When I was approached to review The Girl Remains, I eagerly said yes. I really enjoyed Katherine Firkin’s debut, Sticks and Stones, which came out last year. I find thrillers can be easily forgettable, but Sticks and Stones stood out in my mind because of the careful, thoughtful way it was put together. Not only did it leave me guessing as to the killer’s identity until the very end, but the nuanced commentary on those people who slip through the cracks of a system designed to protect them which stitched the narrative together was beautifully executed. Add to that the Australian setting which deliberately and cleverly used the distinct urban environment of Melbourne to establish a creepy, grisly atmosphere, and it’s a book that I (and my thriller-loving grandmother) really delighted in reading.
The Girl Remains is a direct sequel to Sticks and Stones, following Detective Emmet Corban’s investigation into the cold case of a missing girl when human remains are inexplicably discovered on an Australian beach.
I think it’s always quite difficult to follow a superbly crafted debut; the weight of expectation is tricky to live up to, especially given there is a natural invitation of comparison, rather than allowing the book to stand on its own merits. Moving the setting away from the macabre elements of the urban Melbourne setting of Sticks and Stones was a clever decision, because first and foremost, it immediately signals that this is a different type of murder mystery. However, I immediately liked this change in primary location because it utilises some of Australia’s distinct environment as a setting, which, as an Australian, I can very much appreciate. And the thing is, the beach, especially around the Mornington Peninsula area, is actually a great place to set a historic murder. Anybody who’s been to the beach on a cloudy day can attest to the fact that there’s an underlying ominousness just waiting to arise. It’s a shame, then, that it felt Firkin did not make the most of this setting to explore the inhospitableness that can arise from the landscape which would in turn imbue the atmosphere of a storyline in which a small costal town is filled with people whose secrets have kept the disappearance of a young girl a mystery for two decades.
The central mystery is an interesting one, and has all the trademark creepiness you may want from a thriller: nostalgia rooted amid the seemingly-less protective 1990s, characters with webs of secret agendas, and an underlying sense of the tragic that a young life was lost. It’s for this reason I was disappointed by the fact that I was able to deduce from a relatively early point who the killer was, and their motive for crime. One of the things I loved the most about Sticks and Stones was the fact that I was guessing right up to the very end. With that being said, there’s something about thinking you’ve figured out who the murderer is that makes you really rip through the rest of the story in order to achieve that glorious vindication, and there were aspects to the final ‘reveal’ that I didn’t see coming, so there was some mystery preserved.
Perhaps the biggest point of frustration I had with the story was the plotline of Emmett’s marriage. Previously, we were introduced to Cindy who was seeking to enter a new career as a photographer. The distance that is often imposed by a long-term marriage, small child, and a focus on career was interestingly teased out, and the way Cindy’s plot interacted with the central mystery was interestingly explored across the previous instalment of this series. While Cindy’s narrative thread similarly dovetailed with the main mystery in a manner that was not only enjoyable, but credible, I struggled with Cindy herself. To her credit, Firkin examines the nuances of Cindy’s frustration and desperation to carve out her own identity and career, but unfortunately, I found myself disliking her as a character, and not finding the complexity of her motivations sufficient to excuse some of her behaviour. A little bit more character development for both Emmett and Cindy would thus have been quite welcome, to my mind.
With that being said, I enjoyed the book and I read it quickly because I was drawn into the plot and the mystery. The writing is good (with the exception of a couple of awkward typos), and Firkin’s background as a journalist is obvious in her efficient, clear prose.
As thrillers go, while this isn’t on the same level as her debut, Katherine Firkin’s second release is a compelling read that draws you in and keeps a hold of you until you’ve read to the last page. I’m certainly keen to know when the next one’s coming out, as I’ll definitely be giving it a read.
The Girl Remains is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A chilling police thriller set in a small coastal town on the Mornington Peninsula, where the discovery of human bones on an isolated beach has reawakened a twenty-year-old cold case…
On the evening of September 22, 1998, three teenage girls venture out for a night of mischief in the coastal town of Blairgowrie. But only two return . . .
For over twenty years the disappearance of fifteen-year-old Cecilia May remains a baffling cold case – until human bones are discovered on an isolated beach.
Now it’s up to Detective Emmett Corban and his team to dig up decades of trauma, and find the missing piece of an investigation that’s as complex as it is tragic.
Does the answer lie with the only suspect, a registered sex offender who confessed, then immediately provided a rock-solid alibi? Or with the two teen survivors – neither of whom can keep their story straight?
But the police aren’t the only ones hunting for the truth: someone else has arrived in the seaside town. And she’s prepared to do whatever it takes to find her own version of justice…
