I approached this book as a ‘3rd time lucky’ as the previous 2 I had tried to read over the last day hadn’t lasted long so was wary in case was me and not the books
Am happy to say I loved it
Della is a teacher, a woman with a past BUT not her past, her brothers, he is never far from her mind nor what he did but she copes and life is good
Until Zoey, a new pupil arrives in her class, instinctively she knows she is bad, rotten, and will cause chaos but like her brother she is crafty and soon it is Della who is on the back footing trying to stop what she knows will happen, and when it does happen no one believes her
This book ‘jangled my nerves’ with its tense narrative and dark forebodingness as it went from the past to the present and didn’t let up in its intrigue and suspense
I really liked Della ( except for her crying, way way too much crying but I just grimaced in the end whenever she started and moved on ) and was routing for her all the way, Zoe with her snideness and wheedling plus hidden to many narcissism made her great to dislike
A really good story,well written and kept me rapt and ‘on edge’ from beginning to end
10/10
5 Stars

Delia is convinced that one of her students, a new girl, Zoey is going to be just like Delia's brother, Brian was. Brian had been convicted of murder. Is Delia being unfair to Zoey, jumping to conclusions and tarring them with the same stick? Or has the past experience with her brother made Deila more astute.

What you do if someone was evil and no one believed you? Deila's brother was a psychopath and o one had believed her until it was too late. She recognised similarities between her brother and new student Zoey. But the other teachers don't have a problem with her. The story jumps back and forth in time. The story is told from Deila's perspective. This is a roller coaster read younwont want to put down until you reach the conclusion.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Miranda Smith for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although I guess more or less what would happen next right through this book I thought the author succeeded in carrying the line of suspense well through the novel. Good Girl is centred around Della, a wife, mother and teacher who experienced many traumatic ordeals when she was young, at the hands of her brother. A new student joins he class one day and she experiences the same spine chilling sense when she looks into her eyes, as she did upon looking into the eyes of her brother. She is sure very early on that this girl, Zoey, is not to be trusted and her suspicions are confirmed when a student in their school is viciously attacked, We aren't given too much insight into Zoey's or Della's characters but I did find the chapters dealing with Della's earlier life highly interesting and this tendency of escaping to the past contributed well to the telling of the story. I enjoyed this read even though I found it very easy to predict what was going to happen next.

A overall good read. Those familiar with with genre may pick up on a bit of the foreshadowing throughout the early chapters though this doesn’t necessarily draw away from the storyline. The plot is strongly character driven and well laid out, which is where the reader sees most of the trepidation played out. With the lack of “big” impact moments and the subdued violence, the plot pace feels sluggish. The constant anticipation waiting for something more to occur leads to an anticlimactic ending. 3 stars.

Thank you to #NetGalley for this ARC of #GoodGirl that was read and reviewed voluntarily by @wayward_readers

A compelling read.

Della has a traumatic past which she has tried hard to leave behind. While working as a schools teacher she tries to forget her brother and the evil deeds he committed.

When Della meets Zoey, a student at her school she is worried by the similarities to her brother. Just like in her past no one sees what she sees and Della questions if she is going mad.

The character of Della is engaging, however at times I felt I needed more connection to her. I wanted to know more from Brian’s point of view, although we do get some of that towards the end.

The book is compelling and a good read, the ending feels a bit of an anti-climax somehow but definitely worth a read.

Della is a high school teacher and when a new girl, Zoey, arrives in her class, she gets the feeling that this girl is like her brother, Brian, a convicted murderer. Is Della just jumping to conclusions and being unfair to Zoey, or does her experience with her brother enable her to recognise this behaviour without any proof?

Smith structures the book by weaving the past with the present and keeps the reader engaged all the way through. I enjoyed it but there was nothing about the characters, writing or the plot that really left an imprint for me.

Stunning book by a new-to-me-author! The very first sentence, " My brother was thirteen the first time he tried to kill me" hooked from the start and did not let go until the very end. It is told from Della's POV, past and present. A fascinating treatment on psychopathy and it's reverberations. Cannot wait for the author's next!

Miranda did a great job with this book. I was hooked right from the start. Kept me at the edge of my seat. Zoe was a mysterious character that keeps you wondering where the story will lead. A pretty great book for anyone a fan of thrillers.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Using "Girl" in the title of any thriller is almost like putting the word 'free' on anything. People will always pick it up.

