there are some authors who i think just have books written into the veins. because i dont know how they think, imagine and then write these books with such effortless smooooothness. Vaseem does that with this book. and i cannot wait to see if it follows their other books too!
this book is full of everything you could wish for in a thriller. it packs a punch. and it packs questions and questionable character galore. i couldnt recommend this book enough,
in this book we have our prisoner Orianna who has always says she is innocent of a murder that occurred 18 years earlier. but if she didnt kill Gedeon then who did. and where did his daughter Grace disappear to the day of the killing?
but although she says she is innocent Orianna cant actually remember what happened so Annie a forensic psychologist is bought in to find out. because there is a murderer out there is she is telling the truth.
but Orianna grew up in Eden Falls and there is a lot to be said and not wanted to be said about this place. its ruled on seemingly kept secrets and scandals. there is so much power and uncomfortable layers to this place its hard to know who or what are innocent or goodies or badies. but could one of them have committed murder. is there way more to this than everyone first thought...or was covered up?
the surprises kept coming with this book in all the best ways.

This won't be the longest review in the world as I think you would get the most out of the book by going in blind.

I had conflicting thoughts going into this. On the one hand, I think Vaseem writes a fantastic book. But on the other hand, I am a vocal non-fan of books longer than about 400 or so pages. And so at nearly 600 pages, I was already a little concerned. But all in all, I think it warrants being that long. That's my main issue with long books is they feel dragged out and don't warrant the length, but this one does. I think the magic comes from the backstory and the characters' history, which helps set up the reveals.

It flits between Orianna in the present day, and Annie in the past, with other characters and time periods interspersed in between. This could have been really confusing but I think it worked perfectly.

Owing to its long page length, I did expect to slow through it, thinking I'd been reading for ages only to find I'm about 5% of the way through. But it was far speedier than I thought it would be which is good, and before I knew it I was halfway through. I gave myself two days to read this; I managed it in three, which for 600 pages I was pleasantly surprised. It completely sucks you in and it's so hard to tear yourself away from it.

It has such convincing, human, well rounded, multi-layered characters - not all of them nice. No-one is 100% a goodie and 100% a baddie, there's a bit of both in everyone which made it more fun to read.

It reminded me a bit of Chris Whitaker's All the Colours of the Dark, another book I worried would be too long. Two epic stories written by two epic storytellers.

It's an interesting story to read when the characters don't even know who did it. The protagonist is aware she might have done it but she doesn't know. And so the reader ends up trying to work it out at the same time as her. And for that reason, we feel sorry for her but we're conflicted because we don't know if she deserves our sympathy or not. No spoilers, but let me tell you - I did not see the surprise coming.

I believe this is Vaseem's first standalone crime/thriller novel and it really does promise such an excellent future.

This book is a departure from the usual Indian background to Vaseem Khans other novels and a first attempt at a psychological thriller. Psychological thrillers are my favourite genre and I have to admit that this book does not tick all the boxes of a good psychological thriller. It does have some twists and well developed characters but lacks the necessary pace of a good psychological thriller. I can see why some other reviewers have registered a DNF as the book was rather drawn out. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to ARC this book.

Absolutely gripping story - I couldn't put this down. I enjoyed the brooding atmosphere that Vaseem Khan created with intriguing characters, a toxic family and fabulous twist.

The premise of this book really intrigued me and I wanted to love it but unfortunately I had to DNF at 23%. I think it is definitely a me problem but this book just didnt grip me enough and I was bored.

Certain crimes attract notoriety and the girl in cell A is infamous.
Convicted of murdering two family members but orianna has always protested her innocence.
Amnesia about the actual crime she never admits the killings.
18 years later she is released and sets about trying to find out who the murderer is.
Small town attitude with a definite hierarchy.
Will they run her out of town before she discovers the truth?

The Girl In Cell A tells the story of Orianna, a young girl who was convicted of murder and has become a true crime 'celebrity'. Orianna is released from prison and heads back to Eden Falls, where she grew up, to try and retrieve her memories from the night of the murder. The townsfolk aren't pleased to see her, but Orianna is determined to prove her innocence. The chapters are interspersed with snippets from Forensic Psychologist, Annie, who has sessions with Orianna in prison.

