Book Review: The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

At the age of seventeen, Rachel Evans and her friend Caroline decide to spend the summer months before her final year at school vacationing in the Greek islands. A chance meeting with Alistair an older man under the employ of an affluent businessman, marks the beginning of a torrid affair, with Rachel over the moon with the attention she is receiving from Alistair. Rachel and the other girls she befriends on the island, spend their days working in the bar Alistair manages, attending parties at the mansion of his employer and Rachel begins to dream of a future with Alistair. But the summer ends in tragedy and scandal, with Alistair abandoning her and leaving Rachel shattered.

Rachel, now in her thirties and never having gotten over Alistair, visits the island with her husband Tom where she meets one of the girls from that summer who stayed on, it triggers a sequence of events that has Rachel revisiting the past, trying to determine the truth behind what really happened that summer and dealing with the shocking revelations that come to the surface.

The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop is an intense read that ventures into dark territory. The pace is on the slower side in the first half of the novel as the narrative moves between past and present detailing both Kate’s state of mind in the present day and the events from that fateful summer. The author is unflinching as she touches upon sensitive topics such as predatory behavior, grooming, and sexual exploitation of vulnerable young women. The author does a wonderful job of setting the scene with vivid descriptions of the island and the upbeat vibe of the young vacationers. Seventeen-year-old Rachel, naïve and easily manipulated and the smooth-talking Alistair with his shady dealings are well-fleshed-out characters though the present-day timeline with mature Rachel and her cluelessness is not convincing and much of what transpires in her life in the present day is difficult to justify. A seventeen-year-old dazzled by an older man and romantic dreams is believable and the long–lasting effects of trauma and betrayal are believable. But adult Rachel’s reactions, her unwillingness more than inability, to see what truly happened all those years ago for what it truly was and her subsequent actions were difficult to digest beyond a point. As the narrative progresses, I found myself unable to sympathize with Rachel and there really isn’t much mystery or suspense that holds the plot together. Overall, I really can’t call this a thriller. The premise of this novel isn’t quite original, and for those who follow the headlines for crimes of this nature, nothing will really surprise you as the story moves toward the ultimate reveal. I will say that the author has promise and I would be eager to read more from her in the future.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.