I squeezed The Other Girl in between my Traveling Sister group reads. It’s a nice short fast-paced read that is easy to fit in if you are short on time.

The story started off with a bang for me and shocked me with a whoa moment that left me gasping right away with the somewhat disturbing scene. Credit to Erica Spindler for that whoa moment. After catching my breath and continuing on with reading I was hooked and intrigued to find out more about our main character Miranda and the other girl.

There is a little romance going on here with this one and normally this non-romantic likes to stay away from that as the eye-rolling begins. This one really surprised me and I enjoyed the relationship in this story. I thought it really added some tension and suspense to the characters and their storyline.

Erica Spindler does a good job with the character development here with Miranda. I really enjoyed following along to see how that developed and how Miranda’s past fit into the present. I did find some parts a bit predictable and some twists surprising.

The Other Girl was an entertaining, suspenseful and an enjoyable read with a satisfying ending. I highly recommend for readers looking for a fast-paced intriguing read with a little romance on the side.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Erica Spindler for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review!!

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Officer Miranda Rader is known for her dedication, hard work, honesty, and integrity—she's the steadfast leader in a crisis. But Miranda wasn't always that way. She grew up as a wild small-town girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Working hard to earn the respect of her position as a police officer with the Hammond PD, Miranda has left 'Randi' in the past.

A respected and admired college professor, Richard Stark, has been brutally murdered. Stark's father happens to be the president of the college and he is putting tremendous pressure on the force to find out who killed his son. Miranda is called for duty to investigate the murder and what looks like to be a crime of passion however something isn't sitting right with Miranda. She is shocked not only at the horrific nature of the crime, but to find a newspaper clipping from her past also at the scene.

Then a retired police officer turns up dead—this officer is Clint Wheeler, the policeman that took her statement that terrible night from the newspaper article. On the surface, these murders appear unrelated, but they have one commonality, Miranda.

Miranda becomes further involved when her fingerprints are found at the scene from the first murder. Everything she has worked so hard for is in jeopardy as her character is questioned. Is she being set up? Is this related to what happened to her all those years ago? Relationships are tested, truths become lies, and evidence tainted. Will Miranda have to reinvent herself again, this time proving once and for all that she is innocent?

The story starts off strong, there is a nice hook, but it deflates quickly. There were too many conveniences in the plot and this could have been avoided if the back story or side plots were fleshed out. For a cop, Miranda is a little daft—she misses a lot of clues that are obvious to the reader. I didn't find it overly psychological in nature, and the story was lacking originally and a good twist. That being said, this was still an enjoyable read and I would definitely pick up this author again.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4!  This was my very first time reading an ERICA SPINDLER novel and I must say that I quite enjoyed it!  I will definitely be reading more of her books in the future!

THE OTHER GIRL by ERICA SPINDLER was an entertaining, suspenseful, and an engaging whodunit mystery thriller novel that was slightly predictable but clipped along quickly and held my interest right to the satisfying ending.  

ERICA SPINDLER delivers an extremely fast-paced and quick read here with well-developed characters that is told between the present and with flashbacks of events from Miranda’s past when she was 15 years old.  I really enjoyed the main character Miranda and as the story unfolds I could really feel her frustration and angst as her world was unraveling.

The story is filled with secrets, lies, and corruption that has a few good twists that even has a little bit of romantic suspense that added another layer to this story for me. I also love it when a story has an epilogue. 

In addition to reading this book, I purchased myself a copy of the audiobook and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed TAVIA GILBERT’S performance and thought she delivered the perfect voice for all the characters.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Erica Spindler for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review!!

When she was fifteen, Randi Rader was kidnapped by a stranger who picked her up hitchhiking – she escaped before too much damage was done, but she was forced to leave another girl behind with the kidnapper. When she went to the police for help, however, no one believed her story. Randi had a troubled family life and several run-ins with the law, and she still carries the guilt that because of her past, she will never know what happened to the other girl that night.

Now an adult, Officer Miranda Rader works for the police department in a neighbouring town in Louisiana. Despite her negative experience with the police in the past, Miranda has vowed to use her sense of honesty and integrity to protect innocent victims like she once was. Her current chief of police was the only officer that believed her that night, and she trusts him completely. So when he calls her to a crime scene in the middle of the night, Miranda follows unquestioningly.

