Ok, wow! I had a hard time putting this book down. It’s a very intense story. It builds very slowly, at time I was wondering where it was going, but by the end I was riveted. The characters are so intense, you feel like you grew up with them. #TheFourthGirl #NetGalley

I really did try with this book but it ended up a DNF for me at 30%. The jumping timelines between so many characters was convoluted and I the pages upon pages describing how one store used to be another, or one time a Dollar Store moved across town over the course of 25 years was mind numbing.

Not for me in the least.

The Fourth Girl certainly was atmospheric. Unfortunately, it just felt like too many other books out there. It wasn't bad! I wasn't mad that I read it. It just wasn't a knockout for me.

The story of four friends keeping a secret to keep the fourth one safe. But what happens when she never returns, when she said that she would exactly a year later? Now, 25 years later the mystery unravels about where she went and if she has come back. There are a few other mysteries wrapped up into this one, appearing that each of the three remaining girls got a different piece of the mystery no one having the full story.

This one felt a little premature on the ending. We never did get the why it all happened but this author also appears to be setting up for a series so perhaps in a later book we get the why that we didn't get here. I would've like the characters to be a little more developed as this one felt a little short and I wasn't attached to any of them.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. What an incredibly sad story. I had a feeling I knew what happened and why. I was so bummed out that I was right! Wendy Corsi Staub is a master of storytelling. Even though I knew what happened, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it down to the bitter end. It was an absolute page turner. Part of what made it that way despite knowing the outcome was her ability to create these amazing three dimensional characters. The four girls all had something in them that I could identify with, so watching their lives play out was like watching old friends in a movie. It really was a phenomenal story. If you’ve never read anything by this author, I highly recommend her. She’s the kind of writer that should be studied in writing courses!

Huge thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

Four best friends for life made promises and shared secrets never to be told to anyone else. Now twenty-five years have passed and three of the four are reuniting to keep the last promise made that night long ago. But is the fourth girl going to meet them as promised or did she truly dead like the whole town believes, or did she disappear like was her plan that her three friends helped her with. Before the meeting can happen a long ago friend is found dead and it may not be an accident. Is his death connected to the about to take place meeting, or is it merely a coincidence that his death occurs right now...and what about the two other bodies found near by...everything must be connected to the long ago secrets, right?

Midge, Kelly and Talia have been keeping a secret for years. When their friend, Caroline, went missing, they knew more than they admitted. Years later, they are hopeful that the lies can now end, but their reunion takes quite a twist! Fans of psychological thrillers will enjoy this!

Wanna read a book that keeps you guessing and makes you keep reading … and literally miss sleep? That’s this book? Enjoyable, exciting, and really fun read.

I felt like it was a little short and could’ve had a bit more development in the plot or characters to add to the books plot/story.. but it was a great read!

I found this book to be pretty engaging - the plot was well crafted and the characters kept me engaged throughout the story. I didn't find it to be too predictable or cliche.

The Fourth Girl is a now and then story. Then being prom night for teen girls Caroline,Kelly, Midge and Talia but now there are only three.
The story tells of what happened then or what the girls thought happened then but as the twisty ending draws near they find out how wrong they were. You won’t see it coming because they didn’t even see it coming.

Unfortunately this wasn’t for me. The back and forth between time frames wasn’t easy to track and the story was quite muted overall.

Although she has written a number of books and series, Wendy Corsi Staub is a "new to me" author. I was very excited to read The Fourth Girl, a thriller/suspense about four friends with a dark secret, three of whom are brought back together over unpleasant circumstances years later.

On their prom night, four friends gather at a party. One of the four slips away never to be seen again. The remaining three keep the secret of what really happened that night for 25 years. Now a murder has brought them back together. Midge, one of the friends, is a cop who has to investigate the murder. What she finds in the man's hand convinces her that his death is related to their long disappeared friend.

The Fourth Girl was very interesting as were the characters. Normally, this is exactly the type of book that really pulls me in. I'm not sure why I wasn't as thrilled with this one as I normally am. I suspect that the back and forth timelines - which normally don't bother me - coupled with so many characters going back and forth on those timelines was the reason. It really did get to be too much. I did like the ending and I do look forward to reading the next book in the series. I just really hope the next book is kept more tailored, less back and forth.

The Fourth Girl is the perfect start to an new series Haven Cliff .

The book goes between the past and the present .

In the past we meet four 16 year old girls that are best friends, have each others back and have given their promise to each other to be friends always.

