The review for this book will come live on the 22nd August. I will then post below the links to the blog review, Goodreads review and Amazon review.

I started reading The Other Girl with little expectation for it. I had read quite some good reviews, but I was not ready for how gripping and impossible to put down this book was. I had just finished another book in the middle of the afternoon when I decided to pick The Other Girl up and just read a little bit… and I was done with it a few hours later.

It tells the story of Miranda, a cop who suffered a trauma when she was a teenager and never saw the perpetrator of it pay. She was kidnapped and would have been raped if she hadn’t luckily escaped that night. But she was not the only one… there was also another girl, who she could never help and it still haunts Miranda 14 years later. Now, as a gory murder takes place, she must face her past if she wants to uncover the killer.

The writing style is the usual for a thriller: simple, direct, unemotional. It tells the facts as they are with no flourishing or sugar coating it, but still I found it deeply emotional. The themes of the book are quite heavy: kidnapping, roofies, rape, murder. The descriptions can get gory, but it never felt that it was for pure effect, but rather part of the story. I liked Miranda, although I found her a bit slow in her thought process and a little too trusting – but aren’t all thriller protagonists like that? So that didn’t bother me at all. It was easy to relate to her, and I loved seeing her grow and accept that victims of violence can cause pain to those they love and try to protect, that people can make awful mistakes but can also find forgiveness. It’s a story of pain and revenge but there is hope at its core.

I loved it.

This book is so fast paced, so unapologetic to touch on sensitive topics while also treating them with respect and a no-bullshit approach. I also really loved that, for a change, the dead victim isn’t a pretty and young woman. I hadn’t read the synopsis in a while when I started reading the book, so when the first chapter showed Miranda being quite reckless with her safety, I actually expected her to be the body on chapter 2.

The Other Girl is so perfect for travelling, you won’t even feel time pass you by. I recommend this book highly.

The Other Girl is my first Erica Spindler's novel and I can see why people enjoy her books.

I liked Miranda "Randi" Rader, the main character. She's a detective in the Lousiana PD. She lives in Harmony but she came from the town of Jasper. She used to run with the wrong people and after getting caught with pot, she was sent away. She learned from her mistakes and she reinvented herself. She worked hard to become a police officer and during her time in the force, she has become someone to look up to.

At the beginning of the novel, Miranda is assigned a new case. Her boss calls her to come to the scene of a gruesome crime. A well-liked professor has been found murdered and mutilated. Her partner, Jake Billings, joins her. Miranda is rattled when while searching the victim's home, she finds a newspaper clipping from the incident that changed her life fifteen years ago. Subsequently, more clues point to a connection between Miranda and what happened during that terrible night many moons ago. At that time, no one believed her but now, someone wants the truth to come out. Shortly, Miranda is looking great as the perpetrator and she realizes she can't trust anyone. Not even her partner.

I liked the prose of The Other Girl. It kept me interested in the plot despite Miranda making multiple mistakes during her search for the truth. She broke protocol repeatedly. I liked Jake too but he ran hot and cold. One minute he backed up Miranda, the next one, he was dooming her.

In regards to the twist. I expected it. It was easy to guess. What wasn't clear was the motivation. That, I liked.

Cliffhanger: No

3.5/5 Fangs

In a time like 2017, this book hits very hard. We have a main character, abducted as a young teenager, marked for rape before she is able to escape. We follow her through adulthood, and the author does a wonderful job at showing us that our past doesn't ever leave us. We are marked from that point forward. Money and power go hand in hand in our society, and justice usually plays on the side of the rich. It's infuriating, but this book is so powerful--it shows that good can conquer evil. It gives hope to anyone put in this circumstance. The way the author connects the characters through the 14 year time span is twisted and makes you turn the page faster and faster until you get to the end.

I postponed reading The Other Girl a couple of times. An unexpected review request with a tight deadline, a family gathering. And weirdly I felt I would not find what I was looking for in this story. Sometimes you just get a feeling from a book and you can't explain it.

I should know better than randomly deciding on a book's fate! In my defense, I must admit the cover did nothing to make me change my mind. I found the colorful title too contrasting with the picture, and I usually don't like faces appearing. But when I browsed my Kindle for a new read, I heard the title call me.

