The Wrong Girl-Kirby-Review-Psych Thriller-Available Now

The Wrong Girl by Robert W. Kirby is an ambitious psych thriller that takes concentration to really understand.

Simply put, there is a LOT going on in this book.

The blurb gives a succinct background: Alex has nightmares and calls out Sheryl’s name. But his wife’s name is Natalie. So, who is Sheryl, and why does she haunt Alex?

It’s a good premise and the author does an admirable job fully building the story by telling it from multiple points of view. The reader gets a holistic look at the events.

However, that also is part of my issue with the book, because there are SO many points of view to understand and (unless I missed it) no real delineation to let the reader know where the info is coming from.

There were times that I was halfway through a chapter before I realized that it was someone different from the previous chapter.

The amount of flashback used to flesh out Alex’s past didn’t bother me. I like when an author lets the reader see things actively, instead of just having characters talk about past events passively.

It is also good that the reader gets to see Alex’s group of friends both as they were and in their current lives. Another way the author rounds out the story with good detail.

I’m sure there are some readers who may take issue with the “laddish fun” and group-speak the old friends use to communicate. In the U.S., we would call it a “good ol’ boy” vibe. They didn’t bother me either, but I could see where it could be a bit much.

A reader could try to read The Wrong Girl while distracted, but they may struggle. As I mentioned at the beginning of the review, concentration is needed to really understand everything. That is largely due to the multiple points of view and the complexity of the friend group.

After a slow start (push through that as well) the author does pick up the pace. Oddly, the complexity of the backstory gets easier to follow. I don’t mean to repeat myself, but you really do need to focus on this one.

If you do, you should find it to be quite a satisfying psych thriller.

Author Bio
Robert was born in 1979 and lives in Kent with his wife, children, and bonkers dalmatian, Dexter. He ran a private investigation agency for over fifteen years, dealing in cases that involved breach of contract claims, commercial debt recovery, and process serving. Robert’s agency also specialised in people tracing; so much of his work revolved around tracking down debtors, dealing in adoption matters, and locating missing persons. At times, he worked on some pretty
bizarre cases and dealt with plenty of interesting and sometimes colourful individuals.

Since 2014, Robert has worked self-employed in the pet care industry, and is a keen trail runner, mountain biker and kayaker. Robert has a huge passion for screenwriting for many years and started writing novels during the first lockdown.

The Wrong Girl is his first psychological thriller with Inkubator Books.