Firstly, this book is incredibly long; I found it to be quite drawn out and felt that it didn't need to be as long as it was.

The story was ok, but I found that I didn't overly connect with Orianna and struggled to really want to keep reading to find out whether she was innocent or not.

There are alot of characters. The Wyclerc family is large, and they all have partners and children, there is also a lot of talk about historic family members. I found this quite tricky to get to grips with and to remember who was who.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review.

rianna was convicted of a murder she cannot remember. However, there is a lot of strong evidence she did it – and on top of it, she’s strongly suspected of having something to do with the disappearance of a girl of her own age, Grace Wyclerc. And since the murdered man is Gideon Wyclerc, Grace’s father, there’s nobody who believes in her innocence except her.
We read the story from Orianna’s POV and that of her therapist. Annie. Annie has to work with Orianna and eventually write a report whether she can be safely released from prison, after eighteen years.

So far, so good. We follow Orianne travelling back to the village where she was born and grew up, and where she eventually killed a man. Not just any man, but the member of the Wyclerc family who practically own the village. We learn a lot about the family history of the Wyclercs and also about Orianna’s history, from the moment her mother arrived and got a job as housekeeper for the Wyclercs. It’s a classic story about a family who thinks they’re better than others just because they have a lot of money and the girl from a poor family.

Finally it is revealed who killed Gideon – and there it stopped for me. Sadly. The story was a bit too long and slow for me but I wanted to give it three stars because it had its interesting moments. The end ruined it for me. I’ve read a couple of books with this theme the past few months – must be a coincidence – and absolutely don’t like it. I’ve read some glowing reviews on GR, including some of reviewers I follow and admire, but this time I cannot agree with them.

Loved this book. It had me gripped from the start and, although desperate to know the full story of the main character, I didn’t want it to end and enjoyed being immersed in the story. Beautifully written, the characters are engaging and the settings atmospheric and easily envisaged. I don’t want to give anything away so will only say that the ending will leave you more than a little surprised . I can’t recommend this book enough.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and to the author for his brilliant piece of work.

Amazing. Girl A is in prison for the murder of her father who she’d only discovered was her father on the day she killed him. The police, family and community all turn on her and never pursue any other possible suspects. 18 years later she is assessed for release. She returns to the town where it happened and makes contact with her former love and her paternal grandfather. She wants to investigate who else could have fired the gun and she has never remembered doing it. Lots of twists and turns, family secrets, threats, inheritance, a missing girl and a massive final twist.

Thank you to NetGalley, @hodderbooks and @hodderpublicity for an ARC of The Girl In Cell A by Vaseem Khan in return for an honest review.
In this psychological thriller, we follow two different timelines and dual points of view. Orianna is the unreliable narrator who is in prison speaking to her therapist, trying to unlock the memory of the murder that put her in prison. I enjoyed the excerpts from the trial itself, and as more clues were uncovered I solved the mystery early. Or so I thought! How wrong I was....I'm still unsure of the ending now!

A great psychological thriller. We start with The Girl in Cell A as she returns to the town where she grew up and searches for answers - what happened the night Gideon was killed. There are gaps in her memory.

Khan’s characters are well crafted and the twists kept coming to the end.
An absolute win for me and an author I will be reading more from.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the copy to review.

I am a really big fan of Vaseem Khan's books. Both the Inspector Chopra series and the more recent Persis Wadia novels have captured my imagination, and my heart, and delivered hours of entertainment. I was more than a little intrigued when I heard that his next release was going to be a psychological thriller. Along with moving the action from India to the USA, this was quite a step change in terms of what I was expecting when I first opened up my kindle. No cause for concern here though as we are in assured hands with Vaseem Khan, and what he has delivered is a slow burning psychological thriller that buries itself well and truly under your skin.

