I loved this book! It was so fast paced with at least 3 twists I just didnt see coming.
This is actually a hard book to review without giving too much away. I feel like anything I say could spoil the twists :)
However there was such a gray area with right and wrong throughout the whole book and it made it very enjoyable to see how the main character dealt with all of that.
I would definitely recommend it if you like a book that keeps you turning the page and saying just one more chapter.

Oh I do love it when a book is good.

The Hanging Girl by Eileen Cook has been, for me, the surprise triumph of the year. I’ve never read anything by Eileen Cook before and I can admit that I was drawn to the book because of the cover which I found very intriguing. What I wasn’t expecting was to be sucked into this vortex of mystery and thrills which left me desperate to turn the page.

Skye is a con artist. She isn’t a petty criminal but she charges her fellow classmates for tarot readings all the while knowing that she has no psychic abilities. She swindles their money and she doesn’t feel bad about it.

However, Skye’s lying is about to catch up with her when a fellow student goes missing and the police begin to rely on her ‘visions’ to help solve the case. How far will Skye let the lie go?


The Hanging Girl is a thrill ride of a book. You are constantly questioning the things around you. I was constantly on the edge of my seat whilst reading it. It is definitely a book that you can immerse yourself in that has a central theme but also deals with other issues such as social poverty and privilege.

The Hanging Girl is a book worthy of the phrase ‘page turner.’

The Hanging Girl by Eileen Cook is available now.

For more information regarding Eileen Cook (@EileenWriter) please visit www.eileencook.com.

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I don't always leave reviews on DNF books but felt I needed to explain myself with The Hanging Girl. This book isn't my first Eileen Cook (Author) rodeo. I was utterly absorbed by With Malice (I really enjoyed that book - 4 stars) and Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood was a solid 3.5 star book for me. So, when I saw The Hanging Girl on NetGalley I jumped at it.

The Hanging Girl had such an interesting, intriguing synopsis that I thought it would be right up my alley. I love a YA thriller and this sounded good. The book starts out kind of odd. I didn't even warm to Skye at all and disliked Drew on the spot (She just didn't feel a good friend - I couldn't put my finger on why). Skye has a huge chip on her shoulder and I got why I really did, but still I didn't feel any real empathy with her. I didn't feel like she was helping herself at all. Then we have Paige the girl going missing and things kind of sprung about out of nowhere for me. I was a little confused but kept reading. I got answers. It just felt that each time we had a revelation it was a total Out of nowhere thing. I didn't feel the build up. And still there was no connection to Skye. As she got deeper into things I still didn't like her. When Drew confronted Skye about the info she gave the police etc (I want to say about 40% in?) I got more annoyed. Drew just came off as a shitty friend and again Skye came across as all about her and nothing else.

I don't know if I was missing something. Maybe I missed a page? Could happen. Maybe I'm not in tune enough for YA books? I have 3 teen daughters and love YA books, always have. I like Eileen's other work. But this book was a no for me. At 47% I wondered why I was continuing to read about characters I didn't like (Please note I've not gone into other characters as I didn't want to put across spoilers - Pluto etc).

I thank NetGalley and the publishers for gifting me the book and hope that I still get the chance to read future releases by Eileen, but this was a DNF for me and not something I will go back and read - sorry.

Ah I literally finished this book in less than a day! I instantly liked and connected with Skye's character. She was out of her depth and got in too deep and I can't give much away because it'll be major spoilers because this book had a twist I didn't see coming. And then another twist that is like Oh damn! Really? Did that just happen?

You think plans will go so easily without a hitch. Nope. And it's like well now you've just got to live with it because what's done is done and what else can you do? It's more understandable when you read it.

Skye sort of doesn't really have any particular close attachments to any of the other characters, besides Drew, but attachments can be severered, lies are told, things change. The only person she'll always have there is her mum. That's why what happens at the end is just easier I guess. Again, not giving anything away.

I was originally planning on reading like half the book today and half the following day but I just kept reading and reading. That's always a good sign to me. It means it's good. Unputdownable. I was gripped. Intrigued. I advise not to look at spoilers which would give the twist away as well. Just sit back, read and enjoy.

And I just need to add, literally not one boring character is in this.

The story is told from the main character Skye's point of view based around a missing girls kidnapping.
I enjoyed the plot, did have some twists and turns however I found Skye extremely irritating and could not warm to her.
It was an easy, light read but I found the ending a bit predictable.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my advance copy in return for an honest review.

