The July Girls ~ Phoebe Locke

BIG STATEMENT ALERT! This could possibly be my favourite book of the year so far. Having recently purchased this book and being so intrigued by the blurb I could not wait to devour it. Eagerly finishing my current read so I could get started.

The July Girls by Pheobe Locke follows ten-year-old Addie who is already dealing with her absent mother and the dysfunctional family that has been left behind. On Addie’s birthday, four bombs go off in London, later known as the 7/7 bombings. This alters her already brittle world when her dad comes home covered in blood. Is it blood from the terrorist attacks or something much more sinister? Addie later finds the purse of a missing woman in her father’s room. Then every year, on Addie’s Birthday, another woman goes missing off of the streets of London. She believes her father is the man the police are hunting for but older sister and mother figure Jesse brushes these accusations under the carpet and takes a nannying job for the husband of one of the missing women. Inserting herself into their lives and maybe the investigation too. 

This book ticked all the boxes for me. Ultimately, Locke is telling two stories that parallel so seamlessly alongside one another. We see the compulsive side of a serial killer and the ever evolving relationship between sisters Addie and Jesse. The way in which Locke depicted the sister’s relationship was breathtaking and felt so real, an older sister having to step up and look after the younger, and the way this altered their relationship. A love that Addie once thought could never be broken but is somewhat shattered by deceit. Also, small glimpses from the killers perspective that are spread throughout show a link between them and Addie but it’s up to us to decide whether that is a physical link or something much more sinister.

I absolutely loved the nostalgic feeling that this book gave me. Being set throughout the noughties, an era I grew up through and have very fond memories of, the pop culture references and lack of technology gave me a warm fuzzy feeling in a book that also sent chills down my spine. It was a refreshing balance. This is then a brilliant contrast to the later parts of the book as you can really feel the years that have past and that you have gone through it with the characters. Locke’s writing built so much suspense throughout, I was on tenterhook from start to finish, that the ending honestly took my breath away and was something I did not see coming. The heartache I felt for Addie is something I haven’t felt for a character in such a long time.

This book deserves my biggest 5⭐️ review of 2020 so far and I cannot wait to get my hands on Locke’s debut thriller The Tall Man.

M🌸