I really enjoyed this book! I was constantly surprised and I was excited to get to the next chapter to see what was coming next. Most of the time I couldn’t predict what would happen so reading this was a fun reading experience! At one point the book takes a turn I didn’t expect which made Just Like the Other Girls a more unique thriller to me!

I thought all the characters were interesting from Una and the McKensie’s to all of the side characters. We get a lot of switching POVs between a couple of characters (including an antagonist POV) and I loved each of them equally!

Una accepts a job as a carer for Elspeth McKenzie, a wealthy elderly woman who is looking for a companion. What seems like a dream job quickly becomes a nightmare. Elspeth’s adult daughter, Kathryn, spends a lot of time at the house and seems to despise Una. Una discovers two girls lived in the house before her, but she cannot figure out what happened to them. Una starts digging for answers, trying to find out what happened to the previous girls before she meets a similar fate.

Okay wow this one was a winner for me! This thriller is fast paced and full of twists. Just when I thought I knew where it was going, the plot took a turn! I love how this book casts suspicion on so many of the characters that you never know who to trust. The many POVs in this book kept the pace moving and had me (wrongfully) guessing at what was going to happen. Overall this was a great thriller to start the new year with!

Just Like the Other Girls is a creepy tale about a twenty-something Londoner, Una Richardson, who takes a job as a carer/companion for a rich elderly lady, Mrs Elspeth McKenzie. Una gets second thoughts about the job upon meeting Elspeth’s adult daughter, Kathryn, who’s instantly icy and disapproving to Una. What Una doesn’t know when taking the job is that unsettling things had happened BEFORE she arrived. And what is it about Elspeth hiring young women carers that eerily resemble her eldest daughter, Viola, who’s no longer in the picture? But what Una doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right?

This is a fun mystery/thriller, full of suspense that had me flipping pages trying to figure out who actually did what, to whom, who’s stalking Una, and if she would finally put the puzzle together. This story then took a startling, sudden turn in direction with a fantastic, surprising twist that I didn’t see coming. It’s fast paced and engaging, with a lot of red herrings and clever plot twists that wrapped up into one incredible ending. I really enjoyed it!

Thanks to Harper Perennial and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for a review.

I loved the characters in this one. Una was by far my favorite and I really related to her the most. I felt like she tried her best and just wanted to better herself. As per usual Douglas the plot thickens and the twists keep coming. She sprinkles in enough side characters/stories to really throw you off your game. The atmosphere in the novel is tense, creepy and perfect.

With that being said-I rated this a four because the ending is pretty farfetched. No spoilers but it all comes to a point that seemed difficult to follow. I also thought it was ending and it just kept going on and on. I mean, I knew she had to wrap everything up but it felt like the beginning was really long and the second half was rushed.

All in all this was good if you are looking for some twists and an unexpected ending! Thank you to Netgalley for my advance copy in exchange for my review!

This book was a lot of fun! It actually reminded me a little bit of The Turn of the Key, which was cool since I had just recently finished that one. I thought the multiple POV’s that this book had worked SO well- you learn about what’s happening both in the past and present through different characters, and the farther into the book the more POVs you get, and it just worked so well in my opinion. I had lots of theories of what was happening or who was behind all of it, and while I kind of guessed the “who” I definitely didn’t guess the entire twist. I have another arc of Claire Douglas’s book coming out in May, and this one made me that much more excited to read that one! This just came out today so go grab it if you’re looking for a twisty fun thriller!

Just Like the Other Girls did not disappoint! It’s creepy.. It’s twisty.. It’s dark..

Una takes a job as a caretaker for an older woman.. Live in a nice house.. Escape your own problems for a bit.. And then you realize, things aren’t always what they seem…

Claire Douglas shows off her deceiving writing style & completely messes with all sense of reality.. 4.5 star story

You do not want to miss this!

Thank you to the publishers at Harper Perennial and Netgalley for this e-ARC of Just Like the Other Girls.

Wow! I really enjoyed this multiple POV thriller told in two parts!

Una is a young 22 year old, living with her best friend Courtney in a small flat and working at an assisted care home. She longs for a better paying job, so when she finds the advert for a live in carer job, she jumps at the chance.

Elspeth McKenzie is a nearly 80 year old woman living in a huge mansion of a home all by herself, so when Una gets the job, she finds it a bit boring, but certainly worth the money. But Elspeth and her daughter, Kathryn, don’t seem to be quite who they appear. When Una finds out that she is the third carer of Elspeth in just 5 short months, she sets out to discover what exactly happened to her predecessors.

I really loved everything about this story! The pacing, the unique voices of each character, and the whodunnit behind it all had me turning pages! I was definitely shocked by the conclusion, and I so appreciate that. I also loved how many details the author provided for each character background. It really helped bring them to life. I became quite interested in Una and her story. The second half of the book, sadly, wasn’t quite as appealing to me, but I don’t want to reveal why. It was still on par with the overall mystery though!

