Thankyou Netgalley for the advanced copy of The Cursed Girls. I loved this book.
Megan Melvick has returned home after a three-year absence to visit her dying sister, Melissa, for the last time. As she approaches the grand Scottish country estate where she grew up, the memories come flooding back. Just what did happen on the night of Melissa's wedding five years before? Where has Megan and Melissa's mother disappeared to? And why does Melissa whisper that solitary word before she finally slips away: Sorry.

In order to overcome her demons, Megan must confront her painful recollections of that terrible night, the night of Melissa's wedding. The night somebody died. But can she really trust her memories? And who is so determined that she should forget?

I got a free copy of this book from the publishers in return of an honest review.

This book took me a while to get into, the first 20% of the book was a bit confusing. But after that I couldn't put it down.

Megan is a really relatable protagonist and you really want to know what is going on around her.

A family that is full of secrets and the people closest too them become fully entwined, whilst mystery after mystery is revealed.

A highly recommend this book if you love mysteries with a heavy mental health plot.

This story follows Megan Melvick, the daughter of a wealthy and old family. The Melvicks reside on a large Scottish estate. Megan has a job and a flat in the city, however she returns to the family home after three years to see her dying sister, Melissa. Soon as Megan arrives old memories begin to surface and she wants answers to the terrible, unsolved tragedy at her sister’s wedding, her Mothers disappearance and an inherited madness that drove many to the Melvick hanging tree.

The book is nicely paced as information is gradually divulged. There is a nod to Agatha Christie books at the end, with the final reveal. I didn’t feel the ending was a massive twist, there were little mysteries that came together, with not much explanation. I also just have to say that I thought it would be creepier and atmospheric. I think from the blurb I was expecting something a bit more gothic and sinister.

With that said, this was a page turner, as I desperately wanted to know what was going on. The characters were well written and believable.

If you like a mystery or whodunnit then you might enjoy this, it’s a fairly quick and easy read.

Thank you to Net Galley and Black Thorn for letting me read and review this book.

Whilst I loved the sound of this book, unfortunately I really struggled to enjoy it. It wasn't a style of writing that I enjoyed and I didn't particularly relate to any of the characters.
In theory, the story is good, but it just wasn't written in a way that was enjoyable or engaging for me.

Megan Melvick returns home to the family estate where her sister lays dying to say her last goodbye.
Looking back on all that has happened she worries that there is a curse and that she could be the next one to die.
While her aristocratic father is no help at answering her questions, Megan must find the answers herself.
#NetGalley #TheCursedGirls #CaroRamsay

Story is padded and too confusing😟

2.5🌟 stars
I originally chose to read this book because of the Scottish setting and the plot seemed intriguing. What I found was a story that was confusing, filled with unnecessary trivia and marginally enjoyable. I did not find any of the characters sympathetic. The end was better than the first half but not by much. And the story finished on a bit of a whimper after a drawing room scene to expose the villain in a manner reminiscent of a classic Christie whodunit.

Most troublesome for me was the sudden, partial immersion at the start into a bunch of characters and events and no explanation of why they were interconnected and relevant. Then there was a very fungible timeline where ages and dates were inconsistent , moving and shifting constantly. Add in the change in point of view from Megan, the youngest daughter in a troubled wealthy family, to Carla, who apparently died three years before the story's start: too odd and confusing.

And the Scottish setting -- not really very relevant, which was a disappointment for me. There's also a macabre story about rooks and the house that just seemed downright weird and gratuitously violent.

Based on this example, I don't think this author's work is my cup of tea.

Thanks to Canongate/Black Thorn publishers and NetGalley for providing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book ,set on a Scottish Island,this is a mystery thriller told through Megan and Carla .It is a story of a very wealthy and old Family who live on their own Estate and are particularly dysfunctional.Awful things happen to them it seems like the Family is cursed,there are a lot of mysteries surrounding them .The story is gripping and fast paced hard to put down and I really enjoyed the ending .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

This was my kind of book! The story is told from Megan’s point of view and her friend Carla, taking you on the journey of how the two girls met and how their lives differed. This family has lots of issues and the twists and turns are gripping ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was not my usual type of read, but I am so happy that I did pick it up and give it a go. I loved the Authors style, the mix of language worked to not make you feel like an idiot reading the novel, but also worked to show the level of education that the main character has. The plot was twisty and I loved it, though I did guess the ending not long before it came to light. I love that it kept me guessing most of the time. And the way that the author described ptsd was amazing. A great read, a must pick up!

When I started to read this book and get to know the characters I doubted it would be a book that enhanced or even maintained my interest. But no, that was nowhere near. It is a superbly written book with a really good story and characterisations.
The book is structured into chapters named primarily Megan with the odd one Carla. Much of the book is what happened (or didn't happen) in the past. I did not know whether italicised Carla who narrates much of the story detail is a ghost, is still living or is a schizophrenic (might not be medically correct but it explains split personality to me!) ego of Megan.
The story embraces a missing person from 3 years ago, a suspicious death in a fire 5 years ago and varying illnesses/afflictions/psychological problems.
As I neared the last 10% of the book ready to find out more I was amazed to meet an Agatha Christie chapter beautifully written which explains much of what happened and what is happening.
All in all a really good book and definitely not to be missed.

