A writer's first love, who was a serial killer, might be killing again, even though he is supposed to be in jail.

I wanted to like this one more based on the premise. It sounded so good and suspenseful, but something about the structure just was not for me. I could not really tell where the book ended and the main story started in each chapter or if they were supposed to be separate? It was just a bit confusing for me, but maybe that is something the physical copy will make clearer.

3.5⭐️ I enjoyed this thriller! I found the premise unique and certain elements kept me interested the whole time. However, I found Karen’s relationship with the Aaron questionable as they barely spent time together but were also “so close.” Additionally, the story seemed to drag at times. Although this was not my favorite read, I certainly enjoyed it enough to be curious to check out more of McGowans books!

This one took me a bit to get into. The beginning was a bit disorienting, trying to make sense of being thrown into someone's life after certain events, reading it in first person. Once I fully got a handle on it, I did enjoy this, just wasn't exactly blown away. I felt it lagged a bit at times, and some things were a little redundant. The red herrings were placed well, and the overall mystery was good, but when looking at the big picture, it wasn't very believable to me and certain timelines and events should have been expanded on more. Overall, I give this one three stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer, for this ARC.

What worked for me in this one was the citizen detective and true crime aspect (such as the chapters beginning with "excerpts" from Karen's book about her experiences). The detached voice (Karen speaking to Aaron) didn't work as well for me. Overall, a quick read that definitely kept my attention but might not end up being the most memorable.

Karen Walker is a writer, she has a bit of a past and, when we first meet her, she is about to publish a true crime book all about it. You see... she was the girlfriend of Aaron Hughes, The notorious Bagman, who was a serial killer, now residing in a maximum-security prison.
But, as she is at a literary event, during a Q&A, a voice in the crowd draws her attention to a new crime. A young woman has been abducted in very familiar circumstances...
Long story short and Karen flies home. She had previously fled her hometown for the obvious reasons, but also cos she was being accused of "knowing" about him, and failing to report him, which would, obviously, have saved many women. There, she teams up with Donetti, the detective on the case and views the latest crime scene where she sees something shocking that throws more questions that answers... Was he really guilty, have they put an innocent man (and he still maintains his innocence) away, or was he working with someone else, someone they never caught? Or... is this a copycat with access to evidence not disclosed...?
Told in the present day we follow Karen as she assist with the current case. Peppered throughout are snippets from the past, actually snippets from the book! Showing how Karen met Aaron and how their relationship developed. These complement the present day narrative, add colour to it, and progress it nicely.
Karen was a bit of a funny fish at times. She was hard to warm to initially but I did manage to connect with her eventually, even though I still didn't really like her! Other characters were well drawn and all acted their parts well.
Pacing was good and mostly matched the narrative well all the way through. It was a wee bit slow at times though but never slow enough to frustrate.
The story was both interesting and intriguing and kept me on my toes throughout. Spitting me out at the end pretty satisfied and kicking myself for things I should have seen coming!
All in all, another solid read to add to an already impressive back catalogue. Roll on next time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I really enjoyed this fast paced story, it was full of surprises. I liked the multiple points of view as it kept me engaged. I would recommend this to thriller fans.

Many thanks for my gifted copy. My review will be shared to my Instagram account shortly.

Karen Walker fled to New York from the UK ten years ago after reporting her friend to the police for murders she believed he committed as The Bagman, who is now locked away in a maximum security prison. Now a writer, she is about to publish her memoir about her life in Yorkshire growing up with Aaron Hughes and discovering his crimes, when she hears that a woman has disappeared and the circumstances are very familiar. How can it be though, when he's locked up, did she help send the wrong man to prison? She decides to return to find out and try to save this girl before it's too late, but that would also mean revealing what really happened back then.

The First Girl is the latest thriller by this author, told from the perspective of Karen, and with the help of her memoir, we learn about the events of the past and also what changes to bring her back to Yorkshire in such a hurry. As she becomes more involved in the case she's certain that someone wanted her back here and that she's the reason this girl has gone missing, she just doesn't know why yet. This is an intriguing tale with each chapter starting with a snippet from her memoir to pull us into the past before firing us back into the here and now and kept me turning the pages to find out where it was heading. There were some very complex characters within the story, none of whom I particularly liked or connected with, having said that it's definitely worth reading.

