I liked the symmetry of timelines, reading the same passage of time two or three times to see how each one felt in that moment... really highlighting how what each one thought of themselves or each other was perceived differently by different people!

I did figure out that something was off very early on and the hints about what happened in the past were a little too blatant for me but I skimmed past them!

Despite it being a little predictable and the ‘shock factors’ wearing a bit thing, it did manage to keep me interested till the end.

Phoebe Morgan has written a cracking story set in a luxury safari lodge in Botswana and in London. Four women, Felicity, Grace, Alice and Hannah were good friends, but haven't really spoken or communicated with each other for two years. They reunite to celebrate Felicity's birthday who now lives in New York, following the significant events of a particular evening.

A compelling, pacy read, the author effectively built up the tension to dizzying heights as the story unfolded. Told from multiple perspectives, the reader is afforded insights into the women's ordinary lives which Phoebe Morgan executes really well. This coupled with acts of menace and the actions of the women's partners give lots of cause for concern, raising the tension levels. With a heavy focus on the complexities of female friendships, I revelled in this breathtakingly dark tale. Very highly recommended so take a leap in.

I read The Wild Girls in staves with other Pigeonholers as part of a group. A special thank you to HQ, Phoebe Morgan, NetGalley and The Pigeonhole for a complimentary copy of this novel at my request. This review is my unbiased opinion.

Disappointing.
Not a single character that is likeable or relatable.
Silly ending that leaves you feeling unsatisfied

This was really good and a very enjoyable read. I read this in one sitting as I needed to finish. Loved the ending.
The lodge descriptions were great. The only thing I really didn't understand was where are the staff.
I was given an advance copy by net galley but the review is my own

Felicity invites her old friends to a weekend 30th Birthday party in Botswana all paid for by herself.
The girls have not seen each other for over two years when something happening which you find out through the book.
They all hope this weekend will help them bond again.
When they arrive there there is no sign of felicity.
They settle into their lodges.
But something is not right with no phone signal ,no one else there and where’s Felicity.
Is someone playing a deadly game with them and who is it.
Thanks NetGalley

This was a fun thriller that totally went in the direction you were sort of expecting and took the beautiful scenic route. No one but the MC was likeable and it was fun reading about the drama and sort of watching it play out, a lá Jigsaw from Saw style.

Very compulsive story, full of sinister hints and twists right up to the end. Atmospheric and nail-bitingly tense. Highly recommended.

What a fantastic book. This is the first novel I've read by this author and now I can't wait to get my hands on the others. This is so well written and absolutely gripped me from the start.

It focuses on the complex relationships between 4 close friends and at various points refers back to previous events in their lives. You gradually discover what has happened to fracture their friendship. I found the story so gripping that I couldn't put the book down.

I enjoyed this book so much. It is the first time I have read a thriller, set in a holiday destination, which contained a murder, I was fully committed to the book and frightened by the murder, and yet, I still wanted to go to visit the holiday destination as the author had sold it to me!
Three friends invited by the fourth for an all expenses paid trip to Botswana. Who on earth would refuse? However, the friends have not seen each other for a couple of years. Why is that? What happened to sour their friendship? Did 'life just get in the way' or did something more serious happen? If so, will they be able to resolve their differences on this trip? Will they come to blows? Or will nature take its course?
A great thriller, sit back and enjoy the scenery.
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for this read.
The book follows four female friends from childhood who were known as the wild girls. The story goes back and forth between the present day and two years ago. The author manages to build the tension throughout the book and ends it well with a twist.
Thus would make a perfect holiday read.

Would you go on an all expenses paid holiday abroad with three friends you have not seen for several years?
Felicity is celebrating her birthday and wants her friends, The Wild Girls, Hannah, Grace and Alice to help with these celebrations at a Lodge in Botswana. They have not seen each other as friends for two years and is it time for them to find out what has happened in the intervening time.
As the story unfolds we find out what each has done during this time but not went on before, that comes later.
The three girls arrive at the Lodge to meet Felicity for the party and then they begin to realise that things are not all as they should be and the past comes back to haunt them.
Many thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this novel from an author whose books I have not previously read. This will change, but I will be looking over my shoulder, just in case.