WOW! This book must be read in one sitting because it's hard to put down once started. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters and I felt like I was walking beside Megan with every step she took. The secrets are shocking and the plot is brilliant. It has everything in it, suspense, mystery, love, loss and devastation. I thought it would be a depressing read because Melissa lays dying in her bedroom at the beginning of the book, but it's not depressing at all, it's uplifting in some parts, and shocking in others. I whizzed through it and I will definitely be reading more from Caro Ramsey. A fantastic author with amazing talent.

The title, The Cursed Girls, is certainly appropriate to this story. It is about a dysfunctional family in west Scotland with a tradition of suicide, mental illness and other signs of being dysfunctional. The only thing in their favour is that they are financially well off so are not always held to account for child neglect or influencing the police. The story takes a long time to be told and even the lead characters Megan and Clara are less than convincing. In due course there is a disappointing ending.

This book has some very good reviews but I’m afraid it didn’t entirely work for me. Maybe it need further editing but I found much of the story confusing.
It starts well.
The story is told through the voices of two young women who were friends, though from very different backgrounds. I liked the juxtaposition of their viewpoints and very different personalities, and the little hints and red herrings as their history begins to be teased out.
There seem to be many hidden secrets and mysteries to unravel.
Their narratives jump about in time a lot, not an unusual structure for a book but in this case it made the story feel disjointed and difficult to follow. I felt like I would have needed to draw a timeline or a mind map to keep the story clear in my head.
There was something unconvincing about the character of the young police officer; I just couldn’t visualise him as a person. His Death-in-Paradise style reveal I just found a bit long-winded, and the final denouement, what should have been the ‘Of course! Why didn’t I realise that?’ moment, just fell a bit flat. But perhaps that’s because by that point I just wanted the book to be finished ( it did seem quite long)
Don’t get me wrong. It’s a good story. But not, for me, a great one.

I have only read Caro Ramsay's first book and was looking forward to this new novel., of which I had heard good things. At 12% into the book, I found confusion of characters. I wrestled with who was who. This novel makes you think on every page. I struggled to relate with the style of writing and completed the book but it was not for me.

Fans of Caro Ramsay will enjoy this book.

I give this a 3-star rating

I WANT TO THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS BOOK FOR AN HONEST REVIEW

Good suspense read love the main character Megan and her relationship with her father. Not my usual read but enjoyed the story of the family and the what had happened to the mother.

Megan returns to the home she grew up in. The Italian house was a huge building that you could hide from the world in. The Melvick’s had money, plenty of it and the place Megan called home showed that fact.

As she returned to say her goodbyes to her sister, she realised just how cursed their family was. The memories from her childhood haunting her and leaving their marks in her head and everywhere she looked. Being deaf, she could easily shut out the world but her thoughts were always there, remembering those lost in her life to the Melvick curse.

The story is told from Megan’s point of view and her friend Carla, taking you on the journey of how the two girls met and how their lives differed. There are quite a few twists but one of the bigger twists I guessed pretty early on although it didn’t stop me enjoying the book. I’ve found this book really easy to get into, I’m not always keen on several people’s perspectives but this was just two characters and easy to get into and follow.

Not sure whether I enjoyed "The Cursed Girls" by Caro Ramsey. I kind of understood the parts featuring Carla but not 100%. The family were obviously not cursed but one or many characters conspiring against Megan. I didn't really engage much with any of the characters so wasn't the best read for me.

Yet another intriguing book from Caro Ramsay, different again but still a mystery for you to try and solve if you can, not easy. Story of a troubled life spent dreading the fear of family madness striking yet again.
Gripping if complicated story line

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Megan Melvick has returned home after a three year absence to visit her dying sister, Melissa, for the last time. As she approaches the grand Scottish estate where she grew up, memories come flooding back. Just what did happen on the night of Melissa's wedding five years ago? Where has Megan and Melissa's mother disappeared to? And why does Melissa whisper that solitary word before she finally slips away: Sorry.

It looks like the family has been cursed: Melissa is dying, Megan is deaf, their mother had le ft. her papa had hung himself and her friend Carla was killed in an explosion.

This is a fast paced read that's filled with suspense. It's also more of a mystery than a thriller. The story is told from Megan and Carla's perspectives. The characters are well developed but not all of them are likeable. I quite enjoyed this standalone about a dysfunctional family.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Cannongate and the author #CaroRamsay for my ARC of #TheCursedGirls in exchange for an honest review.















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A well crafted page turner! Full of suspense and fancy. How many secrets can one family hold? Madness.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc