Full of twists and turns this look at the aftermath of a family trauma is shocking, and fully engaging. Well written and keeps you wanting more I fully recommend.

This is one of those books that stays with you long, long after you reach the final page - and will definitely be one of the must-read novels of 2021.

Lex Gracie and her siblings grew up in their parents' house of horrors. After managing to escape, Lex became known as 'Girl A', "the one who survived.

After their mother dies in prison, Lex is called in to be the executor of her will - and finds that she and her siblings have been left with £20,000 and their childhood home.

Lex is determined to turn the house into something good and, with the help of her sister Evie, sets out to see her siblings and convince them that they should agree.

Alternating between Lex's journey to get her siblings on-side and their childhood, Girl A draws readers in from the very first page - and it doesn't let go until the very end.

I've seen lots of hype around Girl A, which got a huge publishing deal, so maybe that's why I went into this with high expectations. Unfortunately for me this didn't live up to the hype, and I'll explain why.

This is narrated by Lexie, in her late 20s/early30s, who is on her way to prison. Her mother who was sentenced for abuse has died and named Lexie the executor of the will. Lexie and her siblings inherit the House of Horrors, where Lexie ran away from aged 11 years old and alerted helpful strangers to her home where her parents kept the children chained. Lexie wants to convert the house into a community centre that helps people, but to sign the idea off she has to first get her siblings to sign the legal papers agreeing to it. Except for her older brother Ethan Lexie hasn't spoken to the others since they were taken into foster care and sent to live with different families. As she meets each sibling she finds herself relieving the traumas of her past and confronting unsolved conflicts...

This had potential. An intriguing concept. However the main problem for me was that this book is being promoted as a psychological thriller/suspense/mystery novel, which it's not. For a genre book there isn't any suspense and mystery at all. We pretty much find out everything in the first 10% and there's a little reveal in the last 20% that's been done SO MANY TIMES that it's become a cliched and not surprising at all. This is more of a psychological drama/literary book. The premise reminded me of the Netflix show, The Haunting of Hill House, which also has a House of Horrors and complicated sibling dynamics, but unlike the show this doesn't really explore the sibling relationship. It felt like disjointed short stories where we follow each adult sibling and how they dealt with life after their traumatic childhood, they agree to Lexie's plan and then they disappear from the novel. The childhood flashback scenes were more gripping, however, I felt like the characterisation of the parents was poor and stereotyped with the jump to chaining the children given no explanation, particularly the character of father who's your usual run-of-the-mill Bible clutching religion fundamentalist. Also, I think because I've read books that deal with similar themes that have done it better, such as The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell, that in comparison to those Girl A just fell apart for me. It's 2/5.

A amazing debut which will be huge.
Disturbing and unsettling this is not a easy read especially as a parent.

A thought provoking book which at times o found difficult to read - the story centres around life after escaping captivity from her parents Girl A and her siblings learn to live again . Set years after escape the book takes you back to childhood life with a religious upbringing which led to Girl A and her siblings being basically locked in their rooms shackled and at times beaten . The current story tells of what happened after and where they have come to since.

<i>Girl A</i> is a suspenseful novel following Alexandra aka Girl A who upon her mother's death becomes the executor of the will and inherits the House of Horrors that she grew up in. The book switches between the present day - where Alexandra must get in touch with her siblings many of whom she has not spoken to in years - and the past in the House of Horrors itself.

This book was not entirely what I expected, I think I thought it would be more of a mystery and instead Abigail Dean deliver an interesting dive into recovery from trauma packed with plenty of twists along the way. Whilst it clicked instantly (and there were points I suspected it but quickly told myself I must have misunderstood) the end reveal took me completely by surprise. This story builds with so much anticipation, there are some things you know must be coming but there's so much to pause at along the way. Dean expertly chose the moments to focus on and knew just when to switch between the past and the present to maximise the effect.

Alexandra is a great perspective to view the story from, as the girl who escaped she's gathered sufficient attention but the reader is told that she is trying to leave the past behind, but the hints we're dropped and the stories Alexandra tells shows us why that's not entirely possible. I loved Alexandra as a lead, she was headstrong, independent, but flawed and acknowledged it. The exploration of her life after she escaped was absolutely fascinating and I found the mystery surrounding JP almost as interesting as the mystery surrounding her childhood.

I felt this book also did an excellent job of showing the horrors of the house without delving too much into it. Too often explorations of trauma and abuse can feel like they're there to serve the reader, that you have to go into deep detail to really show how horrible the situation is. Girl A doesn't dwell on specific instances, it shows you how horrible it is by showing the whole picture, by putting you in the mind of Lex and her confusion over what is taking place. We can tell what happened is horrible without Dean having to spell it out for us.

Overall I really enjoyed Girl A, and the amounts of twists and secrets helped me to fly through it and kept me on the edge of my seat. It'll definitely be one I think about for some time to come.

