Book Review: The Girl Who Survived by Lisa Jackson

My Rating: 

3.5⭐

At the age of seven, Kara McIntyre’s world was shattered when during the Christmas holidays, her parents and two of her three half-brothers ( from her parents’ previous marriages) were butchered by an unknown assailant in their family cabin in Oregon. After locking her in the attic to keep her safe, her older half-sister Marlie disappeared and her fate was unknown. Kara after escaping the attic was later saved by an off-duty copy who died from his efforts. Her older half-brother Jonas, eighteen at the time was injured in the attack but survived. Circumstantial evidence has Jonas convicted for the murder and he serves 20 years in prison but is being released because of a glitch in the chain of evidence recently discovered by his lawyer.

As a child, her statements during Jonas’s trial helped put him away though that was not her intention and her words and testimony were twisted to suit the purpose of the prosecution. Twenty years of trauma and memories of her family have haunted Kara throughout her life as has her questions about the fate of her half-sister Marlie. Her life has been mostly devoid of friends, raised by an aunt whose intentions were driven mostly by greed for Kara’s family fortune which she is weeks away from inheriting and her life has been a series of therapy sessions, anxiety and the occasional alcohol to take the edge off. The Cold Lake Massacre as the tragedy is dubbed has been the subject of much media attention through the years and the twentieth anniversary of the killings along with Jonas’s impending release has sparked renewed interest in the case – the media are all over it, the police are reopening the investigation and Kara is at the center of it all. She is being hounded by a freelance journalist whose interest in the truth is personal. As the narrative progresses, Kara starts receiving cryptic messages seeming to indicate Marlie is alive and people related to the case are found murdered, the method of killing eerily similar to the massacre years ago.

What really happened to Kara’s family all those years ago? Was Jonas innocent of the crimes for which he had been incarcerated and if so, who was responsible for the massacre? What happened to Marlie? Is she alive? Is Kara in danger?

Lisa Jackson’s The Girl Who Survived is a gripping thriller that captures your attention from the first page and keeps you engaged till the very end. I am a bit tired of the overused traumatized alcoholic female protagonist trope. However, the author does manage to keep the alcohol-induced moments within reasonable limits. Please note that the descriptions of the scene of the crimes are quite vivid and might be disturbing for some. The law enforcement officials handling the case in the present day were a bit sloppy in some crucial moments which was frustrating since we readers could make more sense of some of the clues that were uncovered along the way. Overall, I enjoyed the mystery and suspense and the consistent pacing as the plot progressed. Lisa Jackson's thrillers are always a pleasure to read. As with most thrillers, the ending is a bit far-fetched but the twists and turns and the red herrings make for an absorbing read.

Many thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of this thriller in exchange for my honest review.