Orianne was convicted of murdering Gideon Wyclef on the day she found out he was her father and the murder of Grace his daughter who was never found.
She was 17 then and 18 years later she still can't remember what happened but feels she is innocent, Annie is a forensic psychologist who is trying to find out the truth and if she is due parole.
Eden falls is a small town with lots of secrets especially the Wyclef family who rule the village.
It has lots of twists and turns and whoever you think is guilty it wasn't, with a very wow unexpected ending, definitely got me.
It was a bit long in places but great storyline.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review.

The Girl in cell A sounded like the type of book that I would go for or pick up from waterstones, but sadly it was a DNF for me, it just didn't do anything for me,

I had high hopes for The Girl in Cell A having enjoyed all of Vaseem Khan’s previous books, however, I struggled to get into this one as it felt too long winded and jumped around timeline wise so a slight disappointment for me.

Orianna Negi was seventeen when she was convicted of the murder of Gideon Wyclerc, but has always claimed she’s innocent.
She is back in the small town of Eden Falls looking for answers, but she has a couple of problems. One she not welcome and two she can’t remember what happened on the fateful day.
Orianna has a blind spot and claims she cannot recall what happened. Using a psychologist call Annie Ledet, they must unravel the mystery of the murder if she is to find out the truth.
Because if she didn’t commit the murder, who did?
This is how to write a whodunnit, in a small- town setting.
This story is highly engrossing and complex. The setting and characters are superb and the ending is jaw-dropping.
Vaseem Khan has produced some of his best work with this novel.
This one of the best books I’ve read this year. Outstanding.

The Girl in Cell A by Vaseem Khan (out 1 May in the UK) is very different to his other books.

It’s an interesting premise with an unreliable narrator - has Orianna killed? If she hasn’t, who did? If she did, where’s the second body?

There’s some lovely descriptive writing conjuring small town America and its characters… but, it’s too long with one too many twists, and a bit repetitive. I’m not sure if it all made sense in the end - I feel like maybe I dropped a couple of threads.

Thanks to @netgalley for a drc to review #fiction #bookreview #bookrecommendation #crimethriller #crimenovel #psychologicalthriller #crimebook

A great psychological thriller.
A girl suffers from amnesia. Did she really commit murder or was she framed.
Sent to prison she is examined by a counselor to determine if she can be released after 18 years in custody, back into the community.
Orianne is convinced she is innocent but can she prove it and will she be allowed to.
Just when you think you have guessed the ending everything is turned upside down.

This is an intriguing book which keeps readers guessing as to the truth. Orianna has been in gaol for eighteen years for a murder ( maybe two) she claims she did not commit. She was found lying unconscious beside Gideon, the patriarch of a rich and wealthy family. Her fingerprints were on an adjacent gun. She had just discovered the victim was he father, a well kept secret. Her mother was an employee in his family home. A lot of the book is given to the psychiatrist employed to try and find the truth. That is exceedingly we written. When she is released Orianna goes back to the scene of the crime trying to discover, or justify, her denial. That part is al so a gripping read. This is an unusual and very well constructed book. I recommend it.

I've read the first three Malabar House novels and enjoyed them all. This book is completely different and an easy five stars. Having read in the author's acknowledgments how difficult a journey it was for Mr Khan to write this novel, I have to say well done for sticking with it.

It's a story of small town America with a then and now theme. It's a gripper with lots of small chapters. There are twists and turns and when you think that's it, there are more. It's cleverly plotted and the author writes, at times, almost poetically. Thank you, Mr Khan, for this triumph.

I was really intrigued to see Vaseem Khan move into psychological thriller territory with this one - and as you'd expect, he's brilliant at it. The Girl in Cell A is thoroughly gripping and a perfect summer holiday read

I enjoyed this book, the style of writing and the storyline drew me in from the beginning. It tells the story of Orianna, bought up in a small American town (with all its prejudices and run by a single family) who is convicted, as a teenager of murder. Annie her Forensic psychologist, is hired to determine if she should be eligible for parole. This is a great psychological thriller and would definitely recommend.
Thank you Hodder and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this book - Vaseem Khan creates a believable world in middle America that highlights the difficulties of being different and the power that rich families can hold.

The plot was paced nicely with the back and forth timeline elements working well to flesh out the story as the book developed.

Overall, a great read that I would thoroughly recommend!

I really wanted to give 4.5 stars for this... A very twisty and turny final act to a story that is captivating and kept me reading into the small hours. I was surprised it was the author's first foray into small town America as it felt well established. An enjoyable read.

The World Knows Her as the Girl in Cell A explores the dark intersections of memory, power, and justice. Orianna Negi, convicted of murder at seventeen, has spent years in prison maintaining her innocence—but she has no memory of what really happened. When forensic psychologist Annie Ledet begins working with Orianna, their sessions unravel a web of scandal, privilege, and buried secrets in the elite world of Eden Falls, where the powerful Wyclerc family reigns.

