2.5 stars

Four once-tightknit women are reunited during a getaway to Botswana, years after a fateful night out imploded their friend group. Things quickly take a turn upon their arrival, and it is soon clear that not everyone will survive this vacation.

This one didn't work for me. It's hard to complain about the formulaic nature of the plot when this specific formula (locked-room, people with complicated pasts go on trip together, murder happens and secrets are revealed) is one I deliberately seek out, but I felt this plot lacked elements of originality and suspense.

A key part of the suspense of these types of stories are dependent on the reader caring what happens to the characters, but in The Wild Girls I literally did not care at all. There was no character development; the women were introduce as flawed, toxic individuals, but none of them made any attempt to get better so rather than having their flaws be relatable, they just made the characters totally unlikeable.

Like many thrillers of this particular ilk, we had multiple POVs and dual timelines. The narrative plodded along, and the flashback chapters felt like a lot of filler rather than plot that actually added something to the story. It especially felt this way because I had the 'whodunit' figured within the first few chapters, as I'm sure other readers did as well.

It may seem counterintuitive for me to critique unlikable characters and the formulaic nature of this story, when I have at other times praised stories for just that, but there is a reason certain things can work in one book but not another, and that comes down to an author's ability to execute the story and infuse it with bits of originality. I wish I could recommend this one, but it ultimately fell flat.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for letting me read this in exchange for my review! This publishes on 04/26/22!

Four estranged friends reunited for a birthday weekend in a remote resort in Botswana takes a turn for the worse when people start showing up dead. The story started off extremely slow and the end fell apart but the middle wasn't too bad.

Told through flash backs and present time, the reader learns the secrets that sneak between the members of this group of friends. The writing keeps you guessing throughout the story and makes you question everyone. This thriller was a fun read of twists and turns!
Thank you to William Morrow & Custom House and NetGalley for the ARC.

So chilling! I had seen a couple reviewers mention that this book was “far fetched” or “hard to believe”, but I guess those folks haven’t watched many true crime shows. I had a bunch of different theories swimming around, and while the ending wasn’t completely UNpredictable, it was so well written and explained that I didn’t mind. Highly recommend!!!!

***Thank you NetGalley for this copy!
****Spoilers*****


I liked this book because I like a good cat and mouse type of read, but it was pretty predictable. You figure out pretty early on that Felicity is the killer. I only wish that it ended with Felicity actually getting caught by attacking Grace and Nate surviving and being punished for his crime. Also we never find out if Chris was having an affair or not. It was implied, but it just felt unresolved.

Two years after the event that left their friendship scattered; three woman set off on an all-expenses-paid trip to a luxury safari lodge in Botswana. They hope this Birthday celebration will allow them to put the past behind them and rekindle their friendship. Once they arrive, they quickly realize something is wrong, there is no cell service, and they are alone in the wild...or are they.
Felicity- the birthday girl who appears to have it all beauty, money, and love
Hannah- the stay-at-home mom who loves her baby but needs a break and craves adult interaction
Alice- the school teacher whose finances are tight straining her already rocky relationship
Grace- the introvert stuck in a rut and suffering for too long who yearns for adventure

The Wild Girls is a murder mystery that maintains an unsettling tone throughout. Set in an exotic and isolated local it provides the perfect setting for a little revenge/murder. The novel transitions between Hannah, Alice, and Grace three of the four childhood friends i.e. the Wild girls. All of them have secrets both past and present they aren't willing to share with the others adding tension to their already precarious situation. The novel hints that an event, two years prior, was the reason the four friends became estranged. Felicity, the Birthday girl who invited them to Africa, is mysteriously avoiding contact and only communicating via text message. They quickly realize the Birthday party may have been a ruse and now they are in danger but from whom? The beautiful cover art for this novel drew me in and the plot sounding very exciting but I have to say I struggled with this one a bit. Although I enjoyed the novel it felt like it was really dragging on just to get to anything exciting. It definitely maintains a suspenseful and unsettling tone but the characters were more neurotic and annoying than wild and the ending was a bit of a flop for me. That being said it was an easy and enjoyable novel that I finished in an afternoon.

