Her mother is a psychic, reads auras, and communicates with the dead - while Skye doesn't possess this skill she still cons the cheerleaders and other students at her school into paying her for fake tarot card readings. She has one goal and one goal only, to leave her small Michigan town and reunite with her best friend in New York. She definitely doesn't have the cash to do so, but when she is presented with an opportunity she can't refuse, things begin to go sideways.

She'll have to kidnap the local judge's daughter, Paige. He is offering up a huge ransom, which will result in her getting $12,000 - she just has to use her psychic abilities to help the police find Paige. Well nothing ever goes according to plan because the judge refuses to pay the random and then Paige is found - dead. Is Skye more involved that she seems to be? What happened to Paige?

Eileen Cook did a great job making Skye feel like a real teenage girl. The relationship with her mother is what gives her a more realistic feel and a dynamic that some us can relate to. The humor in this is such a contrast the incredibly dark and eerie storyline. Keep in mind that this is from the narration of a teenage girl, so it is definitely a more YA supernatural mystery.

Overall, if you like the mystery element with a hint of YA supernatural themes, then you'll love this book! It was a quick and enjoyable read with memorable characters.

I give this 3.5/5 stars!

Oh I do love it when a book is good.

The Hanging Girl by Eileen Cook has been, for me, the surprise triumph of the year. I’ve never read anything by Eileen Cook before and I can admit that I was drawn to the book because of the cover which I found very intriguing. What I wasn’t expecting was to be sucked into this vortex of mystery and thrills which left me desperate to turn the page.

Skye is a con artist. She isn’t a petty criminal but she charges her fellow classmates for tarot readings all the while knowing that she has no psychic abilities. She swindles their money and she doesn’t feel bad about it.

However, Skye’s lying is about to catch up with her when a fellow student goes missing and the police begin to rely on her ‘visions’ to help solve the case. How far will Skye let the lie go?


The Hanging Girl is a thrill ride of a book. You are constantly questioning the things around you. I was constantly on the edge of my seat whilst reading it. It is definitely a book that you can immerse yourself in that has a central theme but also deals with other issues such as social poverty and privilege.

The Hanging Girl is a book worthy of the phrase ‘page turner.’

The Hanging Girl by Eileen Cook is available now.

For more information regarding Eileen Cook (@EileenWriter) please visit www.eileencook.com.

For more information regarding Hot Key Books (@HotKeyBooks) please visit www.hotkeybooks.com.

For more information regarding Bonnier Zaffre (@BonnierZaffre) please visit their Twitter page.

For more information regarding Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group (@HMHco) please visit www.hmhco.com.

Happy Release Day to Eileen Cook on the publication of The Hanging Girl. Marketed for young readers, I think it fit the bill nicely. The cover was the first thing I noticed when this popped up on Netgally, and I can't really put into words why - it's eerie and begs to be picked up and read.

'trust no one. deceive everyone.' - matches the story perfectly!

As you can read from the synopsis above the premise for this story is intriguing, with false tarot cards, a kidnapping prank along with Skye's inside info, but then everything starts to go terribly wrong. As I dug deeper realized there are many layers here and secrets of the past always come to light one way or another.

Once I started reading it didn't take long to be sucked right in, especially getting to know Skye, she is honest in her untruthfulness and one can't help feel sympathy towards her (though at times she is hard to even like), she has a hard life and it appears will do anything to change that and get out of this small town.

There were many twists and turns to the story that kept me guessing and just when I thought I figured things out there would be another flip. The ending I didn't see coming and I love it when an author does that.

This is my first book by Eileen Cook and I am anxious to read more.

Thanks to the publisher (via Netgalley for an advanced copy).

Thank you to HMH Books for Young Readers for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for review! All opinions are my own.

I have such strong feelings about this book. This was one that I started and hadn't intended to finish as quickly as I did but I ended up reading it in about two hours or so. It. Was. Addicting. And I mean that in the best way possible! I was hooked in no time and found myself turning page after page because I was just so invested in the story that I didn't want to put it down until I was done. And then the ending came along.

