3.5 stars. ⭐️
I really enjoyed this book and it truly is a who done it. Set in a duel timeline we find Oriana in Eden Falls trying to find out who killed Gideon after being convicted of his murder herself and serving 18 years for it. There are a LOT of characters and at first you suspect Everyone, keeping you gripped up until the end. I did find it quite long in parts, especially Annie’s parts but the ending was very unexpected and i would recommend it. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this early copy.

I loved this book, I read to be transported into another situation and this most certainly did. Twist and turns kept me guessing I couldn’t put it down. Well worth the read.

Gripping right from the start, it's the kind of book you don't wanna put down even when your desperate to go sleep. Cannot wait to explore this author more.

Convicted of the murder of Gideon Wyclerc, Orianna has served 18 years in prison, but cannot actually remember killing him.
To be considered for parole, psychologist Annie Ledet is tasked with unlocking the truth.
Told over a dual timeline by both Orianna and Annie, we are transported back to Eden Falls to find out what really happened in the cabin in the woods.
A good solid thriller, with lots of surprises, especially the ending!
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review..

This isn't my usual type of genre, I'm not really into suspense in terms of trying to work out who has done what. Having said that, I did really enjoy it. It kept me hooked right to the end, and the ending was indeed a surprise. Highly recommended.

Orianna is a convicted murderer. She has now served 18 years, but what if she is innocent?

Set in 2 timelines, we read if her sessions with a psychologist and also in the town where the murder took place.

This is an interesting and intense read and I have to say it is a story beauitfully told.

The writing is excellent and this book was an absolute joy to read. I loved it

An amazing psychological thriller, it makes you keep guessing who the killer is and you’ll never find who the actual killer is. Unpredictable ending, and unpredictable characters. Although there were many of them, they did make the story even more interesting and enjoyable. I usually get very bored when i read long thrillers but this flew by.

(Spoilers)
I thought this book was okay whilst reading through it, I did guess the ending about 60% in and I thought it was quite a cliche. But I was really disappointed that it ended up being yet another book that hinges on the demonisation of people with Borderline Personality Disorder. It’s a really lazy trope and it’s so untrue, people with BPD are not anything like the characterisation in this book and are far far far more likely to hurt themselves or be exploited by others than be a danger to anyone else. Thanks for the ARC.

I liked this a lot. There was so much going on that sometimes, I had to slow down and give myself some time to recap what had just happened. It was an interesting approach with the story being told from the viewpoint of Orianna, who has served 18 years for a murder/ possibly 2 that she is adamant she did not commit, but also from her sessions with a psychotherapist who is trying to unlock her memories of the day. There are a lot of characters, some seem to be there purely as red herrings, but some help the story to move on with a lot there for accusations to be thrown at. Some of the events seem implausible where Orianna recovers very quickly from injuries, but that is explained later in the book.
There are so many themes in this book- difficult family relationships, betrayal, hatred, blame, which are addressed in various ways, and told from different viewpoints of now and then. I don't think there is anything more I can say without spoiling parts of the story, but I'd love to know about some of the main characters especially Luke and Amos.
I will definitely read more by this author.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

An incredibly intriguing thriller! The plot twist and turns and keeps you entertained! I like the duel POV plot and the way the story slowly unfolds as you make your way through!

This is a cracker well plotted that keeps you guessing till the very end, a rare treat. Unique concept set among stylish writing, strong characters and engaging themes. A proper good old thriller that kept me reading long after bed time. A must read

Wow, this book is full of great characters, some nice and some definitely not but either way the story has the feel of a great epic with changes of timelines from now to then from the point of view of The girl in cell A and her therapist. Due to the small town setting and old fashioned names I kept forgetting that this was set in more modern times yet the atmosphere was more reminiscent of mid 20th century America. I had to re-read a few chapters until I realised that the narrative was unreliable - but that made it all the more interesting. I think Vaseem Khan is an extraordinary talented writer. Can’t wait to read more.

I was given this book to review ages ago and only started to read it a couple of days ago, and wow, I wish I had read it as soon as I got it. I have not read this authors work before but will definitely look out for more . A beautiful immersive book. I loved it.