The crime scene turns out to be the ritualistic murder of a well-liked local college professor with strong family ties to the community. Because of the way he was found, Miranda immediately realizes that the killer was intimate with the victim. She searches the house for clues, but doesn’t find anything leading to the killer – instead, she finds a newspaper clipping about her own childhood kidnapping. When Miranda’s fingerprints are later found at the scene, she realizes that someone is trying to frame her for the murder – but she has no idea how she’s connected to the victim.

Miranda soon becomes the prime suspect of another murder – the death of the police chief who failed to believe her kidnapping story on that night. Her current chief and friend is forced to suspend her from duty, although his motives are becoming unclear – is he protecting Miranda, or himself? Meanwhile, Miranda begins a romantic relationship with her partner Jake, who seems to support her innocence, although there is no one she can completely trust. Even her best friend becomes a suspect, and Miranda must question the motivations of everyone around her.

This is a thriller, filled with twisty suspense and edgy excitement. While the characters could have more depth, they are surprising in many ways and often slip out of their stereotypical roles. It wasn’t difficult to guess what was coming at the end, but it was still a completely entertaining read. Miranda is able to trust her own instincts in order to survive the final showdown with the killer, and with her own past. While this is a typical thriller in many ways, the interesting characters and their individual choices made this a satisfying summer read.

I received this book from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I've been on a mystery/thriller binge but I thought this book was better than the rest. I like the author's style and enjoyed reading between the past and the present. The short chapters kept me reading later and later into the night - just one more! Highly recommend as a great suspense/mystery book and it's a fairly quick and fast paced book.

A great suspenseful read. This mixture of crime, mystery and romance is the trademark of Erica Spindler. The Other Girl plot line grabbed my interest from the start and held it throughout. Now a detective, Miranda is investigating a murder, but there are things from her past incriminate to her in this murder investigation. As the story unfolds the suspense continues.

I really enjoyed this book and Detective Miranda Rader's character. I'm actually hoping this may be a series as I would like to read more of Miranda.

As a 15 year old girl with no stable family life, "Randi" is known to get into trouble and be a bad girl. Something happens to her then that involves another girl. Randi escapes and leaves the other girl behind promising to get help, however no one believes her including her own mom and brother. The story goes back and forth between the past 15 years prior and the present. What happened to the other girl? Is she dead, alive? The guilt of leaving her behind consumes Miranda. I must say I could have done without the in depth sex scenes. I kind of hate when an author who is writing a thriller decides to throw all of the sex into the mix. If I wanted to read that, I would read 50 shades kind of books. I still really enjoyed the story behind this book though and thought it was well done. I have looked up this author's other books and put them on my to be read list. I would like to thank the author, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity of an advanced copy of this book! I will be looking for more from this author.

Fourteen years ago, Miranda was a troublemaker, and she'd lied so much to the local police that no one believes her after she escapes a man abducting and raping a woman -- only Miranda got away. Still, the Chief of police goes to the scene with her, believes her enough to do that. It changed Miranda's life, and lead to her to join the force and work for that same Chief.

His belief in her now seems to waiver, as two separate cases come up that have threads tying to that same horrible night 14 years ago. What is going on? Why is all of this coming back at this point? Then, evidence puts her at the scene where she definitely was not present..Can she take her lawyer's advice and figure out why this is happening to her?

When Randi was a rebellious fifteen year old, she one night hitched a ride with a guy and another girl. It turned out to be the worst decision she ever made even though Randi managed to escape the guy's clutches before any physical harm was done. But instead of the police taking her story seriously, they sent her to juvie for some weed found in her pocket.

Cut to cop Miranda fourteen years later at a murder scene, and it's a gory one. An old newspaper clipping is found there, and Miranda starts to flash back to that night years earlier when she was known as Randi. The clipping and other strange things found at the scene cause her to wonder what ever happened to that guy and other girl all those years ago, and is Miranda strong enough to find out?