Now I appreciate that this makes the book sound a little like a parasite, but that is perhaps a very good way to describe the Wyclerc clan, the family at the heart of this darkly brooding mystery. The infect all around them, controlling the township of Eden Falls. If the head of the Wyclerc clan were to shout jump, the residents would be falling over themselves to prove that they would jump the highest. And, much like a parasite, they are very much a blight on the life of Orianna, our main protagonist and narrator in this sorry tale of (alleged) patricide. I say alleged, as Orianna has always denied having murdered her father, Gideon, the crime of which she was convicted and sentenced to years in prison whilst still a teenager. Following her release and parole. Orianna returns to Eden Falls, much to everyone's disgust, in a bid to find out what really happened on that fateful day all those years before, a day of which she claims to have no memory at all.

Now this book is billed as a psychological thriller, and there are many elements of the book, particularly the gaps in Orianna's memory, which lend themselves to this genre. And there is the wider Wyclerc family dynamic, a family that puts the capital D into Dysfunctional, all nursing secrets and governed by an indisputably dark legacy that drives much of the disharmony of the present day. Then there are the scenes between Orianna and her Psychologist, Annie, which occur during her incarceration, with Annie tasked with the unenviable job of trying to get Orianna to admit her culpability in order to secure her own release. These are scenes where we delve into Orianna's past, teasing out that which she would prefer to remain hidden and slowing allowing us to form a picture of both Orianna and the Wyclerc family. So far so psych thriller. But, for me at least, this is more of a mystery waiting to be solved. We know what happened - in broad terms at least - and we know why people hate Orianna. The question is, whether she is really guilty and, if not her, who?

I like how Vaseem Khan has framed this book, the way in which he slowly introduces not only the Wyclerc family history, but each of the current clan. It is very carefully planned and executed, allowing the tension and suspense to build, introducing more confusion and a greater number of suspects the further into Orianna's 'investigation' we travel. And they are a strange and suspect bunch. I struggled to find a redeeming quality amongst any of the characters in this book - Orianna and Annie included - but in spite of this, I was intrigued, and invested in getting to the truth. The characters are objectionable but fascinating, and some of the revelations about them were less shocking more probably expected the more we got to know them. And there are some very shocking revelations over the course of the book meaning that whilst I didn't exactly like Orianna, I felt a certain amount of sympathy or compassion towards her and her situation.

This is a clever book with more than the occasional unexpected turn, especially towards the end of the book, even though I think I'd have been content with the conclusion of the story before those final chapters but that is my personal opinion, and I can understand why the author took that particular path. There is a secondary mystery to be solved, that of a missing girl, Grace, Gideon's daughter who vanished on the day of her father's murder, but that almost felt a secondary consideration, even though it proved to be quite key in understanding what really happened on that day. The pacing of the book was pretty spot on, with the tension slowing building along with the animosity towards Grace. The author has managed to capture that spirit of the small, closeted community that is built around a patriarchal figure and the influence of a wealthy founding family. Whilst Eden Falls sounds quite picturesque, it's certainly not the kind of town I'd want to spend a lot of time in. Kind of Twin Peaks but without the random charm.

An atmospheric mystery, packed with suspense, objectionable and dislikeable characters and a core of intrigue that keeps that pages turning. I'm curious to see what Vaseem Khan may deliver in this genre next.

This book really wasn't for me. I just couldn't connect with the story or the main character. This led to me not wanting to pick it up and keep reading. It took me almost 2 weeks to finish this one. I don't think it needed to be so long. I was just underwhelmed by the ending. I almost dnf'd it. I think if it wasn't an ARC I would have.

A positive I didn't guess the twists. I had a theory it was going to go one way and it didn't.

Thank you Hodder and Stoughton for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I couldn’t resist the chance to have an early read of Vaseem Khan’s first psychological thriller, especially with the intriguing themes of memory, trauma and the effect of one on the other. The mystery of what really happened in the gaps of Orianna’s memory gripped me throughout. A few times I thought I’d worked out something crucial, only to discover that I had, in part, but none of it meant what I thought. The small-town America setting, injustices and abuses of power felt prescient in the current political climate. And the ending – I didn’t see it coming at all, but it fit perfectly! A definite five stars. More of these, please!

