My latest mini book review is of Girl A by Abigail Dean. The cover might give rise to expectations of a high-octane rollercoaster of twists and shocks, in the vein of the similarly titled ‘Gone Girl’. However, this book is actually slow burning and quite ‘literary’. It paints a psychological portrait of a survivor of childhood abuse at the hands of notorious parents – think Fred and Rose West.
The story begins with the eponymous Girl A being drawn back to the ‘House of Horrors’, from which she escaped years earlier, when her mother dies in prison. Dean very masterfully creates three-dimensional characters with complicated relationships. Despite the premise, there is very little high drama, but an atmosphere of dank, grubby creepiness pervades throughout.