THE GOLDEN GIRL by Dana Perry

Genre: Mystery & Thriller

Published: June 2020, Bookouture

Swathi’s Rating: 4/5

About the Book

Maura was perfect. A perfect liar.

One humid summer evening, Officer Maura Walsh is led to her table at a local restaurant – it’s a trendy place with cocktails on the menu, full of office workers leaning across the bar to flirt. She’s prettier than most of the women here, but everybody gives her a wide berth. She doesn’t eat or drink anything. She doesn’t meet anyone’s eye.

An hour later, Maura is dead. Her silky red hair swirls in the dirty puddles beneath her body. The dank walls of a forgotten alley are the last thing she ever saw. It took a long time for Maura to die, alone in the dark.

Somebody made sure she would have plenty of time to think about what she’d done.

This totally twisty and absolutely gripping read will keep you turning the pages late into the night. Perfect for fans of Willow Rose, Gregg Olsen and Lisa Jackson.

Swathi’s Thoughts

I love it when a book begins with the murder scene promised in the blurb. It hooks you right there and you want more and more of the building suspense. It’s almost a compulsion!

This is the second book to feature reporter Jessie Tucker, So if (like me!) you had not read the previous book, you might find a tad bit difficult to follow Jessie’s BG. Especially when it’s described as traumatic and a victim of abuse.

Anyway, when Police officer Maura Walsh’s body is found, it’s the talk of town. Mainly because everyone knows the Walsh were a family of cops and its a HUGE story for a journalist to cover, before anyone else could lay hands. Jessie would do anything to peep closer into the case and she uses her contacts to know more about the dead police officer. Turns out she wasn’t at all the ‘Golden Girl’ described lovingly by the press and her proud cop father. More investigation only brings out secrets that might involve some of the city’s big names and soon Jessie would regret getting too closer.

This is for fans of Police Procedurals with a twist. Here the investigation is led by a badarse reporter with a narrative that is fast paced and shrewd with details. If you like Journalism, here is Dana Perry offering insight on how the Press and Media works and the pressure and competition experienced by the journalists to keep up with the demands of the digital world. Jessie comes out as self-centered, hardworking, traumatized young woman who is trying hard to make a name for herself – and not a pity one. I want to read more of books featuring her in the future. She is a good’un.

A light read that definitely entertains the reader looking for a quick, pacy crime fiction. Many thanks to Bookouture and Sarah for having me on the Blog Tour. All opinions are mine.