Nicky Downes’ Her Perfect Girl is a gripping multi-POV psychological thriller that explores the chilling nightmare of every parent: the abduction and murder of their child. The story unfolds with a cohesive narrative, weaving together the perspectives of various characters, including the killer,

The book begins with the disappearance of a little girl who is later found dead. Six months later, when a second girl is murdered, the stakes rise dramatically. Emma and Robert, determined to stop the killer, take it upon themselves to get involved in the investigation. Their relentless pursuit for justice drives the story forward, making it a true page-turner.

Downes excels at pacing, ensuring the story never drags and keeping the reader hooked. The twists and turns are well-executed, making the journey thrilling. However, while the killer’s perspective adds depth, it falls short in delivering the level of fear and menace that would be expected from a psychopath.

Overall, Her Perfect Girl is a well-constructed, engaging read that balances its multi-POV structure effectively. While certain parts may feel dull or less sinister than expected, the book’s strengths—its pacing, character development, and gripping plot—make it a compelling read for fans of psychological thrillers.

*Her Perfect Girl* is a twisty thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish! The story kicks off with the shocking murder of Charly Dean, which sends ripples through a small town. The discovery of her body in the woods and the chilling details surrounding the crime instantly set the stage for a gripping mystery.

What I loved about this book is how it weaves together the turmoil of Charly’s grieving parents and the chilling realization that their daughter’s murder was far from random. The tension builds as a second victim is found, and the stakes get higher. It’s a wild ride as they dig into their past, uncovering dark secrets that make you rethink everything you thought you knew.

The pacing is spot-on, and the twists are unexpected, making it a total page-turner. If you’re in the mood for a suspenseful read with plenty of surprises, *Her Perfect Girl* is definitely worth picking up!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

I honestly could not get this authors style of writing, there are 190 short chapters in this book and when I was reading, I felt that it was very stop and go with all the periods and it does not make for very smooth reading at all.

You have a killer who is obsessed with little girls and cutting off their hair. The story is told from multiple POV and reeled me in pretty quickly. The last quarter of the book felt different and lost me a little. I think this is perfect for fans of popcorn thrillers and they should check it out.
3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you netgalley and publishers for this arc.

I found myself just skipping to the end of this one. There are so many changing point of views it gets hard to keep up at times. I also do not get any enjoyment reading about murdered and missing children so this was just not for me.

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare - a child is missing, only to turn up dead. When a second girl is murdered months later, the race begins to find the killer before another young victim makes the headlines. Fast-paced, multiple point of views thriller that kept me guessing to the end! I’ve never read this author before, and she’s won a new reader after this! I love twisty plots where I think I know what happened only to be surprised. Highly recommend this to all my psychological thriller/true crime fiction readers!

Thanks for the opportunity to read!

Nicky Downes you now have made a fan out of me, I cannot read what else you’ve written and look forward to see future releases. I loved this book and have been recommending it to people already!

I have never read anything from this author before but now I'm desperate to see what else they've written. I found myself lost in emotion whilst reading this and thought each time I had it solved. Something else came at presented its self to the reader.

This story is well paced. It is told by multiple POV’s. This style works with this story because each person telling their part is integral to the plot, and it is done in a very cohesive manner.

Her Perfect Girl is a great Thriller Suspense story. It is a fast read and a page turner. It is told in several different characters POV too. There is a murderer in a small town who has killed two 6 year old girls. He is creepy and he has an obsession with blonde hair and wigs. The families are grieving and want justice for their daughters. They keep living their lives but of course it’s never going to be the same but they remain strong and hopeful. Thank you to Netgalley and Storm publishing for giving me the opportunity to read and review a ARC of this book.

Loved this fast paced, multiple POV thriller that keeps you locked in from the start. This story is of every parents worst nightmare, their 6 year old daughter is murder and we watch it unfold- while the parents are struggling to keep their marriage together.
You feel so much for the parents, can feel every emotion they are processing throughout this story and feel the guilt they are holding when they find moments of happiness. The continued insight of detectives and the killer throughout the book keeps you locked into the thriller of a murder, but we get to really explore all vantage points of this crime playing out.