With razor-sharp twists and a compelling protagonist, this novel keeps readers questioning everything. Is Orianna truly innocent, or is she hiding a truth too dangerous to face? Layered with themes of race, privilege, and the fallibility of memory, this is a must-read for fans of complex crime fiction.

A different take on a thriller which I enjoyed for the most part, however it felt a little too long to keep my interest throughout. There was a lot of back and forth and people to remember so it muddied the plot a little.

Still enjoyable and nice to read a different take on a thriller but could have been shorter to really pack a punch.

This was a riveting psychological thriller, if a tad long and repetitive in parts. Told from the perspective of two women, one the eponymous “girl in cell A”, the other the psychologist tasked with figuring out if she’s fit for parole, the book is essentially a murder mystery. Did Oriana really shoot her father in the face 17 years ago, or is there a murderer who walked free. There are any number of possible suspects, but what really happened that day? Why is there a hole in Oriana’s memory during the key event?

Some sections of the book felt repetitive, and I think it could have been a tad shorter. However, there is a twist that I definitely didn’t see coming (though it did answer a few questions I had). I’m also not entirely sure why bits and pieces of the psychologist’s personal life were thrown into the narrative when they had no bearing on the story.

I might look up Vaseem Khan’s other books. Refreshing to find a South Asian-origin author who’s writing “different” stuff.

Toxic patriarchal, redneck, small town America was not quite my expectation after reading Khan's other books, but I could park that one! Eden Falls has sent our protagonist to prison for the murder of one of the family of the founding "dynasty" She continues, after 18 years, to proclaim her innocence.

The book takes a deep dive into the story that led to the conviction of Orianna and the re-examination of the evidence through her sessions with Annie, a forensic psychologist

My overriding feeling was that the story at the heart of the book was a golden nugget. However, I found it unnecessarily long and repetitive. The narrative is divided into, effectively a "Then" and "Now" perspective, although with only two points of view I failed to see the necessity of having to keep spelling out which strand we were reading. Sometimes it just popped up in the middle of one side of the story, where there was no need to punctuate the story. As a reader I find this on a par with treating the reader as an idiot and was irritated throughout.

I felt similarly about the highly experienced psychologist who (for the reader's sake?) kept saying to herself that she must remember that piece of information and use it to feed the exchange in a different way. I did not need to know this. I can intuit well enough what is happening in these sessions.

These two aspects spoiled my enjoyment of what was a great story. For me, at half the length it would have been punchier and more addictive.

With thanks to #NetGalley and #Hodder&Stoughton for the opportunity to read and review

A compelling read. Oriana has served 18 years for a murder of Gideon Wyclerc and his daughter Grace, she claims she didn't commit. Interviews with a psychiatrist , Annie Ledat try to uncover exactly what occurred as Orianna has no recollection of the killings, and the young girl Grace has never been seen since . Set in two timelines, then and now., This is such an intriguing read. I had to know if Orianna was guilty or innocent. An ending I didn't foresee at all.

Yes!
This is the psychological thriller you need to read!

Orianna is complicated, confused and distraught. You are left hanging at the end if only Luke would talk!

I was shocked at the end and throughout everything was always ahead of me!

The village descriptions and atmosphere read perfectly for a small insular town.

Thanks for the ARC :)

Convicted as a teenager for the brutal shooting of her father, Orianna is “The Girl in Cell A” and a national obsession. The circumstantial evidence is strong and yet Orianna steadfastly maintains her innocence. However, the trauma of events wiped her memory clean…so how can she be sure she didn’t do it? Now Orianna is up for parole and a psychologist specializing in fugue states is brought in, to recover repressed memories to see if it is safe for Ori to be released.
I was a little disorientated at the start. It took me a few chapters to get into the dynamic of the ‘then’ and ‘now’ point of view of Orianna and her therapist. The story is told through the view points of two strong female characters, and both were completely believable. It probably sounds strange, but I was in awe that they were crafted by a male writer.
What I enjoyed most was loving to hate the characters. There were entirely credible, believable, and infuriating in equal measure. None of the characters were particularly likeable, all of them were flawed, but much like a car crash I couldn’t look away.
This is a twisty psychological thriller which doubles and triples back on itself. Like a Rubik’s Cube – all the individual elements twist around until everything clicks into place. Only then the author peels off all the stickers to create a new puzzle. The denouement at the end is very clever, but make sure you read to the end to get the full impact!

Oh my days........what a book and what incredible writing. The Wyclercs make the Ewings of Dallas look positively lovely. The story of Orianna is really cleverly written and had me held all the way through. Constantly asking myself did she do it, was she set up. Just amazing, highly recommended.