I found this book very difficult to get info. The plot was drawn out and very few characters seemed to suffer any consequences for their actions. The main character was unlike able

This is the first book I have read by Whitaker and I am so impressed. His writing style is really expressive, it captures you attention and never lets go. If you read the first chapter and don't feel compelled to keep reading I'd be shocked.

The story itself is super dark and at times depressing. However Whitaker's takes poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence and more head on. The exploration of these realities adds another layer to this story that was really fascinating.

While there were many characters in play I still felt like I knew enough about all of them, which is rare for me. There are a few that I wanted more background on, like Samson, but for the sake of the story I feel like they were fleshed out enough.

This southern gothic mystery was just fantastic. It's absorbing and grips you from beginning to end.

I've been struggling with figuring out how to review this mind boggling book. It will make you feel. It will make you uncomfortable. It's very dark, very atmospheric, quite disturbing. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who is easily shaken. I'm not, and I felt it. It's mostly written in a kind of small town southern dialect, and it took me awhile to get used to the vernacular. After about 10% it just flowed, I adapted easily even thought it's a bit different than what I usually read. Definitely worth the initial struggle. Sexual themes and themes of abuse feature, so that's something you should expect when you pick it up.

Summer and Raine are young teens, and they're twins. They couldn't be more different. Raine is a little wild... drinking, staying out late, running around with boys, and exploring her sexuality. Summer is sweet, intelligent, a voracious reader, a bit shy, and accomplished. Who disappears? Summer.

Though she packed a bag and appears to have left on her own accord, Summer is not the first pretty young lady to disappear in the area. They were all church going girls, devout and well-behaved. They are all gone without a trace, vanished leaving no clue as to their whereabouts.

Everyone is looking for Summer. Her father roams the town with his friends, his "boys" with their guns, seeking vigilante justice. Raine is looking too. She's as fierce and determined as anyone else. She has allies in Noah and Purv, two young men deemed as losers from most of their peers but eager to help. Uncovering Summer's life before she disappeared, who she spoke to, who she spent time with, is no easy task. They're determined. The popular opinion is that the girls have been taken by some kind of fearful perhaps even supernatural creature that can simply vanish into the woods, making the parents hold their pretty young daughters tight and pray for a reckoning.

This story features a lot of characters and very dark themes. We get chapters from Summer before she disappeared, and also from twin sister Raine, her friends Noah and Purv, and what passes for law enforcement in town. Every single character has many layers and a lot of backstory. It can be hard to keep track at times, but staying focused is worth it.

A heavily religious old school poor town during the panic about the occult in the 90's, you're in for a wild ride. This time period is when parents worried about everything from the music their children preferred to the books they read, thinking they were somehow connected with the devil. It's dark and disturbing, and worth the read.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley and Bonnier Zaffre, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.

All the Wicked Girls is incredibly well written and the characters are so well drawn I was completely absorbed in the story A real page turner, I started reading early evening and didn’t put it down until I’d finished at 3am.
Dark, addictive and compelling, I thoroughly enjoyed this haunting and atmospheric story. Highly recommended.

Thank you!

This was my first book by Chris Whitaker and it blew me away. Set in Alabama in 1995, the novel centres around the unsolved disappearances of a number of young girls by someone known only as the Bird. Following the disappearance of Summer Ryan, tensions begin to rise within the community of Grace, as neighbour turns on neighbour. The rural setting heightens the fear and suspicion, reflected in the cloud hovering about the town, which is keeping them in literal darkness. There's a storm brewing and the only question is when it will break.

The style of the narrative drew me into the story immediately using an informal and authentic voice. Fifteen-year-old Raine Ryan is a nuanced and complex character. I was invested in her from the moment she was introduced as she is just so compelling. Raine is flawed and adrift, lashing out at people, seemingly hopeless yet yearning for more from life. Raine's efforts to find her twin sister, Summer, form the backbone of the book. As the mystery of Summer's disappearance continues, the tension is heightened by interspersed passages written from Summer's perspective.

The characters in this novel are definitely not black and white. Most are flawed in some way but trying to change. I especially loved the friendship between Noah and Purv, which was so sweet yet heartbreaking at times. The book ends on a hopeful note, with the promise of a better future for the characters I grew invested in. I would definitely recommend this book for fans of 'The Roanoke Girls' by Amy Engel, and for anyone who enjoys a well-plotted and atmospheric mystery.

