RECKLESS GIRLS by Rachel Hawkins
St. Martin’s Press; 1/4/22
CBTB Rating: 4/5
The Verdict: a wickedly entertaining, seafaring “popcorn thriller”
Anyone else feel like they could use an escape to their own personal, private island paradise? No? Just me? If you too are feeling the urge to armchair travel somewhere idyllic right about now, allow me to introduce you to the perfect bookish escape: RECKLESS GIRLS, a wickedly entertaining thriller that blends Gothic atmosphere with an escapist, binge-worthy plot. In this seafaring suspense tale, a young woman and her boyfriend think they’ve finally found their golden ticket to embark on the sailing trip of their dreams when they’re hired by two wealthy strangers to sail the women to Meroe Island, a remote, deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But this island is shrouded in dangerous mystery and lore… and the group is about to find out that these stories might not just be the stuff of legend. This juicy, addictive paradise-turned-deadly suspense novel blends the page-turning entertainment value of a “popcorn thriller” with a dash of romance and the thrill of an adventure tale where no one’s survival is guaranteed. RECKLESS GIRLS is compulsively readable, wickedly fun suspense perfect for a weekend binge-read. Pick this one up if you want a lighter thriller that packs a majorly entertaining punch.
Plot Details:
ONE ISLAND
Beautiful, wild, and strange―Meroe Island is a desolate spot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a mysterious history of shipwrecks, cannibalism, and even rumors of murder. It’s the perfect destination for the most adventurous traveler to escape everything... except the truth.
SIX VISITORS
Six stunning twentysomethings are about to embark on a blissful, free-spirited journey―one filled with sun-drenched days and intoxicating nights. But as it becomes clear that the group is even more cut off from civilization than they initially thought, it starts to feel like the island itself is closing in, sending them on a dangerous spiral of discovery.
COUNTLESS SECRETS
When one person goes missing and another turns up dead, the remaining friends wonder what dark currents lie beneath this impenetrable paradise―and who else will be swept under its secluded chaos. With its island gothic sensibility, sexy suspense, and spine-tingling reimagining of an Agatha Christie classic, Reckless Girls will wreck you.
Protagonist Lux and her boyfriend Nico have big dreams of traveling the world together on Nico’s boat, but life seems to have other ideas for the couple. Financial troubles and an expensive repair needed to make Nico’s boat seaworthy have kept them land-bound… that is, until Nico happens to meet two young women who are eager to hire Nico to take them on their own seafaring adventure. For Lux and Nico, it’s the golden ticket they’ve been waiting for—an opportunity to finally hit the open ocean, and a paycheck that’s too good to pass up. With their new passengers in tow, Nico and Lux point the boat towards these strangers’ requested destination: Meroe Island, a tiny, deserted island in the South Pacific that’s rumored to be heaven on earth for tourists looking for an off-the-beaten-path travel experience. But Meroe Island has a dark side, too. The lore surrounding this island is sinister and disturbing; tales have long been told of the island’s bad luck, and it’s said to have been the site of numerous shipwrecks, one of which notoriously ended in cannibalism. For our adventurous protagonists, it’s all part of Meroe Island’s intrigue. After all, who wants to go to a basic tourist spot when you could visit somewhere that’s literally the stuff of legend? But the stories told about Meroe Island aren’t as far-fetched as our protagonists might have anticipated, and they are soon to discover that Meroe Island is full of all kinds of secrets—and it’s nowhere for people running from secrets of their own to hide.
