Another entertaining, page-turning thriller from Wendy Walker. This one is told from the perspective of Charlie, a 17 year old girl on the autism spectrum, who lives in a small town in PA. One night her boss at the sandwich shop is murdered, and security video from the sandwich shop shows that Charlie may have seen something, but she refuses to get involved - and things just get more complicated from there.

Lots of twists and turns - I may have guessed a few of them, and the end may have been a bit pat, but it didn’t diminish the fun of reading the story at all. At a time when the events of the world have left me sad and distracted, it was nice to have a book like this to keep me engaged.

3.75 stars

No one who's ever worked for Coop will be sad he's dead, and yet everyone will be sorry about it. That's what people call irony.

This new title from Wendy Walker gets all the stars from me. Charlie Hudson, the girl with the lopsided seesaw, stole my heart from the beginning. Just loved her mantra: lettuce tomatoes pickles onions. Words to live by at the Sawyer Sandwich Shop (the Triple S). She loves the freedom that will come with the money she makes working at the shop. Then one night, Clay Cooper (Coop) is murdered and there is questionable footage of Charlie on site the night of the crime. Suddenly, her future plans are in jeopardy as she finds herself caught in the horns of an ethical dilemma. What will defending her tribe mean for her plans to go to MIT and get out of Sawyer? Wendy Walker writes the whole story from Charlie's perspective. Seeing the world through Charlie's autism was many times heartwarming and enlightening. Her thirty-seven rules were pithy insights into her attempts to make sense of others and their behavior. For example,

Rule Number One: If someone says the same thing over and over again, that means they don't believe it.

This book is one of my favorites from Wendy Walker. Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

At only 250 pages the newest Wendy Walker felt like a “bonus book” while we wait for her next release.

Charlie is an autistic teenage girl who finds herself in the middle of a murder case of her boss. But Charlie, isn’t just an employee of the sandwich shop, she’s also the glue of her friends that work there. Charlie found her “family” in those friendships and she’s going to fight to make sure they all don’t become the scapegoat for whatever killer wanted Clay dead.

I’m giving no details for this one except to say it was entertaining, easily binged and kept me turning the pages. Not my fav of hers (LOVED What Remains) but still a good read

Ps. Two things: 1) Would work for YA too.
2) It felt like a bit of a diary read into Charlie’s head

3.5 stars

I loved that the main character is austic. A refreshing perspective. The writing was a little simple in the beginning. About 70% in the twists started and there were several. Some I partially guessed at but not fully. Overall I enjoyed the story

Thank you to netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I have read another book from this author and was excited to read her newest novel. It didn't disappoint. Charlie who works in a sub shop is present during the murder of her boss and owner of the shop. That person is tied to bad things in his past. As the story unfolds there are lies, deceit and surprises. The beginning was slow but by the end,I didn't want to put this book down.

A masterstroke of a small town suspense thriller!

Also, thanks to NetGalley Black Stone Publishing for the NetGalley ARC.

Review –

17 year old autistic teenager Charlie Hudson can’t wait to get out of the small town of Sawyer. Working part time in the Triple S sandwich shop, she is saving every penny. But when the shop’s owner Clay Cooper is found dead, Charlie has no choice but take matters in her own hands to protect everyone dear to her, while she uncovers secrets and fends off the lurking dangers to save herself.

Synopsis -

Charlie was simply amazing. Walker has done such a brilliant job with her character portrayal as a neuro-divergent teenager - picturing her troubled childhood, the relationship with her mother and present life with her step family.

I loved getting to know Charlie. Privy to her intrinsic thought processes, deepest secrets, her strengths and challenges with autism, I admired her hard-working nature and sincerity. There is a sort of innocence in her, coupled with a sharp intellect, logical thinking and vast knowledge – the combo proves to be her most powerful weapon.