I'm sorry but although I tried several times I just couldn't get into this book. The characters didn't appeal nor the story.

Yet another riveting read from one of my new favourite authors, Chris Whitaker. Having read and loved his first novel, Tall Oaks, I was very excited to read this one and I’m happy to say that it didn’t disappoint. Similarly to his first novel All the Wicked Girls is a story of secrets, lies and suspicion in small town America, however this one is much, much darker.

Grace is a god-fearing town where people attribute the unpleasant and the unexplainable to the devil, including the big black cloud that hangs menacingly over the town. Several local church-going girls have already gone missing when the book begins and then Summer, the ‘good girl’ half of the Ryan twins, disappears but leaves a note. Her sister, Raine, the troubled half of the pair is determined to find her. The remainder of the book’s chapters alternate between the ongoing events in the town and Summer’s personal story, and Summer is not the paragon of virtue that people believe her to be.

All the Wicked Girls is an exceptionally well-crafted novel, haunting and atmospheric in tone, with an intricately woven plot and authentic characters. I can’t wait for Chris Whitaker’s next book!

This novel reminded me very much of the True Detective tv series. It kept me guessing until the end and I suspected many different characters throughout the novel, which was cleverly done. Only slight criticism is I didn't understand the relationship between Purv and Noah or the significance of Noah having (termina?) cancer. I really enjoyed the boys' interactions and could tell the author got great pleasure from writing them, however to me they could have been a book on it's own.

This was a really well written book but for some reason I was having trouble following it. The author did a great job describing situations and characters but there were times in the big I lost track and had to read over again. It was almost like there was more than one plot and I wasn't sure what went within it at times. I look forward to reading more books from this author, Than you NetGalley and Chris Whitaker for allowing me to read and review this book.

<p>For over a year five young, churchgoing girls have disappeared from Briar County. They are know as the “Briar girls”. The citizens of Grace, Alabama have told their kids not to go out after dark and under no circumstances should they even look in the direction of Hell’s Gate National Forest. The newspapers have nicknamed the perpetrator as “the Bird” and that is how Grace’s citizens now live – in fear of “the Bird”.</p>

<p>Out of the blue another girl has now gone missing, Summer Ryan. Unlike the other five girls, Summer has left a note. Is she the sixth “Briar girl”? Summer’s twin sister Raine has taken matters into her own hands and is determined to leave no stone unturned to find her sister.</p>

<p>From the very first page Chris Whitaker does an excellent job of setting the tone for this book. It takes place in the small town of Grace, Alabama. Its citizens have a southern dialect that easily transports you right to the south.</p>

<p>This book is dark and heavy. Don’t expect a light, fun mystery – this book is quite the opposite. Through much of the story there is a dark storm cloud hanging over the town of Grace.</p>

<p><em>The bird was back, God sent the cloud ’cause the devil was at work in Hell’s Gate.</em></p>

<p>I wouldn’t call this a religious book, but it very much centers around “the church”. Not just St. Luke’s in Grace, but many other outlying churches. All five girls that disappeared were churchgoers, but not all from the same church.</p>

<p><em>The bell tower at St. Luke’s is something special. It chimes on the hour. Don’t matter if I’m reading or watching Raine swing out over the Silver. I always hear it and I always notice ’cause it’s kinda like the heartbeat of Grace.</em> </p>

<p>The atmosphere Chris Whitaker created was fantastic and the last 40% of the book was very intense. It didn’t pull me in and sweep me off my feet as much as I had expected it too, but overall I thought it was a pretty good story. I do appear to be in the minority of how much I enjoyed this book, so I encourage you to give it try.</p>

<p>*Thank you NetGalley, Bonnier Zaffre, and Chris Whitaker for the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest opinion.</p>

This is a really good book that kept me on my toes the characterization was spot on and believable and the setting was authentic or as I imagine it to be anyway, all the more surprising to find out that this is a British author, and not some one from the deep south of America. This is a talented writer and one I will be looking out for. I am not going to give anything away, but would say that anyone looking for a well written book , that feels very real and will capture your imagination and interest you will enjoy this.Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Summer Ryan goes missing from her home town. She’s not the first girl to disappear. Four other girls, all sweet church going ones, have vanished from a neighbouring town. They’ve not been found, nor the person responsible who they call The Bird. The local police force is tired and feels beaten. So when Summer goes missing, it’s Raine who throws herself into the search for her twin sister.

