Girls Like Us - by Cristina Alger (Paperback)

About the Book

"FBI agent Nell Flynn hasn't been home in ten years. Nell and her father, Homicide Detective Martin Flynn, have never had much of a relationship. And Suffolk County will always be awash in memories of her mother, Marisol, who was murdered when Nell was just seven. When Martin dies in a motorcycle accident, Nell returns to the house where she grew up so that she can spread her father's ashes and close his estate. At the behest of her father's partner, Detective Lee Davis, Nell becomes involved in an investigation into the murders of two young women in Suffolk County. The further Nell digs, the more likely it seems to her that her father should be the prime suspect--and that his friends on the police force are covering his tracks. Plagued by doubts about her mother's murder, and her own role in exonerating her father in that case, Nell can't help but ask questions about who killed the two women and why. But she may not like the answers she finds--not just about those she loves, but about herself."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

An Instant New York Times Bestseller

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Banker's Wife, worlds collide when an FBI agent investigates a string of grisly murders on Long Island that raises the impossible question: What happens when the primary suspect is your father?

FBI Agent Nell Flynn hasn't been home in ten years. Nell and her father, Homicide Detective Martin Flynn, have never had much of a relationship. And Suffolk County will always be awash in memories of her mother, Marisol, who was murdered when Nell was just seven.

When Martin Flynn dies in a motorcycle accident, Nell returns to the house she grew up in so that she can spread her father's ashes and close his estate. At the behest of her father's partner, Detective Lee Davis, Nell becomes involved in an investigation into the murders of two young women in Suffolk County. The further Nell digs, the more likely it seems to her that her father should be the prime suspect--and that his friends on the police force are covering his tracks. Plagued by doubts about her mother's murder--and her own role in exonerating her father in that case--Nell can't help but ask questions about who killed Ria Ruiz and Adriana Marques and why. But she may not like the answers she finds--not just about those she loves, but about herself.

Review Quotes

Winner of the 2020 Housatonic Book Award in Fiction

One of...
Library Journal's Best Books of 2019
Buzzfeed's 13 Thrillers We Couldn't Stop Thinking About In 2019
The Sunday Times' (UK) Best Book of 2019 So Far and Crime Book of the Month
New York Post's "Required Reading" Picks and "20 Beach Reads Sure to Send Chills Down Your Spine"
Bustle's "Perfect Vacation Read[s]" and a Beach Read Pick
PopSugar's "Best Books of July" and "Best New Books to Put in Your Beach Bag This Summer"
BookRiot's Must-Read Crime Titles
PureWow's "Best Beach Reads of Summer 2019"
Crime Reads's "Most Anticipated Crime Books of Summer"
Read It Forward's "Summer 2019 Thriller" Picks
Kirkus Reviews' 11 Addictive Must-Reads

"Gripping...Brisk...Nell's work on the case is smart and efficient, which gives the book a crisp tone and pace. Her final discoveries startle her and the reader....Readers will hope to savor more of her gimlet-eyed takes."--Newsday

"What better way to start the summer than this?...I read it in six hours. On a Saturday. I loved it, could not put it down....So well-written...Highly recommend."--Dana Perino, host of The Five

Gripping...Girls Like Us isn't just a page-turner; it also examines class, race, and power on Long Island through the point of view of a protagonist who straddles those lines. --Buzzfeed

"The type of thriller that will keep you guessing until the last page."--PopSugar

A truly timely, ripped-from-the-headlines tale of exploitation, abuse, and corruption. Tautly wound police-procedural-thriller aside, Alger's novel is a smart, searing indictment of just one of the many contemporary examples of the haves vs. the have-nots.--Seattle Review of Books

Alger's novel is highly political, deeply felt and fast-paced.--The Sunday Times (UK)

Cristina Alger has perfected the character of the smart, spunky heroine....[I] couldn't put down Girls Like Us.--Shelter Island Reporter

"Plenty of surprises and some unexpected twists to push you to the finish, and lots of tension along the way. The women whose lives were lost in the novel feel real - specific in their characterizations, yet universal as (like us) they try to make the best of their circumstances." -The East Hampton Star

[An] edge-of-the-seat adventure...This is not a book to put down easily: plan accordingly. Alger's thriller is emphatically plot-driven, but her characters hold their own....Heart-racing action and a twisty-turny plot."--Shelf Awareness

If you like mysteries with thriller endings...and a main character you root for don't miss this one.--BookRiot

"[Girls Like Us meets] the hype and then some. With fascinating, deep characters and excellent plots with good twists, I was enthralled."--MysteryPeople

"[An] excellent crime novel...[Alger] captures the social dynamics of Suffolk's eastern extremes perfectly. The first-person narrative is appropriately terse--Nell delivers a thorough report--but it occasionally surprises with a gripping depth....Highly recommended."--Booklist (starred review)

"[A] propulsive thriller...Alger expertly ratchets up the suspense all the way to the explosive finale. Readers will hope to see more of tough, smart Nell."--Publishers Weekly

"[Nell] has a vulnerable, empathetic core that will pull readers in, and Alger has a feel for small-town dynamics....The tension becomes nearly unbearable as Nell realizes she truly can't trust anyone. Readers can expect a few genuine surprises, and the light Alger shines on society's most vulnerable members is an important one. Melancholy and addictive."--Kirkus Reviews

"This fast-paced psychological thriller...will intrigue mystery readers as they shadow Nell's precarious quest for the truth at all costs, despite the consequences."--Library Journal

"This thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page."--The Everygirl

"Girls Like Us is the best of psychological suspense: nuanced, expertly fast-paced, and full of surprises you truly don't see coming. Cristina Alger is my kind of writer--as graceful on the page as she is gritty."--Harlan Coben

"Riveting...I'm a fan of Cristina Alger, who now proves that she can write about anything, anywhere."--Lisa Scottoline

"Cristina Alger, who is known for creating pulse-pounding plots and gutsy female protagonists, has done it again. Gritty, twisty, and unputdownable, GIRLS LIKE US is sure to be the thriller to read this season."--Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen, authors of The Wife Between Us and An Anonymous Girl

"A smashing read. Instantly gripping and compulsively readable, with a heroine as vulnerable as she is tenacious."--Riley Sager, author of The Last Time I Lied

"Girls Like Us is something special: A beautiful, deeply textured novel and a poignant, surprising mystery. I loved it, every chapter and every word. I'm going to be thinking about it as a reader, a father, and a storyteller for a long, long time."--Chris Bohjalian, author of The Flight Attendant

About The Author

Cristina Alger is the author of The Darlings and This Was Not the Plan. A graduate of Harvard College and NYU Law School, she worked as a financial analyst and a corporate attorney before becoming a writer. She lives in New York with her husband and children.