That said, this was nothing new/special to me. An almost tired and overdone plot. The characters were meh...nothing stood out. In fact, I can't even remember anyone's name and I finished this book an hour ago.

I love thriller and love that the genre has had a boost the last few years. This, however, just seems like an opportunity to make a quick buck.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
When Della was thirteen years old, her brother tried to kill her for the first time. After a childhood spent growing up with a psychopath for a brother, Della is desperate to live her own life, away from the traumas of her childhood. Now a teacher, married to a doctor, Della has been able to focus on teaching, and helping the teenagers in her class, and so far she has been able to put her past behind her. But when new student Zoey enters Della’s class, Della is immediately taken back into her past. Zoey is calculating, manipulating and charming—all the dangerous traits that made her brother get away with his crimes for so long. But everyone else sees Zoey as an over-achieving athlete, and assume that it’s all in Della’s head. Della puts her career, and her life, on the line to prove that something just isn’t right with Zoey.
Miranda Smith’s novel, “Good Girl”, is only her second fiction novel. Prior to these, she spent the majority of her writing career in information and non-fiction writing. I am super excited that Smith has made the foray into psychological fiction writing.
This novel focuses on my favourite topic of late (psychopaths) and I thoroughly enjoyed the telling of the psychopath’s life through a sibling’s eyes. Although obviously fictional, “Good Girl” lets us delve into the life of a seemingly normal boy, who turns into a murderous psychopath. This part was thrilling for me, and I wanted more of it. I found Della’s obsession with her student to be a little unrealistic and disturbing, but again, the twisted mind of young Zoey pulled me in and kept me entertained.
Hands down, this novel had everything I look for, and for a sophomore fiction novel? Colour me impressed.
I made a few guesses as to what kind of twists and turns would be revealed in the ending, and there really wasn’t a big twist. The ending was simple and concrete, but I was satisfied with the overall conclusion Smith brought to the novel.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel. I will definitely be checking out Smith’s work in the future.

I read this book in one sitting. It was that hard to put down.

Della’s brother began trying to kill her at age thirteen. Growing up with a psychopathic brother puts you on high alert for warning signs all around you. When a new student joins Della’s class she can’t get over the similarities between Zoey and her brother. Bad things start happening around the school, and no one believes Della. Is she right to be cautious of Zoey or is she losing it because of her own personal experiences?

I loved the writing of this story. Told between present day and reliving Della’s past we can see the similarities between past and present. The story is told well with the differing time lines and definitely holds your interest.

Good Girl is a wonderfully thrilling story that poses the question of how much trust we should put in our gut instincts.

When Della, a high school teacher, gets a new student in her class with only weeks left in the school year, she starts feeling suspicious.

Della starts feeling uneasy after the new girl, Zoe , says she moved from the very place that Della ran away from. A place where she faced a dark and traumatic event that would affect her for the rest of her life.

A few more suspicious events with seemly rational explanations give way to the attack of a student.
Della is convinced that Zoe is involved in the attack. With the victim unable to remember what happened and Della being the only one who suspects her, Della finds herself trying to prove that her gut instinct is right and not down to her childhood.


This story was a brilliant read . The way Della's past was slowly revealed gave the story a chilling level of suspense throughout. I really enjoyed reading from the two different timelines within this book. The Different timelines showed how Della learnt to trust her instincts as a teenager and explained her determination not to let her doubt lead to her not acting sooner.

Overall it was a fantastic read !

Many thanks to Netgalley and bookouture for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are in no way influenced by the nature in which I received this book .


This review will be live on my blog ( thetwoquills.wordpress.com) on 08/06/2020

Della and Zoey !!

Della is convinced that her student Zoey , well there is just something off about her, something does not add up.

Della should know her brother Brian was the same and no one believed Della then either.

Zoey is new to the school and suddenly things start going wrong.

The pages turn quickly. You just want someone to believe or at least listen to Della , maybe she has it all wrong.

Great entertaining read!

Thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review Good Girl. Love the cover !!

An absolute must for psychological thriller fans!! This book was so twisted and suspenseful! This is the kind of book that keeps you up late at night!

I always love a good psychological thriller and I was intrigued by the blurb of Good Girl, so I decided to request a copy on a whim. "My brother was thirteen the first time he tried to kill me.": talk about one heck of an opening line! I've been looking forward to read this story ever since and had quite high expectations for this one, but somehow the actual story ended up falling a bit flat for me. I still can't put my finger exactly on the why, but I will try to explain below what worked and didn't work for me.

