Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


For reasons I do not know, I am drawn to books with this premise. An attractive young person (notoriously a female), in some exotic foreign country, is accused (most times with a TON of reasonable doubt) of gruesomely murdering their equally attractive friend or roommate. Previously stated attractive person is then subjected to a biased and unsympathetic trial in said foreign land. While I don’t necessarily follow these real life crime stories (with the exception of watching the incredibly intriguing Amanda Knox documentary on Netflix), novels with this storyline fascinate me. This book is no different, I was easily hooked in from the first page – actually, that’s a lie. I was invested as soon as I read the back cover.

As a general rule, I enjoy books that unfold using a scattered timeline and are told out of chronological order. Some people hate this technique, and I do agree that this method of storytelling is not always executed well, but I feel as though in this case it worked. In this particular story, it helped create a sense of unease and assisted with the pacing, while giving backstory and believability to the characters. I'll admit that there were a few times I had to look back at the chapter “title” to make sure I knew which point in time I was currently reading, but it didn't bother me. If anything can be said negatively about this style, it would be that some of the chapter “titles” seemed consistent. For example, certain chapters in the courtroom were referred to as “Now”, but other similar scenes, which the reader is led to assume is the same time frame, were called “The Trial”. Not a deal breaker - but something I noticed.

The best thing about this book? For me, it's the ending. I think one of the main reasons I love novels with this premise is the "did they ACTUALLY do it?!" reveal. What I love even more than that is when the author doesn't really reveal much at all. At least not in an obvious, neatly explained manner. In my opinion, there's nothing confusing or annoyingly open ended about the last few pages of this book (despite what I've seen some other reviews state). And even though I harbored suspicion towards the killer the whole time, I was both satisfied and a bit surprised at how the events actually transpired. The author did a great job throwing the reader off throughout the story, and I did find myself flip flopping on her guilt - along with her mental state - a few times.

And the unhealthy relationship between Anna and Elise was absolutely intriguing. It kept me on my toes trying to follow their chaotic roller coaster of a friendship and deciding who really had the upper hand, who was actually the manipulative one and just what kind of bond they actually shared. There are so many possible layers and angles to their friendship / obsession. By the end of it, I had no idea who was crazier - but I didn't care. Not really ever knowing for sure was part of the fun of this novel for me.




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