Book blurb…
You can escape a place. But you can't escape yourself.
Hanna flees the scene of a terrible crime in her native Sligo. If she can just vanish, re-invent herself under a new name, perhaps the police won't catch up with her. London seems the perfect place to disappear.
Lara has always loved Matthew and imagined happy married life in Dublin. Then comes the bombshell – Matthew says he wants to join the priesthood. Humiliated and broken-hearted, Lara heads to the most godless place she can find, King's Road, Chelsea.
Matthew's twin sister, Noreen, could not be more different from her brother. She does love fiance John, but she also craves sex, parties and fun. Swinging London has it all, but without John, Noreen is about to get way out of her depth.
All three girls find themselves working for Bobby Chevron – one of London's most feared gangland bosses – and it's not long before their new lives start to unravel.


My thoughts…

I must admit to enjoying this novel a little too much!! The era and narration is something unique (to me, at least) and the gangster mole character makes for some feisty femme fatales in this tale of three women, each with very different backgrounds but all looking for one thing — genuine and lasting love.
Kate teases us with a complex cast of characters and a story with a simmering speakeasy feel.
Then, wham! The pace and the plot-twists grab you by the throat and you discover what a woman is capable of when she’s desperate and pushed to the edge by a man.
The narration is clear and colourful and befitting the fabulous period depicted in That Girl.
I’m now slowly working my way through Kate Kerrigan’s backlist.

Thanks Head of Zeus and netgalley for this ARC.

Really gives a sense of the 60's in London. I loved the way friendship became family to overcome a dreadful childhood. This book has adventure, love, action, and dangerous passion.

3.5 stars

The story follows three young women from Ireland that more or less suddenly find themselves in the London's swinging 60's. It is my second book lately that was set in this time in London and I must admit that "That Girl" was much better than the other one - it was fast - paced and, above all, the characters felt realistic, they were so vivid and so easily brought to life by the author. So back to our main characters - they are very different but there is one thing that they have in common - they all run away from something. Hanna's was probably the most shocking story and I so incredibly fell for her - after her mother has died, her step - father started to abuse her and she lived her life as his prisoner. She could do nothing about it - let's not forget, it was Ireland and he was a very respected local doctor - until one day, when after coming to her limits Hanna leaves for London, trying to cover her tracks..
Lara is in love with Matthew, she's always has been, and already envisions them married. However, one day, just out of the blue, Matthew tells her something that shatters Lara's whole world. To flee the humiliation, Lara decides to leave for London to start a new life there. She quickly finds herself in the big city and I probably liked her most out of the three girls.
Noreen was the one that I liked the least. She was this kind of person that would elbow her way to the top and it's not my favourite kind of person. She's Matthew's twin sister and Lara's best friend. She can't believe what her brother has done to her friend, however after seeing them both, Matthew and Lara, leaving the little town in Ireland to follow their dreams, she gets itchy feet as well and she decides that while she loves her fiancée John very much, she first wants to see and try different life, to taste the freedom - and so she goes to London as well.
All the three girls end up living together in one apartment above the gangster's nightclub, and initially also working together but then their lives take different paths.

There were plenty of moments that took me absolutely by surprise and I would never in a million years guess that the story is going to take such turns! It starts telling Hanna's story and then introducing us to the other girls, and it was so fast - paced that I didn't have time to think what the three girls can have in common. I think Hanna's story was the most shocking one, and I liked this girl, I simply liked her and I wished all best for her. Also Lara was my kind of person, she was not afraid to follow her dreams and to try. She wanted people to think she's a tough cookie but there was also this vulnerable side to her. And as I have already mentioned, Noreen was my least favourite character, while you can admire her chutzpah and determination, especially in the 60's Ireland, she was too egoistic for me, thinking only about herself and not respecting other people and their wishes.

It was different to what I was expecting but of course it's not the book's fault but I just had a feeling it's too much of everything. It often felt too far - fetched and the ending felt much too rushed and somehow unrealistic. Everything fell always so neatly in the right places and you just knew that no matter what and how, everything is going to turn OK. I was expecting more depth from this author, and while this book was really great to read I had a feeling that there was tons of potential that was not made use of. It was as if there was an idea but the delivery and conclusion of it was missing.

The author has brought the swinging London perfectly to life and I love all the descriptions of the places and clothes (but again, I had a feeling that the author started something, like That Girl, described few dresses and then it was all. A few comparisons to some models of those times and nothing more. It just often felt that some of the subplots started but weren't finished, or ended too abruptly). The atmosphere was there on the pages and the characters were changing, turning into people they wanted to be.

So yes, guys, this book gave me a headache - I liked it, please don't get me wrong, but after reading "The Dress" by the same author I was expecting something more deep and complex. "That Girl" was about friendship, about love and relationships, about hurt and betrayal. The book was good guys, it was a mix of suspense, romance, dark comedy but maybe this was my problem because it felt as if the story doesn't know what it wants to be. However, Kate Kerrigan is a great story - teller and this was a really well written and character driven story set in the swinging sixties in London. The book has it all: fashion, drama, sex, gangsters and crime but in the foreground there are stories of three different girls, Hanna, Lara and Noreen. There is a lot happening and the author mixes perfectly humour with drama, tragedies and funny moments. The author is not afraid to write about abuse and violence but it's such an integral part of this story, and even if there are some moments with all the gory details for you, it works in this book, and also you have a feeling that it was deserved and couldn't be different. Recommended!

