The Girl from Yesterday
In the fast-paced psychological thriller traditions of Gillian Flynn, Jessica Knoll, and Liane Moriarty, Edgar Award nominated-author Kathryn Haines Miller (The Girl Is Murder) spins an engrossing tale of what might be the worst birthday ever. Helen’s life is simple. She has a job. She has a boyfriend. She has her weekly NA meetings. No drugs, no drinking, no sex, not even any caffeine—not anymore. Because Helen knows this: once you’re an addict, you’re always an addict. There is no such thing as recovered. And on her thirtieth birthday, the stability she’s cobbled together for herself will vanish. A call from the police, a body found, a dead woman with Helen’s name in her back pocket—it’s all so hard to believe. But then when Helen finds out the victim was her childhood best friend, a girl who went missing in high school, it’s too much. Helen knows she has to stick to the routine that keeps her in control, and with the way the police are eyeing her for this, she’s worried about looking suspicious. But the unfortunate reemergence of her old friend—and the mysteries that always surrounded her—means Helen can trust no one, not even herself.
If you’re into the Mystery genre you might want to think about giving this a chance. Haines has provided a well-crafted story on the life of an addict which starts off slow but provides some detailed world and character building including the all-important backstory.
Haines did a respectful job in providing a decently accurate life of a recovering addict who is trying to fight her addiction to stay clean and build back trust with herself and others. Beyond the standard mystery genre, the author has added an element of psychological suspense with plenty of twists as you try to discover truth from fiction.
That ending was definitely worth pushing through to get to as Haines did not disappoint with her in-depth examination of the drug culture, the efforts one will go to for their addiction, and how fighting against relapse is a daily battle that never ends.
Thank you to Netgalley and Pocket Star for allowing me to review this book.
*synopsis and pic from netgalley.com