The Winter Girl by Matt Marinovich had potential, with a premise that promised psychological intrigue and dark secrets. Unfortunately, it failed to deliver on every level.

The characters were unlikable to the point of being unbearable—self-absorbed, impulsive, and devoid of any depth or redeeming qualities. Their actions often felt absurd and unmotivated, making it impossible to care about their fates.

The plot, while aiming for suspense, came across as disjointed and contrived. The twists felt more like shock value than meaningful developments, leaving a bad taste rather than genuine intrigue. Instead of building tension, the story leaned into increasingly disturbing scenarios without any payoff or satisfying resolution.

Worse still, the writing lacked the nuance needed for a compelling psychological thriller. The dialogue was flat, and the pacing dragged in places where it needed to build momentum. By the end, I was left wondering why I’d stuck with it at all.

If you’re looking for a well-written thriller with depth and complexity, The Winter Girl is one to skip. There are better ways to spend your reading time.

This book may not be for everyone.... but for me I can't say I didn't enjoy the book. Well written and a little strange but again... I think that may have been the author's idea when writing this book. I have no problems with recommending this book by any means.

At first, I liked this book. It sets itself up as an intriguing book. And then...it just goes off the rails big time and I was alternating between rolling my eyes and getting nauseous. Not a book for me, I can't believe I stuck with it and the ending is totally obvious to anyone who reads thrillers.

3 Stars: Review on Goodreads

I must say that I enjoyed this short read. It captured my attention quickly and flowed through consistently with keeping me guessing at the outcome. On that note, I wouldn't say that it necessarily stood out as fantastic either. It will be one that is forgettable, but this is an author I would continue to seek out new works by him.

Review for publisher via Netgalley.

I liked the creepy atmosphere of this book, but I didn't like how forced and manipulated some of the plot twists felt. Since I can't give it at least two stars, I'm not leaving a review on any platforms.

I was intrigued with this book when I first started reading it. But when I finished it, I was disappointed. I felt like a lot of plot points were left unresolved and I never really understood exactly what happened in the past to bring the characters to where they were.