The Girl I Used To Be

Reviewed by: Sheila Dube - Springvale Public Library, Springvale, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: September 28, 2016

Review

Fourteen-year-ago Olivia Reinhart was the three-year-old Ariel Benson who witnessed the murder of her mother, presumably by her father, left at a Walmart and spent years in the foster care system. The suspense begins from the first chapter as Olivia is running the forest being pursued by a killer. Henry then takes the reader back three weeks into the past when police come to the now emancipated Olivia's apartment using her old name and stating that her father's jawbone has been found a mile from the crime scene making him a victim after all these years. As she attends the funeral and relocates to the community of her past, the killer is assumed to be still lurking in the town. Olivia and her newly romantic partner Duncan start digging into possible suspects until the killer makes his/her presence known. Henry' s writing style provides quick pieces of information that share Olivia's struggles while she collects clues and the Oregon setting. The ability of Olivia to return to her town without being recognized by the majority of people seemed a bit unbelievable and the book jacket art depicting a face going underwater doesn't correspond to any murders in the story, but those are minor quibbles. Mystery and suspense lovers will enjoy this fast-paced whodunit that doesn't contain any graphic language or sexual situations.

Overall Book Score: very good