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Karen Perry

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Girl Unknown: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Karen Perry (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

3.9 174 ratings

Editors' pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

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Girl Unknown by critically acclaimed author Karen Perry is a powerful novel that “Explores emotional danger with relentless, surgical accuracy.”
—Tana French, New York Times bestselling author of The Trespasser and In the Woods

David and Caroline Connolly are swimming successfully through their marriage’s middle years—raising two children; overseeing care for David’s ailing mother; leaning into their careers, both at David’s university teaching job, where he’s up for an important promotion, and at the ad agency where Caroline has recently returned to work after years away while the children were little. The recent stresses of home renovation and of a brief romantic betrayal (Caroline’s) are behind them. The Connollys know and care for each other deeply.

Then one early fall afternoon, a student of sublime, waiflike beauty appears in David’s university office and says, “I think you might be my father.” And the fact of a youthful passion that David had tried to forget comes rushing back. In the person of this intriguing young woman, the Connollys may have a chance to expand who they are and how much they can love, or they may be making themselves vulnerable to menace. They face either an opportunity or a threat—but which is which? What happens when their hard-won family happiness meets a hard-luck beautiful girl?

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An intense psychological thriller that explores emotional danger with relentless, surgical accuracy."
--Tana French, New York Times bestselling author of The Trespasser and Into the Woods

"Full of intrigue and incident--keeps us guessing until the very last tragic page."
--Liz Nugent, bestselling author of Unraveling Oliver and of Lying in Wait

"Compulsively readable, with surprises until the very last page. . . . A chilling tale about a family under threat from one of its own."
--Jessica Treadway, author of Lacy Eye and How Will I Know You?

"[Girl Unknown] is must-read literary suspense, with dueling character perspectives and sly twists forming a gut-wrenching exploration of trust, manipulation, and obsession."
--Booklist (starred review)

"A convincing glimpse into the fragility of family life and the terrible burden that the past can put on domestic life."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Builds to an incredibly tense finale--before delivering an amazing final twist. Riveting stuff."
--Sunday Mirror

"Richly satisfying . . . a book that hooks the reader from the first page. The tension is relentlessly dialed up to an almost unbearable level as the story unfolds."
--The Irish Independent

About the Author

Karen Perry is the pen name of Dublin-based authors Paul Perry and Karen Gillece. Together they wrote Girl Unkown.

Paul Perry is the author of a number of critically acclaimed books. A recipient of the Hennessy Award for New Irish Writing, he teaches creative writing at University College, Dublin.

Karen Gillece is the author of several critically acclaimed novels. In 2009 she won the European Union Prize for Literature (Ireland).

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B073TT1TDF
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Henry Holt and Co. (February 6, 2018)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 6, 2018
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1935 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 287 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #1,222,994 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #2,439 in Domestic Thrillers (Kindle Store)
- #4,874 in Domestic Thrillers (Books)
- #9,467 in Serial Killer Thrillers

Customer Reviews:
3.9 174 ratings

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Karen Perry

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Karen Perry is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Your Closest Friend, Can You Keep a Secret?, Girl Unknown, Only We Know and The Boy That Never Was, which was selected for the Simon Mayo Radio 2 Book Club. She lives in Dublin with her family.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5

174 global ratings

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G. Smith

Well-written page-turner

Reviewed in the United States on March 14, 2018

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Well-written page-turner. What more could you want? Really enjoyed it!

2 people found this helpful

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bernadette mooney

Interesting story

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2019

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Interesting book but could have moved a little faster

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2018

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I had trouble sticking with this book and put it down several times. I finally pushed my way through it but was somewhat bored. The plot was unimaginative and just a rehash of so many stories and movies that have already been done. I felt the characters did not react to situations in a realistic way. There were too many times that I thought the characters were stupid- it made it hard to empathize with anyone.

One person found this helpful

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Terry Chautin

Gotta at the end.

Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2018

Keep you guessing.

An unsettling, literary family drama.

Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2018

3.5 Girl Unknown is written by two authors - Paul Perry and Karen Gillece. I mention this right off the bat as Girl Unknown is told in alternating chapters from a husband and wife and I wonder if each author took on one of the personas writing the book.

David is a university professor. He is stunned when one of his first year students comes to his office professing to be his daughter. When DNA results prove that she is, he wants her to be part of his family, along with his son and daughter. But his wife Caroline, while welcoming Zoe on the surface, has her own doubts about Zoe's motives. And being privy to both David's and Caroline's take on the situation, the reader does as well.

I did not like David at all. Even though he starts out trying to do the right thing, I found him somewhat entitled and smug. Without giving anything away, as the book progresses, his thoughts and actions became increasingly disturbing to me. Caroline has made mistakes in the past and is far from perfect, but she is the character I was on side with the most. Zoe is a manipulator, beguiling David and toying with his wife, children and friends. I wondered what her end game was.

Kudos to Perry and Gillece for creating such strong reactions in this reader. Their depiction of this couple's interactions is really well done. And I liked the back and forth of the chapters, seeing the same events through different eyes. As the cracks in their foundation widen with the addition of Zoe, the reader knows that things are not going to go well. And it was here that I grew saddened (and a little frustrated) with the inability of this couple to actually be honest with and listen to each other and to actually see what is going on in their lives.

Those looking for a fast paced thriller won't find it in Girl Unknown. Instead it is a slow burn, with the tension and the inevitable outcome building with every chapter. But, I was caught unawares by the final turn the ending took. An unsettling, literary family drama.

2 people found this helpful

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Leah Ahern

Ehh

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2018

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I was really enjoying this right up until Part 4 or so. The ending felt overdone and predictable, and made me just a little sorry I read it in the first place. But because I enjoyed about 90% of it, and because the narration was AMAZING to listen to (I alternated between listening to the audiobook and reading, and the narrators has Irish accents) I leave it with 3 stars.

3 people found this helpful

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Release the Bookhounds

Not a fan

Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2018

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I am 60% through this book but, emotionally and from a reader's standpoint, almost 100% done with it. Dueling unreliable narrators, an unlikable cast, a horrible marriage all contribute to have me feeling disconnected from this story. I purchased this for my Kindle solely based on Tana French's endorsement as she is a writer whose every novel I devour and admire. However, I find that this work doesn't speak to me on that level and I'm not even sure I will finish this one.

5 people found this helpful

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Red Rock Grandma

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2018

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Wow...page turner

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