Lex Gracie escapes a house of horrors, along with her siblings she was placed into care and they were all adopted out to separate families. Now her mother has died she has to make peace with her siblings and herself in order to move forward.
This was not exactly what I expected but in a good way. It’s intriguing and shows a lot of emotion. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for the loan of this book.
I'd heard a lot about this book and therefore was greatly looking forward to it. Unfortunately I was disappointed with it. It got off to a good start, but then kind off never got off the ground for me.
The story starts with a girl A finding out her mother who was in jail, has passed away, leaving the house she grew up in to her an her siblings, who all live apart from each other. She sets off to visit each of them to see if they'll give their permission for her to turn the house into a community centre. The story jumps back in time to when all the children lived in the house, and the horrors they lived through, while there. The abuse they suffered in the house became more harrowing over time before girl A escaped and raised the alarm. The children are subsequently taken into care, their father kills himself and their mother ends up in prison. The story then drags on going back and forth between past and present until the end of the book, when a there is a shock revelation. This book dragged on for me, and left me wanting more. A good book, but did not excite me.

This book was heartbreaking and very heavy! I liked the moral ambiguity of the characters and how they weren't simply split into good vs evil. It was really devastating to see how their situation went from bad to worse. However, I found that the constant jumping around the timeline at times was difficult to follow and often had to read back a few pages to figure out where in the story I was. The ending didn't offer too much in terms of closure either but maybe that's more realistic for the story.

This is a long drawn out story with a lot of characters to get your head around. Their are a lot of flashbacks which can be confusing at times and hard to follow. It's based on a true story and it's beautifully written. Once you realise who all the characters are the story flows along nicely. Personally I prefer the flashbacks, which give you a deeper understanding of what Girl A-Lex and her siblings went through. It's harrowing, evil, sick and it gave me the shivers in places. It's a heartbreaking read and very sad in parts especially the ending, so have plenty of tissues on hand.
Don't be disheartened by the length and all the characters, because it all comes to a great, but sad and happy conclusion.
It's a brilliant debut and I'm looking forward to see what Abigail Dean writes next.

This book was so well written. It transported me right back to the children's past and to the atrocities they endures at the hands of their parents. The descriptions really didn't leave too much to the imagination so it was quite upsetting at times but unfortunately, tales like these are not always fictitious. For some they are the reality. Girl A was the girl who escaped. Every body knew of her, but didn't know her. She was the girl who survived the horrors inflicted by her own parents. She was spoken about across the land and eventually people moved on, just as she did, and she did her very best to put her horrific past behind her in an attempt to never have to think of that trauma again. But things change and when her mother dies she bequeaths their family home to Lex and her siblings. Upon hearing this news Lex embraces the fact that she must face her demons and look the trauma of her past in the face in order to move on with her life. Despite the subject matter, I really enjoyed this read and I give it 4 stars.

This book is one you won't be able to put down or forget.
Similar to 'room' and 'we need to talk about kevin' I was excited to read this book.
It is based on Lex and her siblings and their life they had living in her parents ’ House of Horrors before Lex escaped . After her mother dies in prison,and leaves the house to Lex and her siblings they have to finally face what happened to them and she has to eventually come to terms the horrors they all experienced..
Along with her sister Evie, she wants to turn the house into good and this can't be achieved before coming to terms with all that happened.

‘Girl A’ is the story of Lex Gracie and the infamous House of Horrors where she and her siblings grew up. The remote and hidden world of Moor Wood Road where her parents inflicted cruelty and callous treatments upon their children is described in so much intricate detail and juxtaposed so dramatically to the exciting places Lex travels to in her adult life; but years on Lex is pulled backwards after her mother dies in prison leaving her the executor of the children’s inheritance.
This book was so wonderfully written as you are taken back and forth between the sibling’s past and present with Lex as the guide. As the eldest girl of the Gracie family she always felt the need to care for her younger siblings and drew upon unknown strength to escape and rescue them all of those years ago. Now she must face them all and their realities of their past traumas.
This novel is quite lengthy but rightly so because every word is necessary to build such a realistic set of characters so you understand all of the layers of their stories. The importance is placed upon the children and their individual journeys of survival: this novel takes the opportunity to go far deeper than the news surface headline of ‘Girl A’.
An amazing debut novel that I couldn’t and didn’t want to put down.

Really gripping - I enjoyed the story so much. I thought it was fast-paced and engaging, struggled to put it down most of the time! Ending was great too. I would definitely recommend this novel. Thanks so much for sharing this review copy.

Wow, wow, wow. What a book!
When Lexie and her siblings are left the family home after their mother dies, we are taken on a journey of what happened din the house of horrors where they grew up.
So well written, with even the hardest images of the abuse suffered by Child A and her siblings, told poetically and sensitively.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley and Abigail Dean for the chance to read GIRL A and review.