The Other Girl. So many meanings behind this title. I chose not to read the synopsis again before opening the file. I had a hundred ideas of what to expect, and I am happy to say the book crushed them all and offered me an amazing story that surprised me on every level!

Miranda is a trusted, strong, and integrated member of the police force in Harmony. But long ago, in another town, things were much more complicated and the young girl she was found herself on the wrong side of the interrogation table. But with an iron-will and lots of work, she managed to find her way back to the right side of the road. Miranda is a character I came to admire very early on. Her history spurred her to cut all ties and become someone new. I know that feeling. But I also know it can come bite you in the bottom. Because Miranda was never a bad girl. Just an innocent teenager experimenting and trying to live. But as an adult, she carries a burden that her muscular shoulders are tired to drag along.

When her past came back to haunt her, I was mesmerized. The perfectly timed and weaved plot leaves nothing to chance and Miranda's life is shattered by everything she thought she had left behind. How many good actions, how much time does it take for a mistake, for a night when all went wrong, to find peace? Apparently, never. Despite her best efforts and intentions, all that she thought she had created suddenly doesn't feel tangible, doesn't seem real, and she is forced to find strength at the very core of herself to put an end to a story that should have been buried a lifetime ago.

Around the 50% mark, my mind had a crazy idea. And you know what? It turns out I was right!! But knowing, or rather, having a gut feeling about who was behind the case never hampered my enjoyment of the story. The well-balanced writing style combined with a solid need to care for Miranda made sure I finished The Other Girl in one sitting! I was always on the fence about who to trust and what had happened a dark night fourteen years ago. Finding a story that can ratchet up tension while playing on the past/present narration is my favorite thing, and believe me, this one masterfully toys with you!

I truthfully cannot say what I liked the most: the characters or the investigation. My only niggle was the slight touch of romance thrown in, which I understood the need of but felt was not entirely necessary. But that's just the non-romantic me talking!

The Other Girl is an unputdownable story delivering on an intricate and skillfully narrated plot.

Erica Spindler has done it again with another gripping thriller that begs to be read in one sitting!

It all starts when Detective Miranda Rader and her partner Jake Billings are called to the scene of a murder in Harmony, a small college town in Louisiana. The victim is a college professor and son of the College President. His murder was brutal and clearly a crime of passion. A newspaper clipping found at the scene links to an event in Miranda's own past, when she was a troubled 15 year old who ended up serving 6 months in juvenile detention before turning her life around. Why would the murdered man have that news clipping and what does it mean for Miranda? So begins a race against time for Miranda to clear her name, both in the past and the present. Ms Spindler spins a good tale, seamlessly flashing back to the events in Miranda's past and the present day resulting in a fast paced, entertaining read.

It is a problem when the title gives info away, and I can figure out who-dunnit in the first twenty minutes...phooey. It is a decent page turner, with a police investigation into the killing of the university president's son, combined with the sketchy past of the lead investigator. However, it is so full of stereotypes and one-dimensional characters, as well as fairly pedestrian writing, that I found it to be a waste of a few good hours. I am sure this book has an audience; it is just not me.

I was sold the moment I read the blurb. It just seemed like my type of story: secrets in every page, a mysterious murder connected to the main character's past... And a kick-ass female detective! I wasn't wrong: The Other Girl was so much fun to read. I actually finished it all in a sitting, as it was one of those compulsive novels we all love to read.

The best thing about this book was that the plot was super engaging and addictive. I was so intrigued by what had exactly happened years ago that the pages seemed to fly by. I started the book and the next thing I know I'm already at 50%. Talk about gripping stories! The present case was interesting as well because Miranda began to feel someone was planting evidence against her and then all her colleagues started to suspect her, including Jake, her partner and friend (and possibly something more?).

There were some flasback scenes, but not too many, so if you aren't a fan of those, I don't think it'll bother you that much. As for me, I really like stories about women who have "escaped" from an abductor and this time I especially enjoyed the psychology aspect, the way no one believed Randi and thought she was just a no-good teenager from the wrong side of the tracks. She was really affected by that night and wanted to prove herself worthy of trust and respect. I admired her for that.

Still, I don't know about you, but I found the "who" to be so incredibly easy to guess that I couldn't believe the story was actually going to go there. In addition, the main character was supposed to be super smart but it took her like 70% of the story to realize something that I believe we all knew from the moment we discovered what this story was about. However, don't let that prevent you from reading The Other Girl, because when it comes to the story, I asolutely loved the way things turned out to be and the final explanation as to what had happened that summer night many years ago.