Their names are Kelly, Midge , Tali and Caroline.

They celebrate this milestone with matching charm bracelets.

Prom comes and one of the girls disappears never to be found or seen again.

What do the other three know, it is hard to say for sure.

Life changes and we get older friends can drift apart and the other three do as their life continues on.

Flash to the present and Midge is Chief of Police and when two bodies are found in this quiet comminuity the questions are raised and people are asking could this be related to the disappearance of Caroline 25 years ago.

Wendy Corsi Stubb masterfully throws in twists and turns that had me guessing one way then quickly changing my mind.

Who could I trust.

The pages fly by and before you know it Haven Cliff #1 is finished.

I cant wait to see what happens in Book 2 and I will be first in line.

Great read that keeps you guessing and turning those pages.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the privilege of reading and reviewing The Fourth Girl.

Multiple POVs, alot of time line jumps, A lot of unanswered questions throughout the book which kept your reading to the end.
Thank you @netgalley for the arc of this book.

The Fourth Girl by Wendy Corsi Staub is a highly recommended mystery following four friends.

In Mulberry Bay, New York, Caroline Winterfield, Midge Kennedy, Kelly Barrow, and Talia Shaw are childhood friends. On Prom night in 2000 Caroline walks into the woods and disappears forever. Her disappearance is treated as a drowning. Midge, Kelly, and Talia know what happened and are keeping the secret, but they plan to return to the site where she walked off and meet on the anniversary.

Life intervenes with their plans and the three head in separate directions. On the twenty-fifth anniversary of that night, they plan a reunion and hopefully Caroline will meet them there. Once they meet it becomes clear that someone knows what happened and that another person may have witnessed something.

The plot is follows a familiar trope of friends keeping a secret but it is also entertaining and will hold your attention. The narrative jumps between time periods and characters so readers can understand what happened in the past, the intervening years, and in the present. It is somewhat predictable and the ending is not entirely satisfying.

What stands out in this version of the familiar plot are the well developed characters. Each character is portrayed as a unique individual and they all have distinct voices. As the narrative flips back and forth through time periods it is easy to follow who is who because they are distinguishable.

The Fourth Girl is a good choice for readers who appreciate fully realized characters in their mysteries. Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

I always love Wendy Corsi Staub. This book didn’t disappoint. Fantastic read! Thank you NetGalley and publisher for giving me the opportunity.

This one gave me all of the creepy spine tingles in all the right ways! I love when a book marketed as thrilling is actually thrilling.

This will wrap you in and continually grip you tighter until the very last page.

What a beautiful story about sisterhood and the rites of passage that shape us. Midge, Tallie, Caroline, and Kelly’s journey together—through both the highs and the hardest moments of their lives—felt so real and deeply emotional. Their bond was the heart of the book, and I was completely immersed in their story.

The emotional weight of this novel is overwhelming in the best way. It tugs at you, making you feel every joy, heartbreak, and moment of growth alongside the characters. And then, right in the middle of all that sisterhood, there’s a mystery woven in. The author masterfully drops little hints throughout but never reveals too much until the very end.

I love when a book keeps me guessing while also making me *feel* something, and this one did exactly that. It’s a beautifully written story, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a mix of deep emotions and well-crafted mystery.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for their generosity in allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Twenty-five years ago, 16-year-old Caroline walks into the woods on her Prom Night. She is never seen again. Kelly. Midge and Talia, her best friends, were there and they have a secret about that night. Midge grows up to be a detective and ends up with a case that could be connected. The story is told in both past and present and with multiple POV's. It does start off a bit slow but picks up fairly quickly and I had to know what happened! I enjoyed the police procedural aspect but couldn't help but think how much easier it would all have been had the girls just told what happened from the get-go. But kids do dumb things. I have read this author for years and she can always be counted on for quick, easy, suspenseful reads.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Wendy Corsi Staub and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, Instagram and other retail and social media sites upon publication day of March 25, 2025.

This book had a good storyline, but it took way too long for me to get into. The pov/timeline swaps every chapter threw me off and the timeline wasn't chronological in the flashbacks so it felt all over the place. As someone who has read dozens of thrillers, the plot twists were pretty predictable. If someone is new to the genre I could see them having their jaw dropped by this book.

I know this is set up as the first book in a series, so I'm hoping some of the unanswered questions do get answered in the next installment. I'll definitely read it because I need to know everything and the second half of the book had me tapping my Kindle to turn pages like a madwoman.