A Decent Twisted Thriller | “The Niece” by Georgina Cross (2022) Book Review

Georgina Cross’ “The Niece” is a good attempt at a twisted psychological thriller. The story centers on the Jenkins family which comprises of Beth, Tara and Beth’s daughter Hannah. After the tragic death of her mother in a fire, Hannah is sent to live with her aunt Tara. However, Tara hadn’t been in touch with her sister Beth for many years due to a traumatic event they were both involved in and sees her niece’s current predicament as a chance to reconnect with Hannah, whom she had grown apart from.

Hannah, who has always been taught by her mother not to trust her aunt, finds it difficult for her to connect with her family, which also includes her cousin Cassie (Hannah’s daughter). She even suspects that her aunt might have had something to do with the fire. Alternately, Tara suspects Hannah has brought trouble with her and is eager to help her.

After a slow start introducing and establishing all these characters, the story takes off furiously after the first half of the book, with the second half being a twisted, complicated tale of betrayal and double-crossing, containing certain twists you will never guess.

The story was interesting and did offer an enjoyable reading experience. Cross has a good writing style with a clipped narrative technique and crisp pacing. However, I had a few problems with the story. All the characters were a little too grey; I just didn’t like any of them enough to root for them. In fact, I didn’t care much about any of them until near the end, where there is also a very improbable twist that feels out of place.

Still, it is a decent attempt by the author and an entertaining one at that. If you are able to turn your brain off and like twisted thrillers, you can definitely try this book.

This book gets 4 out of 5 stars