Just like the other girls by Claire Douglas

For fans who like psychological thrillers, Just like the other girls is sure to appeal. Una is a young woman who believes she has the perfect job as companion to elderly Mrs. Elspeth McKenzie in a beautiful house. She learns that two girls had lived there before her and that Kathryn the daughter of the house bitterly resents her. What has happened to the girls? What are the McKenzies hiding? Is she safe?

The beautiful mansion gives the novel a gothic feel and the personalities of the girls, Elspeth and her daughter Kathryn, are well developed. Told in Part One from the point of view of Una, Part Two introduces another young woman, Willow who takes up the story. Willow looks like the girls who have gone missing and resembles Elspeth’s daughter who had disappeared many years ago. And Willow wants to know where Una has gone.

With plenty of red herrings and enough suspense to ensure that the novel is difficult to put down, Douglas has created an engrossing thriller that has a sense of foreboding throughout. I look forward to reading other books by Douglas.

Themes: Psychological mystery, Murder.

Pat Pledger