There is a dark cloud hanging over the small town of Grace, Alabama. In more ways than one. I mean, there really is an actual dark cloud threatening a huge storm. But there’s more than that as tension in the town rises and people turn on one another.

I have to say this book wasn’t at all what I was expecting. At its heart, it’s crime fiction dealing with missing girls but there is so much more to it than that. All the Wicked Girls is quite slow and incredibly dark but the tension is palpable throughout. It’s incredibly intelligently plotted and amazingly descriptive. Not having read the author’s previous book, Tall Oaks, I had no idea what I was letting myself in for. While it took me a while to get used to the very distinct writing, it was the atmosphere that sucked me in as it oozes from the pages. I could hear the Southern drawl in my head, hear the crickets chirping at night and completely imagine the oppressiveness of living in a small and poor town in Bible Belt country.

These characters will stay with you for a long time as the author really brings them to life. It’s all incredibly realistic and believable as the town residents try to cope with the challenges life throws at them, with topics ranging from child abuse to drug addiction to dealing with the loss of a child. And yet somehow, the author manages to occasionally lighten the mood with brilliantly witty one-liners.

There was a moment, right at the end of this book, when I realised that I had been holding my breath for ever such a long time. I don’t know whether I have just been exceptionally lucky to read so many good books this year, but I worry that I’m in danger of being accused of liking everything.

There’s no choice with All the Wicked Girls, though, because it is a brilliant book.

The story is about Summer Ryan, the latest in a line of young, church going girls in the small town of Grace, Alabama, to disappear, and of her twin sister Raine’s search for her.

It is written incredibly well. Whitaker captures the small town Alabama feel with piercing accuracy and his characters are so well drawn you come to feel that you know them and would recognise them if you saw them on the street.

The power of this book comes from that acute observation and from a massive sense of place and atmosphere – and because these are characters you are mesmerised by. In turns gripping and heart-breaking, this is so much more than a crime novel – it tells the story of a community with so many flaws and dark secrets that when something really bad happens, there is nowhere for anyone to hide.

A dark cloud is literally hanging over Grace. Tempers are frayed, suspicions aroused and there’s a dark malevolence in the small town fuelled by too much drink, too much poverty, so many secrets and so little hope.

As the Chief of Police, Sheriff Black battles his own demons to try to keep a lid on the mounting sense of panic and vigilantism growing in the town, the thin veneer of respectability peels away from those in positions of responsibility and it is left to Raine and her unlikely companions to try and find Summer.

This is a great crime book but it is also fabulous fiction written with literary skill and finesse.

It is raw, immersive, and powerful and invokes such emotion that it is impossible not to be affected by it. incredibly well plotted it is both compelling and devastating. I don’t think I have read anything so powerful in this genre all year. Chris Whitaker is simply an extraordinary talent.

So, I’m going to have to urge you to buy it, because it really is that good.

All The Wicked Girls is a gripping crime novel that is dark, intense, and atmospheric. Chris Whitaker's writing style is perfection, from the realistic characters to the way he captures the expressions and mannerisms of a small southern town. I found myself reading with a southern drawl throughout - I don't do that very often.

"Raine sometimes complains that nothing exciting is ever gonna happen in Grace again. Daddy told her careful what you wish for."

15-year-old Summer Ryan goes missing in the small town of Grace, Alabama. Unfortunately, she isn't the first teenage girl to go missing in the last few years. Sheriff Black thinks she ran away, her troubled twin sister Raine doesn't believe that at all. Raine will do everything in her power to find her sister and bring her back home. But is there more to the model student and musical prodigy, Summer Ryan, than meets the eye...

This is more than a crime novel, this is a story of tragedy, heartbreak, hope, and love between two sisters. This book will definitely keep you guessing until the end. My hat goes off to Chris Whitaker and I'm looking forward to reading more of his books very soon! Highly recommend!

*I want to thank NetGalley and Bonnier Zaffre for the ARC of this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy

Twin sisters Raine and Summer live in Grace, Alabama with their parents Joe and Eva. Raine is the wild one, cutting classes and hanging out with the older boys. Summer is a budding cellist who is coached by Savannah the wife of the local priest. There is a large cast of characters in this book and I found the first few chapters hard to read because of the use of local dialect. I persevered and am so pleased I did because this is a well written story with some colourful people in it.

