Having read Sweetpea and it’s sequel In Bloom, I was really looking forward to The Alibi Girl. And that anticipation was well placed as this is one of the best books I’ve read this year and is one that I wanted to read all over again the second I had finished it. C.J. Skuse writes so beautifully with a dark humour that really appeals to me and here she has created a complex character who I absolutely adored from the first moment I met her. But who did I actually meet on that very first page? Was it Mary Brokenshire? Or is it Joanne Haynes, a woman unable to maintain a single identity.

I was completely hooked on The Alibi Girl, immersed in the life of a girl who was so completely different from the one I was expecting from that woman sitting in the hairdressers with her 5 week old baby. There were some unexpected twists and turns and some great supporting characters who were well drawn, even though nearly everyone was hiding behind some sort of mask and not just Joanne! I felt very maternal towards Joanne as she seemed very young for her age and eventually we come to understand why and that’s when I just wanted to cry for her!!! The narrative certainly didn’t take the path I had expected and that helped to make The Alibi Girl one of the best books I’ve read for some time!

But if I thought I’d been surprised enough throughout The Alibi Girl then I was in for another shock on that last page!! That ending!!!! I mean, what the actual hell?! It was perfection but I don’t think I can forgive the author for giving me one of the most thought provoking endings in a very long time!

In short, The Alibi Girl is dark, gripping and thoroughly addictive from start to finish and one of the easiest 5 stars I’ve given in a long time.

I very much enjoyed this book.  It has a good story and excellent main characters.  I would definately recommend this book.

It took me a while to get into this one, but once I did I felt gripped and had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. It becomes clear fairly early on that our central character Joanne may not be the most reliable of narrators, so this would make the perfect read for anyone who is a fan of that trope! There are some good twists and turns thrown in towards the end too. A very solid thriller.

I thoroughly enjoyed Sweetpea and In Bloom, and though different this too was a great read. The characters are well written, the story full of suspense, and the writing style easy and enjoyable. I look forward to more of Skuse's work.

My first book by this author and I really enjoyed it.  It’s a book that had me gripped and I would high,y recommend it.

The Alibi Girl follows the "life" (if you can call it that) of "Joanne" (not that that's her actual name) who has a lonely life in "her" flat (not actually hers) with "her" cats (not her cats)... can you see how this is going to go? The narrator is so unreliable but that's what draws you in - you can't wait to find out who Joanne really is and what the hell is going on. The dark humour is still peppered through the text but there's something very bleak and desperate about it too. The plot was really intricate and there were so many twists and turns that I was kept on my toes throughout.

The Alibi Girl is, in some ways, harder to get into but it feels like it has far more scope than C.J. Skuse's Sweetpea books. The flashbacks to a previous life and the multiple points of view make it feel like a more complete novel, more emotionally charged and with greater depth.

If you don't like gruesome depictions of killing, bad language or black comedy that's right on the border of acceptability then this book definitely isn't for you, but I bloody well loved it.

I received an ARC of this from NetGalley but I decided to buy the audio book and listen to it as I’ve enjoyed other books by the author on audio. I found this such a compelling book to listen to and it was perfect for me whilst I was coming out of a reading slump as I just didn’t want to stop listening. In the beginning of this book we meet Mary and her baby in a hairdressers where she talks about her other children and husband. But as she’s leaving she’s fearful of a man that arrives, and as she runs down the street someone else shouts after her but calls her by a different name! It turns out she’s not Mary at all but Joanne. The novel then flicks back and forth between the present day, and the past where we learn about Joanna’s childhood. Joanna has a lot of alibis – she gives different names and different stories to everyone she meets and slowly we learn why. Initially this gave me Sweetpea (one of C. J. Skuse’s previous novels) vibes but the further into it you get the more you see why Joanna is the way she is, it breaks your heart. I was rooting for her as the book went along and it becomes clear she’s not a liar for the sake of it, there is way more to it. This book has an ending that may divide readers but I thought it was perfect, even though it made me cry. I highly recommend this one!

it took me  a while to get into the book but once i did i couldnt put it down, it was an absolutely gripping read that i thoroughly enjoyed

A brilliant thriller, full of twists and turns yet finally with likeable, relatable characters! Ellis came across as someone you would actually like in real life, someone believable. A lot of thrillers lately seem to lack that for me. I enjoyed the perspectives from child to adult too, a nice touch.

What a nice find. This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

2.5/5⭐

Thank you so much NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I requested this book as soon as I saw it as I LOVED Skuse´s books Sweet Pea and In Bloom!

