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The Girlfriend cover art

The Girlfriend

By: Michelle Frances
Narrated by: Antonia Beamish
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Summary

The most gripping debut psychological thriller of the year

A girl. A boy. His mother. And the lie she'll wish she'd never told.

The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances is a gripping and chilling debut psychological thriller based on the fallout following an unforgiveable lie. It looks at the potentially charged relationship between a girlfriend, a boyfriend and his mother, which most women can identify with, and locates it in an extreme but believable setting.

Laura has it all. A successful career, a long marriage to a rich husband, and a 23-year-old son, Daniel, who is kind, handsome and talented. Then Daniel meets Cherry. Cherry is young, beautiful and smart, but she hasn't had the same opportunities as Daniel. And she wants Laura's life.

Cherry comes to the family wide-eyed and wants to be welcomed with open arms, but Laura suspects she's not all that she seems. When tragedy strikes, an unforgiveable lie is told. It is an act of desperation, but the fallout will change their lives forever.

©2017 Michelle Frances (P)2017 Macmillan Digital Audio

What listeners say about The Girlfriend

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

The most exciting part? Returning it!

Wow, I managed 3 hours and 30 minutes of this book. Although nothing happened, I honestly thought I'd had to endure about 8 hours.

I didn't like the narrator's voice, which didn't help. I found the first chapter very uncomfortable, as the mother talks about her son almost as if he's her lover.
Maybe it was being unable to identify with people living in South Kensington who have so much spare money they excavate for a basement with added pool (although I would prefer to identify with people that rich!), or maybe it was the lack of anything happening. Maybe it was the constant reminders the author had to give as to why the mother seems so obsessed with her son. Maybe it was the lack of characterisation of any of the main characters. Maybe it was just the sheer boredom of the first 3.5 hours....

I guess I won't have to find out which, if any, of these issues it was that made me dislike it. Instead I can celebrate the fact I don't feel I have to keep listening. Hurrah!

Clearly this book has its lovers and haters. Please put me firmly in the latter category.

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32 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Turgid, dreadful writing, how did it even get published ?

I,m a few chapters in and this gets the doubtful honour of being the only audiobook I have dumped unfinished and I'm getting my money back.
The poor narrator gamely tries inject some interest and she fails dismally, but it's really not her fault. You cant make a silk purse out of a pigs ear and this is very bad writing indeed. It breaks so many rules it should be used by creative writing teachers as an example of how not to write. Example ..laura looked their pleasant faces still static and knew they weren't biting. Laura was aware of feeling like a villain at her own party. What had happened down there ? When she turned to Isabella for support all she got was a puzzled smile... cherry turned her big brown eyes up to daniels, she thinks I'm after your money she sobbed ... and so on and so forth.
The idea of doting mother / new girlfriend conflict is a rich mine for an excellent story but not in the hands of this author sadly.

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27 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Struggling to finish this

What would have made The Girlfriend better?

The characters are all very unpleasant, you're never able to see the side of Cherry that makes Daniel like her. The story is only just plausible. I agree with the reviewer below - I've just reached the part of the book where the narrator sounds like she's got a blocked up nose.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Antonia Beamish?

Anybody who didn't sound like she had a cold.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not really.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Most gripping book I have read in a while

This book is beautifully written and very relatable. I purchase around 4 audiobooks per month and this is the best yet.
I was gripped from start to finish and could relate to the mother of Cherry and Daniel.
Can't wait to read more from this author.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Very entertaining but improbable

Enjoyed the book on the whole although I found much of the plot improbable. It also leaves me thinking there must be a 'formula' for writing this type of thriller that insists you must include some form of animal cruelty. I've come across this in several books recently and I'm starting to find it irritating. Surely the author can make you dislike the 'baddy' without having to resort to this? Just makes me dislike the author. The narrator was excellent.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Is This Girl All She Seems o Be

What did you like most about The Girlfriend?

I got totally immersed in the storyline and resented interruptions. Found all the characters believable, some were annoying and I learnt that great wealth doesn't always bring great happiness.

What did you like best about this story?

The way it sucked me in and kept me wanting more and to know more and to find out if girlfriend Cherry was all that she seemed to be.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The end. It tied up the loose ends nicely.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, when Cherry bought two puppies from a pet shop. I won't say why she bought them as it would spoil the storyline for anyone who has yet to read this book, but describing those two puppies and their sad life in the pet shop and their eagerness to please a prospective buyer really tugged at the heart strings.

Any additional comments?

Much as I liked the narration, which really brought the story to life, I found myself wondering if the narrator was suffering from sinus problems. She sounded as though she needed a Vicks inhaler.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Superb!

I knew from the first chapter that I was going to love this book. It is beautifully written, with really well drawn characters. Without giving anything away, it's a clever tale focused upon the character's and values of two women, and the relationship between them. The men are more minor figures, but still it is easy to engage with them. I am glad that I was not working on the days I was listening to this. I listened in every spare moment and was up until 3am with it! I very much look forward to more from this author.

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Boring

Dull, full of cliches and stereotypes, and utterly predictable. I kept hoping it would improve, but it didn't. Try anything by Tana French instead!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Kept me guessing right to the end

A great story of the love of a good man. Women can be devious and manipulative and this story shows that at its worst. It certainly kept me guessing right to the very end and even now I'm struggling with deciding which character was the most evil.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent plot

Intriguing story line which kept you guessing. Think my sympathies were with the girlfriend not the mother. Both were awful.

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8 people found this helpful