Next Girl by Sophia V Biondi & Frank Ralph

 

Based on a true story we meet Sophia after she has just met a gentleman named Bob in a bar in their hometown in Vermont. Bob is funny, charismatic and charming and she soon finds herself leaving with him to go and grab some sushi at a nearby place, she discovers some interesting things about him including that he is a doctor, lives surprisingly close to her and has a never ending well of stories to tell. After this night they begin texting and meet up on a few more occasions on a casual basis before he begins inviting her on his work trips and they begin to gradually see more and more of each other.

This part of the relationship seems to progress at a normal pace, but things quickly begin to ramp up when within three months they are married and living together. Bob has always been sweet and kind to Sophia but with our outside perspective we can see that some of his behaviours are maybe a bit possessive and controlling. If only poor Sophia could have seen this as the relationship quickly begins to deteriorate despite her best efforts.

I enjoyed how there was always another twist or surprise in store either for the reader or Sophia even if they weren’t always particularly pleasant and that really did help to hold my attention throughout this novel and certainly justified it as a thriller. I did feel a little bit frustrated with Sophia in places as I wished she would just up and leave Bob instead of trying to make the situation work or save up some money, but I guess I just struggled to put myself in her shoes having been lucky enough to have never experienced anything like this.

There is quite a bit of suspense leading up to the final climax and I found myself reading through the night to finish the story and find out whether Sophia and puppy Isabella made it out unscathed or not. If you want to find out you’ll just have to read it for yourself, please do check it out and remember at the time of writing it is free on Kindle Unlimited.