I liked how the book started. I liked the mystery we were presented with in the first chapter and how it developped.

I found myself very intrigued about Joanna´s life. I was reading, making some progress and I was kind of: But why are you hiding? What happened to you? Who hurt you?. I was so hooked!

I was so hooked until I kept reading and got so confused. I was very lost. I lost count of how many identities the main character had. I lost count of how many lies she was telling. I lost count of how many people she tricked and took advantage of.

For half a book I had no idea what was going on. I was very confused. I didn't know what had happened to her to be like that, for how long she had been that way and what she wanted to get from the situation.

I couldn't like the main character and that usually makes me enjoy the book a little bit less. I couldn't connect with her and I kind of didn't care much about her and her life.

When Foy, her cousin, came into action, I started getting all the answers to the questions I had and I started to understand everything a little bit more.

I liked the last 20% of the book more than the rest. I liked how the rescue took place and the outcome of it.

Like I said at the beginning, I loved S.J. Skuse's other books so so much and I'll read anything she writes, but unfortunately this one didn't do much for me.

Although very different to the Sweetpea series, Skuse seems to excel at complex, interesting characters and creating a world you want to step inside. A really gripping novel.

I cannot get enough of this author. Absolutely loved Sweet Pea and In Bloom. Alibi Girl didn't disappoint although different. A very clever book, full of the usual dark humour and lashings of suspense. Loved it.

I really enjoyed this book. 
Ellis was a great relatable character, that made me smile in places.
The storyline was strong and I enjoyed how the chapters were laid out.
I also love the author’s writing style.
Highly recommend.

C.J Skuse excels at writing dark, twisted women - the protagonist of her Sweetpea novels is a murdering psychopath who you somehow still end up rooting for. So when the Alibi Girl lies to everyone she meets I was still with her all the way. It’s a very different novel from Sweetpea and it’s sequel though, so don’t go into this like I did expecting another twisted heroine. The real reason is more serious this time. I think the distance from her didn’t work as well, we didn’t really get to know her, and the novel shifting perspective halfway through didn’t help. A good read but I would always go back to the Sweetpea novels instead.

Even though I did end up buying my own physical copy of this book, I would still like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for also providing me with a copy to read and review.

Honestly I am in two minds about this book.
I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as this author's 'Sweetpea' books. While I can't deny that this was a very well-written novel with complex characters and a story that intrigued me right from the very beginning, it was just missing the thrills and shocking twists it needs to make the story really loveable. The main character, 'Joanne' wasn't massively likeable to begin with, in fact she came across a little annoying and pathetic. As the story went on, it was clear that she was very troubled and I felt a little empathy for her, but not enough to fully connect with her. 
I did read this book rather quickly as I really wanted to know what was gonna happen next, but with no twists or turns, and everything tied up in a neat little bow by the end, I was left feeling rather unsatisfied. 
While I highly recommend this author's two Sweetpea books, this one unfortunately just didn't compare - but is it most definitely an entertaining worthwhile read.

Great book. Well written.  It keeps you guessing and wanting more 
Thank you to both NetGalley and publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book

Even though I've read a few books by C J Skuse, I think I was expecting the narrator in The Alibi Girl to be another Rhiannon, shades of Sweetpea. However, our unreliable main character, Joanne, is an intensely vulnerable narrator. 
Did I know what was going on? No, it took me a bit to put the clues together, but I loved this. The setting of the seaside town, poor Scants, tasked with a thankless task keeping up with Joanne's stories...

The Secrets Of Joanne...
An unpredictable and rather unique read from the author of ‘Sweetpea‘ and ‘In Bloom’. Joanne has alibis - in fact her name is one of many - but why? I think I’d rather call them identities but that is of no matter. To say too much would completely give the game away. Suffice to say this is compulsive storytelling, an addictive read with an unreliable protagonist. Both compellingly twisted and heartwarming with a thread of the authors trademark dark humour throughout. Recommended.

I was looking forward to reading this book since the author announced it as I have loved her previous work.
The storyline is great, it has plenty of twists and secrets that make you want to keep reading to see what will happen and why things are happening. The characters are so well presented that you can easily build a picture in your mind of who they are, what they look like and how they act. 
The fact the the author gave enough detail in the flashbacks that allowed the story to come to life and pull you in to the drama. 
I couldn't put it down. I was invested in characters and plot line. The way the author captured the multiple personalities of the main character and her mental state was done so well. 

I would highly recommend this book.