Following Cooper’s death, Charlie gets entangled in some vicious small town dynamics, foul play and trickery. That’s when the plot thickens with its intricately woven, multi-layered web of deceit, lies, greed and dark truths of the past. It is impossible to speculate after a point – so well constructed is the mystery and the suspense build up unparalleled.

It was a wild ride to watch Charlie rising to the occasion, cleverly pulling off the impossible and dodging her tormentors, fighting to safeguards her friends’ lives, all while securing her own life and future.

Highly recommend if you love thrillers!

17 year old Charlie Hudson has one goal - to finish high school and get out of Sawyer, the oppressive small town she has grown up in. That goal might be in jeopardy when Clay Cooper, the owner of multiple businesses with Sawyer, is discovered dead each of his employees is a suspect in his death - including Charlie. Determined to protect herself, and her friends, Charlie tries to track down the potential murderer before they find their way to Charlie, as they believe she has what they are after.

This was my first Wendy Walker book, and it definitely won’t be my last. I really enjoyed her writing style. This was a great psychological thriller that had me intrigued from the first chapter. I really liked Charlie as a character. Her autism adding a layer of complexity to her personality, but not feeling like it was included to be a novelty. There were multiple twists throughout which kept me guessing as to who the murderer was, and what their motives might have been. I thought this was well paced and enjoyed watching the mystery unfold. While I feel like the ending could have had a bit more closure, I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good whodunnit.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for my digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another thriller from Wendy Walker but sadly without the same punch as some of her earlier novels.
The synopsis tells the story - there is some character development but I struggled to keep up with the writing about the main character.
Overall an easy read.

What it’s about: Charlie is a 17 year old autistic girl living in small town Pennsylvania. Passing time working as many hours as she can at the Triple S sandwich shop until she graduates high school. She is just itching to move on with life outside this small town. One day, the owner of the shop, Clay Cooper, ends up murdered and one of the workers is the prime suspect. Charlie is determined to keep her friends safe from suspicion as she herself has worked out all the details and just knows what is possible and what is not.

Thoughts: Wow, this was such a fun one by Wendy Walker! I absolutely love that this was written from the perspective of an autistic character. It made the story so much better to understand the thought process behind Charlie’s decision making and how she came up with her logic! It was so endearing to hear Charlie’s loyalty and dedication to her friends and loved ones. Wendy did such a wonderful job making it easy for us to love and root for her! This book was fast paced with many twists which made the book fly by! This was my third book by Wendy and she delivers every single time! I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

Thanks to Blackstone & NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've been hearing good things about Wendy Walker for the past year or so, and this was the year that I had an opportunity to read some of her stuff. First up was What Remains, her book about a LEO who ends up being stalked by a man she encountered during a store shooting. I liked it OK, but I wasn't blown away or anything. Likewise with this novel, which is about a 17 year old high functioning autistic girl who finds herself embroiled in a murder and its fallout.

Charlie comes off as mostly OCD rather than autistic, what with her ASD behaviors that conveniently come and go depending on what propels the plot, but she's an OK character and you do root for her a bit. She's fiercely loyal when it comes to her found family, but wrt her mom or her half-brothers, she's mostly indifferent, which I didn't get the sense the author wanted to convey. In any case, Charlie sort of inserts herself into a situation which unexpectedly becomes volatile - unexpectedly to her, bc any fool could see that the situation is ... not good from a mile off.

The book is kind of repetitive, but it kept my attention. There's a lot of stuff about Charlie being in love with her friend, Ian, but because her mom had her at 16 and was subsequently kicked out of the house for being a "whore" as per her parents (which seems to have taken a few years, given that Charlie remembers it?), Mom has put the fear of God into Charlie regarding "inner stirrings" which could only get her into trouble.

The story is interesting, but incredibly over-complicated, and the ending feels a bit rushed. 2.5 stars rounded up

This book was fine… I guess. I loved Walker’s first few books because they really dove into the psychology of it all. Her last few have felt very generic. All authors are entitled to change genre I suppose, but I can’t help but feel a little disappointed and underwhelmed. As for this story itself, there were way too many names to keep track of - I didn’t really feel invested in any of the characters.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

American Girl by Wendy Walker was originally published as an Audible Original but has not been written as a freestanding novel.

