Claire McGowan is a skilled writer and an auto read for me. This latest book is no exception when it comes to her ability to come up with a harrowing scenario and deliver a satisfying twist at the end.

Karen Walker is a writer who is on the verge of bringing out her account of her relationship with the serial killer known as the Bagman. But Karen has always had some niggling doubts as to whether he committed the crime that he was accused of. That's why she took so long to deliver him to the police in the first place, all those years ago.

Now at the last minute, an eerily similar crime throws doubt on her ex's guilt. But if he didn't do it, who did?

This one is well worth a read. It gets 4.5 stars.

Claire McGowan sure knows how to write a story that grips you from the start. Throughout The First Girl there is an eerie sense of mystery and it doesn’t let up until the very end. Yes, it’s over the top. Yes, parts are unrealistic. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy myself. The middle gets a tad redundant but I believe it was worth the payoff in the end. Talk about complex and complicated human relationships, whew.

This was a great story that kept me absolutely hooked throughout. I really liked the main character Karen and her fight for the truth and her bravery for returning to a town full of dark memories. Great story

I could swear I've read loads of Claire's books before, but apparently I've only read one, and it wasn't even a crime one - This Could Be Us; it was very good though.

This one sounded right up my street, in a similar vein to Lisa Jewell and Gillian McAllister, who I both love.

It has come to my attention that I read a scarily large quantity of books involving serial killers...maybe I need to get that looked at.

Each chapter of this starts with a segment from the main character's (Karen) memoir, which I thought was an interesting way to look at what had happened in the past, without it keep flicking backwards and forwards. Having said that, I would have liked a bit more of what happened in the past, be it through more snippets of her book or interviews or flashbacks etc. Things are mentioned in passing, but the time of the crimes and in the decade since seemed a bit....glossed over, and I would have liked more there.

Karen was a difficult character to like, I struggled to figure her out. She's a victim of many things, but is she to be trusted? There are lots of characters, goodies and baddies and those in between; victims and attackers. No-one is perfect, no-one is fully good and fully bad. There's a lot of grey areas morally, which made for interesting reading. They're all real, 3D character with enough to get your teeth into.

It's written in first person from the POV of Karen, but it's clearly written for someone, as it's all "You did this, and then we did that". Was it a diary? A letter? Was it to the imprisoned man?

It is quite simple, no massive twists and turns (at least for the most part), and normally in a thriller I would say it needs those twists and turns to hold my attention. But I didn't feel the need in this. Claire has such a way with words that the thrill is in the things unsaid. The silence between the words and actions. And I think if she was throwing in shock after shock, we'd have missed most of that subtlety.

There are a few bits that are unbelievable. I mean, I know it's a fictional book, a fun thriller, and so it doesn't necessarily have to be 100% accurate to real life. But things still need to make sense within the context of the story, and I don't believe anyone would allow a civilian - especially one so linked to the previous crimes - to try and help solve the recent crime. It didn't spoil the reading of it. I still enjoyed it, but those kind of things just stuck out as a bit weird.

It's not my absolute favourite of thrillers, but it is still very good. I enjoyed it and read it in less than a day and will definitely be keeping my eye out for her other thrillers.

This was a great book about a serial killer and the ' was the wrong man jailed?' Conundrum when he appears to strike again 20 years layer even though he's in prison.
The story is told by Karen, the killer's best friend from school and is full of her regret for betraying her friend. A few factual inaccuracies about Lancaster uni just took the edge off for me, it would have been easy research to do.
I will definitely be reading other books by Claire mcgowan after this.

This one was just meh for me. Normally this author is an auto-read, but this one just did not do it for me. As other reviewers have noted, it felt more like an outline or a first draft than an actual finished product. There were many, many details that I felt should have been expanded upon that just... weren't. The ending was too trapdoor-ish for me.
I probably would not recommend this to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC!

I found this book to be a mixed bag. The storyline itself is solid, and the characters are interesting enough to keep the plot moving. However, the first-person thoughts from the main character felt more like commentary than actual backstory. This constant toggling between past and present, without a clear distinction, was pretty distracting—and sometimes downright irritating.

Karen, as the sole survivor, stood out and was engaging in her role, but the rest of the characters felt very basic. I couldn’t connect with any of them, which left the overall story feeling a bit underwhelming.

While the plot had potential, the execution didn’t quite meet my expectations. If you enjoy a good survivor story and don’t mind disjointed narration, it might still be worth a read. For me, it was just okay.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for their generosity in allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Karen has returned to England when a woman is kidnapped and signs at the scene indicate it could be connected to the Bagman, her old boyfriend. It can’t be the Bagman because he is in prison, but he indicates he might know something that could help. This book is filled with suspense and intrigue. There is a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. This is the first book I have read by this author and I would read her again. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Writer Karen Walker is getting ready to publish a book about her serial killer boyfriend when another woman is taken. All signs point to the Bagman but he is locked up in prison. This book is partly from the book she has written and partly what’s going on now. It wasn’t confusing but a bit wordy. But I had to keep reading to find out what really happened.

I feel like the blurb was misleading. The main character and Bagman didn’t really have much of a relationship, so it didn’t seem as crazy that she turned him in. Overall, this was just okay.

Many thanks to Netgalley for this arc. I received this book in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts are entirely my own.