First of all, I have to say that I still love the premise of the story and the blurb is without doubt a corker. I also liked the dual storyline structure, where we get to see main character Della in the present with Zoey and follow her back to the past with her brother Brian. This structure is used to draw parallels between both characters as well as adding a healthy dose of suspense... And definitely took the story to the next level. You are initially kept in the dark about the true extent of Brian's darkness, although it is quite easy to guess how far it would go after reading the blurb and catching the first few hints. That's probably why the final reveals around his character in the past were a bit of an anticlimax to be honest... The present storyline focusing on Della and Zoe was a lot more successful at keeping you on your toes though.

While the writing flows and makes it really easy to keep reading, I wasn't always sure about the pace. Certain plot twists were really easy to guess, and drawing out the reveal of those twists slowed the story down instead of adding suspense... Or at least that was the effect it had on me. I always like it when a story is able to mislead me and keep me guessing, and that was not what happened here as I somehow had the characters figured out really early on. The lack of surprises was a bit of a letdown for me, and I honestly felt that it was a bit too convenient that nobody but Della saw the truth behind certain characters. It didn't feel credible and the same goes for certain parts of the plot as well as the ending.

As for the characters... I found them to be very hard to like, which made it more difficult to connect to the story in turn. Some were ment to be unlikeable of course, but I was never able to connect to Della either both due to her attitude and actions. Initially I thought both Della and Danny would be a perfect match for me, as you don't see too many stories about childless couples who made the decision not to have any children... It's something I can relate to personally as with my hubby we stand by the same decision (have been for years as we just don't see ourselves with children, or at least not in the forseeable future). I was a bit miffed to be honest to have Della suddently being saddled with an unplanned pregnancy; both because of Danny's reaction and people judging how she feels about it. I know this is a personal reaction, but still... It made me enjoy the story and characters considerably less.

In short, Good Girl is a psychological thriller with a dark edge: using a dual storyline, it switches back between past and present and introduces us to two twisted minds... Good Girl has without doubt a lot of potential, and while the story sadly fell flat for me, others do seem to enjoy it a lot better.

The narrative is just SO good. This story has it all, Every element that make a perfect psychological thriller. I can’t wait to tell EVERYONE about it.

Thank you too NetGalley and Bookouture for the Arc of this book!!❤️

Thanks to Miranda Smith for writing this gripping book!❤️

Follows Della who is a high school teacher who priority is her career, family and her husband!! But living with secrets from her past.. she has a new student in her class Named Zoey she senses something is not right with her.. as she charms the rest of the community.. Della senses and recognise Evil when she sees it as she's has grown up with her brother who has been trying to kill her and has been terrorising her for years but no one understood 😞

Is it true that one person can discover evil twice in her lifetime???😱

This is a dark gripping page turning thriller with huge twists and turns and a great flowing story which I couldn't put down read within the day this is my first Miranda Smith book and can't wait to read her others one and futures ones to come😍

Definitely recommend 🥰
5 stars⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wow, MIRANDA SMITH is definitely becoming one of my very favorite authors! She really reels you in from page one! I feel her books are very original, but absolutely possible! This book is one heck of a thrill ride, with bone chilling chills, gasp worthy shocks, and a lot of holding your breath to find out what’s next! Cannot wait for the next book by this author! Highly, highly, highly recommend! Unputdownable, so preorder and clear your schedule!
Will make sure to buzz it around platforms and use low amazon reviewer number on release date!

This point was interesting up to a point, then it became repetitive, her suspicions, no one believing her, her being right of course as was predicted and while the question of nurture vs nature is a valid one to explore and what to be done about violent psychopaths. the book lacked real depth or much of a plot.

First things first, Good Girl had me on the edge of my seat (or I guess technically my bed). You've got a teacher with a odd and possibly abusive domestic past. You have a young teenage student that may be a lot more evil than she first seems. Both of these characters are likable and completely hate-able in their own right. Several times I wanted to throw my kindle when other characters wouldn't listen, pay attention to, or downright see, the obvious.

Books that do the whole "are they evil?" really get to me, and I tend to have straight up visceral reactions. (Probably from my own past in being gaslit.) Good Girl is no exception to this. Who do you believe, even when you see things and hear them?

Loved this one! I had a hard time having it end because dang it, I just wanted the craziness to continue.

Good Girl comes out 6.24.2020.

5/5 Stars