Looking to escape to the warm waters of the South Pacific this winter? Don’t mind a little murder and mayhem? Check out my review of Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins! And if you’ve read the book, check out the link to my spoiler discussion post!
Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins
To be published on January 4, 2022 by St Martin’s Press. Thanks so much to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a review copy!
Reckless Girls is on my list of Travel Thrillers Set on Airplanes Boats Cars and Trains
Lux McAllister is stuck in a dead-end job in Hawaii, longing to travel the world after a family tragedy.
When she and her boyfriend, Nico, are hired to sail two woman to a remote (haunted?) island in the South Pacific, Lux is eager to climb on board The Susannah and set out on an adventure.
Their passengers, Brittany and Amma, say they want to sail off the beaten path. Yes, Meroe Island is a paradise but it also has a mysterious history of shipwrecks, cannibalism, even murder.
They are surprised to find a boat anchored off Meroe. The owners of the Azure Sky, Jake and Eliza, are a golden couple: gorgeous, laidback, and rich.
When one person goes missing, and another turns up dead, Lux begins to wonder if any of them are going to make it off the island alive.
Review of Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins
I loved Rachel Hawkins debut adult thriller, The Wife Upstairs.
Did I love Reckless Girls? Well, not quite as much. But it might be just the book for you, so let’s discuss.
What DID I love about Reckless Girls? The worldbuilding and super creepy vibe were great! Lux and her boyfriend Nico could use some money to fix up his boat. So when couple of girls asks Nico to sail them to a deserted South Pacific atoll, they say yes. Even though the atoll could possibly be cursed. Sounds fun, right? I watch lots of Below Deck on Bravo so I went in excited for some (haunted) yacht drama!
The group reaches the island and finds the yacht of another couple already there. Jake and Eliza are fun and friendly, and their boat is stocked with top-notch food and liquor. But still, something is off.
What did I like less about the book? For me, it went from tantalizingly creepy and twisty to confusing and unrealistic. Reckless Girls reminded me a little bit of Dead Calm (Nicole Kidman’s 1989 breakthrough movie about a couple who is terrorized on a yacht) crossed with a bit of LOST.
By about season 4, LOST also confused me beyond belief, and that’s what happened with Reckless Girls. The plot had twists, but for me they were a bit too twisty. I got confused by all the revelations in the past/present plot. People’s motivations stopped making sense and it all just started to seem a bit “huh?”
Finally, as seems to be the trend in thrillers these days, the ending was sort of an open-ended non-ending. Those who have joined in on my Armchair Book Club spoiler posts do not really like this trend. I have to agree.
Have you read this one? Want to discuss it? Come over to my Spoiler Post and Plot Summary for Reckless Girls.
I’ve also reviewed all Rachel Hawkins suspense books:
You make this book sound really good comparing it to Dead Calm and Lost, but I can see how the Lost similarity might not be great. The show did get a bit crazy by the end trying to keep the mystery going. It sounds interesting enough for me to want to borrow from the library but I may not buy it.
It doesn’t have the weird paranormal elements as LOST, thankfully, and I agree that show started out so strong and then deteriorated. I think as a library read this is perfect!
I actually might read this one next but that open ending has me somewhat nervous. I’m not sure I’m crazy about that trend either…
Not a fan of that trend. But if you can overlook that….
I don’t like endings like that. Trying to read a confusing story isn’t fun.
Sorry to hear that this book wasn’t quite what you had hoped it would be, but I still may give this one a try. I’ve been hearing so much about Rachel Hawkins books recently (especially after The Wife Upstairs was released) but have yet to try one of her books for myself.
Also — it’s been too long since I’ve been active online/visited your blog — just wanted to wish you a wonderful new year! :))
claire @ clairefy
No worries at all. It’s been a strange couple of years! If you like domestic thrillers, try Wife Upstairs. If you’re more into the twisty, devious kind of book, then definitely Reckless Girls