Plot:
Skye Thorn has been giving tarot card readings for years- they're not real, but people believe what they want to believe. But when a girl goes missing, Skye uses her psychic visions to help the police find her. They're not real, of course, but the insider knowledge that Skye has is very real. It was supposed to be easy- no one was supposed to get hurt and she would get the money she needed to start her new life. But the kidnapping has turned dark, and Skye realizes that the people she's working with are willing to kill to get what they want and she must discover their true identity before it's too late.

This book was absolutely addicting. I'm not joking, once I got started, I could not stop. I loved every twist and turn that this book threw at me. I ate it all up and kept going because it was just so good! The fake psychic aspect was great, the insider knowledge was great, the kidnapping was great, the twists were great, it was all really great. There was so much good in this book that lead me to turning page after page to find out what happened next. It was twisty and exciting and I was so happy that I had found a book that I enjoyed so much.

Then the ending happened.

Why oh why did that ending have to happen? It's been days since I finished the book and I'm still ranting over the ending. Everything up until Skye's graduation was amazing. And then for some reason, things just...fell off. The ending seems to be something that a lot of other people enjoyed and that's totally great, I'm glad you loved it! But me? No. I cannot accept that ending. I won't spoil it, I won't give details, but the ending absolutely destroyed this book for me. If I could just have everything up until the ending, then I'd be completely satisfied. But for some reason, that ending just ruined everything I had read up until then. It's not realistic, it's not believable, it's almost insulting to me as a reader. The build up was fantastic. The end? Not at all. I may be the odd one out here, but I was absolutely not a fan of how this book ended.

Characters:
Unreliable characters are some of my favorite character types. You never know what's going to happen next with them or even if they're telling the reader everything, telling the truth. Skye is an unreliable narrator and she was great. When she was younger, she accidentally created a huge lie that blew up in her face and ever since, people haven't trusted anything she's said. It was actually really sad, and I could understand why she would do that, especially at such a young age. But Skye seems to keep that little lying habit well into her teenage years. She lies about her tarot readings (she's just really good at reading people and noticing the little things about them), she lies about having psychic visions, she lies about the kidnapping, she lies to her mother, and she lies to her best friend. So how can the reader believe anything she says? You can't, and that's what makes this book so much fun to read. You never know what's going to happen next and the twists hit you hard and fast, leaving your jaw on the floor and you saying, "Wait what?!" Skye is great and is probably the best part of reading this entire book because you don't know what she's going to say from page to page. I genuinely liked her character for about 97% of the book. The last 3% of the book, I just...couldn't. I explained that above, but the things her character does in the end just didn't sit well with me, unfortunately. I just couldn't believe anything that happened in the last few pages and it seriously destroyed my whole view on the book and Skye as a character. So I loved her for the first 97%, and I know readers who are fans of unreliable narrators will definitely love her, too.

Paige was also fantastic and another seriously unreliable narrator. She threw so many twists and turns at Skye and the reader and I just couldn't help but love her. I never knew what to expect when it came to Paige and that added such a great aspect of unpredictability and suspense to the book that elevated my love for it. Well, for at least the first 97% of the book, anyway.

Writing:
Eileen Cook has a gift with writing a fantastic mystery/thriller book. I didn't expect to be drawn in so quickly to The Hanging Girl, but it took literally no time at all for me to finish it without realizing how fast I was reading. She created such a fantastic suspenseful feeling with the unreliable narrators and the general creepy feeling that was on every page. I was devouring every word trying to solve the kidnapping mystery as I read through the book and every twist and turn that came at me only added to my overall enjoyment of the story. Her writing is something special and I don't think I'm going to let my feelings on the ending of this book ruin my desire to read more by this author. I love how she builds suspense and throws in twists at perfect points in the story that just make you want to read more. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for anything else Eileen Cook writes because her writing was extremely enjoyable and kept me hooked until the very end!