Hugely addictive and incredibly atmospheric!

This was my first Phoebe Morgan book and it most definitely will not be my last. This fast-paced, tense thriller grabbed my attention right from the start, it had me gripped throughout and then left me hanging off the edge of my seat at the end.

Alice, Grace and Hannah all receive an invite to their friend Felicity’s birthday party. This is not just an invitation for a few drinks and a disco at the local social club though. This is a luxurious long weekend in Botswana, staying in the most incredible lodges with amazing food and drink and the opportunity to go on safari followed by a lavish party! Who wouldn’t want to do this with their besties, especially when the birthday girl is paying for the entire thing!

This all sounds a bit too perfect to be a thriller, doesn’t it? So, what on earth goes wrong?

The girls haven’t seen each other for a while, and we know from the off that something happened in the past to cause a bit of a rift between them, but each of them seems keen to re-kindle their friendships and hope that this weekend will be the perfect chance to let bygones be bygones.

Unfortunately, the amazing lodges are where the luxury ends as the weekend soon turns into a fight for survival.

This book is one of the most atmospheric stories that I’ve ever read. Having not been on holiday since before the pandemic, it was a joy to travel to this amazing setting in my head. I could almost feel the heat and smell the mozzie repellent seep through the pages! Being set right on the plains of Botswana gives it that eerie feel, especially during the scenes set at night. Whilst there were no sightings of any lions, snakes or deadly spiders, I felt we could sense that they were there, lying low, just watching and waiting!

This book is very well written, and cleverly plotted, Phoebe does well to never reveal too much too early on, leaving us frantically turning the pages, itching to know more. With work and 2 children, my reading time is restricted, but I raced through this book in just 3 days!

Take a trip to the wild and enjoy this thrilling but deadly adventure, where we uncover secrets and lies and so much more!

Thank you so much to Phoebe Morgan, HQ and NetGalley for my copy of this book.

The Wild Girls is without a doubt one of my favourite reads this year, and I am so pleased to be a part of the blog tour for this brilliant book.

A group of four friends, who had – in their younger years – called themselves the Wild Girls, have been estranged for the best part of two years, have planned to get together for Felicity’s birthday. Hannah, Alice and Grace are all invited to join her for a long weekend away Deception Valley Lodge in Botswana. When the invitations drop through their letter boxes, it is safe to say that they are all shocked, but equally excited.

This is the opportunity of a lifetime that they would be crazy to turn down, and it is the perfect opportunity for them all to bury the hatchet and rekindle their friendship after all of these years, and with Felicity footing the bill, there really is nothing holding them back. Each of them are far too curious about one another’s lives, and soon enough they finds themselves on a plane flying out to meet up with Felicity for the holiday of a lifetime.

Everything seems too good to be true, and soon enough things start to take a dark turn. With secrets from their pasts, fears and doubts creeping up to the surface, the wild animals are nothing compared to the games that take place between them.

This is an absolute page turner of a book. The story is told from four angles, the past and present, London and Botswana. We get to really know these characters as we see them as the women they are today, in comparison to the people they were all those years ago. At the start of the story, we don’t know the reasons behind the rift that tore this friendship group apart, and I truly enjoyed the plot unfolding as the story picks up its pace. The storyline is wonderfully structured and perfectly paced, with the tension and suspense levels heightening as the story reaches it’s conclusion.

This is without a doubt a must read for 2021. A chilling, all consuming read that has you holding your breath throughout.

I loved this read from Morgan! I was transported to the plains of Botswana and was bedazzled by the opulence of the safari lodge. However, as we all know, nothing in life comes for free, and I could not help but be suspicious as Felicity’s friends descended to this remote location.

