A Ruined Girl by Kate Simants
Hardback published by Viper 7th August 2020
Two boys loved her but which one killed her?
On a dark night two years ago, teenagers Rob and Paige broke into a house. They beat and traumatised the occupant, then left taking only a bracelet. No one knows why, not even Luke, Rob’s younger brother and Paige’s confidant. Paige disappeared after that night. And having spent her life in children’s homes and the foster system, no one cared enough to look for her.
Now Rob is out of prison, and probation officer Wren Reynolds has been tasked with his rehabilitation. But Wren has her own reasons for taking on Rob as a client. Convinced that Rob knows what happened to Paige and hiding a lifetime of secrets from the heavily pregnant wife, Wren’s obsession with finding a missing girl may tear her family apart.
My Review
The author Kate Simants has worked her magic with a story where every character seems so real. The plot inclines to make you quiet believe that this event has happened is in true life.
Part of chapter 1
You’re getting out. Congratulations.
Yeah. His voice is dry with disuse, and his face is set as hard as concrete. They said I’ve to do visits?
That’s right. I’m going to take you round to see some people, and we’re going to have some conversations. The idea is that you find out what your actions have done, long term. Understand the wider repercussions.
What people though? Not a blink. Maybe not concrete after all, Wren thinks; maybe something older. Volcanic rock perhaps.
There’s a list. Victims of the crime. Obviously in your case there’s going to be… more to it. She lets that sit for a moment, daring him to ask her why. Eventually she says, For you, it’s your victim, and people connected to your accomplice.
Accomplish-you mean Paige?
She nods.
And by victim, your saying I’ve got to talk to Yardley.
Being the man you burgled and assaulted, yes, she says. Settling into it now, hitting her stride. That qualifies him as the victim.
PRAISE FOR KATE SIMANTA with comments I absolutely agree with.
A tense, unsettling and emotional engaging whodunnit that grips from the first page. Sophie Hannah
A complete triumph. An intelligent and deeply satisfying thriller with such vivid characters it’s impossible to believe they aren’t real. Elizabeth Hayes.
ABOUT KATE SIMANTS
Kate Simants was shortlisted for a CEA Debut Dagger for her first novel Lock Me In and won the UEA Literary Festival scholarship to study for anMA in Crime Fiction, graduating with distinction. She spent a decade as a journalist for Channel 4 and the BBC, specialising in investigative documentaries, police shows and uncover work. Her investigations into children homes were the inspiration for a Ruined Girl, which was awarded the Bath Novel Award. She lives near Bristol with her family.
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