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Girl A

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Girl A

By: Abigail Dean
Narrated by: Holliday Grainger
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About this listen

‘The year’s best debut’ SUNDAY TIMES

‘The best crime novel of the year’ INDEPENDENT

‘Sensational. Gripping, haunting, and beautifully written’ RICHARD OSMAN

CHOSEN AS A BEST BOOK OF 2021 BY THE TIMES, THE FT, THE GUARDIAN, THE INDEPENDENT, STYLIST AND MORE!

‘The biggest mystery thriller since Gone Girl’ ELLE
‘The novel you’ll stay up reading until 3am’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘An astonishing achievement.’ JESSIE BURTON
‘Gripping, beautifully written perfection.’ SOPHIE HANNAH
‘A masterpiece.’ LOUISE O’NEILL
‘Fantastic.’ PAULA HAWKINS

‘Girl A,’ she said. ‘The girl who escaped. If anyone was going to make it, it was going to be you.’

I am Lex Gracie: but they call me Girl A.
I grew up with my family on the moors.
I escaped when I was fifteen years old.

NOW SOMETHING IS PULLING ME BACK…

RIGHTS SOLD IN 36 TERRITORIES

SOON TO BE A TV SHOW DIRECTED BY JOHAN RENCK (Chernobyl)

‘Incendiary, beautifully written debut’ Guardian
‘Psychologically astute, adroitly organised, written with flair’ Sunday Times
‘Terrifyingly gripping’ SUSIE STEINER
‘Beautiful’ ADELE PARKS
‘Incredibly well written, devastating in a good way, and intriguing to the last page’ LIZ NUGENT
‘I was obsessed by it. As close to perfect as thrillers get’ JOHN MARRS
‘A gripping debut’ Oprah magazine
One of Marie Claire, Waterstones and Grazia’s best books for 2021
A Sunday Times No.2 bestseller for w/e 6/2/21
A New York Times bestseller

©2020 Abigail Dean (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers Coming of Age Crime Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Psychological Thriller & Suspense Crime Emotionally Gripping Exciting Scary Tear-jerking Suspense

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All stars
Most relevant  
if you understand trauma you will understand this story and all of its twists ..

A complicated story of survival and trauma.

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This is indescribably perfect. It is the hardest read because of the subject matter but the writing is exquisite. I have never cried so much when reading anything before. I sobbed. If you want to be moved, shaken to your core and taken through Girl A’s experiences as if you were there...read it. You will be changed.

The most incredible book

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You need to get past first half of book to have this story fairly told. The second half is devastating. It is not a graphic book but it is excellent at conveying the ever present anguish and bewilderment of the narrator Lex or Girl A.
And the curious triumph of her adult life. You need to read and judge for yourself and ignore any who gave up during first half. This book captures the different elements of the aftermath of physical and psychological abuse.

This is a good book

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One of the most engaging, entrancing books I've read or listened to in a very long time - dark and shocking at times and yet always veined through with humanity - both frail and triumphant.
Sadly, all too believable if a little too optimistic and redemptive in the writing of some of the main characters. Beautifully and imaginatively narrated (with a couple of misteps - only a few - that somehow endeared me more to the reader).

Remarkable

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Beautifully and sympathetically written and narrated

Strong, powerful and heart wrenching …. A must read/listen

Gripping

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Have listened twice to this. The second time I had a greater appreciation for the word wizardry. Well read, The content is difficult, but it is well structured so you get a break from the tough stuff. The time shifts work well to support the structure. The prose, character and setting descriptions are excellent.

The prose is excellent

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I absolutely loved this book, at times it was hard to listen to but was so good. There was one part that I struggled to understand what had happened to one of the children so I messaged the author on instagram and she replied. Absolutely amazing complex story well written and read.

Loved Every Second

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Took a while to get going and was difficult to keep track of all the different characters and the way it moved from past to present a lot. It could of been brilliant but there was no depth to any of the characters really. I wanted to know much more. I was disappointed at the sudden ending

Could have been so interesting.

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The narrator nailed it spot on I thought it was cleverly read/ performed by @Holiday Grainger. @Abigail Dean I had not read before, Nominated for awards I looked and marked it to read, but when I read the hype was unsure. My goodness I am so pleased I succumed, it was worth every second of my time. I should have read it sooner. The kick/ twist at the end kept me from easily putting this one away.

Not to be missed. But you need to be brave

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This is a bleak read of an abusive childhood situation. While the author can have an incredible turn of phrase at times, she also has a scattered narration and some epic ambiguity which made me question whether she was incredibly clever at portraying an unreliable narrator or just annoyingly bad at sorting her narrative.
I disliked the book because if it’s dreadful abusive subject, the bleakness and depressive nature of the subject made me wonder what type of person would write this and also what type of person would enjoy this!
If you like to be a voyeur upon pain and suffering, this book is for you. Otherwise, steer clear.

Bleak and rather odd

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