The Liar's Girl

Starred review from December 11, 2017
Alison Smith, the narrator of this exceptional thriller from Irish author Howard (Distress Signals), is a student at St. John’s College in Dublin. After a friend of Alison’s becomes the latest victim of a serial killer who knocks women on the head and drowns them in Dublin’s Grand Canal, Alison’s boyfriend, 19-year-old Will Hurley, confesses to the crimes. Alison flees to the Netherlands to escape the shame she feels over not knowing the “true” Will. Ten years later, two women are found in the Grand Canal, killed in the very same way as those before. At the request of two detectives, Alison reluctantly returns to Dublin, where the imprisoned Will claims to have information pertaining to the murders that he will tell only her. Thrust back into the nightmare of her past, Alison assists the police in their effort to uncover whether a copycat killer is at work—or whether Will was unjustly convicted. Howard keeps the reader turning the pages right through to the shocking and satisfying resolution. Agent: Jane Gregory, Gregory & Company (U.K.).

February 1, 2018
Ten years earlier Alison Smith, a first-year student at St. John's College in Dublin, fled her past for a new life in the Netherlands. Five young Dublin women had been murdered, with their bodies found in the Grand Canal, the last of them being Alison's best friend from childhood, Liz. When Will Hurley, Alison's first real boyfriend and inseparable companion for months, confessed to being the Canal Killer, Alison desperately needed to escape the label of the girlfriend who suspected nothing. But when apparent copycat murders begin again in Dublin, and police want assistance from Will (who's confined to a psychiatric hospital), they need Alison's help, for Will refuses to talk to anyone but her. Alison reluctantly gives up her anonymity when she returns to Ireland, assuaging guilt about giving testimony that incriminated Will by turning investigator as she tries to sort through her emotions and revisit her complex relationship with Liz. Howard (Distress Signals, 2017) toggles smoothly between past and present, and between Alison and the perpetrator, revealing the extent of the lies only in the final pages. Another impressive writer to watch in the thriller genre.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

December 15, 2017
An Irish expatriate steps back into a nightmare from her student days.Alison Smith left St. Johns College in Dublin two days after her boyfriend was arrested for murdering five female students, and she's stayed away for nearly 10 years. She's found contentment of a sort at a job in the Netherlands, though she continues to resist a friend's attempts to set her up with eligible men. Then two Irish detectives come to her door and ask her to come home and talk to her ex, Will Hurley. He's been in a psychiatric hospital ever since he confessed to being the killer who preyed on lone female students. But now another victim's body has been found in Dublin's Grand Canal, and Will says he has information he'll share only with Alison. Even though she's spent the last decade pretending her year at St. Johns never happened, Alison agrees to help Will prove his innocence. It's a plus that Michael Malone, one of the two Garda detectives who brought her back to Dublin, also thinks Will is telling the truth. In flashbacks, we see Alison's excitement at leaving her childhood home in Cork for Dublin, searching for student digs and going to parties, her romance with Will, and her growing doubts about her BFF Liz's friendship. But she never doubted Will, never suspected him, and never thought that her desire to tell the truth would lead to his guilty plea. It's partly to right that unintentional wrong--and partly because of the encouragement from Detective Malone--that she tries to find the real Canal Killer. Amid distracting details about clothes and cushions, she confronts not only a past tragedy, but a current threat.Although Howard (Distress Signals, 2017) meanders a bit through the streets and shops and pubs of Cork and Dublin, she picks up the pace when it most matters--and tosses a lovely curveball at the end, too.

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Starred review from January 1, 2018

Ten years ago, Alison's college lover, Will, was jailed as a serial killer. Four young women were drowned in Dublin's Grand Canal, and Will confessed to the crimes. Alison left school and scuttled to a new life abroad. When the murders begin again, the police call Alison back to reopen the case, beginning with a reinterview of Will. After many flashbacks, readers are left to wonder, was Will innocent? What really happened the night Alison's friend Liz was killed? Can the dashing Garda (police officer) Malone find the clues? This interesting twist on the college campus thriller leaves the reader craving answers to the tantalizing questions posed by Irish novelist Howard (Distress Signals). Finding that she's been sleeping with a serial killer, with her best friend as the first victim, puts the central character in a shocking predicament. And being forced to confront the crime after ten years plays out a satisfying and tightly wound tale. VERDICT Readers of Paula Hawkins, Tana French, and Ruth Ware will love this exceptionally well-crafted thriller.--Susan Clifford Braun, Bainbridge Island, WA

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2018

Twenty-nine-year-old Alison has lived in the Netherlands for the past 10 years, finishing college and starting her professional life. She has never been back to Dublin, not even to visit her parents. Ten years ago, her boyfriend, Will, confessed to multiple murders, and the knowledge that she was in love with a convicted serial killer sends Alison reeling. Will is behind bars, yet the killings have resumed, and the Dublin police are desperate to stop them. Alison agrees to come back, speak to Will, and try to get helpful information. But all is not as it seems, and Alison is shocked to learn the truth. This novel is fast-paced and intriguing, keeping readers guessing until nearly the end. However, Alison prefers to hide rather than face up to reality, which makes sense when she is 19 but wears thin by age 29. Also, readers might get tripped up on the Irish vernacular, if they are only familiar with American English. VERDICT Overall a fun mystery. Purchase where fans of crime fiction abound.-Kristen Rademacher, Marist High School, IL

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.