Books Read: The July Girls by Phoebe Locke

Every year, on the same night in July, a woman is taken from the streets of London; snatched by a killer who moves through the city like a ghost. 

Addie has a secret. On the morning of her tenth birthday, four bombs were detonated across the capital. That night her dad came home covered in blood. She thought he was hurt in the attacks - but then her sister Jessie found a missing woman's purse hidden in his room.

Jessie says they mustn't tell. She says there's nothing to worry about. But when she takes a job looking after the woman's baby daughter, Addie starts to realise that her big sister doesn't always tell her the whole story. And that the secrets they're keeping may start costing lives . . .

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I'd like to thank Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour and Jen at Headline for my copy of The July Girls to review.

The July Girls is a multi timeline story which revolves around an anniversary, 7th July which is Addie's birthday, but as she later discovers this date has another sinister part to play. Due to her mother no longer being around Addie is often left home alone but on the night of her 10th birthday, the day of the London tube and bus bombings in 2005, she is frantically trying to contact her older sister Jessie who hasn't come home when her dad, a cabbie, arrives home earlier than expected covered in blood. A subsequent discovery makes her doubt his story and the actions of her sister bring them into contact with the family of a missing woman.

Addie as a narrator was older than her years, circumstances have forced her to be, but at the same time she had a childlike naivety about her and even when things started taking a particular turn she didn't want to believe that anyone she loved could be keeping things secret from her or be responsible for these horrific events. Jessie too had to grow up much quicker than she should have, as a teenager she should be out enjoying herself, but instead she had to step into the mother role to look after Addie since her mother disappeared.

This isn't a fast paced story by any means but yet you can't help be drawn into the drama as we follow Addie over the years as she grows into a strong, independent young woman who isn't afraid to speak out when the time comes even if it means putting herself into danger. It's an intriguing story featuring a fractured family at the heart of it with a menacing undertone, as I was reading I found myself wanting to know the answers to certain questions so much so that I ended up reading the book in two sittings. I was glad that I was proved right in my assumptions with regards to one strand of the storyline, but yet didn't figure it out wholly, but was totally caught off guard with another aspect which is testament to the writing skill of the author.

I can't really say much more about The July Girls without giving away any spoilers but it's fair to say that I've now added another new author to my list so will now have to find the time to read her previous books at some point in the future.