This was one of the scarier thrillers I have read lately. The lonely dangerous setting really just made everything creepier. I really loved the characters in this book, particularly Grace and Hannah. The alternating narrations worked really well to advance the story and ratchet up the tension. The twists were unpredictable, especially the final one. Overall, this was a very suspenseful, creepy, and enjoyable thriller.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Story of 4 friends and their estrangement and a trip that is supposed to bring them back together — it does quite the opposite.

The Wild Girls was not what I expected — the twists and turns were surprising and unexpected. The ending was so well done, and I did not see it coming. This book was delightfully suspenseful, as in, be careful when reading before bed otherwise I would dream of who the murderer was.

If you liked, The Hunting Party, you are in for a similar treat.

Pub Date is 26-Apr-2022.
Get it on your TBR list!

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@msalyssakolden

This book struggled to keep my interest. The way the multiple POV is executed was a bit confusing. There was a lack of character development that I could not get passed- I didn’t like these girls. I think I am just not a fan of the toxic female friendship and betrayal stories.

Unlikeable, self-centered, privileged characters; uneven pacing, the characters written from various points of view, and a plot that revolved around a trip to an exotic location only to have the characters never leave the lodge - these are just a few of the things that earned this book a one star review from me - the story is pretty predictable, and is nowhere near a “thriller.”

The Wild Girls transported me back to my carefree college years. When my girlfriends were my family. When we would all gather in someone's room the morning after one of our crazy parties. To tell the tales of the night before and fill in all the missing details. When we fought like sisters but made up quickly. No one knew you so deeply or so well. This is what Grace, Felicity, Hannah, and Alice's friendship was like until that one fateful night two years ago. When they all stopped speaking to one another and went their separate ways. What could have possibly happened to make all of them take a step back and move on from such deep, meaningful relationships? Will they ever be able to come together again and mend their wounds?

This book had me completely riveted, I could not put it down until I knew what had happened between these four women. It is a beautifully composed game of cat and mouse, told by multiple points of view. It made you understand each character that much more, the complexity and layers that are exposed chapter by chapter. Phoebe Morgan brings Botswana to life, with her intricate details. The intense, heavy heat, the sounds of the plains, the mesmerizing location. Made you feel like you were there, experiencing all of the dark, spine-tingling horror they are witnessing.

The ending is fantastic! You think you have it all figured out but guess what you do not! There are so many stories interwoven seamlessly, making the ending that more shocking. If you are in the mood for a thriller, with an amazing backdrop, and complex characters, I cannot recommend The Wild Girls more. Thank you to Phoebe Morgan, William Morrow, and NetGalley for this enthralling and completely mesmerizing read!

There were many great twists and turns in this story, and I’m a big sucker for mysteries which involve travel and deception amongst “friends” as storylines. I thought the girls’ arrival to an empty lodge was creepy and spot-on, and I loved how the backstory was presented sort of “after the fact” of the murders. Very good! The only thing I wanted more of was a better sense of Botswana, the lodge, the place where all of this action was taking place. I feel like that part might have been developed a bit more. I had trouble picturing it in my mind. But I otherwise thought it was a super-fun murder mystery, with plenty of squeamish moments, and will recommend it.

Phoebe Morgan draws the reader into The Wild Girls quickly as she fleshes out all four women as unique and well developed characters. She slowly expands who they are as she alludes to "that night" two years ago when things fell apart for these fast friends as they prepare for a reunion on a Safari. Her structure is unique and works week: Part One in the present, Part Two: that night two years ago as we learn the secrets that each of the four keep as their own burden but affect each of them in turn. Part Three is the reveal- back in the present on the safari in Africa-- how it slowly unspools, goes wrong, gets changed up--and WOW, the ending! You feel the package wraps up a little too neatly-- and then it explodes. Not your usual friendships go bad book.