If I had to describe my experience with RECKLESS GIRLS in one word, it would be simply: fun. This book is truly pure pleasure reading—pleasure reading of the dark and sinister kind, that is. Rachel Hawkins brilliantly contrasts the cinematic, wanderlust-worthy beauty of her book’s setting with the darkness of its many secrets, both those that lurk in the history of the island and those that lurk in the shadows of its characters’ private lives. At the heart of this story is a group of strangers whose fates might just end up closely intertwined. Protagonists Lux and Nico are readers’ companions from the story’s outset. Lux is a young woman trying to find her way in the world after losing everything she holds dear. Abandoned by her father, grieving the death of her mother, Lux is unmoored and adrift…that is, until she meets Nico. Charming, adventurous Nico offers Lux a new lease on life, and Lux quickly falls under his spell. But does Nico truly see Lux for all she is, and all she has to offer? Is Lux too devoted to her charismatic boyfriend? The addition of two young, attractive strangers - Brittany and Amma - into our story throws the fault-lines in Lux and Nico’s relationship into bold relief. In the isolation of a tiny boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, tensions begin to fester. And when the group finds themselves facing life-threatening dangers on the equally-isolated Meroe Island, things take dark and unpredictable turns. Rachel Hawkins delivers plenty of drama, tension, suspicion, and even romance as our story’s central characters find themselves cut off from the rest of the world. What begins as a romantic, idyllic getaway quickly devolves as loyalties are tested and secrets are unearthed. No spoilers, of course, but Brittany and Amma aren’t the only people whom Lux and Nico will encounter on this trip—and every single individual whose path crosses theirs will change the trajectory of their futures. By the book’s end, Lux will have to prove to herself once and for all just what kind of inner strength she truly has to make it off Meroe Island alive.
In pacing and content, RECKLESS GIRLS has all the hallmarks of a top-notch “popcorn thriller.” (CBTB newcomers: a “popcorn thriller” is my term for a thriller that is lighter in content and jam-packed with entertainment value, the kind of book you want to devour in one or two sittings.) It perhaps sounds a bit cliché, but once I sunk into the world of RECKLESS GIRLS, I truly hated to tear myself away. Rachel Hawkins’ writing strikes a pitch-perfect balance: it’s engaging and accessible while still delivering rich world building and genuine suspense. Meroe Island is as immersive a setting for a thriller as they come; I dare you to read this book and not picture every little detail of this island in your mind’s eye as clearly as if you were watching it on the big screen. The delicious blend of beauty and menace that the author crafts in her story’s setting brings RECKLESS GIRLS vividly to life, and readers will find themselves as entranced by the beauty of this book’s setting as are its characters—and, in turn, as shocked as its characters when the darkness of the island reveals itself. To that end, roughly the first third of RECKLESS GIRLS reads more like an aspirational travelogue than a thriller; there are hints of darkness to come, but this book’s first section is more about building up a romanticized notion of Meroe Island than anything else. But once Hawkins begins pulling back the curtain on the dark side of this island, things get tense and suspenseful fast. Cleverly-placed flashbacks interspersed throughout the book’s main narrative give readers insight into the lives of its characters prior to their arrival at the island, and ultimately reveal piece by piece the complex and sinister ways in which our characters’ lives are entangled. While I did predict a couple of the book’s key reveals, my enjoyment wasn’t diminished in the least—I loved every moment spent soaking up this book’s delicious blend of dark secrets and wanderlust-worthy setting. There’s something oh so fun about a “paradise-turned-deadly” story, and that’s exactly what Hawkins delivers in RECKLESS GIRLS.
RECKLESS GIRLS is a cinematic “popcorn thriller” that cleverly blends Gothic atmosphere with an idyllic setting that hides dark and dangerous secrets. Readers who love suspense novels that pit an unwitting, limited cast of characters against one another will gobble up this compulsively-readable thriller. This one was a little bit outside the norm of what I typically read—it’s a lighter suspense story than my usual crime fiction picks, and it even includes a romance element which we know I’m often hesitant about!—but it was truly one of the happiest surprises I’ve had in a while. If escapist suspense sounds like your cup of tea right about now, grab a copy of RECKLESS GIRLS and set sail to Meroe Island.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. All opinions my own.
Book Details:
RECKLESS GIRLS by Rachel Hawkins
Publisher : St. Martin's Press (January 4, 2022)
Language : English
Hardcover : 320 pages
ISBN-10 : 1250274257
ISBN-13 : 978-1250274250
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