This one had me captivated all the way through. It's a very interesting, well thought out story with not too many characters to clutter it up. Miranda is flawed (and somewhat messed up), but not as much as most everyone else. I did predict who the murderer was, but not until right before the book revealed it. I am very grateful for being offered a pre-publication ebook, compliments of the publisher through NetGalley. This is one I'll gladly recommend.

Miranda Rader knows a revenge-killing when she sees one. Yet her colleagues and higher-ups in the police force claim she's not objective, and that she's leading witnesses. These men don't want to believe that a murder victim may have been sexually and psychologically abusive while he was alive.

The deceased's father protects his son's reputation in a way that brings to mind the Brock Turner case - wherein if a male commits sexual violence, his future shouldn't be "ruined" because of "ten minutes of action". Way to perpetuate rape culture, you terrible parent.

THE OTHER GIRL rings true on so many levels: Women not being believed. Men more interested in defending a man's reputation than supporting his victims. The gaslighting. And women being punished - via employment loss and/or psychological anguish - because they know the truth and speak of it.

It reminds me so much of those conservatives on Twitter shouting about "due process", because they believe false accusations of rape are more damaging than actually being raped. "Due process" gives the accused the benefit of the doubt, instead of the accuser. This cruel environment supports rapists (or suspected rapists) instead of the raped. They'd rather perps go unpunished than have one false accusation lead to a conviction.

And it's impossible to ignore the racism that gets innocent black people killed by police or imprisoned, while white rapists walk free to commit their crimes again. (Though race isn't discussed in the novel, because I think all the characters are white.)

In fewer than 300 pages, Erica Spindler has crafted a timeless thriller packed with hurtful truths. Sometimes no one will believe or help you. But there's also hope that maybe there'll be a person like Miranda Rader who won't give up on you, and will keep fighting for justice.

P.S. Two unrelated characters named Cathy and Catherine confused me. One of them should've had a different name.

The Other Girl by Erica Spindler
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 4/5 stars
My Review:

Fifteen years is a very long time to spend outrunning your past, but Miranda Rader has been doing so and that run has been fueled by more than a little anger and sheer determination. That night, that one single night fifteen years ago scared Miranda straight and since then she has used her iron will power to forge a life beyond what everyone in her small town thought she would be.

As a kid, Miranda was willful and stubborn and living in an environment that didn’t exactly enforce the rules. She was used to being in trouble and if it weren’t for the kidnapping, she likely would have ended up in jail or worse. Instead, she and another poor unfortunate girl were taken and assaulted by a psychopath who enjoyed the mental torture as much as the physical. Though Miranda escaped before the truly awful could happen to her, she wasn’t able to convince anyone, the police included of her story which meant, the other girl was left in the hands of a sick man. Turns out, when you’ve been proven a liar in the past and been in loads of trouble, people are less apt to believe you.

Over the past fifteen years, Miranda has often wondered about and felt tremendously guilty over the girl she left behind all those years ago. In her own way, Miranda has spent the past fifteen years working to right that wrong. As a cop, she helps those in need and brings to justice, those who have wronged others. She is dedicated to her job, an asset to her department, and loyal to a fault. That is, until she’s called to the scene of a vicious and clearly personal murder that shakes the foundation of Miranda’s carefully constructed world and causes her doubt everything and everyone around her.

From the moment she’s brought into the murder of the beloved professor, Miranda knows there is more to the story than anyone is letting on. Each new clue, each new bit of evidence, and each new statement convinces Miranda of a deeper plot that has something (perhaps everything) to do with that fateful night so many years ago. On the surface, the two events couldn’t possibly be related, but Miranda is very good at her job and she isn’t willing to let justice slide no matter who may be brought down in the pursuit. All Miranda can hope for it to find the big bads before her own career and life are taken away from her.