I'd like to thank Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

Karen is about to publish her memoir about growing up best friend with a man who would go on to be known as the bagman, a serial killer put away after Karen finally comes forward with her hunch about him. The questions of how involved she was, or how much she really knew, follow her around.

After a woman goes missing in similar fashion to the bagmans previous crimes, she returns home to help find out if she was right all those years ago, or would could be happening.

Slightly long and drawn out. Learning the truth about Aaron’s potential crimes, how Karen’s best friend was, or was not, his first victim, and what pay truth and lies Karen has been keeping all these years. It was enjoyable without being anything special.

This book was so good, I could not put it down! I had an idea of what really happened, but there were so many twists and turns, I genuinely wasn’t sure. That’s pretty rare for me. I did end up being mostly right, but it was a wild ride getting there! Every page it was something new, but not in the bloated over-action of some thrillers. I’d be really interested to see what the author’s method is. If she’s a pantser, bravo because there was no mushy middle at all! Fantastic pacing, tone, and characterization. And honestly, there wasn’t a single character I didn’t like. Even the unlikeable ones grew on me. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author from now on!

Huge thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

I really liked this book and wasn't sure if Karen was an unreliable narrator or not. That is to say -- this book kept me guessing about what really happened in the past and also how the book would end. I was surprised in a good way. It was thrilling but not over the top. This reminded me a bit of the Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell series so if you like that series, definitely this a try!

The First Girl comes out next week on Febuary 18, 2025, and you can purchase HERE!

The first time I ever laid eyes on Aaron Hughes, I had a sense that he would change the course of my life. A shiver along the spine, a hint of the horror to come, as rain ran down the windows of the prefab classroom on a wet Tuesday in September. I knew at once things would never be the same again. I just didn't know how.

These are the first lines of the book I wrote about you, your crimes, and how I helped to send you to prison for them. It's a good enough opening, if a little cheesy, but it isn't true. Of course I didn't think anything like that. Does it ever happen in real life, that sort of premonition, such a foreshadowing of doom? It didn't for me. The first time I saw you, you walked into double maths in my school in a small town near Doncaster, in the north of England, and I thought very little of it.

3⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced copy of The First Girl.

Karen helped put Aaron the man that she loved behind bars for multiple murders. She decides to write a book about her time with him and the crimes. When another woman goes missing with the same MO as Aaron she starts to question if he is actually guilty. She returns home to help the police and she eventually goes to see Aaron in prison and he alludes to the fact he may know where the missing woman is. He also alludes to the fact that Karen has not been totally truthful with what happened in the past.

I am really conflicted about this book. It had me intrigued but then it got really redundant and drug on. Then the ending was kind of anti climactic. I also did not like the female main character at all. Overall it was just okay for me.

Claire McGowan delivers a chilling, fast-paced thriller in The First Girl, blending psychological suspense with true crime elements in a way that feels both gripping and disturbingly real.

The story follows forensic psychologist Karen, who is drawn into a harrowing case involving a string of murders and a convicted killer whose guilt is suddenly in question. As the bodies pile up, Karen is forced to determine whether the real murderer is already behind bars—or still lurking in the shadows. The inclusion of a true crime podcast adds a modern and highly relevant layer to the narrative, reflecting society’s obsession with real-life mysteries and unsolved crimes.

McGowan masterfully keeps readers on edge with her intricate plotting and relentless twists. Every revelation peels back another disturbing layer, making it impossible to put the book down. The tension builds steadily, creating an atmosphere of paranoia and urgency that mirrors Karen’s own descent into the case.

What makes The First Girl so compelling is not just its well-crafted mystery, but also its exploration of justice, truth, and the power of perception. McGowan’s writing is sharp, immersive, and emotionally charged, ensuring that readers are invested in every dark turn.

