I enjoyed this book, the style of writing and the storyline drew me in from the beginning. It tells the story of Orianna, bought up in a small American town (with all its prejudices and run by a single family) who is convicted, as a teenager of murder. Annie her Forensic psychologist, is hired to determine if she should be eligible for parole. This is a great psychological thriller and would definitely recommend.
Thank you Hodder and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this book - Vaseem Khan creates a believable world in middle America that highlights the difficulties of being different and the power that rich families can hold.

The plot was paced nicely with the back and forth timeline elements working well to flesh out the story as the book developed.

Overall, a great read that I would thoroughly recommend!

I really wanted to give 4.5 stars for this... A very twisty and turny final act to a story that is captivating and kept me reading into the small hours. I was surprised it was the author's first foray into small town America as it felt well established. An enjoyable read.

The World Knows Her as the Girl in Cell A explores the dark intersections of memory, power, and justice. Orianna Negi, convicted of murder at seventeen, has spent years in prison maintaining her innocence—but she has no memory of what really happened. When forensic psychologist Annie Ledet begins working with Orianna, their sessions unravel a web of scandal, privilege, and buried secrets in the elite world of Eden Falls, where the powerful Wyclerc family reigns.

With razor-sharp twists and a compelling protagonist, this novel keeps readers questioning everything. Is Orianna truly innocent, or is she hiding a truth too dangerous to face? Layered with themes of race, privilege, and the fallibility of memory, this is a must-read for fans of complex crime fiction.

A different take on a thriller which I enjoyed for the most part, however it felt a little too long to keep my interest throughout. There was a lot of back and forth and people to remember so it muddied the plot a little.

Still enjoyable and nice to read a different take on a thriller but could have been shorter to really pack a punch.

This was a riveting psychological thriller, if a tad long and repetitive in parts. Told from the perspective of two women, one the eponymous “girl in cell A”, the other the psychologist tasked with figuring out if she’s fit for parole, the book is essentially a murder mystery. Did Oriana really shoot her father in the face 17 years ago, or is there a murderer who walked free. There are any number of possible suspects, but what really happened that day? Why is there a hole in Oriana’s memory during the key event?

Some sections of the book felt repetitive, and I think it could have been a tad shorter. However, there is a twist that I definitely didn’t see coming (though it did answer a few questions I had). I’m also not entirely sure why bits and pieces of the psychologist’s personal life were thrown into the narrative when they had no bearing on the story.

I might look up Vaseem Khan’s other books. Refreshing to find a South Asian-origin author who’s writing “different” stuff.

Toxic patriarchal, redneck, small town America was not quite my expectation after reading Khan's other books, but I could park that one! Eden Falls has sent our protagonist to prison for the murder of one of the family of the founding "dynasty" She continues, after 18 years, to proclaim her innocence.

The book takes a deep dive into the story that led to the conviction of Orianna and the re-examination of the evidence through her sessions with Annie, a forensic psychologist

My overriding feeling was that the story at the heart of the book was a golden nugget. However, I found it unnecessarily long and repetitive. The narrative is divided into, effectively a "Then" and "Now" perspective, although with only two points of view I failed to see the necessity of having to keep spelling out which strand we were reading. Sometimes it just popped up in the middle of one side of the story, where there was no need to punctuate the story. As a reader I find this on a par with treating the reader as an idiot and was irritated throughout.

I felt similarly about the highly experienced psychologist who (for the reader's sake?) kept saying to herself that she must remember that piece of information and use it to feed the exchange in a different way. I did not need to know this. I can intuit well enough what is happening in these sessions.

These two aspects spoiled my enjoyment of what was a great story. For me, at half the length it would have been punchier and more addictive.

With thanks to #NetGalley and #Hodder&Stoughton for the opportunity to read and review

A compelling read. Oriana has served 18 years for a murder of Gideon Wyclerc and his daughter Grace, she claims she didn't commit. Interviews with a psychiatrist , Annie Ledat try to uncover exactly what occurred as Orianna has no recollection of the killings, and the young girl Grace has never been seen since . Set in two timelines, then and now., This is such an intriguing read. I had to know if Orianna was guilty or innocent. An ending I didn't foresee at all.

Yes!
This is the psychological thriller you need to read!

Orianna is complicated, confused and distraught. You are left hanging at the end if only Luke would talk!

I was shocked at the end and throughout everything was always ahead of me!

The village descriptions and atmosphere read perfectly for a small insular town.

Thanks for the ARC :)

Convicted as a teenager for the brutal shooting of her father, Orianna is “The Girl in Cell A” and a national obsession. The circumstantial evidence is strong and yet Orianna steadfastly maintains her innocence. However, the trauma of events wiped her memory clean…so how can she be sure she didn’t do it? Now Orianna is up for parole and a psychologist specializing in fugue states is brought in, to recover repressed memories to see if it is safe for Ori to be released.
I was a little disorientated at the start. It took me a few chapters to get into the dynamic of the ‘then’ and ‘now’ point of view of Orianna and her therapist. The story is told through the view points of two strong female characters, and both were completely believable. It probably sounds strange, but I was in awe that they were crafted by a male writer.
What I enjoyed most was loving to hate the characters. There were entirely credible, believable, and infuriating in equal measure. None of the characters were particularly likeable, all of them were flawed, but much like a car crash I couldn’t look away.
This is a twisty psychological thriller which doubles and triples back on itself. Like a Rubik’s Cube – all the individual elements twist around until everything clicks into place. Only then the author peels off all the stickers to create a new puzzle. The denouement at the end is very clever, but make sure you read to the end to get the full impact!