This is my first book by Khan and it definitely won’t be my last, this is the first thriller in a very long time that genuinely had me in disbelief at the twists and turns and I did not see the ending coming!

The Girl in Cell A centres around Orianna who is prison for murdering Gideon Wyclerc. Everyone believes she did it, and they also hold her responsible for the disappearance of Gideon’s daughter Grace who hasn’t been seen in decades.

Despite becoming something of a true crime celebrity Orianna continues to protest her innocence and claims she can’t remember a single thing about the events surrounding Gideon’s murder. When a psychologist is brought in to help unlock her memory - the truth risks finally coming to the surface.

This is a really brilliantly written twisty psychological thriller which will completely mess with your head and have you questioning absolutely everything.

Orianna is such a deeply flawed and interesting female character who I couldn’t help but root for despite everything. This was a really great book and the only thing stopping it from being a 5 star for me is that I think it was slightly too long and the pacing was very slow in the beginning which I think could cause other readers to DNF, but it’s so worth not giving up on.

Annie is a forensic psychotherapist tasked with making the decision to release convicted murderer Orianna. Told on then and now timelines we have “‘then” from Annie’s side and “now” from Oriannas.

Orianna was accused of the murder of Gideon Wyclerc, on the day of the murder his 17 year old daughter also disappeared. Orianna returns to her home town of Echo Falls determined to find the answers from the past as she has no memory of the night of the murder and is convinced of her innocence. Hardly anyone from the town is pleased she is back but she is set on uncovering what happened that fateful night.

This is a mystery with all the thrills, It literally had me pointing fingers everywhere, there are a lot of characters in the story but the author does a fantastic job of subtle reminders of whose who so it’s really easy to follow still. The writing was brilliant, very clever and alot of background in the story, it gave me feels of ‘The girl with the dragon tattoo’ and ‘shutter island’.

Murder, rape, racism, incest and affairs galore. Easy 5 star read for me. Definitely recommend. Outstanding book. Bravo to the author!

Thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for me eARC.

Keeps you reading, on the edge of your seat

First of all, I would like to thank Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an arc of Vaseem Khan’s new novel: The Girl In Cell A.

The Girl In Cell A is a champion of twists and turns. It will keep you second-guessing yourself, constantly, but in a natural way.

The characters are well-rounded. Orianna, who has been in jail for 18 years, for a murder she insists she didn’t commit. Annie, the forensic psychologist, excavating her long-buried memories. The powerful Wyclef patriarch and his family.

This is a thriller that will keep you reading and on the edge of your seat. I’m looking forward to reading more by Vaseem Kahn.

A stunning novel from the excellent Vaseem Khan and a real change of direction. After his delightful India based stories, The Girl In Cell A takes us to America and the eponymous central character who sets out to find out the truth about her criminal past. Lots of twists and turns and a splendid read!

4+ 🌟
What a toxic place Eden Falls is, and not surprising when headed up by the Wyclerc family, who have so.e very suspect history in their past.
I raced through this book as I needed to know who killed Gideon, and it could have been anyone, could have been me, had I been there. He was vile.
On top of that what did happen to Grace?
Nothing that I expected, and I'm usually quite good at picking up the clues.
Surprises a plenty, great pacing, and an all round cracking read.

4.5
This book was insane! I suspected EVERYBODY! Did I kill Gideon?! The trust issues are real.
Think Shutter Island level of unreliable narrator. It worked sooo well.
The characters were all really well thought out with their own personalities and lives going on. Orianna and Annie in particular as they were out two voices.
This was just so clever and I really enjoyed every twist and turn.

This is a real departure from Khan's previous series, but a highly accomplished entry into a new genre. I had to take some time to settle on exactly what sort of rating and review I wanted to write, and that's always a sign of a novel being highly effective in how it drags you from pillar to post. Four stars is a reconciliation of how impressive I found the book's construction after I'd finished it and some of the frustrations and puzzlement I felt while I was reading it, and the novel is particularly good at maintaining and using tension in the second half.

One grumble is that there are one or two loose ends from the early phase of the book that I think really do need some explicit resolution or reference at the end. There is on particular character name (and more broadly then one particular theme) that one simply cannot use to this extent without eventually giving a wink to the reader that you know, you know!