"Charlie is an autistic seventeen-year-old and just wants to make sandwiches and earn enough money to get out of Sawyer, PA. When the owner of the sandwich shop, Clay Cooper, is found dead, a member of his staff becomes a suspect. Charlie must protect herself and her friends by uncovering the danger in their depressed community."

It feels like Walker did her research and is authentic with the voice of Charlie. There are lots of interesting observations from her about people and what she wants to do. The twists and red herrings that you expect from Walker are there. You wonder for most of the book about what Charlie knows. And the reveal is a big surprise. The ending is not what I expected which is always nice in a thriller. I like how this one resolved.

Great to get two books from Walker this year. Another great story from her.

American Girl by Wendy Walker is a very highly recommended psychological thriller with an unforgettable teenage narrator.

Charlie Hudson, an autistic seventeen-year-old, has a list of rules and a plan for her life. Her goal is to leave Sawyer, PA. Charlie has already been accepted at MIT, she is the top student at her high school and should be a shoe-in for the town's scholarship. As her stepfather won't give her any money to attend school, she has been working every hour she can at the Triple S sandwich shop since she was fourteen . She has a spreadsheet and a plan, saving everything for school.

When Clay (Coop) Cooper the loathsome shop owner and small town mogul, is found dead outside his house, the police investigation determines he was killed elsewhere. The problem is that Charlie is caught on the store camera after closing hiding under the counter on the night the murder occurred. Charlie refuses to say what she saw or heard because several people close to her have motives and she is going to protect those she loves. Charlie's silence, however, may be putting her in danger.

Charlie is a wonderful, fully realized, unforgettable character. The plot unfolds through her first-person narrative so readers can follow her thoughts, rules, and deductions as the sense of urgency and danger increase. She is a very sympathetic character. Clearly she is protecting those she loves while putting herself into harms way and a suspect herself.

American Girl is an admirably written, un-put-downable thriller that held my complete attention throughout the entire novel. There are facts Charlie is not divulging and twists along the way as more information is carefully released. What seems a simple case is much more complex and the character of Charlie makes it a remarkable, memorable psychological thriller.
Disclosure: My digital review copy was courtesy of Blackstone Publishing via NetGalley.
The review will be also be published on Edelweiss, X, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: October 17, 2023
Charlie Hudson has one dream- to leave the small town of Sawyer and go to college. In order to do this, Charlie works at a local sandwich shop, the Triple S, while achieving top marks in math and science and hoping for a scholarship. One night, however, the owner of the Triple S, Clay Cooper, is killed and Charlie was the only witness. Clay was not a nice person and everyone Charlie knows had a motive for killing him, so, to protect her friends, Charlie goes to great lengths, including risking her own life, to keep the truth from coming out.
I have had the honour of reading many of Wendy Walker’s novels, many of them earning five-star reviews, so it wasn’t even a question that I’d read her newest work, “American Girl”. When I found out the protagonist was neurodivergent, I was even more on board.
This novel is non-stop action and suspense. Charlie, the protagonist, is a seventeen-year-old girl who is living with her mother, her mother’s new husband, Dusty, and their three sons. An outsider in every way, Charlie finds escape in math and science, and in her friends at the Triple S. Following her “rules” of human interaction that she created with help from those around her, she aims to live a normal life, one far outside the boundaries of Sawyer. I loved each and every aspect of Charlie, and I admired her bravery, her innocence and her perseverance.
As “Girl” unfolds, there are many possible suspects for the murder of Clay, and Walker makes sure to leave the reader guessing until the final pages. The tension builds on each page, and slowly releases until the ending reveals the final, unexpected twist.
I can always expect Walker’s novels to be creative, tense, engaging and brilliant, and “American Girl” checked all the boxes. Anywhere Walker goes, I will follow, and I look forward to more of her novels in the future.