The story is told in the POV's of the twin girls. Summer leaves a note and disappears. There are 5 other girls missing in the local areas. Search parties are drawn up and Raine is joined by two local boys called Noah and Purv. For me these two were the most enjoyable. I loved their escapades which brought some much needed relief to a tale of abject misery, poverty and addiction.

Last year I was raving about Tall Oaks, a truly special debut that ended up being one of my favorite reads of 2016. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on All The Wicked Girls and I was simultaneously giddy and nervous when I started. I was so enraptured by TO that I worried that maybe I wouldn’t be as crazy about this one but all that worry was totally unnecessary as this was another amazing read that blew me away just as much as TO did.

I have a hard time reviewing books that truly move me and I think I may have finally found a structure that works for me recently with my review of The Good Daughter. I’m going to try that approach again here and hope that it shows you guys just how much I loved this book.

Small town America has never been portrayed so brilliantly.

What does a U.K. based author know about life in small town southern America? If you’re Chris Whitaker, EVERYTHING. ATWG is set in Grace, Alabama in the nineties and he captures the dynamics of a small southern town perfectly. Grace is a town full of despair and oppression, the residents are so tired and defeated, there is an overwhelming feeling of desperation and hopelessness that made me feel stifled and weary. Evoking unexpected emotions is always the hallmark of a gifted storyteller in my opinion. There is such a strong sense of place that imagining this town was effortless.

His writing is intense and his voice is wholly unique.

Adding to the amazing setting is the stylized writing used, the Southern expressions and mannerisms were dead on and I instantly found myself reading Whitaker’s prose in a lazy drawl. The weather plays a large role and I was immersed in the atmospheric nature by the extremely well crafted imagery he created. I can so easily imagine this town that I would love to see it as a movie!

His characterization is flawless.

For everyone that loved Manny in TO you’ll be pleased to know that Whitaker’s ability to create a memorable teenage boy was not a fluke. Noah and Purv are best friends who help Raine search for her sister, Summer and they were both the type of characters that you can picture leaping off the pages and walking down the street, they’re truly larger than life. Chief Black is a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders and Samson may be one of the oddest fictional characters I’ve ever encountered. That’s just a taste of the flawed, raw, astounding cast that features in this book.

He writes thrillers that make you feel all of the feelings.

Very few writers can move me to tears, I’m pretty stone cold but I definitely shed a few tears while reading this. Alright fine, it was more than a few tears, Whitaker completely shattered my heart and took my emotions on a roller coaster ride of epic proportions. I also laughed though, there is humor here as well which brings levity to an otherwise dark plot. He also explores dark themes such as domestic violence, drug abuse, poverty, loss and love in such a profoundly poetic way, its breathtakingly beautiful.

He takes intricate plotting to a new level.

You know how annoying it can be when you’re always two steps ahead of an author and you can see the plot twists coming a mile away? That doesn’t happen here, Whitaker is constantly leading the reader down one path only to knock you down just when you think you know exactly what’s going on. Nothing is as it seems and everyone has secrets, remember that and you’ll figure it all out. 😜

I’ll stop rambling now but I’ll finish by saying that this book proves that Whitaker is a force to be reckoned with, he is insanely talented and I would be honored to read his to do list. If you haven’t read TO yet, what are you waiting for?! Then when you get done and are desperate for more grab this one.

A hot summer with everyone under suspicion. Teenage girls are going missing and the adults seem more caught up in their own issues than the crimes at hand. The town is under a large cloud, adding to the sense that the inhabitants are cursed.

The last missing girl, Summer, is being looked for by her sister, who will not give up on finding her.

The Bird has taken 5 girls, called the Briar Girls. Has he taken Summer or did she run away like the police think she has? Raine, her twin, knows Summer didn't run and with a bad history with the police has decided that she needs to find her sister herself. The book is told in two narrations: first person from Summer narrating her own story and the history of the Briar Girls, and third person beginning with Summer's disappearance. Mr. Whitaker does a great job of letting the events and his writing bring out so much more of the town of Grace and its inhabitants than you might expect, from the black cloud that hangs over the town to stories of infidelity, drugs, child abuse, politics, God and religion, retribution, and more. There is a lot of detail and action crammed into the 437 pages of this book!

Quite different from what I was expecting: far more elegiac and sombre than Tall Oaks, far less overt humour. The characters are as nuanced as ever, and the teenagers are an endearing mix of sophistication, enthusiasm and mixed-up feelings. Summer's confused coming of age voice was particularly well done. Can't wait to see what this author does next.