DNF at 45%

Firstly, I’d like to say thank you to netgalley and the publisher for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The premise of this book really drew me in. The aspect of the main character’s amnesia was really interesting as not even she knew what the truth was. I do think it was a very compelling mystery and plot line.

I really enjoyed the past timeline of the therapist sessions and for me would have preferred if that was more frequent as I enjoyed seeing Orianna from Annie’s lens and felt it added more to the plot.

While the premise was very interesting, I just felt that not much seemed to be happening and it was more character based - which is sometimes okay but I think for this plot I would’ve preferred a bit more to happen. Maybe the action will pick up after the point I DNFed but as this book is 500+ pages I think it would benefit from having a faster pace and maybe cutting back on some things.

While this unfortunately didn’t turn out to be for me, I would recommend this to people who do prefer slightly more slow-paced, character driven mysteries.

The Girl in Cell A is a psychological thriller about Orianna Negi, who was jailed as a teenager for murdering her father. She says she doesn’t remember the crime and claims she’s innocent. Psychologist Annie Ledet tries to help her unlock her memories.

I found this to be a standout thriller with an ending that was literally “mind-blowing”
Highly recommended for those who enjoy dark, twisty, psychological suspense reads.

Can the mind really delete a traumatic event? Prisoners who deny their guilt can’t be paroled, even if they don’t remember the crime. Is that Fair? Prison psychologists are used to assess inmates with such dissociative amnesia, attempting to restore the memory and thereby free the prisoner. It is Dr Annie Ledet’s task to assess Orianna Negi, the eponymous “Girl In Cell A”, notorious for shooting dead her (previously unacknowledged) father, Gideon Wyclerc, scion of the family which founded the township of Eden Falls a century ago as a base for their mining operation, and which still controls it. Ori was convicted on forensic and circumstantial evidence, but claims she has no memory at all of the events surrounding the killing, or of the simultaneous disappearance of her half-sister, Grace. Once she returns to the town, she has to battle against prejudice from the people, enmity from the Wyclerc family, and her internal demons, as she tries to retrace events and identify the real killer.
The story is told by two narrators; Annie, in the immediate past, trying to open Ori’s memories, and Ori, in the present, trying to reconstruct the murder. Both might be unreliable. On the face of it, this is an interesting psychological thriller come murder-mystery, but faces, like memories, can be deceptive – and this one certainly is. Alternative suspects abound! Is anyone actually what they appear to be? Twist are a prerequisite in stories like this, but here they become more tortuous. I thought I ‘d solved it more than once, was pleased to discover that I had succeed when the final reveal came along, and then was blown out of the water by the postmortem. The author deserves huge credit for leaping so far out of his normal style and doing it with such skill.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

Oh my god what a book! Orianna is serving a life sentence for murder but must acknowledge her crime in order to be eligible for parole. Annie is her psychotherapist tasked with this, tackling her dissociative amnesia and between them they narrate the story in the 1st person
This works perfectly as we see and feel the emotions of each woman developing throughout the retelling of the crime and understand what has brought orianna to this point. It is so intricately weaved, with multiple, multiple threads coming together, i can see why it took 3 years to write! The ending and final shocker is absolutely brilliant and the whole book is a keep you up all nighter.
This will be one of my topbooks of 2025 and I will be recommending and buying it for everyone!

This book is frustratingly lengthy and long winded. Mercifully, at least, it has very short chapters.
The writing is poetic and romanticised but I found this very overpowering.
The boredom comes with repeated descriptions of everything being wolf like and everyone wearing shorts and t-shirts.
The dialogue is far past reality, everyone is extremely hostile but yet exposes their secrets freely to someone they dislike.
Despite the revelations, again the humdrum is maintained as it feels as though these conversations between the characters don’t actually help us to learn anything or provide anything interesting.
And then the twist comes. And…. It’s disappointing. I won’t reveal the spoiler but this twist is the one arc I absolutely cannot stand in literature or films. It’s been beaten to death with overuse and awful misinformation about mental health conditions.
Sadly I cannot recommend this novel at all.