Four friends (The Wild Girls) that used to be inseparable and have grown apart decide to go on a luxury retreat in Botswana to reunite. It follows: Felicity (the pretty rich one that invited the other three on the all expense paid trip for her birthday), Grace (single with an awful roommate), Alice (crappy boyfriend/financial troubles), and Hannah (new tired mother).
Part one: When the three girls go to meet Felicity, she doesn't show up but says she's sick in her room and will meet them the next day. Slightly unsettling, but the other three enjoy the remote lodge with its food and beautiful rooms. The next day, Felicity is still MIA, they don't have phone signals, a vehicle, or even know the full address of the lodge. Weird events and notes piece together in the first section of the book. They must try to escape back to the airport to get back to their lives. Part two of the book goes back to why they stopped being friends. Part three is the finale that pieces the whole book together.

It was a good read. That is really all I can say. It was not amazing, but at least it was fast-paced. The girls are so entirely different that you cannot really see how they would be friends in really life. It was almost as if they wanted it to be a little Sex in the City meets The Lottery. Most of the occurrences were pretty far-fetched, but it made for a decent read. I certainly did not see the ending coming. (It was not an ending I would have picked and ultimately threw off the whole flow). I think Part 2 should have had a little more background on Felicity's past, and they really skimmed over it in Part 3 when it would have really added to the creep appeal.

I enjoyed the idea of the book and the location was a nice change from most book settings. I had trouble remembering which character was which for some reason, but it was probably just the quick character flip-flopping. It needed more details throughout and again, the ending was just too absurd and unbelievable. My huge take-away that made it too unrealistic? No woman is going to fly to a remote place with no information. There is no way a woman is going to stay at a lodge without Googling its reviews or letting a family member know the address. Customs alone would have asked. Otherwise, the book was a fun escape from what I normally read.

The Wild Girls wasn't what I expected. It wasn't very fast paced and I simply couldn't get into the characters, Not for me.

Straight out of Ruth Ware’s playbook, Wild Girls sees four estranged friends get together for a birthday celebration of one of them, only to have it turn deadly.
The eponymous wild girls have been friends for years and years and yet their friendship had taken a plunge a couple of years back over the circumstances the novel withholds from you for a long time and then reveals it…and it’s hugely disappointing. One of those “is this it? really” sort of things, like if that’s what tore them apart, maybe it wasn’t that much of a friendship to begin with.
But anyway, despite that anti-climatically dramatic event from their past, they find it within themselves to reconnect, a desire powered in no small way by an all-expense paid trip to Botswana. Because the friend whose birthday they are celebrating has money. And so, woo hoo, and off they go. And boy, doesn’t it seem glamourous at first. Despite the creepily named resort. Despite the fact that there’s no one there to greet them. Despite the creepy personal notes left for them.
The wild girls don’t care, they are all in a ‘girls just wanna have fun’ mode. They want to forget their lives for a moment and why wouldn’t they. One of them is unhappy in her relationship and trapped with an oppressing shared mortgage, one is tired to death of her new baby, and one is just depressed and alone.
Everyone drinks accordingly and everyone takes their time realizing their situation is far from normal. Then the body count begins.
Suffice it to say this wasn’t the vacation any of them had in mind. But it might be exactly what you as a reader had in mind in selecting this easy breezy beach read of a thriller. I mean, exotic location – check. Relatable in a women’s fiction or chicklit way characters – check. Plot twist -check, two of them, in fact.
It underwhelms conceptually, because of the hyperbolic quality of the antagonists and their motivations, but if you don’t overthink it, it is a fun read. It works the formula well and provides a sufficient diversion. Yes, it doesn’t sustain the promise of the initial setup and yes, the melodramatics are kinda cheap and cheesy at times and yes, it’s characters are all cardboard clichés of specific preset types, but overall, it works and does what these sorts of books are supposed to…entertains. Thanks Netgalley.

This is the saga of four fast friends who have been estranged for quite some time. Grace Carter, Felicity Denbigh, Alice Warner and Hannah Jones were once referred to as the ‘wild girls.’ Well we mature and lose some of that desire to be wild. In fact, after one fateful evening two years ago, they now live completely separate lives, with regret I might add.

Hannah is married to her lawyer husband Chris and has a new baby named Max but things in her family aren’t all rosy. She knows she should be grateful for her life, but she feels imprisoned by the lack of sleep and the responsibilities of motherhood.
She needs a getaway.