The Bottom Line: The Other Girl was my first Erica Spindler read and I’m sure glad I started here. Miranda is a top-notch character with a drive that can only be described as relentless. As her awful past comes crashing into her present and future, Miranda must fight to preserve what she’s built, even in the face of betrayal. Just like that night fifteen years ago, Miranda’s life is turned upside down and inside out in an instant and she must use every resource and every ounce of her strength and intelligence to solve not one, but two horrific crimes. In truth, I liked all the betrayal and mistrust in this read as it made Miranda even more resilient and determined to right a lot of wrongs. There are so many twists and turns in this reads that I was engaged throughout. The reveal of the big bad(s) didn’t come as a great shock, but it is a very satisfying thing to see how everyone, good and bad alike, get exactly what they deserve in the end. In all, a fine mystery for those who enjoy such things 😊

This was my first Erica Spindler book and I enjoyed it a lot. Interesting characters, story, kept me wanting to know more about the characters and what was going to happen next. The author's writing style very addictive and engaging. Another mystery-thriller I enjoyed a lot and I totally recommend it.

Another great Spindler book. I felt the story started strong and continued to develop and keep me guessing. I felt that the murder plot wasn't a run of the mill one. Mirandas character was complex and smart. Overall, this was a strong book. I look forward to reading more from this author.

At fifteen, Miranda “Randi” Rader was on a bad path, drinking, smoking, and shoplifting. One night she is kidnapped together with another girl and she manages to escape. She promises the other girl to come back with the police but, because of her wild past, nobody believes her story. Fourteen years later, Miranda has turned her life around and she is one of the best detectives in the small town of Harmony, Louisiana. One early morning, Miranda is called to investigate the brutal murder of Richard Stark, professor of the local university and son of the president of the university. Along with her partner Jake, Miranda starts to dig into the victim’s past, but she is held back by powerful people who want to protect what happened fourteen years before. At the same time, Miranda has to deal with her family who, after years of estrangement, is trying to get back in contact with her. Miranda is a strong and realist character who, as she says herself, has to prove herself in a job where she is surrounded by men and, in this case, by very powerful men. I liked how she comes to deal with her feelings towards her family, especially her mother and her brother, but I found that her relationship with her partner Jake evolved too quickly. With some suspense but not much originality, this is a fast-paced and entertaining story, but not one that kept me captivated.

'The Other Girl' by Erica Spindler was for me a fairly standard detective thriller although the early pages of the story were quite compelling. A well loved and respected professor is found murdered and mutilated. Bad girl turned detective Miranda, and her partner Jake are called in to investigate. Cue flashbacks to the historical kidnap of two teen girls; one escapes and runs to get help, and the other is raped and never seen again. The escapee was Randi, aka Miranda Rader.
When evidence found at the scene of the professor's murder implicates Miranda, she begins to make connections between past and present events. Can she solve the crime and clear her name before she loses everything she has worked so hard for?
There wasn't much guesswork involved in this story; the links between the crimes and the people involved was fairly obvious from early on in the book, although this may have been deliberate in order to develop the character of Miranda from her poor beginnings to her respectable present day. I didn't really feel the relationships between the characters had much depth, either between Miranda and Jake as lovers, or her boss who was apparently a guiding light in her development as a police officer. The loose ends were all tied up neatly and there were no pieces left unfinished, but although I enjoyed 'The Other Girl,' it didn't really warrant more than 3 stars from me.

EASILY 4 1/2 STARS

I cautiously picked up this book and hoped for the best. I say cautiously, because I've learned that just because a book is in my genre, a cazillion people have requested it on Netgalley (thank you for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review), and those same cazillion people loved it, it does NOT mean that I will. It actually almost guarantees that I will NOT.

This book sucked me in from page one, so much so, that on more than one occasion, I found myself trying to read while at red lights. An engaging plot, colorful characters, and a hero that's truly as good as he sounds....you can't beat that.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2135889793

This book was a roller coaster ride for me, starting out strong and then proceeding to go all over the place before ending at a bit of a low point. I didn't feel any connection to the characters and much of the plot felt contrived. I kept guessing what was going on just before our protagonist did which got frustrating after a while - I found myself yelling "GET ON WITH IT ALREADY" several times as she proceeded to stay in the dark about several obvious clues. This was made all the more frustrating because we're told over and over again that she's a fantastic detective, except she's slow to figure out what's going on and does several stupid things that end up hindering her own investigation. The flashbacks to her childhood were strangely intrusive in the beginning, though they became less so as the novel progressed, and I did end up liking her in the end. By then, however, it was too late to salvage the disinterest I felt toward her as a character and the ending was so unbelievable that I was just glad the book was over.