Looking forward to reading the next one by Erica Spindler!

Officer Miranda Rader of the Harmony, Louisiana PD is known for her honesty, integrity, and steady hand in a crisis—but that wasn’t always so. Miranda comes from the town of Jasper, a place about the size of a good spit on a hot day, and her side of the tracks was the wrong one. She’s worked hard to earn the respect of her coworkers and the community.

When Miranda and her partner are called to investigate the murder of one of the town’s most beloved college professors, they’re unprepared for the brutality of the scene. This murder is unlike any they’ve ever investigated, and just when Miranda thinks she’s seen the worst of it, she finds a piece of evidence that chills her to the core: a faded newspaper clipping about that terrible night fifteen years ago. The night she’d buried, along with her past and the girl she’d been back then. Until now that grave had stayed sealed…except for those times, in the deepest part of the night, when the nightmares came: of a crime no one believed happened and the screams of the girl they believed didn’t exist.

Then another man turns up dead, this one a retired cop. Not just any cop—the one who took her statement that night. Two murders, two very different men, two killings that on the surface had nothing in common—except Miranda.

My Thoughts: From the opening pages of The Other Girl, the reader is wrapped up in a tantalizing tale that will reveal itself in all its complexities as it sweeps back and forth in time. From 2002, when Miranda Rader was a girl called Randi, a girl desperately needing help, but who was not believed because of her history, we find out about a traumatic experience. One that changes her life.

In the present, she has been a good cop with integrity. But suddenly everything is changing, and the Chief who had believed in her is suddenly distrustful…and doing inexplicable things. Is he on the take? Who is he protecting? Even her partner Jake is seemingly there for her…and then not. Who can she trust?

I couldn’t stop rapidly turning pages, trying to sort through the host of possible perpetrators and all the red herrings, trying to find out who might be setting up Miranda as the perp. Someone wise said to her: “Why is this happening? And who is doing it?” Once she figured that out, she would have the answer. And she did, by going back to the beginning of it all. Surprising twists soon led down just the right pathways. 5 stars.

***My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley.

Miranda Rader is a detective whose past has come to haunt her in this fast=paced, well-written novel of suspense. It was much better than I had hoped for and was a cut above some of the recent "female suspense" novels that are currently so popular. There was enough character development for a sequel but also enough resolution to be a standalone as well.

The other girl is a brilliantly written mystery crime novel that will leave you guessing until the end!

I am a big fan of Erica's work and this is no exception. Miranda (Randi) Raider is an inspector called to investigate the the murder of a local college professor, a man with high social standing in the community. She and her partner Jake investigate, but when it's found Miranda has a connection to the case from fourteen years prior and has broken rules she is pulled from the case completely. After being questioned about her involvement in the crime, Randi starts to uncover things about her past that affects her present. Those she considered allies turn into enemies and her enemies she makes peace with. The end brings a saddening twist but forces past crimes to be acknowledged.

I love the characterisation development in this novel of a young girl seemingly from a bad family who brushes with the law ,to have an event tip her life upsidedown and change her outlook to become a better person. She still has faults however that show themselves in the book and make you like her even more. The "baddie" also isnt your usually baddy. You still feel for them even though they have killed others. The description of the scenery in the novel is vivid enough for you feel as though you're experiencing it for yourself (especially when reading on the odd day that it is warm in Britain!)

This book is fast paced and brilliantly written, with twists and turns that leave you guessing until the end, I love Randi as a character and would love to see her and Jake again in the future.

3.5 stars
I've not read Erica Spindler before, but she's published quite a few other mysteries. She knows her stuff. This is a fast paced mystery and starts with an interesting premise. The detective on a small town Louisiana police force is a bad girl turned good. A wild child, she turned around after she was abducted in her mid teens. Now, she's investigating a murder. And the murder victim just happens to have a news clipping about her from all those years ago.

Miranda is a realistic, well developed heroine. The book moves along at a fast pace. Not the most unique story ever written and you can see where the plot is going more than once. But it's definitely entertaining. As the book moves on, the coincidences start to pile up, which devalues the book and cost it a star off my rating.

