My Five Word TL:DR Review: Dark, mysterious and typically Pinborough

They Say a Girl Died Here is a dark story, a little bit (well actually quite a lot) bleak in parts. Told by Anna it pretty soon becomes clear that the family dynamic is not great, on top of that, choosing to live in a down at heel farming town when trying to deal with family trauma is not a great combination. And, to complicate matters, Harper’s Creek has apparently suffered two rather gruesome murders, both young women, barely having had a chance to start their own life, and with the anniversary looming everyone is a little on edge. Not everyone believes the killer was caught (and it’s difficult to question events as the suspect was shot and killed at the time) It’s a combination of family drama, murder mystery and, as the description mentions, genre bending in terms of the twist in the tale.

I really like Pinborough and have read and loved many of her books. Now, when I picked this up I admit I wasn’t in the best headspace and so eventually I ended up putting it down, which was a big shock for me as this was a highly anticipated read. As it happened I really didn’t put it down for long because it seemed that the main character had actually got into my head and so I picked it back up. This was a really good read with the author’s signature twisted ending. I won’t say this is my favourite of hers, perhaps because it feels so bleak, but then of course it feels bleak given the subject matter!

Anna has suffered a traumatic event – something so bad that as a means of self protection her brain has decided to block out events. Her family, her mother, gran and younger sister, have since relocated to the town where the grandmother grew up – something that they had little say in as the gran bought the house and desperate times call for desperate measures and rent free accommodation is a must when dire straits come knocking. So, they’re living in a rather creepy house, that seems to have stood empty for some years for some reason. On top of this Harper’s Creek is also a strange place. It’s in decline, the surrounding farms struggling to maintain a livelihood, especially in the face of long periods of drought and the other inhabitants all feel a little odd, which is perhaps simply because of the horrors they’ve faced having two young females murdered within three years of each other. On top of this, the anniversary of the murders is looming and there is a very real feeling of tension as not everyone believes that the killer was caught. Could another victim have already been chosen?

What I really liked about this is, first and foremost, this author is a natural storyteller and I love the ideas and directions that her stories often take. She loves throwing in a curveball and TSAGDH is no exception. Her writing is easy to read, compelling and creepy, in fact I was reading late at night, alone, and one of the lights began to flicker and then went off – I kid you not – and I practically ran out of there and got in bed! So clearly it was giving me the heebies being on my own and reading. Does this happen to anyone else when they’re reading along at night or am I just a raging softie?

I felt, for a portion of the time that Anna was an unreliable narrator, in a really perplexing way. I even found myself flipping back and forth to see if I’d actually misremembered something. This is something you need to stick with as it plays into the story. Anna also felt a little reckless at times. This is a small town and she seems to be pushing a lot of buttons (quite often based on rather flimsy ideas) and more than that, placing a ‘come get me’ sign right above her own head if indeed the killer is still alive and out there.

The tension was palpable, like everyone is infected by this unknown fear and nobody really wants to speak of it. Of course, Anna has different ideas and is practically running round the place stirring up the pot.

Anna’s family are definitely on the verge of falling apart. Her gran seems to have a case of rather aggressive dementia, her mum is sad, lonely and overworked and her sister is coming to terms with being uprooted from her friends and being relocated at such a difficult age. Home life is not exactly a bag of cherries and Anna has become almost like a nurse and babysitter to her gran and younger sister due to her mother’s late night shifts. Then, unexpectedly Anna’s gran starts to become more amenable towards her, perhaps the two are becoming closer now they’re spending more time together – not to mention both of them having these terrible holes in their memories. Anna’s gran seems to be having very bad dreams – or are they dreams? She seems to be having conversations and it all sounds mysteriously connected to the murders. In fact Anna and her gran seem to have become inextricably linked somehow.

Now, in terms of slight issues. Well, yes this is bleak but given what’s going on that’s only to be expected. I always enjoy the strange twists that the author comes up with – but – in this instance I felt like the actual uncovering and conclusion were both a little rushed and also not quite as polished or smooth as I’ve come to expect from this author.

In conclusion though. I did enjoy this story. It was a good read, plenty of suspicious people. Anna running round town like a maniac accusing people left, right and centre, a good deal of family drama and a satisfying ending. I think Pinborough lovers will enjoy this even if it’s not quite as smooth as some of her other works.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

My rating 4 of 5 stars