A clever thriller, aimed at the YA reader, but with plenty to keep any reader entertained.
This is the story of Skye, a young girl who uses a combination of observation and research to fool her classmates into believing she has psychic powers. Desperate for cash so that she can move to New York after school, she gets roped into a kidnapping plot, but when the plan starts to fall apart at the seams will she be able to save her life, and keep herself out of jail without admitting that the visions she has been telling the police about are all her own imagination?
A smart and original character like Skye allows the author to take this book in unusual and unexpected directions, and she was easily my favourite thing about the book. She is given sufficient ambiguity to make her very real. Not wholly innocent, not entirely guilty, she finds herself in a moral grey area , and as a reader this is always a more interesting. While the plot is clever, and there are plenty of twists and turns ,there are no huge shocks or surprises.
Overall a fast and fun read.

REVIEW
After two really good paranormal shape-shifter books I felt I should have a change of genre and settled on this book. After reading With Malice also by Eileen Cook, I have high expectations for this one. I am also curious about the psychic and tarot elements mentioned in the blurb.

The cover I have chosen to describe as part of my review is the one I have pictured above and it is also featured below within my Cover Compare feature. This cover has a tree as it's major feature, with a very dark and what may be described as a more sinister feel to the cover. Then there is a depiction of Eileen Cooks version of the "hanged man" tarot card which is nailed onto a tree. The card has the book title on it. This cover features the byline which says, "Trust No One, Deceive Everyone" at the bottom of the cover.

The main character of this book, who is also my favourite character is Candi Skye Thorn, though she uses her middle name of Skye in everyday life hating her real first name Candi! Skyes lives with her mother in an apartment in an increasingly run down area. Skye isn't in the popular gang at school, in fact after the "incident" she tries to keep a low profile and generally keeps to herself. During the "incident" she was caught lying. Skye dreams of getting out of her home town. In fact Skye and best friend Drew have been planning their escape for years. their dream is to move in together, Drew will attend college and Skye will find a job. Drew doesn't need to worry about money as she has rich parents so will have their financial support throughout college.

Skye's attempt to make some money is to utilise the "gift" her mother and grandmother say runs through their family of being psychic. Skye doesn't believe on the "gift" she thinks she is just very good at reading people and the tarot card meanings. Skye finds that most people project within their actions the answers they want from Skye. Skye is good at setting the scene for the mystical tarot card readings her grandma handed down to her. Her tarot cards may look they have been handed down through generation after generation but she bought them brand new from Amazon. Skye is clever and a little cunning which she believes runs in her family more than psychic abilities. When the new tarot cards arrived Skye aged them. Skye soaked each individual tarot card in a weak tea and then dried them on a low setting in the oven. The part Skye hates most about giving a reading is asking for the payment, it feels wrong, slimy but not so distasteful that Skye would do readings for free. Skye is panicking about how she is going to tell Drew that she doesn't have the money to move away with her as they had dreamed and planned to do. Would Drew forgive her? Was she destined to be stuck here in Michigan forever. Though Skye thinks she is smart she does get drawn into helping someone with a "kidnapping" scheme. Skye and the "kidnapper/s" exchange notes by placing them in a large reference book in the library. The kidnapper insists on having a code name which is Pluto. The whole reason and choice of the code name is explained within the book much better than I can, and I really do not want to reveal anything really spoilery as that would in my opinion spoil your individual enjoyment of the book.

The other main character and the character we are supposed to love to hate/dislike in this book is Paige. Paige is a young woman who is used to getting her own way and being given anything she wants no expense is spared. Unfortunately the very thing Paige craves is her fathers attention, and its the very thing she doesn't have. Paige has run away before, so that's what everyone thinks she has done again when she suddenly disappears.

There were many points in the book I wanted to shout at Skye to rethink the things she was about to do. When she finally caves in during a rash moment and agrees to be part of the kidnap plan! In fact a couple of my Goodreads updates explain how I felt at the time of reading the certain sections of the book dealing with the kidnapping. At around 18% so fairly early in the book was "What on earth has Skye got herself into?!" The morning after agreeing to the scheme Skye does attempt to back out of the agreement but Pluto will not allow her to and even hints that Skye could be blackmailed into going ahead with the plan!