For sure, this read grabs you from the beginning. As three estranged friends receive an all-expenses-paid invite to Felicity’s birthday celebrations in Botswana, it is evident that there is more to their friendship than we realise. Early on, Morgan alludes to a significant night in the friends’ past, one that seemingly is the cause for their friendship to grow distant. Yet, this does not deter Grace, Hannah and Alice who, for very different reasons, see this as an escape from daily-life pressures. Simultaneously, each of the friends have an agenda to make amends with Felicity, based on this fateful night that is referenced, although this does not become clear until later in the novel.

The extravagance of the lodge is truly overwhelming and I could vividly picture its luxury as the women arrive at the lodge. It has copious amounts of space which seems ideal when there is a birthday party coming up; indeed, the women see is as an indication of their long-term acquaintance with Felicity that they all have their own private, mini lodge that is away from the main social area. However, undeniably, this is cause for isolating the women from each other and I loved the growing mystery that develops over the story. From hidden clues and secret messages for each character, I could not anticipate how the novel would develop.

It is not until the mid-point of the novel does Morgan finally reveal what happened between the friends. By this point, readers feel that they truly know the characters in the story. Not correct! At last, the back story is finally revealed to readers and we are transported to London, two years previous. Suddenly the suspicions and ulterior motives start to make sense. As a result of this time-switch, I found my sympathies switching and yet, still could not predict how the novel would conclude when it returned to present day.

I enjoy this type of mystery-thriller, when it is apparent that characters are being “picked off” one by one. The suspicions mount and I could really get a sense of the panic and claustrophobia that the characters felt – even though they are ironically in a very broad, natural area. I think the setting really intensifies the tension in the story because it is an environment that none of the characters really know; removed from their comfort zone, they are definitely tested with their trust for one another.

An exotic, mystery thriller that will transport you to the sunny climes of Africa, and, if you are anything like me, probably tempt you to resist sleep in the urge to conclude this novel! It’s a great read from Morgan and one that I highly enjoyed.

With thanks to HQ Digital and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of those books that kept me that gripped I read it in one sitting! I haven’t done that with a book in such a long time.

It is a pulse racing, tense read that is written from each of the women’s point of view. Each of them have a secret and you will spend the whole time reading the book dying to know what happened two years previously that caused these women to fall out.

The pacing is a bit slow at first but the tension keeps building creating an unsettling atmosphere that builds up the more and more you read. The writing style was easy to read and flows so smoothly making this the perfect summer read.

This story has everything you need in a psychological thriller; lies, deception, obsession, toxic friendships and of course...murder. A sizzling hot scorcher of a story that any thriller fans will not want to miss out on.

Blimey, what a rollercoaster of a book this is! I sat down and started it one morning and I kept sneaking back to read it throughout that day, resenting the chores that took me away from the story, and by that night I had finished it. This is one of those books that you want to completely immerse yourself in and stay gripped by until you get to the end, it is absolutely blooming fabulous.

I was really excited by the whole premise of the book – four friends holidaying in a luxury lodge in Botswana – as I love a book that takes me armchair travelling and I’ve always wanted to go on a safari holiday. Hmmm, not sure I do any more. Phoebe has managed to imbue the pages with this book with a creeping, suffocating sense of menace and jeopardy that would have anyone running screaming from the situation, if it was possible to escape.

The dynamics of female relationships always make for a fascinating read for me, and the author has constructed a friendship group here that is clearly dysfunctional, for reasons that she very cleverly hints at throughout to keep reader enthralled but doesn’t fully explain until the end, so you spend plenty of time trying to work out what is going on from the sneaky clues she drops in to the story at cunning intervals. All of the girls have secrets, and problems in their private lives which they aren’t sharing with one another, and the whole lot comes together in a beautiful explosion when they meet up. The book is very cleverly plotted and was one of the main things that kept me reading.

The book is told from the perspective of each of the characters, and it jumps around in time from present to past, as the events leading up to the Botswana trip are revealed, but you will barely notice the changes and it is very easy to follow. the author has constructed it in a way that flows easily, with each character having a distinctive voice, and I felt we got to know them all really well. They aren’t all particularly likeable, but that didn’t impact my enjoyment of the book at all.