Karen Walker is the best friend of the Bagman aka Aaron who murdered six women including her best friend/ enemy Jen. When a woman is kidnapped and the Bagman’s symbol is found Karen goes back to her hometown to find out the truth. When Karen goes to visit Aaron he is still playing games with her and asks her to re-examine his old cases because the police got it wrong. The longer it takes for them to find the missing woman the more Karen decides to look and finds out that Gareth, Jen’s ex boyfriend and Rosalind Jen’s half sister plotted the kidnapping in order to get Karen to confess to killing Jen. Karen tells them how she strangled Jen and didn’t know if she was alive when she went running back home. Aaron arrives before they can kill anyone and admits to killing four women plus Jen in order to protect Karen from going to jail. This book was so interesting and I was hooked.

I'm having mixed feelings with this one. My interest was piqued upon reading the blurb - what an interesting plot, I said. However, it was a little hard for me to push thru because it was dragging or redundant at times. Sometimes I get frustrated at the multiple hints that Karen has something to do with what happened to one of the victims but it was taking so long for the reveal. I also don't know how to feel about her unrequited feelings for Aaron. I'm confused like, are you or are you not in love with him? I hated this Karen character and I liked Aaron more lool. But I decided to finish it just so I can finally see who the real suspect is. Although I've suspected that person, I can't seem to solidify my hunch based on the evidences (lol) - so props to Claire for making it confusing for me. I like the explanation though at the last few pages, so as not to keep the readers hanging. I've given this 3.75 stars but am still planning to check out her other books as I've heard good reviews. Thank you so much for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The man Karen loved is a serial killer known as the Bagman,he killed a number of women including her best friend and her testimony helped to send him to prison for life so if his in prison how can a woman be missing and his trademark that no one else knows about be left at the abduction site,he did do the murders didn't he?
Now Karen has to help find the missing woman and try and lay the past to rest, but sometimes the past has a horrible way of taking over the present.
This was a good, solid, and well thought out story. None of the characters are very likeable, but it actually made me believe in them more.
I love the authors ability to create unexpected twists, and this story gives us two twists at the end,one that surprised me and one that didn't.
For fans of crime friction.
Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for the ARC.

This book was a slow read for me as I will admit I had a tough time staying engaged in the plot. I found the character of Karen annoying, and her flashbacks were missing a large portion of time as she moved on with her life. I really wanted to love this one as I have read Claire McGowan before and really enjoyed her writing style. That being said, I will wait for her next release and try again! Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. 3 stars. Publication Date: Feb 18, 2025

The First Girl was an interesting twist on the serial killer genre - based around the ex girlfriend of a killer, the impact of his crimes on her and the ways in which the crimes continue to pervade her life after he’s locked up.

The book got off to a cracking start and I sped through the first half at breakneck pace… but (as seems to be quite a common experience these days) i felt it fell a bit flat at the midway point. It’s no doubt hard to keep up the momentum and suspense as the book progresses - there was enough to keep my reading, but I wasn’t as eager to pick ip my kindle to see what happened next.

Overall the first Girl was well written and a decent psychological thriller, but it wasn’t my favourite of Claire McGowan’s books.

I absolutely loved this book! I was hooked on the story of was this guy really a serial killer or was he innocent? I was dying to find out the truth from Karen and was so satisfied with how things played out.

Claire McGowan is one of my favourite authors and I’ve read all of her previous books. I was therefore really looking forward to reading this new book and it didn’t disappoint. I was completely engrossed in the plot and couldn’t put it down once I started it. It’s a great read and one that I’d recommend.

The First Girl follows Karen, a woman who fled the UK after her best friend/boyfriend, Aaron, was convicted of a series of murders. She returns to the scene of the crimes after a new incident mimics the original crimes. The problem? Certain details of the killings were never made public, so how has the new perpetrator copied these particular aspects of Aaron’s crimes? And will Aaron be able to use this to appeal his convictions?

I was sucked in by the premise of this book and, overall, it was a decent read! I live in the North of England, so especially enjoyed that it was set in the local area - with murders taking place at in my hometown, at my old university and in two other towns/cities I’ve lived in 😨

One thing I struggled with was the second person writing. The book is written as though the protagonist, Karen, is talking to The Bagman. I found this jarring, like I was reading something that wasn’t meant for me – the writing would’ve been more impactful if it had stuck to the first person narrative throughout.

I want to say that I predicted what was going on, and while I did guess aspects of the ending, the truth is that I suspected everyone at one point or another! This makes the book a perfect read for people who love an unreliable narrator and stories peppered with red herrings.

Very mixed feelings about this book. Seemed to drag on and alot of pages just seemed like they were repetitive and filled with words to bulk up the story. Was a bit of a " yeah i knew that " in the end. I did somewhat enjoy the book but would recommend.

The First Girl is a gripping psychological thriller that explores the haunting repercussions of past choices. Karen Walker’s life takes a dark turn when she returns to her hometown to confront her former lover, a notorious serial killer known as The Bagman, just as a young woman goes missing under similar circumstances. McGowan expertly weaves tension and suspense as Karen grapples with her own guilt and the chilling possibility that The Bagman might be involved, despite being imprisoned. This book is a thrilling ride filled with twists that kept me guessing until the very end. It's a haunting exploration of love, regret, and the lengths one will go to uncover the truth. A must-read for fans of dark, twisty thrillers!