The Good Girl by Michelle Dunne

🔥🔥🔥 Published 09 February 2026 🔥🔥🔥

Description from Goodreads:

"Grace Murphy doesn’t seem like the type of woman who’d have a man cable-tied to a chair, slowly dying in her house. She keeps to herself and goes through life relatively unnoticed, working as a barista and caring for her sister, providing her with wholesome meals and a clean home - things they never had as children . . .

Detective Inspector Jerry Hughes knows about Grace’s brutal and troubled childhood; his own life was profoundly affected by it after all... so when men start going missing in the city - men who seem to have nothing in common aside from a physical resemblance to someone from Grace Murphy’s past - Inspector Hughes must dive back into the past to face a terrible truth playing out before him..."

📚📚📚📚📚📚

I’ve just finished The Good Girl by Michelle Dunne and oh my goodness, it completely pulled me in. It isn't a typical "whodunnit" since we know who the culprit is right from the start. Instead, it’s a "how" and "why" story that is honestly one of the most unsettling things I’ve read in a long time.

The story follows Grace Murphy, who seems like your average barista in Cork, looking after her sister and keeping her head down. But the opening scene is absolutely brutal - she has a man tied to a chair in her spare room and she's basically watching him die. It is definitely not for the faint-hearted and it comes with some very heavy triggers, especially around child abuse and violence. If you're in a sensitive headspace, you might want to skip this one, but if you can handle the darkness, it’s a brilliant look at how trauma can ripple through generations.

I absolutely loved Grace as a lead character. Even with her predilection for murder, I couldn't help but feel for her. She's a deeply troubled individual, though that isn't exactly surprising once you learn what she's been through. It's a testament to the writing that I felt so much empathy for someone doing such horrific things.

I haven't read anything by this author before but I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for more from her in the future. Her writing style is so engaging and the pacing was absolutely spot on. I found myself flying through it - I actually managed to read it in just two sittings because I couldn't put it down. It’s rare to find a crime thriller that manages to be this graphic while still having so much heart and honesty about mental illness and guilt.

I also really liked Detective Inspector Jerry Hughes; he’s a good man who’s haunted by his own connection to Grace’s past, and you can really feel his internal struggle as the bodies start turning up. 

The ending was clever, disturbing and left me thinking about it long after I finished the last chapter. It’s a 5-star read for me, though it definitely left me feeling a bit shaken.

Many thanks to the author, Boldwood Books and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this excellent book.

📚📚📚📚📚📚