Please, please, please do not let my aggressive feelings towards the ending deter you from reading this book. I genuinely enjoyed the rest of the book and I feel that I am the odd man out in how I feel about how things wrapped up. The Hanging Girl is sure to be a huge hit for those that are fans of mysteries, thrillers, and unreliable narrators. It's full of twists that will take you by surprise and writing that will keep you reading from start to finish. Don't miss this fantastic thriller that is sure to be a hit, especially during the spooky Fall reading season!

This is the latest book from the author of last summer's hit With Malice and dare I say this one is even better. The plot is masterfully crafted and the writing perfectly paced.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book for an honest review. As always all opinions are my own.

The story follows eighteen-year-old Skye, a fake psychic who has partnered with the police to help find a missing girl. Skye's 'readings' have never been real, but this time she has the inside scoop - she helped execute the kidnapping, with the promise of half the ransom. However, what was supposed to be an easy trip to the bank is becoming more problematic. The kidnappers want more than Skye originally bargained for and as the plan falls apart, the consequences might just prove deadly.

I really have to hand it to Cook. This book was really well done. I read her previous novel as an e-ARC as well and while I enjoyed it, I felt like it was missing something. She has come a very long way with her latest release.

I loved the slow burn of this thriller. Typically, I am a fan of a faster pace, but Cook worked it so well I have to applaud her. You start out the book knowing all the facts - or at least almost all the facts. But then there is a twist that seems huge at the time but later just becomes part of the story. I was reading it and I remember thinking "Ok, what is going to happen next? Where is the real twist, because I know too much about the story for this to be it." And I was right. Cook did a phenomenal job of throwing new information at the reader - sometimes it was relevant, other times not so much but you never really knew until the end of the book. As the story unraveled and new facts came out, I kept thinking that this was the big reveal. But then there was another one. And again, and again. But it never felt predictable or jarring, I felt like each new development moved the story forward until the very end with the big reveal.

I also think it's funny in both of Cook's recent novels, the justice system seems to fail, one way or another. There are often little consequences for anyone who does anything bad. I'm not sure if that is intentional to help make a cleaner, perhaps more sinister ending or if that was coincidental but it was something I noticed about both her latest books.

This book comes out in October (I've technically read and reviewed it in July) and I think it is a perfect Halloween/creepy read. You never know who to trust and I ended up reading it at night on my iPad and in the dark which didn't help matters. I think it's one of those ones that sneak up on you - you don't really get the full gravity of the creepiness until after you've finished it and let it digest for a bit.

I think what I loved about this book was that it was so unique and unpredictable. I couldn't pin it down and guess what was going to happen next, I just had to roll with the punches. The premise itself and how it all played out was very original and intriguing, I've never read anything quite like it before.

Overall, a great new book from an already great author - highly recommend, especially as a creepy Halloween read!

I don’t want to summarize this book. You just gotta throw yourself in.

I really really really liked this story. It has no morals, the characters all have major flaws… I loved them all a lot (well, almost).
I read this very fast and had trouble putting it down every time I had to.
I have no idea what more to say since I don’t want to say too much, so just read it and we’ll compare notes!

This was an interesting read but didn't really blow me away. Cook's writing style is strong, but the plot itself didn't feel particularly original. It felt like a lot of the Point Horror books I read as a teenager. While it was engaging and fast-paced, the characters felt a little flat, and because of the nature of the narrative, I found it got a little too predictable after a while. It's a great fun read, but not a book that will stay with me.

Sometimes I wonder if I am underestimating young adult fiction. The Hanging Girl is another example of a book that is able to both remain true to the feel of a young adult book while transcending the simplified stereotype of the genre. Skye may or may not have psychic abilities. Skye definitely had something to do with Paige's disappearance. Beyond that, Ms. Cook has a few surprises for her reader that add complex and interesting aspects to the story. While I really liked the Skye character in all her imperfections and teen angst, I was disappointed with her at the end. Thankfully it did not ruin what was an otherwise well crafted story.