To begin with the disappearing part of kidnap plan goes ahead without a hitch. It's as tie goes on that things start to go awry. Skye soon feels like she is being watched and followed and at a later section of the book she feels her own life and even that of her mother may be in serious danger! Which is when I make my second update comment on Goodreads which was at 75% my comment was "Wow what a mess, what a twist"! I have read two books written by Eileen Cook this one and With Malice, I truly adore Eileen Cook's writing style. As you read and become more invested in the characters of the book you feel submerged into their lives and problems. I seriously wanted to grab hold of Skye and shake her whilst asking why she ever agreed to being part of the kidnapping scheme. Then as you read more of the book Eileen reveals Skye's motivation for being involved. I guess some people will view Paige's character as an attention seeking, spoilt child but Eileen then shows us, the reader, why Paige feels as she does. In fact you begin not really liking Paige to feeling sorry for her and wishing you could just hug her. One thing the girls have in common is wanting something they don't have and having somewhat distant relationships with their parents. With Skye she has no father on the scene at all, and she views her mother as a charlatan psychic who she has little in common with and who she doesn't find easy to talk to. By the end of the book Skye's opinion does change towards her mother and Skye grows into a more mature character herself accepting who she is and where she comes from. I really loved this book I felt pulled into the action early and held there to the very end. The tension builds and then just when you think you have sorted out everything in your own mind, Eileen Cook delivers another twist. There were certainly at least a couple of twists in the latter part of the book that I didn't see coming! I will certainly be checking out other titles by Eileen Cook and recommending her books to others.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing this book, that was my last Goodreads entry was "Once again Eileen Cook gives plenty of suspense, tension building and keeps you guessing to the very end with lots of twists and turns along the way".

I normally am not the biggest fan of thrillers but I really enjoyed this one. The main problem I have with thrillers is that they have A LOT of characters that are kind of unnececary in the end but this book had a regular amount characters and none were unnececary. There were many twist and turns I didn't see coming and the author made me believe plenty of times I knew what was going to happen but boy I was wrong. I would highly recommend it to everyone !!!

I enjoyed this tale about a girl who gets herself deeper into trouble when she uses her fake psychic abilities to help the police find a fellow school mate who has been kidnapped.
The pace is good and the tension palpable as the story unfolds. Also, a good and unexpected ending!

This was such a fun, exciting book. The writing was engaging and the plot twisted around, constantly keeping me guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed Cook's With Malice, and The Hanging Girl was just as good. I also liked the little nod to With Malice within the story.

A book with a lot of potential, with plenty of plot twist and turns, that unfortunately left me a little bit lacking.

The Hanging Girl opens on Skye, a girl who uses her acute observation skills to 'read' her fellow students and give tarot card predictions. Because of this 'gift', she's drawn into an uneasy game with the mysterious Pluto that involves kidnapping one of her school colleagues, the daughter of a Judge running for office. However, the kidnapping doesn't quite go to plan, and we see Skye trying to deal with the aftermath as things start to spin widely out of control as the police start to question her 'gift'.

Unfortunately, I'm somewhat restricted in what I can write in this review without giving too much of the twists away. The plot itself I found rather slow. For a good 60% of the novel, all we see is Skye trying to deal with the kidnapping and the immediately aftermath with 'Pluto', and her inner turmoil regarding the police scrutiny she's placed under. I found the first plot twist clever. I hadn't anticipated it, and found it was a different route for the typical 'mystery' story to go down. However, the further plot twists come a little too late, as so much of the story needs to be wrapped up and concluded in a short space of time. Although the story kept me interested enough for me to continue reading, the ending felt rushed, and a little underwhelming. I felt it would have been better to spread these plot twists throughout the book, to give us time to process them instead of jumping onto the next plot twist so quickly. I also think more of the novel should have been spent on the aftermath of the kidnapping going wrong as apposed to the build up the kidnapping.

I also found myself having to suspend my disbelief with regards to the plot line rather frequently. The police just seem to accept that Skye and her mother have these 'visions' without question, and repeatedly go along with it. I found it hard to believe that a competent police department would involve, or be allowed to involve, an 18 year old girl in a high profile investigation (at one point they mention bringing in the FBI).

I found Skye highly irritating as a main character. She repeatedly lies and lies to the police, digging herself into a deeper hole, yet I felt the author was trying to illicit some sympathy for her when the kidnapping goes wrong. At no point is she really sorry about what happens (she even states that she's not sad about what happens), but rather she's only concerned about herself and what could happen to her. For this reason, I just couldn't find any emotional attachment to Skye. In fact, I wanted her to get her comeuppance.

Skye's mother is probably the worst character however. At first she's merely deeply annoying - calling the media when Skye has her 'visions' which could potentially interfere with the investigation, and milking the media attention for money. However., by the end I thought she may redeem herself by coming across as a loving mother. She didn't.

Skye's relationship with her best friend Drew felt forced. At one point they have an argument about moving to New York, but I felt there wasn't much emotional involvement between the two. At most I felt sorry for Drew having such an awful best friend. She repeatedly tries to open Skye up and make her discuss her problems, but Skye just shoots her down.

Overall, I could see the potential here. The author tries to move away from the typical 'mystery' novel, with a missing girl. The last third of the book was definitely an improvement on the beginning, however I felt it was a bit little too late for it to truly redeem itself.