I've enjoyed Wendy Walker's other books so I decided to give this one a try. I just really didn't enjoy it. It was described as "pulse-pounding" and it just really wasn't very thrilling for me. I didn't like the setting & atmosphere and I also didn't like the characters. The story was kind of annoying and the reveal wasn't quite as connected to the rest of the book as I had hoped, so it was just a series of misses for me.

While this seemed like more of a Young Adult book, I loved every minute of it. Wendy Walker has a way with words that is visceral: "They left so their son could live his dreams after he'd stolen my mom's."

This is about a teen, Charlie, on the spectrum, living in her snow globe world, a town where the ones who get out are the lucky ones. She's got many rules for living, and several more that she has to add once she's been connected to the murder of her boss at the Triple S. A rule that's even firmer than "Rule Number Thirty-One: Trust but verify, because everybody lies sometimes".

Charlie has one goal in life outside of protecting her friends and that is getting out of Sawyer and going to college at MIT. Despite her stepfather. Despite her history. And despite this stupid town.

Read American Girl, and meet the smartest teen in Sawyer.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an advance reader's copy.

American Girl is a fast-paced mystery told from the perspective of Charlie, a hard-working 17 year old girl on the autism spectrum. She lives in a small town, working at a diner owned by Clay Cooper, a powerful man with lecherous intentions. He is murdered and she is the only witness, but she didn't actually see his murderer. Charlie is concerned it is someone she loves as he has so many enemies. The story is filled with twists and turns, imperfect characters, and a vivid backdrop. I loved how clever Charlie was. I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by a full cast. The ebook and audiobook are so cinematic.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

This is my 4th book by Wendy Walker and it’s about a girl on the spectrum who could be a witness to a murder. This kept me engaged from the very first page with action packed scenes and I had a hard time putting it down. I do think this is my fave book by Wendy so far. Lots of lies, secrets, and who done its throughout. Lots of nice twists throughout too! I really enjoyed it. Thanks to NetGalley for this advance copy that comes out October 17, 2023.

American Girl was an interesting and fast-paced thriller from Blackstone Publishing and Wendy Walker. It is about Charlie, an autistic 17 year old who wants to get out of her small town as soon as she graduates. She is saving money for MIT by working at The Triple S, a sandwich shop owned by the most powerful man in town. When that same man is found dead, Charlie is the only witness to what may have happened. There are many people with motive, and there are also many people that Charlie wants to protect. As things get messier, Charlie has to try to decide who to trust and who has bad intentions.

Thoughts: I loved Charlie as a main character. She was fun to read about and I could empathize with her a lot. I felt like this was a quick read that had lots of layers and everyone wanted Clay dead. It was almost like a locked room style mystery, with the reader narrowing down the suspects. It didn’t have that big twist I was hoping for, but was more straightforward. I didn’t think there was a huge reveal, and the small twists were all pretty obvious.

Regardless, I really enjoyed Charlie’s perspective and the way that Walker did a wonderful job of portraying an autistic person. It was easy to get inside her head and thought process, and even though she didn’t get everything in the end, it was a good ending. 4-stars for this book!

First, thank you to Wendy Walker and Blackstone Publishing for an ARC of this book.

Overall, I thought this was a solid mystery that kept me interested in the storyline until the very end. I liked how Charlie was different than characters Walker typically writes. In the beginning of the book we find out that Charlie is autistic, and it was truly an interesting point of view to read from. I also enjoy Walker’s writing style and love how the ending to each chapter made me want to continue reading.

What I didn’t like was that the book was a bit predictable. I wasn’t quite shocked at the big reveal and that was a bit of a bummer. I also had to keep reminding myself that Charlie was a seventeen year old and it would make sense for her to be naive. But there were some events that just made me yell at my book, “seriously?!”.

Overall, a solid mystery for Walker! If you love looking for clues as you’re reading, this would be a great book for you!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4