Just Like the Other Girls is out today!

Just Like The Other Girls by Claire Douglas is a thrilling mystery, suspense that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. A fast-paced story full of twists and turns with surprises along the way. Once I started reading, I could not put this one down.

One-sentence summary:
After Una lost her mother and broke up with her boyfriend, she moves into a mansion in order to work as a full-time companion for the elderly woman who owns the estate, but when she learns that other young ladies who accepted the same job before her suddenly died or disappeared, she decides she must uncover the secrets the house holds - before she suffers the same fate.

—

This has a gothic feel that I loved! The setting is both grand and unnerving, from the interior of the house itself to the bridge nearby, partially hidden by an ominous fog. I also found Elspeth, the old lady that may or may not actually need a companion, and her daughter Kathryn to be perfect gothic characters. And Una’s naivete played right into the setting and feel of the old house.

The story, which takes place in England, is told from multiple POVs. There is an enormous twist and shift at the midpoint of the book, which I had mixed feelings about. On the one hand, I thought it was a shocking and bold choice. On the other, I found the second part of the book – the part after that twist – lost some of the tension, and I found myself a bit less engaged in the story. But I’ve seen other readers say that the midpoint is when the book picked up speed for them and they became more interested, so to each his own! I think I just love slow-burning gothic fiction so much, and the first-half of the book scratched that itch for me, before the tone shifted some in the second half.

But there are plenty of twists and a faster pace in the second part of the book, which should keep thriller fans happy. And I found the ending to be entirely unexpected.

All-in-all, I was pulled right into this story, flipping pages quickly in an attempt to find out what was happening at the house.

I’d recommend this for anyone who likes psychological thrillers and gothic fiction.

This hits the shelves today!

Thank you Harper Perennial/Harper Paperbacks for the ARC!

The killer really made no sense. Like, I appreciate a good thriller about a caregiver, but I just couldn't bother to care about this book. The plot was pretty lazy, the killer stupid, and yeah. I just didn't like this one.

This is my first book by author Claire Douglas

The reader is introduced to Una Richardson who has recently lost her mother. Still grieving and having split with her boyfriend, she answers an advert for a companion to an elderly lady, Elspeth McKenzie, hoping the money she earns will enable her to travel later in the year with her friend Courtney. But when she starts the job she discovers that Elspeth's daughter, Kathryn, resents her. She also realises that Elspeth had other girls to provide care before her...

Set in Bristol, England, this was a wonderfully tense, dramatic and nerve-wracking read! I can't wait to read more from this author.

I’m a huge fan of female-centric mysteries and thrillers, so it’s no wonder I was attracted to this book. It really didn’t disappoint me, save one choice in narrative POV that happens periodically throughout I didn’t think was a great choice for the pace of the novel.

I chose to see this book through three lenses: maiden, mother, crone. Elspeth is the crone, Kathryn is the mother, and the girls are the maidens. Elspeth is nearing the end of her days and looking back on her past, wanting to keep what reminders of the best of her days she can near her, even if it’s by proxy. Kathryn is the mother: wary of the future and worried her past will come back to bite her. And the girls are the maidens, the future spread out in front of them and not enough life experience behind them to know exactly how to avoid the heavy hits life might throw at them.

And that’s how these cogs run in this machine of a book. A crone who’s too busy looking back at her past to see the present around her, a mother too busy looking at the cracks in her future and the ghosts of her past to be aware of the danger right around her, and maidens too inexperienced to see traps they’re walking right into… and even when they know they might be walking into a trap it’s not the trap they thought it was.

That right there is what was the best surprise of this book: it keeps you guessing! Some people aren’t who they seem, others didn’t do what you thought for sure that they did, others did what you for sure didn’t think they did, secrets are being kept on top of secrets, and there are more than a few surprising turns (although the final one seems a touch clumsy to me).

All in all, it’s a great thriller. Spooky, atmospheric, more than a touch gothic, personable, and utterly creepy at times. A great read for when you just want to feel more than a little creeped out.

A quintessential English potboiler of a mystery. Unlike our US-style psychological suspense books (for us Americans with short attention spans), no one is murdered on the first page. Instead, the suspense begins at a simmer and moves to a slow boil until the scary stuff starts happening in a Hitchcokian manner — and it’s a fast paced suspenseful story from there on out.