Alice is a teacher and lives with her partner Tom. Their relationship has lost its shine, and their London flat is cold and joyless. To further the pain, she has gained unwanted weight.
She needs a getaway.

Grace, meanwhile, has gone introverted. She has become a recluse in the home she shares with her outgoing flat mate Rosie. Grace is still haunted by events that occurred two years ago. The facts remain a mystery to the reader until near the end. The event or incident makes it difficult for her to cultivate relationships.
She doesn’t know it but she needs a getaway.

Then there is Felicity, aka Flick, the leader of the wild girl pack who now lives with her wealthy boyfriend in Manhattan. She seems to be the only friend who still has the same spark from their past. She rather cryptically invites Grace Alice and Hannah on an all expense paid trip to Botswana! After all it’s her thirtieth birthday and she wants to celebrate style, and reconnect with her best friends of yore.

The getaway turns out to be at a luxury safari lodge and is a chance to put that night two years ago behind them and the night when things went very wrong and their friendship was shattered. I admire Felicity for being the one to break the ice or did she?

They all have their reservations concerning the reunification but it's an invitation Hannah, Alice and Grace can’t resist. Here is where the very creepy and ominous vibe begins. Upon arriving at the lodge, a feeling of unease settles on all three women. After a long drive with a silent chauffeur through the wilderness, they arrive at a luxurious resort. But, strangely, Felicity isn’t there to meet them. There is absolutely no sign of the party she promised, and the weak phone signal means that they are cut off from the outside world. The car that brought them has gone and they are completely alone with no outside contact. There seems to be no other beings present but Hannah, Grace and Alice. Where is the staff? Why are there no locks or keys for the doors? Who builds a resort in the wilderness? Just a few of the questions. Oh and just where is their host?,

Well it seems the hunt is most definitely on…

The author kept me guessing from first page to last in this enthralling, and well executed story. Slowly unfolding are the hidden truths about the women’s history and relationships, and a compelling narrative, which constantly shifts between past and present while exposing the dangerous fissures in their friendship. It takes a little while to get to the nail biting part as characters are introduced and the mystique of the past event is built. Read-on… it’s worth the build up. After the girls arrive at the gated resort you won’t be able to read fast enough.

This is a tale filled with darkness and deadly intrigue, and with a final unsettling twist you won’t see coming. I hope this gets made into a screenplay.

I want to thank NetGalley for ARC of The Wild Girls by Phoebe Morgan. I really enjoyed this book and can see myself purchasing it. I love the twist and turns of this book.

Another wild ride (see what I did there?) from Phoebe Morgan. Such an atmospheric tale, the story sweeps you away, and I felt like I was right there in Botswana while reading this book. The characters were kick ass strong women and I loved that, there was a feeling of secrecy throughout and it took awhile to finally reveal what's really going on, that made the book very suspenseful and had me flipping pages. This is exactly the type of thriller I am always looking for psychological, a great setting, lots of tension and it surprised me. I really love the cover as well, this is the kind of book I would buy even though I've read it, it would make a beautiful addition to any bookshelf.

The Wild Girls by Phoebe Morgan is what I like to call a slow-burner.

The opening is shocking and mysterious as we do a fly over in Botswana and view a gruesome crime scene. How did we get here and what happened to a close-knit group of friends. Hannah, Alice, Felicity and Grace were once so close they could finish each other's sentences, but everything has changed and no one wants to talk about it.

To get to the inciting incident you have to trust the answer will come. About 52 % in you will begin to understand that everyone in this story is unreliable when they offer their individual truth to the reader in short bursts of historical backstory.

I had my suspicions about who the villain action was and it turns out that I was mostly right, but there's a whopper of a surprise at the end. I hesitate to call this a thriller, as it takes a while to get to the action. The pacing picked up speed in the last sixty pages. I was truly surprised at the end, and I went up from four to five stars in my rating, as I love to see the dominoes fall.

There were some scenes at the African lodge that felt hyper-dramatic and perhaps not very realistic, but when someone has been playing with your mind, and your emotions, I imagine it could get pretty strange and as in this story... it might end badly. Well-worth the read, and most especially if you reading enjoy psychological suspense.

My thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow Publishing for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

This is my honest review.