There are some difficult issues touched upon in this book, which might be triggering for some people, but they all serve the plot and Phoebe has dealt with them delicately. I have to say, the ending gets a bit mad, but I was fully invested in the book by this point so I just went with it and, if I did find the ending a bit far-fetched, I still came away from the book feeling that I had had a really enjoyable and satisfying reading experience. I think you can tell when a writer has had a really good time writing a book, it usually translates to a great time for the reader, and this was certainly true of The Wild Girls. I had been greatly looking forward to reading it, and it completely fulfilled my expectations and then some. A really entertaining, gripping, immersive read.

This is atmospheric psychological suspense that explores friendship, relationships, and secrets. The Wild Girls, four friends who grew up together, all different personalities but a close-knit friendship group until the night they weren't. Two years later and no one is in contact. A surprise invitation to celebrate a birthday in Botswana brings back memories, some good, others troubling, but will they go? Of course, they do and find themselves in a hostile environment which quickly turns toxic.

The suspense building is good, but not enough is made of the Botswanan location. Told in three parts from multiview points some first-person, others third-person. The secrets are gradually revealed as the events of their estrangement become clear. The three women are unreliable protagonists and hard to empathise with. The story is well-plotted, and the final chapters are particularly twisty and impactful.

I received a copy of this book from HQ via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A really dark thriller. Set today as a three girls go to meet Felicity for her birthday celebrations. These are old friends who have been estranged for two years. Felicity has invited them to an all paid luxury trip to Botswana. It sounds a dream trip until the girls arrive. This is a tense, atmospheric read. The story is told by the three girls with part two going back to the last day they spent together. A really good, gripping read with lots of twists and an ending I did not see.

This book is about friendship and trying to reconnect once the friendship starts to fade away. I liked the first half and was intrigued. The second half felt a bit implausible to me and I didn’t enjoy this part as much. A read that keeps you guessing though. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

I could not put Phoebe Morgan’s latest thriller, The Wild Girls, down. What a rollicking great rollercoaster of a thriller! I was hooked from the opening page and this books grip did not loosen until I closed it on the final page (and let out out my breath!). This is a novel that speeds along at breakneck pace, captures the readers imagination, keeps you guessing and is constructed perfectly. This is the second of Morgan’s novels that I’ve read and her remaining two are bumping their way up my TBR, because I really enjoy her writing.

One of Morgan’s strengths is her ability to create a sense of place and write vividly about her setting. Botswana literally leaps off the page like a cheetah preying on an antelope. I really felt that I was there whilst reading and this novel really is a feast for the imagination. Simultaneously, Morgan expertly paints a picture of the desirable luxury and opulence of the lodge complex, whilst also building an overwhelming sense of paranoia and underlying tension. For all the complex’s beauty, there is a real sense of danger in both the events that unfold and the isolated setting and unforgiving terrain. A tangible sense of threat - which you could genuinely cut with a knife - is built with great effect and danger seems to be plausible from all angles. This makes The Wild Girls a truly gripping read that you will struggle to put down.

Morgan also constructs some complex and thrilling characters here, driving the narrative forward and keeping readers on the edge of their seats. With such a limited collection of characters at the heart of the story you would think it’d be easy to work out just what’s going on. It’s not! I was kept guessing throughout and formulated multiple theories - none of which were right. It’s a real skill to construct a plot with so few potential perpetrators that isn’t obvious or lacklustre. Nobody is exactly who the seem here. Nobody is completely likeable. Nobody is the obvious villain or victim. Morgan expertly weaves a dark, deep and complex plot that is gradually unpicked via multiple viewpoints, timelines and narrative parts. Secrets are hinted at throughout and as everything is gradually revealed, all falls into place seamlessly, logically and in a satisfying and exhilarating way.

This is a really fantastic read that will transport you off to Africa, but have you glad you’re safely tucked up at home!