And here I was just complaining about the funny little trend of thrillers where people who can't seem to stand one another vacation together...But. This one really hits well right up until the end. And, importantly, the character motivations make some sense, a depressingly rare quality in this genre.

Promising but Predictable

The classic locked-room mystery. Four friends gathered in a remote resort. Has all the makings of a great story.

Despite a life-long friendship between Grace, Hannah, Alice, and Felicity something happened two years earlier that drove them apart. But when Felicity reaches out to the others, inviting them to celebrate her birthday with a long weekend in Botswana with all expenses paid, they agree to go. It’s supposed to be a time to mend fences and rekindle their friendship.

When Grace, Hannah, and Alice reach the lodge (Felicity arrived a few days earlier), it's apparent something is wrong. No staff members, poor cell phone service, no internet, and weirdest of all, no locks on their doors. They receive a message from Felicity saying she is sick but will catch up with them in the morning.

Each one receives a cryptic welcome note which could be easily described as passive-aggressive, but they choose not to share this information with one another. From that point, the situation becomes more bizarre and leads to murder.

The killer’s identity and motive were obvious from the start. However, the author did throw in a twist near the end to make the reader second guess.

The Wild Girls is written in three parts. The first begins with the invitation and leads up to the murders. Part two delves into the event two years earlier that caused the rift between the friends. Part three comes back to the present and follows to the end.

Scenes are written from each woman’s POV—two characters in first-person present tense, the other two in third person present. At times, those written in third person appeared to be author intrusion. This annoyed me.

Each character had secrets (not surprising) but there were several loose threads that weren’t tied up. Why throw those in if you’re not going to do anything with them? There were also too many details that served no purpose. For instance, one character is brushing her teeth and sees blood mixed in with the toothpaste residue in the sink. Was there a reason for writing that or was the author just trying to reach a specific word count?

None of the characters are all that likable. Another issue I have is related to the title. They were known as the wild girls, but the back story didn’t provide any information that wouldn’t leave the reader to believe they acted like normal teenage girls. Nothing “wild” about them.

This book had promise, but it didn’t deliver.

Hannah, Felicity, Alice and Grace have been friends since forever. They shared their first drink, first smoke, first everything together - until they didn't. They have seen each other for two long years, each battling the secrets they have kept since the last night they saw each other at the Upper Vault bar. Now they are to be reunited - four besties in the wilds of Botswana to celebrate Felicity's birthday. Each woman hopes this trip will signal a new, brighter future for themselves when they return home. But when they arrive in Botswana, it quickly becomes apparent that this is not the reunion they anticipated. Morgan channels both Agatha Christie and Lianne Moriarty in this twisty tale. I found it totally absorbing but found the ending quite far-fetched. Still a fun read.

I couldn't put this one down until I got answers toward the end of the book, Phoebe Morgan did a fantastic job of keeping me in suspense until the last few chapters! I still can't decide which of the women I connected with most, each of them had something relatable about them. I especially enjoyed reading bits of the story from their viewpoints and the time jump toward the middle of the book was a great way to get me to trust some of the characters I'd begun to suspect again. Truly enjoyed this book and already have all the author's other books on my Christmas list now - can't wait to read more!

The Wild Girls is a locked room mystery with a very promising start. Four estranged friends get invited to a luxury, all-expense paid trip to Botswana to celebrate one’s birthday. When three arrive, they discover their host is absent, and it only gets worse from there. I had high hopes for this one, but was the ending fell a little flat for me.

Oh, it takes a very long time before anything happens in this book and our Wild Girls weren’t really so very wild – really, they were mild.

At one point during the first quarter of the book, I stopped reading and went back to check the description again – wasn’t something going to…happen?

Eventually, it does and I was glad that I went back to continue the book. I’ll admit that much of my curiosity was specifically *why* these things were happening and I was definitely surprised by the ultimate reason. It still wasn’t wild (it really wasn’t), but it had a bit of a punch to it that I enjoyed.

After a slow start, this ended up being a suspenseful read.

*ARC via Net Galley

The Wild Girls by Phoebe Morgan is a great read with a solid cast of characters, here we have Hannah, Grace, Felicity, and Alice. Their friendship goes back a long time, and soon they have a reunion in Botswana for Felicity's birthday. From there you get a ton of twists and turns, lots of murder, and plenty of unanswered questions. Just when you think you have it figured out, the author throws a wrench in those plans. Fun book and love this author too. Highly recommend. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Well that was really different! Lol this book had suspense, intrigue, murder and a bunch of twists and turns! Oh and a really twisted who done it!! I definitely enjoyed reading this book! I will definitely recommend reading this one! Its well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

The Wild Girls tells the story of four friends who haven't seen each other in years. When Grace, Felicity, Alice and Hannah were young they were known as The Wild Girls...but now they are all grown up and things are different. Alice is a teacher, Hannah is a mother, Grace doesn't leave her flat, and Felicity...hasn't changed much. When Felicity invites the girls to celebrate her birthday in Botswana they all jump at the chance. Two years ago they all stopped speaking and maybe now they can reconcile. Upon arrival at the safari lodge Grace, Alice, and Hannah are greeted by...nothing. It's like no one was ever there and no one is coming. Now what?

