Book Summary and Reviews of Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

Reckless Girls

A Novel

by Rachel Hawkins

  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • Published:
  • Jan 2022, 320 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

From Rachel Hawkins, the New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs, comes a deliciously wicked gothic suspense, set on an isolated Pacific island with a dark history.

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.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
  1. Throughout Reckless Girls, the narrative shifts between multiple timelines and perspectives. How did the storytelling and the structure of the novel influence your reading experience? Was there one particular perspective that you found yourself connecting with the most?
  2. There are interstitials throughout the novel that work to build the myths surrounding Meroe Island. How do these passages affect the tone of the novel as a whole? How did they contribute to your reading experience? In what ways do they emphasize the idea of Meroe being a character in and of itself in the novel?
  3. On page 19, Lux says, "I hitched onto Nico's dream because coming up with my own felt impossible, back then." Discuss the trajectory of Nico ...
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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Hawkins twists revenge, madness, and an increasingly menacing setting into a cleverly plotted nightmare in paradise. A must-read for fans of Ruth Ware." ––Booklist (starred review)

"Evocative prose and a palpably foreboding atmosphere complement Lux's present-tense narration, which Hawkins studs with flashbacks exposing the secrets, lies, and betrayals that brought each character to this point. Danger and interpersonal drama abound, with a slew of outrageous twists adding to the fun. A soapy, claustrophobic page-turner." ––Kirkus Reviews

"This diabolically plotted nail-biter makes for dangerously addictive reading." ––Publishers Weekly

"Like its seductive island setting, Rachel Hawkins' sharp and feral Reckless Girls is a shimmering mirage of a novel that tantalizes from page one. Perfectly crafted and compulsively readable, each twist in this gripping tale of trust and survival is a gift just waiting to be unwrapped." ––Katherine St. John, author of The Lion's Den

"Sharp and taut with a slow burning tension that builds into an inferno, Reckless Girls takes the reader to remote Meroe Island. Beautiful, desolate, and sinister, six friends must grapple with secrets uncovered, guilt and grief, and a desperate fight to survive. Reckless Girls is a thriller worth staying up all night to finish." ––Julie Clark, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Last Flight

This information about Reckless Girls was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Rachel Hawkins

Rachel Hawkins is the New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs, Reckless Girls, The Villa, and The Heiress, as well as multiple books for young readers. Her work has been translated into over a dozen languages. She studied gender and sexuality in Victorian literature at Auburn University and currently lives in Alabama.

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