It’s been a long time since I have posted any book reviews, but I’ve read some good stories lately, so it is about time I got back to it. I recently read “The Girl in Cell A,” by Vaseem Khan, so this one is a great place to start.
The tagline is sensational, but a little misleading. The main character, Orianna Negi, was convicted of murdering a man from a wealthy and powerful family in the small town where she grew up when she was just seventeen. She grew up as the daughter of the housekeeper on the family’s estate. She is a young woman of color, who has been generally ostracized for her entire life in a town where the Wyclercs run everything, from the mining company that dominates the town, to the local church, headed by a pastor from the eminent family.
The premise of the book is that Orianna is notorious in true crime circles for this murder – although that nationwide notoriety doesn’t really play into the novel much at all, and there’s no real payoff if following a character notorious everywhere is part of what draws you to the book. That makes me feel that the title doesn’t really fit the book. On the other hand, she is extremely notorious in the town where the murder happened, so that payoff is huge.
The other misleading piece from the tagline is that only she knows the truth. Anything but. She remembers nothing of the events surrounding the murder, and part of the plot of the book revolves around Orianna returning to the small town after her release from eighteen years in prison, to prove that she’s innocent and to find the true killer. She is convinced that she didn’t kill this man – and that she’s also not responsible for the disappearance of the daughter of the murdered man, who disappeared the same day of the murder, for which she is also blamed.
The other part of the plot occurs in an earlier timeline, prior to her release from prison. It is taken from the point of view of the mental health professional evaluating her for parole eligibility. She will only be released if she is willing to take responsibility for her crime. And she can only do that if the psychologist can help her recall the event. This section of the book is just as important to the resolution as Orianna’s timeline in town. I think there was a little too much emphasis on the psychologist’s personal life that was not relevant and could have been cut, but it isn’t a major detractor.
This is a really long book for a psychological thriller, and I have read other reviews that complains that it drags. I didn’t really feel that was the case. Each chapter has hooks at the end that make it difficult to put the book down. The suspense was intense. The author does reveal clues at a slow pace, but it feels more tantalizing than boring.
As each new piece of information is revealed in either timeline, I found myself rethinking how things must have played out. I tried out and discarded numerous theories about the killer, all of which were wrong. As the book goes on, more and more suspects arise based on the new details that are uncovered. Orianna meets – and clashes – with numerous characters, both inside the wealthy family, and townspeople, sometimes to the point of violence. All are outraged that the convicted killer of the beloved man is free and back in town, and declaring her innocence.
Read on if you don’t mind a slight spoiler alert – don’t worry – I don’t give away the killer.
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This book has an unreliable narrator in Orianna. That is not that much of a spoiler, since it is clear from the outset that Orianna does not remember the events and whether she is or isn’t the killer. The outcome of the book can go either way, all the way until the reveal. I did not figure out exactly how things went down, and many of the multiple twists were stunning.
Of note, however, the way in which she’s an unreliable narrator takes a couple of interesting twists, and I did appreciate the fact that she was not hiding information from me, as is common in some stories. I am not a big fan of unreliable narrators, but this was handled well from my perspective, because you knew she had holes in her memory from the outset. Her brain and her memories are a really murky place, and we know what she thinks she knows, when she knows it or remembers it, which I liked. The final reveals at the very end of the book weren’t that satisfying for me, however. I’ve read other reviews where readers agreed with me, and a number who felt the ending was brilliant, so I think this is just personal preference.
My overall impression and recommendation: The author writes well. The suspense was high throughout. I couldn’t put it down. I didn’t guess the plot twists and the ending was a mind blowing surprise. If you love a slow burn twisty psychological thriller with shocking revelations and a twisty ending, and you are okay with an unreliable narrator, you will likely love this book.
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