My thanks to netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance copy of this book.

The Other Girl had me hooked from the first page, Mrs. Spindler’s style is amazing. While the plot isn't the most original one I've stumbled onto, it was still well done, and the pacing was great. What this book does best, however, is conveying the feeling of suspense, it does so in a brilliant manner that grabs you and doesn’t let go till the end. I really enjoyed the characters, there were quite a few, but each one had a purpose and they we’re easy to differentiate, so masterfully-written. I haven’t read any Erica Spindler novels before this one, but I’m sure I’m going to read some in the future.

I read this in two sittings (erm, walks on treadmill). Fast-paced narrative of a detective investigating a present-day crime that dredges up a horrible incident from her past.

It had been a while since I’d read an Erica Spindler novel when I picked up The Other Girl, and I had forgotten that she writes such gripping and entertaining stories! Spindler writes in such a way that her pacing just flows so fluidly that you don’t even realize that half the book is over before you finally look down to see where you are in the book! This was one of those mystery/thriller books that once I picked up that I couldn’t put down until I had read it from cover to cover, which is my favorite kind!

The novel takes place in the small town of Hammond, Louisiana where the main character, Police Detective Miranda Rader is called one night to investigate one of the most gruesome murders she has ever encountered as a police officer. The murder of Richard Stark, the very well-respected English professor from the local college, is not only bloody and horrific but appears to be either a ritualistic or revenge killing. To make matters even more problematic for Miranda and her partner, Jake Billings their victim just happens to be the son of the rich and highly influential local college president, so they are under strict orders by their boss Chief Buddy Cadwell (and friend to Ian Stark) to find the killer as quietly, quickly, and without bringing an iota of scandal to the college.

However, what shocks and haunts Miranda most at the scene of Stark’s murder is not his gruesomely murdered body but what she finds in his belongings—a newspaper clipping about her when she was only fifteen and a tragic crime she reported. A crime no one believed happened because she was from the wrong side of the tracks and already had the reputation for drinking, smoking pot, and lying to get herself out of trouble. It’s been 14 years since she reported this atrocious crime that she claimed happened not only to her but another, so she can’t understand why Stark would have the clipping. Does she know him and not recognize him? Did he know her and have information about that night? Was Stark researching her allegations for the book he was writing? None of it makes any sense to Miranda, but not only does it dredge back all the old memories of that night 14 years ago that she’s never really forgotten but tries to forget, it makes her even more determined to find out who killed Stark and why.

Suddenly though, the investigation goes very badly for Miranda since her fingerprints are found at Stark’s murder scene and another victim is then found dead that she had ties to from that night when she was 15 years old. All eyes begin to look at Miranda as the murderer for both victims just as she begins to figure out exactly what is going on. However, she attempts to prove her suspicions and clear her name even though she must break police procedure and violate the law while doing so. This is one woman who after a decade of staying out of trouble and being known as an upstanding detective suddenly can’t stay out of trouble! But I would have done the same thing in her shoes if I were being framed for two murders and no one believed my side of the story about a crime— again!

The novel seamlessly flows from the events in the present to the events when Miranda was fifteen, so the reader can understand what exactly happened to Miranda that fateful night but can also understand how that night really changed her into the person she is today who firmly believes in truth, justice, and protecting the innocent. There are some great—and not so great—characters in the book, and I think readers will really enjoy getting to know them, especially Miranda, Jake, and Summer. I would really love to see the book made into a series, and I think that would be feasible with the way it ended. There is some romance too, which is always nice thrown into a twisty suspense novel! Some readers will likely figure out the why behind the two murders quickly if not the who, which is one reason I only gave the book 4 stars. All in all, I definitely recommend All the Other Girls if you love your suspense fast paced, twisted, and full of drama. I can’t wait to read more of Spindler’s books!

**Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Erica Spindler for an ARC copy of The Other Girls in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. **

Fifteen years ago Randi got into a truck with her brother’s friend and immediately regretted it when he made a pass at her. Thinking quick Randi got out of the situation only to find herself in one that was completely worse when a young couple offered her a ride. Randi found herself waking to be tied up with the other girl also being held captive. Randi escaped and promised to bring help but then the law enforcement refused to believe anyone else was in danger since Randi was known as a wild child and always coming up with a story.