Girl A is a gripping and excellently written novel that's dark and edgy as you become absorbed in the main protagonist's journey as she and her sisters find the courage to confront their horrific past and learn the true power of forgiveness and moving on.

Lex and her siblings grew up in her parents house of horrors, she managed to escape and was known as “Child A the girl who survived”

When Lex’s mother dies in prison, she is asked to be the executor of her mother’s will, as she has left her their childhood home and £20,000 to be shared between her siblings.

Along with her sister Evie’s help, she wants to turn the house into something good but will need to get her other siblings to agree. Lex has to face the childhood that she had left behind and meet up with her family, bringing all the bad memories back.

The book goes back to when they were children and how they were badly treated by their parents. I must admit to crying, as this felt so real and you do read about cases like this in the newspapers!!

This had me gripped from the start, you can’t help but be drawn in with this beautifully written story about survival against all odds.

This is going to be a must read book of 2021.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

Ask anyone about the house on Moor Woods Road, and they'll be able to tell you the story: seven children, raised in a house of horror by parents whose reign only ended when Girl A, Lex, was brave enough to escape. Years later, and Lex has done everything she can to put her childhood behind her. But everything changes when her mother dies in prison, and names Lex as the executor of her will. Now, Lex must face up to the trauma of her past, and finally come to terms with what happened all those years ago...

The synopsis of this book on NetGalley states 'If you liked Room, My Dark Vanessa and We Need to Talk About Kevin, you will love this book.' Now, these are three of my favourite books, so I definitely went into this one with high hopes, and fortunately I wasn't disappointed!

I will say that at the start, it does take a while to really connect with Lex. At times, she felt a bit stiff and wooden, but as the novel progresses you realise that this closed off nature is due to the intense trauma she faced as a child, and she develops into more of a well-rounded, sympathetic character. Her present life isn't really the focus of the book, so it does take a while to really get to grips with her, but I found her to be a great choice of narrator, with a very true and authentic voice.

A real strength of this book is the flashbacks, and I love the way the storyline alternated between now and the past. While I did enjoy the present day sections, I was completely gripped by the flashbacks, and the chilling way they showed how a seemingly normal family descended into evil. The author also did very well in creating scenes that, while disturbing, never felt gratuitous.

Now I assume I'm right in thinking that this book is at least partly inspired by a similar true story that occurred in America last year, but this book differentiates itself from this by basing the story in England. I personally found that this worked really well, as not only did it make it more unique but it also made it feel a lot more chilling to an English audience, making it feel like something that really could happen in any street in any town. I've often questioned how real cases like this could occur, but reading this really showed how easy it is for such situations to occur, and for families to slip through the gaps in the blink of an eye.

All in all, I found this to be a great read, really gripping and one that is very difficult to put down - you keep telling yourself 'just one more section' until suddenly it's the early hours of the morning! I would definitely recommend this, especially to fans of psychological thrillers with a dark and disturbing twist.

Disclaimer - I was fortunate enough to receive an advance reading copy from NetGalley. This has not affected my review in any way, and all opinions are my own.

This one was a little slow to get into at first. The main character, Alexandra/Lex isn't someone I connected with easily, and because of that it was a little bit of a slow burn to buy into her story, despite the description being so interesting.
Throughout the book, she remains a little bit of a wooden character, but as her back story unfolds, that's forgivable as we kind of grow to understand a little bit more of why she's closed off. I would have liked to see a little bit more insight into her as a person though, as even her childhood memories and flashbacks kept her as a fairly bland character.
That being said, the story itself is interesting enough to carry her and the other characters and once that started picking up and I started learning more and more, I found it easy to get caught up in the story.

I think my main gripe, however, is with the character of Ethan. I think that we could have seen a little bit more about him and his gradual move towards being a dark, cruel character. There's so much possibility there, especially with Delilah's revelation towards the end of the story. Even serious things like his violence towards Lex was fairly glossed over, or the scene where Ana was having some doubts was very quickly moved on from. I think that we can almost see the Mother as a tragic figure rather than an evil one, because we do get enough insight into her life, her time in prison, her submissive behaviour around the Father... while Ethan seems to be the real villain of the piece. His betrayal of his siblings would cut a lot deeper than their two screwed up parents, and I think this and the repercussions afterwards could have been explored more deeply.

Overall, I'd give this 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4, because it is a well written, original, interesting story and while not exactly a "pleasant" read, it definitely left me sitting there with a lot to think about afterwards. I think that as it currently is, the story is a little too shallow - like I've read a newspaper article about the events rather than really delving deep into the minds of these characters and the emotional scars and that's what left me feeling a little bit wanting upon finishing.

Beautifully written, cleverly plotted and pacey – it's the first book that's caught and sustained my attention during lockdown, and the first book in ages that I want to push onto everyone I speak to.