For fans of psychological thrillers and true crime fiction, The First Girl is an absolute must-read—twisted, timely, and utterly unputdownable.

Karen’s best friend Aaron is currently in prison, locked away after killing multiple women. After getting her life back on track, Karen is forced to face the past again ten years later, when a copycat killer strikes. Is Aaron involved from the inside? Returning to her hometown, Karen is determined to get to the bottom of it.

This was a fantastic book! The author kept me wanting to read “just one more chapter” and I soon found myself fully devouring the book, much to my buddy reader‘s dismay, I’m sure 🤣 If you pick this one up, you’ll see what I mean though! I wasn’t able to fully guess the end and found myself shocked at the big reveal. Thriller fans will love this one - make sure you have it on your to read list!

Karen is about to publish (and a bit from the book starts each chapter of this one) a book about the Bagman, the man she identified as a serial killer despite their relationship, Big problem - a woman has been taken in the same way. She's on a quest for the truth and there are lots of red herrings, enough to make her question herself. To be honest this is a familiar plot but McGown has done a good job with the details and the tension. Thanks to Netgalley for the arc. A good read.

This story wasn't quite what I expected. The characters are interesting. I enjoyed the way the voice was directed. It kept me guessing and questioning everyone. The end was perfect.

When a serial killer nicknamed The Bagman is killing girls in the north of England, Karen begins to have suspicions about her boyfriend. After she passes on this information to the police, they convict him of all of the murders. Years later, another girl goes missing from the area in similar circumstances leaving Karen wondering if she could have made a mistake. On the verge of the publication of her True Crime memoir about her experiences, Karen knows that she has to find out the truth, but involving herself in the investigation not only puts herself in danger but also opens up lots of questions about her own involvement in the murders ten years earlier.

After reading the blurb for The First Girl, I thought I could roughly predict the way the story would unfold - A serial killer is in prison but the disappearance of another girl leads to questions about his innocence. Is there a copycat killer on the loose or was Karen wrong about her boyfriend all along? However, it was actually so much more than this. The story opened up so many questions about the role of the police in murder investigations and the pressure they come under to find a killer. It asks questions about the validity of witness statements and evidence in murder cases. It explores the popularity of True Crime and how this has led to an increase in 'amateur sleuths' attempting to solve crimes, and it opens up arguments about the ethics of True Crime and the affect of podcasts, documentaries and True Crime memoirs on the families of the victims.

This was the most interesting part for me - looking at the boundaries involved in True Crime, the rights of the victims when a documentary or podcast decides to. focus on their trauma. The issues around how accurate a person's memory of a situation would need to be before it's appropriate to use what they've witnessed in a True Crime account, or even to use it as evidence in a police investigation.

At times I questioned how much free rein Karen received in the investigation from the police, but overall I thought that The First Girl was a really compelling thriller.

I've been a fan of Clair McGowan ever since I read The Push in almost one complete sitting the day it came out. So to be granted an ARC of her newest book shot me straight through the moon! I don't know what this country is doing to it's women but the list of my top ten thrillers of all time is completely run by Irish women and oh my goodness do they always seem to deliver!

The First Girl is the story of Karen Walker, whose childhood best friend went on to become a vicious serial killer nicknamed The Bagman, and she played an instrumental role in his conviction. Fast forward a decade later and another woman has gone missing, and present at the scene is the same symbol of the Bagman, which sends Karen and the community reeling wondering if they really sent the right person to prison all those years ago.

This was a solid offering by Claire McGowan that I would be happy to recommend to any thriller lover. Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

I really enjoyed this story although there were some slow parts. I definitely didn’t expect who was involved at the end. It was a quick and easy read and definitely worth digging in to.

Karen is lured back to England by a girl's disappearance that mimcs kidnappings in her past. She feels that she may be able to help the girl when she had been unable to help the girls that were previosuly kidnapped and killed before.
It is a little slow in places but has some really sweet moments in it where Karen reunites with her mum and even begins to build a relationship with her that she had never had before.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, Clair McGowan and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

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.