Now Randi is known as Officer Miranda Rader of the Harmony, Louisiana police and has moved on from that horrible night fifteen years before but has never forgotten. When called into a new crime scene Miranda finds herself investigating the brutal murder of one of the town’s most beloved college professors. When Miranda’s prints turn up at the crime scene however she finds herself back at that place from the past when no one would believe her and needs to do whatever she can to find out what is going on and clear her name.

The Other Girl by Erica Spindler is a thriller read with a bit of romance also mixed into it. The book tells the story in the present while giving flashes back here and there into the past in order to weave a story for the reader building up the connection between events. There were plenty of twists and turns along the way to make the story completely engaging and keep the pages turning.

While some things in the story may come as a bit obvious as events unfold for the reader there are also some that kept me guessing as everything was eventually uncovered. The characters and story in here kept me entertained throughout as the story unfolded and always kept me wondering just what would come next. I’d definitely look for any other reads from this author after finishing this one and would recommend checking this one out.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

A simple tale really well told. My first Erica Spindler novel and boy did I enjoy it.

Detective Miranda Rader is our central character. Set in Louisiana, Miranda, a veteran of the force for over 10 years, is sent, along with her partner Jake Billings to investigate the brutal murder of a college professor. Savagely attacked and brutally murdered, the victim turns out to be the son of the president of the college and as Miranda investigates further, the ugly truth starts to unveil itself as it takes her back to her wilder days when she was a 15 year old wild child, a serial liar and trouble maker, one who was regularly in trouble. The clues lead back to a traumatic event that happened in her life then but as she delves deeeper the truth turns out to be a lot dirtier than she could have ever imagined.

So I flew through this book(always a good sign for a pedestrian reader like me). The main character is very engaging as we get two different times in her life - the wild child teenager and the responsible reliable adult. As the two times in her life are closely connected in the story we gets lots of flashbacks but they fit into the overall story seemlessly and don't cause any confusion or break the continuity of the storytelling. Speaking of, the storytelling itself here is great. It's a fairly straight forward self contained story, with little or no tangents to get in the way. It's a very leanly told story and all the better for it. The characters are all nicely fleshed out where needed and there's plenty of twists and turns along the way, although it wasn't the most difficult of plots to figure out.
Not that that was the point anyway. I've no problem sort of knowing what will most likely happen if the story is still told well and has me, and this one had me hook line and sinker. It was still interesting to see how it played out at the end.

Spindlers greatest strength it seems, based on this book anyway, is to engage the reader with a really well told story, grab them from the start and not let them go until the final page. That's a great talent to have. This may not have been the best book I've read this year(it's still a really good book)buts it's the most fun I've had reading a book in a long time.

I really really liked this one. Everything a book should be for me. Gave me great pleasure and I was totally engrossed in the world of Miranda and small town Louisiana. I feel a little sad now that I'm finished such was my enjoyment.

4.5 stars from me. Get yourself a copy if you can. I dont think you'll regret it.

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martins Press and Erica Spindler for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read everything that Erica Spindler writes and this one did not disappoint! It was SO good! I enjoyed every single minute. I would really like to read another story about Miranda Rader.

Thanks to St. Martin Press, NetGalley and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I've read by Erica Spindler. I enjoyed this book. The story was well developed. It had me at the edge of my seat trying to figure out who was the murderer. I couldn't put this book down. Just had to find out! Great book. Need to pick up her other books.

Miranda "Randi" grew up as "Trailer Trash" in most people's eyes. One night after getting away from her brother's so called friend Randi was picked up by a guy and girl and taken someplace to party. The next thing she knows she is tied up with no memory of what happened. Then she realizes the other girl in the car is tied up as well.
Fast forward to Miranda being an adult and police officer. She struggled to make something of herself and to lose the "trailer Trash" stigma.
Miranda and her partner are called to a gruesome murder scene and realize its not just any murder victim, but it's the son of the most prominent family in town. As Miranda and her partner start to investigate the murder things unfold to reveal the people Miranda thought she could trust with her life may not be what they have seemed all along.
I LOVE ERICA SPINDLER! She keeps you on the edge of your seat every time!

I absolutely loved this book - some twists and turns and a great thriller. I won't give away too much of the plot but i'm really hoping that there are some more "Miranda" books in the future!