Today, nothing is going right for Em. And it's about to get much worse.
Heartbroken by a recent split, with her 30th birthday looming, she loses her job and her home in the same morning because of two swaggering, dishonest men - the boss who sexually harassed her and the flatmate sleeping with her behind his fiancée's back. But all Em can think about is catching a flight to attend her sister's wedding and see her dying mother.
With a record-breaking heatwave, and a serial killer making the streets unsafe, London is completely gridlocked. Em's life has always been full of men getting their own way, and today the scorched city teems with them standing between her and home. As Em's troubled past returns to haunt her, she refuses to let them win. Her defiance leads to shocking consequences that soon spiral wildly out of control.
In a world where men don't listen, and girls have no voice, one woman can change everything.
Today, no one will be staying silent.
Good Girls Die Last by Natali Simmonds was published on 22 June 2023 in hardback by Headline. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour
As the daughter of a Spanish immigrant, Natali J Simmonds has lived all over the world.
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#SarahEverard
#MeToo
#MeToo
#AndrewTate
#NotAllMen
The hashtags that I've just written out have all been trending on Social Media in recent years. Again, on Social Media you will find people arguing, for and against what these tag lines mean.
We have come a long way since I started work in the mid 1980s, when I was told that I could only wear a skirt behind a bar, with high heels. In my office job, trousers were not allowed either. Every single day, there were men who thought it was OK to touch, to brush against you, to comment personally about your looks. Men that you knew and worked with and men that you had never seen before.
Yes, we've come a long way, but it still happens, and the hashtags above prove just that. Women are angry, but even our anger is not allowed by some. Remember the vigil for Sarah Everard? Look at those people who defend Andrew Tate.
Natali Simmonds has taken this anger and turned it into a book that is utterly compelling. It's an extraordinary read. Not only is it a study in the male/female relationship, it's also a damn fine thriller that will keep the reader totally engrossed.
It is a very very hot day in central London. Em has been working for a PR firm on the Strand for three months and as she leaves her shared flat, she's hopeful that she's going to be taken on full time. She's also just about to take a holiday. Returning to Spain for her sister's wedding, which happens to be on her own 30th birthday. Em hasn't been home for three years, not even for her father's funeral. She's 'photo shopped' her London life when talking to her mother and sister, allowing them to believe that all is well in London. Oh, and she's recently broken up with the love of her life, for reasons unknown to the reader at the beginning. Oh, and she casually sleeps with her landlord .... when his girlfriend is not in town.
The hashtags that I've just written out have all been trending on Social Media in recent years. Again, on Social Media you will find people arguing, for and against what these tag lines mean.
We have come a long way since I started work in the mid 1980s, when I was told that I could only wear a skirt behind a bar, with high heels. In my office job, trousers were not allowed either. Every single day, there were men who thought it was OK to touch, to brush against you, to comment personally about your looks. Men that you knew and worked with and men that you had never seen before.
Yes, we've come a long way, but it still happens, and the hashtags above prove just that. Women are angry, but even our anger is not allowed by some. Remember the vigil for Sarah Everard? Look at those people who defend Andrew Tate.
Natali Simmonds has taken this anger and turned it into a book that is utterly compelling. It's an extraordinary read. Not only is it a study in the male/female relationship, it's also a damn fine thriller that will keep the reader totally engrossed.
It is a very very hot day in central London. Em has been working for a PR firm on the Strand for three months and as she leaves her shared flat, she's hopeful that she's going to be taken on full time. She's also just about to take a holiday. Returning to Spain for her sister's wedding, which happens to be on her own 30th birthday. Em hasn't been home for three years, not even for her father's funeral. She's 'photo shopped' her London life when talking to her mother and sister, allowing them to believe that all is well in London. Oh, and she's recently broken up with the love of her life, for reasons unknown to the reader at the beginning. Oh, and she casually sleeps with her landlord .... when his girlfriend is not in town.
Women have been murdered in London. The press have nicknamed the killer 'The London Strangler' - a quirky name for a man who has taken the lives of innocent women.
This is the story of Em's journey, and how everything that possibly could go wrong, does. The oppressive heat impacts on everything, especially public transport, making travelling anywhere in London so very difficult.
I went through every single emotion possible when reading this story. I felt hot and sweaty, quite grubby at times. There was total and utter frustration, horror and raging anger. There are some amazing characters within this story who complement Em so well, from Rose to Nikki and the gentle Moby, we are treated to a cast that add depth and meaning to what could quite easily have become a story in man-hating. However, there ARE despicable men in here too; the work colleague who cares only for himself, the man who takes lives, the men who abuse their families, those who cheat on their partners.
This is the story of Em's journey, and how everything that possibly could go wrong, does. The oppressive heat impacts on everything, especially public transport, making travelling anywhere in London so very difficult.
I went through every single emotion possible when reading this story. I felt hot and sweaty, quite grubby at times. There was total and utter frustration, horror and raging anger. There are some amazing characters within this story who complement Em so well, from Rose to Nikki and the gentle Moby, we are treated to a cast that add depth and meaning to what could quite easily have become a story in man-hating. However, there ARE despicable men in here too; the work colleague who cares only for himself, the man who takes lives, the men who abuse their families, those who cheat on their partners.
I realise that I've said little about the plot, and I believe that's the right thing to do. It's incredible and not my story to tell, it belongs to the author and she's done it so very well.
This is a book of pure emotion. It is a book that will resonate with many many women. It is a book that looks at issues that dominate our headlines. It's a thriller, it's enraging and it's very special with an ending that punches the heart.
Highly recommended by me.
This is a book of pure emotion. It is a book that will resonate with many many women. It is a book that looks at issues that dominate our headlines. It's a thriller, it's enraging and it's very special with an ending that punches the heart.
Highly recommended by me.
GOOD GIRLS DIE LAST is her first thriller after writing fantasy novels.
When not writing, she is the Head of Community and Editorial Commissions at Jericho Writers and lectures at Raindance Film School and The University of The Hague.
Follow Natali on Twitter: @NJSimmondsbooks
#SaveEm
#GoodGirlsDieLast
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