Blog Tour Review: The Girl I Used to Be by Mary Torjussen

The Girl I Used to Be by Mary Torjussen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is a twisty psychological thriller that has two parts and is voiced mainly by our protagonist real estate agent Gemma Brogan. Gemma is married to Joe and they have a young son called Rory. When Rory was born Gemma and Joe agreed that Joe would be a stay at home dad while Gemma got her business up and running. But four years later,real estate sales are declining forcing Gemma to have to work more and more hours which means she hardly gets to see her son. Gemma loves her husband and would never do anything to put their marriage at risk but occasionally she can't help resenting all the time that Joe gets to spend with Rory and Joe's seeming reluctance to find a job. One night whilst away on a business trip Gemma agrees to have dinner with a client (David) what harm can a innocent meal and a few drinks do. Only the next morning Gemma wakes up in her hotel room with a raging hangover and no memory of what happened the previous night. Fighting her feelings of unease Gemma returns home and tries to move on with her life just like she had to after another fateful night fifteen years ago. But then she starts receiving mementos from her night at the hotel and as the campaign of terror intensifies she realises that she is being blackmailed.Desperate to find out the truth but also terrified of what she will discover she tries to find David but he seems to have mysteriously disappeared. Who is behind the campaign against Gamma and why?

I struggled to feel any sympathy for Gemma at times as this story unfolded,she spent a lot of time in the first part of the book whinging and whining about her life and everything Joe did and she made some seriously stupid decisions. I couldn't understand why she couldn't be honest with Joe when she realised how serious the campaign against her was. I would have liked some chapters that were voiced from.Joe's point of view because we only see him through Gemma`s eyes so we only get a biased view of his character. In the second part of the book the chapters alternate between Gemma and another female character and the truth begins to emerge,layer by layer eventually culminating in chilling stand off between Gemma and her twisted tormentor.

This is a gripping,twisty thriller that keeps the reader guessing,has some unpredictable twists and more layers than a onion. The characters were vivid and relatable,some likeable,some not so and some it was hard to decide either way. Gone Without A Trace was one of my favourite books of last year and although I didn't enjoy this one as much I never felt like not finishing it and I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

                                                                AUTHOR BIO

Mary Torjussen has an MA in Creative Writing from Liverpool John Moores University. She worked for several years as a teacher and lives outside of Liverpool, where Gone Without a Trace is set.

Social Media : @MaryTorjussen

PUBLICATION DATE : 9th August 2018

PUBLISHER : Headline

GENRE : Psychological Thriller

PURCHASE HERE...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Used-Be-remember-remembers/dp/1472240812/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534030276&sr=1-2&keywords=the+girl+i+used+to+be