I absolutely loved Kate Kerrigan’s books, Ellis Island and City of Hope and I highly recommend them! When I saw Kate had a new book coming out, I immediately knew I needed to read it.

That Girl is set in England in the late 1960s. Its the story of three Irish women living in London, all with their own hopes and dreams for their futures.

There’s Hanna, who ran to London to escape the abuse of her stepfather and has taken on a new identity as Annie. Lara is fleeing to avoid humiliation after her boyfriend breaks up with her because he wants to be a priest. She is a talented fashion designer whose hobby turns into something much more after she begins to design outfits for the girls who work at the strip club where she’s employed. And lastly, Noreen, who comes into the story a little later, but she’s also running from her boyfriend John, fearing she’s missing out on all life has to offer.

The book is fun and light, I was reading with interest the whole way through, thoroughly enjoying the descriptions of the clothes and the streets of London.

This is a well- written character driven story, set against the background of the 'swinging sixties' in London. There's crime, fashion and sex but this all takes second place to the stories of the three Irish girls Hanna, Lara and Noreen. Their courage, humour and tragedies keep the reader enthralled, empathic and shocked in this page-turning read.
The  girls share a common heritage and their lives become increasingly interlinked as the story progresses with devasting consequences for one of them, The setting of a gangland club in Chelsea, captures the vibe of the sixties and the unique mix of fashionable and sordid which made this time in London iconic and a honey trap for naive  girls.
The story doesn't shy away from abuse and violence because this is integral to the plot but it is sensitively written and ensures the reader empathises with the heroines instantly.  The ending is suspenseful, as you begin to wonder if everything the girls have achieved will be lost.
This is a memorable story, punctuated with vivid imagery and believable characters, not to be missed.
I received a copy of this book from Head of Zeus via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I absolutely loved That Girl and raced through it. It's the story of 3 Irish girls who come to London. They are all running from something which will inevitably catch up with them. Such a good read.

I just reviewed That Girl by Kate Kerrigan. #ThatGirl #NetGalleyJust finished reading this book and I totally loved it. It had everything, suspense, humour, great characters and a plot with a few twists in it. The ending was a bit predictable but very enjoyable and satisfying. I was addicted to the book and snatched moments to read whenever I could.
Three Irish girls, all with their own unique backstory and future plans, all linked by threads (invisible at times) but all convincing and really well developed characters. Kate Kerrigan is a really good storyteller. #Netgalley #ThatGirl

Having never read Ms. Kerrigan’s books, I could not get into this book. I tried

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the Publishers, Head of Zeus for this review copy, given in exchange for an honest review. Also thank you to Melanie, from Head of Zeus, for organising the blog tour.

This was so not the book I was expecting to read. I initially judged this book purely by the front cover. I thought it was going to be a chick-lit type of book, even to the point of a Young Adult or Teen book. The cover seemed to scream that, and it gave no indication whatsoever about what this book was really about. So, to begin with I started reading this a bit half-heartedly, not really expecting to like it. Well, the old saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” couldn’t be more appropriate in this book’s case! Read on……!

This book is about three different woman, all from Ireland but now living in London during the Swinging Sixties. They are all in London for different reasons, but the thing that connects them is that they are all running away from something. Hanna has been abused by her step-father for as long as she can remember. It started after her mother died, and she’s never been able to tell anyone as her stepfather is a well-respected local GP. After committing a horrific crime, Hanna runs away to London, hoping that no one will ever find her there. Lara has always loved Matthew and imagined that she would marry him and live their lives together. One day, Matthew tells her that he wants to become a priest. Humiliated that he loves God more than her, Lara also decides to flee to London to start a new life. And finally, there is Noreen. Noreen is Lara’s best friend, and also Matthew’s twin sister. She can’t believe what Matthew did to her friend and his family, but when faced with the reality of marrying her fiancé, John she realises that she wants what Lara has – the freedom to do what she wants – and goes to London to join her. All three girls end up living and working together, in a gangster’s nightclub on the trendy Kings Road.

I absolutely loved this book. It was so not what I expected, but I was dragged into it by the first chapter. The book initially starts off with telling each of the girls’ stories. I think Hanna’s was the hardest story to read and she was the only character who I really felt for. I won’t spoil the story by giving away what she did to make her flee to London, but it was obvious that something like that was going to happen. I also did feel some empathy for Lara and I really liked her character. When we first meet her in London, she already seems like such a strong character but as the story goes on you also see her vulnerable side. Noreen was funny, but not very likeable until the end! Leaving her fiancé before their wedding to go and have some “fun” was never going to make her come across as a good person, but by the end of the book you see that she has changed for the better.

The setting for this book was great as well and it captured Swinging Sixties in London perfectly (from what I’ve heard anyway, I’m a bit too young to remember it!!) I was able to picture all the fashions that were being described from the miniskirts to the Mary Quant hairstyles and know some of the places such as Kings Road and Carnaby Street!

In my opinion, this is not a chick-lit book but a book of friendship, love and heartache. I loved the way that you see the girls from their lowest points and watch how being in London makes them blossom into the people that they should be. The story is so captivating that I could not put it down and finished it in just over a day. I’m so pleased that I didn’t look at the cover and think that this was not the book for me. If I had done, I would have missed out reading one of the best books I’ve read this year. Absolutely brilliant!

Five Stars!