This book had such promise. I was instantly hooked at the start...who were these girls...what had happened to break up their tight friendship...why were they in Botswana with no sign of their party host? The first part of the book built up a good deal of suspense that left me wanting more. Everything fell apart once I reached part two. Part two tells the story of what happened that fateful night two years ago. Once everything was revealed I was very underwhelmed. I don't think these girls could have been that good a friends if something like this severed their bond. Part three was slightly more exciting, but then too many things happened at once without much explanation and then the book was over. The pacing could have used some help and the ending seemed to come out of left field.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC

I’ll start by saying that I read this book in one day. I’m always ready for a “And Then There Were None” type book and this one sounded especially intriguing because the setting is a remote lodge in Africa. The story kept my attention and I was itching to see what would happen. It was creepy and suspenseful.

However, it was challenging to keep track of everything at times. The chapters jump around between the perspectives of different characters as well as different time periods. Many times I had to flip back and remind myself which character and/or what time period a chapter was focusing on. Around the halfway point I considered not finishing because the story was dragging, but the revelations that were still to come were just intriguing enough to keep me reading. The ending was twisty but pretty unrealistic in my opinion.
Overall, it’s a quick read that kept my interest but missed the mark for me.

The Wild Girls was such a fast and engaging read. I found the first half to be perfectly tense as the suspense builds. While I had some suspicions as to the twists, there were just enough clues to keep me guessing. Normally, multiple perspectives feel really distracting to me, but it worked well here.

However, I feel like the girls' friendship could have been more convincing. Even before the mysterious night two years prior, they don't seem to really like each other. Additionally, there were some references to their high school years that felt unexplained at the end of the book.

Wild Girls is definitely a riveting, intriguing, fast pacing, cat- mouse game! A wild, whirlwind, claustrophobic mystery with multiple unreliable POVs!

Four friends estranged, falling apart after an ominous night , moving on their lives without connecting for two years till one day: the richest, the fanciest, the most popular one of them: dear Felicity decides to invite them to a fabulous- all expanses paid ( including airfares) trip to Botswana to celebrate her birthday!

Let’s see how her three friends hang in there:

Grace lives her isolated life, being a mockery concept of her roommate’s cruel boyfriend, depressed, exhausted, lonely needs a break.

Alice is suffering from financial problems and her abusive boyfriend who sucks off her entire self esteem and energy.

Hannah is struggling mother, having hard time to balance her motherhood and her wifely responsibilities.

As we may understand, both of the women are unhappy after their fall out and they think this invitation could rekindle their past friendship, helping them let bygones be bygones. And of course nobody says no to escape from struggling life responsibilities and take a break to enjoy fully paid, exotic vacation!

But as soon as three of them arrive to Deception Valley Lodges ( I think the name of the place also gives the red flag! ) they feel all those ominous vibes which warn them to run away without looking their backs. Even their driver just drops them without saying a word and drives off quickly. Felicity is nowhere to be seen. They are positioned into different lounges. Each of them find notes with the key words mentioning the last night which ended their friendship the at their lounges arranged for them, named after different animals.

These are just the beginning of creepy things they find out throughout the night! As you may imagine there is no reception on their phones and there’s no sign for birthday party preparations. And they keep getting texts from Felicity who is still missing!

Somebody might play a deadly game with them and as we get the spoilers from the beginning: two of them will die eventually.

Who organized this entire vacation? Is it one of Felicity’s pranks or is she also in danger? Who wants them out of picture?

The book kept me on my toes. I wanted to learn why the girls fell apart so badly! I have to admit I was expecting something more dramatic, angsty ( maybe more serious cat fight, screams, confrontation between girls because we can sense they already have so many resentments and trust issues which make them keep so many secrets) and also culprit’s identity was a little obvious!

Botswana is great choice to emphasize the claustrophobic vibe of the story but the dangerous vibes of wild animals and being trapped in a place in the middle of nowhere kind of mysterious elements wasted a little bit. I think the methods of murders could be fitted with the wild nature of the place!

The final twist was still good! ( foreseeable but still smart)

Overall: it was great popcorn& wine reading for your weekend escape ( you’d better bury your head to this fast pacing, exciting story instead of wasting your precious time scrolling through so many trashy concepts on Netflix! Trust me! )
I’m rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 well developed character portraits, great pacing, satisfying conclusion stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow and Custom House for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

#TheWildGirls #NetGalley
Her best book.
Grace, Felicity, Alice, and Hannah were together. The “Wild Girls,” as they were once called, are no longer so wild. Alice is a teacher. Hannah has a new baby. Grace is a homebody. Only Felicity seems to have retained her former spark. Then Felicity invites them all on the weekend of a lifetime—a birthday bash in Botswana. It will be a chance to have fun and rekindle their once bomb-proof friendship… and finally put that one horrible night, all those years ago, behind them for good.
loved the characters of Michael, Nathaniel, Hannah and Alice. Grace was pathetic, the odd one.
Narration of the story is buttery smooth but in my opinion Phoebe should've given the back story simultaneously with the present story. Somehow it has affected the flow but it picked up when the story comes to the present again. Setting, dialogues and theme of the story were brilliant. I'm looking forward for her fifth book. I'm recommending to everyone I know.
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for giving me an advanced copy of this book.

Suspenseful, atmospheric thriller set in the wilds of Botswana, Africa. A place full of beauty, yet full of dark secrets slithering under the service...just like the Wild Girls. Exploring the complexities of four female friends and the relationships they have with each other. What secrets are shared and which are kept hidden from each other? Kept me interested with the twists and turns and the building suspense. Loved the setting. Definitely recommend. #thewildgirls #phoebemorgan #netgalley #goodreads