This book started really well and really drew me in, but it started to get quite messy and felt quite rushed. I didn’t really connect to any of the characters and it seemed like there was a lot of filler in there too

Im a huge fan of short chapters so I knew I was going to like this one. It kept me engaged the whole way through. Good plot, characters I could connect to , nothing I disliked in this book.

This one was a bit disappointing.

I didn’t particularly care for many of the characters. Several of them weren’t particularly fleshed out so we only got a superficial understanding of them and their motives. Some of the characters and situations just felt like filler, not advancing the story in any significant way, and lot of Emma and Robert’s actions made no sense. I understand that they were desperate for answers and frustrated by the investigation, but why would you conceal evidence from the police when there is a murderer on the loose obviously targeting not only you, but also other young girls.

Short chapters can sometimes move the pace of the story along more quickly, but these chapters were too short. Just when you were starting to get into the chapter and the character’s head you’re pulled out of it to a totally different character/situation. It was jarring and made the story feel disjointed at times.

It was also hard to get a clear sense of the police work being done. The lead investigator talked about how important solving the case was but I didn’t get any real sense of urgency from him. He seemed more concerned with potentially losing control of the case than solving it, and it seemed like a lot of important details fell through the cracks in the investigation. The case was solved more by chance than through any stellar police work, and the motives of the killer were never clearly defined. The ending was anticlimactic and left us with more questions than answers.

The premise of this story was a good one. It just needed a little something more to meet that promise.

Thanks NetGally and Storm Publishing for the advanced copy.

I finished reading about 20% in I could not get on with it sadly. I think the chapters flick between the characters too much and it didn’t hook me in.

Her perfect Girl by Nicky Downes is a fast place mystery thriller surrounding the events of the abduction and subsequent murder of their little girl Charley Dean. Charley’s parents Emma and Robert are social pariahs, with most people talking down to or about them, while the parents are so wrapped in grief, they just go through the motions of being alive. The police haven’t found the killer and leads are cold, until six months later and another six year old has been murdered, Samantha Porter. Who is next?

I really liked the beginning of the book. From the first page I was hooked, quickly become drawn into this mystery thriller, with suspects everywhere. The development of the characters were good, and you feel the Deans heartbreak. The ending was rushed and it just felt disjointed. This is where it went from a four to three.

You also get the point of view of the killer, who cuts the girls hair off in an obsession to make a wig that’s just for “her”. Who is his obsession? And why choose the girls he did?
This book is great for people that want a fast moving story. The book left a few minor questions for me at the end, and other than feeling a bit rushed, I enjoyed the book.

This is the first book that I have read by this author and I found it so hard to put it down once I started. You won't regret picking this book up!

It is the first time I have read anything by this author. 'The Perfect Girl' was in my opinion not the psychological thriller I was expecting from the blurb but more of a crime novel which was disappointing.

Written from the perspectives of not only the police investigating team and the parents of the missing girl, but also that of the murderer. An intense storyline that unfolds in a large number of chapters, probably intended be short and sharp and therefore add to the urgency. For me though it just made the novel feel disjointed. To be honest I found the format spoilt the read for me.

Although not for me, I imagine ' The Perfect Girl' will appeal to fans of the genre and style. It is with thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley that this title was made available for me to read and review.

Her Perfect Girl by Nicky Downs is a phycological thriller. The story Starts with the disappearance of Charley Dean who is staying with her grandmother and when her grandmother calls Charley and she does not answer she goes looking for her. Charley has snuck out to the park to play on the swings without telling her grandmother, as her parents went to a concert. Charley is only six and when she is found murdered her parents Emma and Robert’s nightmare has just begun as they fall apart. Then another six-year-old goes missing and the police are quickly on the case and realise after finding her murdered it must be the same killer as both girls' hair has been chopped off.

The story is every parent's nightmare and is professionally written intense and will keep you on the edge of your seat as you read this thought-provoking story that has plenty of twists and turns. It is an emotional book, but the chapters are short, and the team of investigators work well together. An awesome crime thriller. The storyline is dark and twisted, while the characters are real and raw. My only problem was the ending fell flat for me but overall, a relevant story. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book had me on the edge of my seat all the way through. I've never read anything from the author before but I will certainly check out others.