Das Buch beginnt im Jahr 2002 in Jasper Louisiana. Randi Rader steigt zu Billy Boman ins Auto, er soll sie angeblich statt ihrer Brüder abholen. Nach einem Stück Fahrt und einigem Gerangel, kann sie gerade so einer Vergewaltigung durch Billy entgehen. Auf der Flucht bringt sie seine Drogen an sich.

Dann springt das Buch in die Gegenwart zum Ort Harmony in Louisiana. Miranda ist nun Harmony PD Detective und wird zu einem neuen Tatort gerufen, der sie zunächst an ihre eigenen jungen, wilden Jahr denken lässt. Opfer ist der zur Ortsprominenz gehörende Englischprofessor Richard Stark, Sohn des Uni-Präsidenten. Mirandas Chief, Buddy Cadwell ist schon vor Ort. Stark wurde brutal und grausam ermordet, die eingefleischten Ermittler sind schockiert. Später treffen dann noch ihr Partner Jake Billings und die Spurensicherung ein. In seinen Unterlagen findet Miranda einen ausgeschnittenen Zeitungsartikel über ihre damaligen Probleme mit der Justiz.

Damit springt das Buch wieder in das Jahr 2002. Randi fuhr damals per Anhalter mit einem jungen Paar weiter und erwachte dann plötzlich gefesselt im Wald. Sie ist nicht allein, die andere junge Frau wurde vom Fahrer vergewaltigt, sie versuchen sich zu befreien. Doch Miaranda kann nur alleine entkommen, verspricht aber umgehend Hilfe zu holen. Gespannt grübelt man, wie die Ereignisse zusammen hängen können.

Und plötzlich ist sie selbst eine Tatverdächtige. Miranda und Jake sind sehr sympathische und fähige Ermittler, sie haben eine besondere Chemie miteinander. Der Schlüssel scheint das zurückgelassene Mädchen von damals zu sein. So wird auch der Titel des Buches klar. Die Geschichte von „The Other Girl“ wird von Erica Spindler rasant erzählt, man möchte sie gerne in einem Rutsch lesen. Miranda zur Seite steht ihre sehr sympathische Freundin Summer, die selber an einem harten Schicksal zu tragen hat.

Miranda ruiniert mit ihren hartnäckigen, unerbittlichen und teilweise unzulässigen Ermittlungen ihre Karriere und ihr Leben. Sie hat sich im Netz der Beweise und möglichen Motive verheddert, die Schlinge zieht sich immer weiter zu. Gibt es noch einen Ausweg? Das Buch betrachtet die häufige Wirkung, die Prominenz oder Reichtum auf die Polizeiarbeit oder die Justiz haben und die Ohnmacht der Opfer.

Dann kommt es unerwartet zur heftigen finalen Konfrontation. Die Hintergründe werden gründlich aufgeklärt, der Täter ist nicht ganz überraschend. Im Epilog erhält man dann einen versöhnlichen Ausblick auf die Zukunft.

Fazit: Sehr fesselndes Buch. Wobei das Ende nicht ganz überraschend ist.

4 von 5 Punkten

I don't always remember why I requested a book when I go to read it but know that it's something I would read. This was the case with The Other Girl. I thought it was going to be another unreliable narrator situation but it wasn't which was a nice change of pace. It's really about unraveling what happened to Miranda 14 years ago and how it's linked to a horrendous murder today. Is she being framed? Why is she being framed? It's a classic whodunit.

It has been years since I have read an Erica Spindler book and this one didn’t disappoint, it was a real heart pounding thriller.
Although I sussed out the plot quite early on (I read a lot of thrillers) this didn’t detract from the storyline of Miranda, the cop is in a race against time to solve a murder before her past comes back to haunt her. I loved the whole troubled teen now a cop trope, I like the amount of grittiness it adds to storyline.
The downside for me was all the love scenes. But that’s just my personal preference. Love gets in the way of murder and action, but hey! thats just me.

Aside from the love this was a really good top-notch thriller, and I would recommend to all of my thriller reading buddies!