Thanks to the publisher and the author for providing this Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Content warning: This story features quite a number of traumatic and horrific incidents that might be insensitive to some readers.

Have you ever wondered what happens to the children of serial killers? What kind of life do the survivors of a horrific crime lead? Stacy Green’s “The Girl in the Pink Shoes” attempts to answer these questions.

The book opens with a murder attempt by someone you wouldn’t expect it from. The story kicks off when the main female lead, Lucy Kendall, who previously worked in Child Protective Services and currently is a private investigator, hears of the kidnapping of a little girl who is the neighbor of a known sex offender, and drafts herself to do everything in her power to find her.

In the course of her investigation, she happens to come across many people with whom she had been previously acquainted with during her CPS days and she has to struggle to find the path towards the truth when her own preconceived ideas and judgements lead her nowhere.

What follows next is a series of events so convoluted, complex and dark that sometimes it could terribly disturb the readers. In fact, I had to take breaks in between the reading to prevent myself from getting too overwhelmed. The dark themes are at times offset by the many unexpected plot developments that keep the readers totally hooked into the story. There are a couple of twists every few chapters or so; and the penultimate one is something most people won’t see coming.

I must say I absolutely loved the way author Green has strewn out her various characters. Lucy is quite a compelling person; she is a contradictory combination of compassion and fierce hate. We, as readers, might not always understand nor agree with her actions, but one can’t help but feel for her most of the time.

I also was very much intrigued by Lucy’s more recent acquaintance, Chris Hale, a paramedic who is apparently a psychopath; I have a feeling the author plans to do a lot with him and his circumstances. It’s a very unique premise and I can’t wait to see how his character is taken forward in the upcoming books.

In a nutshell, I had the most entertaining time reading this completely intriguing and engaging thriller; can’t wait to see where the second book goes.

This book gets 5 out of 5 stars.