Una is struggling in a hovel of an apartment with a crippling debt foisted on her by a jerky ex-boyfriend when she answers an ad for a “companion” to an elderly woman, Elspeth. No cooking or cleaning is necessary - just companionship - which is a little strange since Elspeth also has an adult daughter who visits her every day. But the job pays twice her regular salary and takes place in a beautiful old home, so Una jumps at the chance. Until, of course, she learns that the previous two companions have met with terrible “accidents” … and Elspeth’s other daughter, Viola, is missing. Unbeknownst to Una, someone close to the house and the family has taken out the previous companions, and is now stalking her.

I enjoyed the premise, the slow, skillful build of the sinister fates of the other missing women, and the introduction of the interesting set of characters, especially Una and Elspeth’s eccentric daughter Kat, who seems logically to be the prime suspect. The twists were genuinely shocking and very well-executed. Claire Douglas once again proves herself as a skillful and reliable maven of British psychological terror and whodunits.

Thanks to Harper, NetGalley, and the author for the enjoyable early ARC! This book will be available to purchase on January 11.

This is one of those books that made me wish I had the energy to stay up and read all night! I loved the suspense, the deceit, and the trickery in this one.

Just Like the Other Girls drew me in and kept me wanting to turn the pages the whole way through.

There are so many deaths, and so many suspects! Red herrings are everywhere! Is it this person? Wait… no! It’s this person! Wait… what? No, it has to be this person! You’ll keep wavering between several characters because everyone looks guilty.

I guessed what was going on, but I wasn’t confident about it, and it took me a while - that’s for sure.

If you want a book that will challenge your sleuthing skills and keep you on the edge of your seat, this is the one! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This book is a very interesting read and will keep you guessing throughout the whole book. I definitely have to check out this authors other books. This is one that will keep you up into the night reading to find out what happens. I highly recommend this book.

✨ The Title/Cover Draw:
I am not sure what drew me to this book, to be honest. The premise sounded really intriguing and just the sort of thriller I would enjoy!

💜 What I liked:
This story definitely kept me guessing and pointed me to a lot of false leads. This story is told from a few points of view as you try to discover what happened to these previous girls who wind up dead. The end will take you by surprise (unless you are like me who suspects everyone).

😱 What I didn’t like:
This book lagged a little and didn't really take off until about halfway through. Also, the characters weren’t ones I really felt like I could get behind, except one. However, the payoff is surprising, even if it did take awhile to get there.


🚦 My face at the end: 🤓

💭 3 Reasons to Read:
1. Surprising Plot twists
2. Dangerous job
3. Family secrets



🕧 Mini-Summary:
Una goes to work at a house as a companion. But what happens when she learns that previous girls have wound up dead?

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Received from Netgalley.

💯 For more details on the books we read, be sure to follow me on TikTok (@zaineylaney) or check out our Podcast - Elated Geek!

This was my first book by this author. I'm glad it was this one. I'm not sure i would consider it a thriller but more of a mystery but still amazing. It I loved the writing style and will be picking up more from this author.

Una takes a job as a live in companion for Elspeth McKenzie. Unfortunately her daughter Kathryn is not fond of her and appears to have quite a few secrets. Actually all the women see to have quite a few secrets. This book was such great fun! Quite tense and dare I even say a nail biter right to the end! Thank you so much!

First time author for mr. Loved this book. Its a mystery and you think you know who did it, but that's a curse in the road. This book had several you think it somebody but you don't know until the end and then it is a WOW surprise.

Thank you net galley loved this book.

4+ stars

Just Like the Other Girls by Claire Douglas is a clever gothic thriller that makes for compelling reading from start to finish!
Set in England and told from multiple POVs, the story centers on Una, a sad 22 year-old, who is looking for a change in her life after her mother’s death. A job as live-in carer for a wealthy elderly woman, Elspeth, seems like the new start that Una craves. Of course, in true gothic fashion, Una finds there is nothing about the woman’s grand house or its residents that is comfortable or upbeat. As the action commences, Una is drawn in by the secrets in the family and mysterious disappearances of the carers who preceded her.
The tale is told in a suitably unsettling voice, skillfully weaving dark, atmospheric scenes with plausible, sometimes puzzling, action. Una is a realistic, likeable young woman who confides in her best friend, Courtney, goes to clubs and coffee shops, and dreams of happier times ahead. Courtney is the voice of reason and the source of down-to-earth advice for Una. Elspeth is complicated and selfishly secretive about her motives for hiring young women carers. Her 50-something daughter, Kathryn, has a lifetime of resentment clouding her thoughts and actions—both were well-drawn characters. The rest of the cast seemed peripheral, but, of course, they are not always what they seem!
The author masterfully sets up a good twisty mystery with a suitably dark gothic vibe, even though it takes place in a contemporary timeframe. I found it a page-turner that held my interest from cover to cover!
I recommend this novel to readers who enjoy English gothic psychological thrillers, and I will keep author Claire Douglas on my radar for future reads.

Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my unbiased review.