Oh my days........what a book and what incredible writing. The Wyclercs make the Ewings of Dallas look positively lovely. The story of Orianna is really cleverly written and had me held all the way through. Constantly asking myself did she do it, was she set up. Just amazing, highly recommended.

This was a brilliantly written psychological thriller. Written very differently to lots of the other thrillers that I've read, & I've read a lot.
I just couldn't wait to find the answers at the end & when it did all unfold it made complete sense... until the last part. Which while made for an interesting read, I didn't find it necessary. In my opinion the book should have ended 100 or so pages earlier. There were enough twists & turns to make it exciting & thrilling. I just felt that the ending was confusing & a bit disconnected. Like a double ending.
That aside, I did really enjoy it.

I found myself rooting for Orianna, brought up where she was barely tolerated and returning to try and clear her name after serving a lengthy sentence for the murder she is sure she did not commit.
Set in a town run by a single family and with a wide range of characters that lend themselves perfectly to small town prejudices and lawlessness the book is full of run-ins between Orianna, her blood relatives and the townsfolk determined to look no further than the ends of their noses, the reader is swept along with Orianna.
The ending is thoroughly unexpected and I am not sure ow I feel about it!

The story line is set in small town America. It centres around Orianna who was convicted of murder whilst a teenager but continues to deny her sentence. Annie the psychologist is tasked to write a report on suitability for parole. The book flips from the former statement to the attitudes of small town America. I found the book rather a slow burn. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

This book is a perfect blend of mystery, darkness, suspense, and tragedy. It’s a five-star novel that I found incredibly hard to put down.

The story follows a young woman who is wrongfully convicted of murdering her own father. Determined to uncover the truth, she embarks on a journey to the hunting cabin where her “half sister” mysteriously disappeared and her father was found dead. With the help of her psychiatrist, Annie, she begins to piece together the events of that fateful night years ago.

The novel keeps you guessing until the very end, revealing unexpected twists and turns that challenge your assumptions. It’s a gripping and suspenseful read that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

If you enjoy a good suspenseful thriller, I highly recommend this book. It’s an easy read that you won’t want to put down.

Overall I enjoyed this book. The first half was a little slow but the second half was great. Brilliant twist at the end.
Not a fan of the bad language though.

On the whole I enjoyed this book. The author is clearly skilled in characterisation and descriptive settings. I like the small American town setting. It worked well for the feel of judgement, gossip, secrets, and lies.
The twist at the end will likely become divisive amongst readers. I wasn't keen on it. It felt too easy while having a far too convoluted discussion between some characters to explain it.

Orianna is the girl in Cell A, convicted of killing her father when she was a teenager. she has always protested her innocence but has no memory of the day of the murder.. Her father was the dissolute son of the Wyclerc family, who practically own the town. Her mother was the housekeeper.. Was she stitched up by a sheriff beholden to the Wyclearcs? Annie is a Forensic psychologist assigned to her case to try to recover her memory, and decide whether she is fit to be let out of prison after 15 years, on parole. Orianna's father was such an odious creep that several members of his family have good motives to kill him and scapegoat Orianna. Its a clever and winding plot, a gripping read.

A great psychological thriller - kept me guessing throughout the whole book and with wild twists as you would expect from this genre.

The book switches between the perspective of Annie Ledet, a forensic psychologist hired to determine whether Orianna, the main protagonist, should be eligible for parole after being found guilty of murder. This is a tough task as Orianna is suffering from dissociative amnesia, and is unable to recall the events of the incident, however she still continues to protest her innocence after 18 years behind bars.

The alternate perspective is then Orianna’s account, having returned to her hometown to uncover the true killer. This is where the main action occurs, with twists and turns everywhere and almost every character being accused!

The writing style is very easy to read, and is very clever in the way Orianna’s chapters are written. At the beginning I thought that it was oversight that it feels like chunks are missing and sometimes scenes are skipped over, but having read more I realise this was a stylistic choice that really puts you in Orianna’s head and makes you experience what she is feeling with her memory gaps due to the amnesia.

Overall this is a great psychological thriller and would definitely recommend. Thank you Hodder and NetGalley for the ARC!

Orianna, the Girl In Cell A from the title, has been in prison for the murder of her father, but she cannot recall doing so. Annie Ledet has been tasked with helping getting to the bottom of her amnesia, and solve the crime.

The book has a multi person timeline, effective in giving small amounts of information at a time. I did find the book far too long and wordy, I felt it needed a lot of editing down. I also found the twist at the end very disappointing, in my opinion the conclusion was a let down. That said, the characterisation was strong.