The Book:
Just Like The Other Girls by Claire Douglas
Published January 11th 2022 by Harper Paperbacks
Date read: January 22, 2022
The Characters:
Una
Elspeth
Kathryn
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
An electrifying tale of psychological suspense in which an unsuspecting young woman finds herself trapped in an increasingly sinister web of mystery and lies.
CARER/COMPANION WANTED FOR ELDERLY LADY
YOUNG FEMALE PREFERRED
COMPETITIVE SALARY
ROOM AND BOARD INCLUDED
She thought she was safe. So did the others . . .
At loose ends after the devastating death of her mother, Una Richardson responds to an advertisement for a ladies’ companion, a position that leads her into the wealthy, secluded world of Mrs. Elspeth McKenzie.
But Elspeth’s home isn’t the comforting haven it seems.
Kathryn, her cold and bitter daughter, resents Una’s presence. More disturbing is evidence suggesting two girls lived here before her.
What happened to the young women?
Why won’t the McKenzies talk about them?
What are they hiding?
As the walls begin to close in around her, Una fears she’ll end up just like the other girls.
*Please excuse name misspellings, I listened to an audiobook!
Una dies at the end of Part One. She is replaced by Willow. One day, by chance, Willow gets her hair cut by Una’s best friend Courtney. She happens to mention she’s working for Elspeth, and Courtney asks Willow to help her investigate Una’s death.
Viola had run away with her boyfriend, a traveller who her mother didn’t approve of. They joined a commune, broke up, and then Viola had two kids with another member of the commune…one of which was Willow.
Somehow, Willow’s brother Arlo found out that Elspeth was their grandmother. He took a job as a gardener to get close to her (yes, he was Louis), but realized that Elspeth cared more about young blonde girls. He decided to get Willow the caretaker job. He killed Gemina to create a job opening, but Elspeth hired Una too quickly for Willow to apply. Louis had to kill Una too, to get Willow the job.
Kathryn found out when Elspeth’s PI called the house about his findings about Viola. She connected the dots and went to Willow’s house to tell her. At the same time, Courtney and Vince found out from the police that the text to Una’s phone luring her to the bridge had come from the neighborhood where Willow lived.
The Ending:
Willow and Katherine confront Arlo, and Courtney shows up with the police just in time to stop Arlo from killing Katherine.
We later find out that Katherine’s son killed Elspeth’s first companion in a hit-and-run.
Willow and Elspeth get close. Courtney moves to London to date Peter, Gemima’s brother.
The Review:
Thank you to Harper Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
I need to start by saying that I listened to an audiobook of this one without reading the description, and as I sit down to write my review I am rattled that the lady’s name is Elspeth, not Elspeth. It’s Scottish, who knew.
After recently reading Then She Vanishes, I was excited to see that Claire Douglas had two more novels (this one and The Couple At No. 9) publishing so soon. As I started Just Like The Other Girls, I was getting Lock Every Door vibes from the dream-job-with-weird-rules setting.
I thought I saw where this one was headed, but I didn’t expect it to totally change direction after Part One. I really loved what Claire Douglas did with the storyline, and there were certainly enough small twists to keep me on my toes.
Elspeth was such an interesting character. I obviously didn’t know whether she could be trusted, but in general I like to read about eccentric old ladies, and she certainly delivered.
In regards to the audiobook, you could hear where corrections had been made and the audio patched over, which was a little distracting. The narrator’s pitch would change, and the background white noise was totally different. I can’t hear the patches in most of the audiobooks I listen to. Other than that, it was an enjoyable listen.
QOTD: Would you take a “live-in” job? Would you have trouble separating work from personal time?
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