Only one knows the whole truth ...
A Car, four girlfriends, a tragic accident. Only the driver is rescued from the wreck, unconscious. The other three passengers are missing. Even 20 years later, the rumor mill in "Girls Night" by Claire Douglas still turns, and a journalist takes up the case. She should have kept her hands off it.
"BFF", Best Friends Forever - those are the four girls in the small white Peugeot on their way home from a party. Olivia is driving, struggling with the chatter around her, which isn't making things easy for her. The stretch of land they are passing through is called "Devil's Corridor" - a narrow road, heavily surrounded by large dark trees. Olivia sees little. Perhaps too little. What was that? A shadow? A dark figure? She brakes, swerves, loses control of the car. The subsequent accident knocks her unconscious.
When she comes to, she is trapped in the car - alone. Her three friends are nowhere to be found. Were they already rescued? Uninjured and calling for help? Where the hell have they gone again? Even 20 years after the tragic car accident, she cannot answer the last question: Her three friends have never reappeared. And yet, the media and the public were all over the case. Olivia has had to face accusatory stares in her small hometown ever since. But she doesn't know anything, she has almost no memory of that fateful night. There was just a dark shape ... a shadow: a person? Another car? Olivia ponders, but the night of the accident remains unclear. Then Jenna appears.
A Scoop Awaits
The journalist is around Olivia's age and wants to relaunch her career with a podcast on the 20th anniversary of the accident. Who knows, maybe she'll find that crucial piece of the puzzle that leads to a solution? And Jenna also needed a "personal" change of scenery. But the small town isn't welcoming her with open arms. Olivia stays out of her way, her friend warns Jenna that she should leave town soon. But she has a week planned for her research and threats only fuel her determination.
Only one detective supports Jenna at first. He's friendly, approachable, open-minded. But he was also dating one of the girls at the time of the accident. Is he playing a double game? Is Jenna being too naive? Is there something "Bigger" at play? Even the abduction by aliens was once speculated about ...
Welcome to the "Girls Night"
But because Jenna is a good journalist, she gradually sheds light on the darkness of "Devil's Corridor". A loose thread leads to the next, making Jenna think of completely new possibilities. A family tragedy is emerging, one that predates the accident. One with consequences that reach from the past to the present. Jenna's life is getting more and more dangerous. But her curiosity prevails!
Readers of Claire Douglas' new work, published by Penguin ("Dear Daughter"), should also pique their curiosity. The reason: "Girls Night" lures at the beginning like Hansel and Gretel into the gingerbread house. Once in the story, several narrative threads keep the reader on the edge of their seat. What could happen to the three young women? Aliens? A serial killer? An "accident"? The curiosity drives the story further.
New characters, surprising twists, mysterious locations, and the ever-present theme of love - "Girls Night" offers it all. A Happy Ending, if one wants to call it that, concludes the plot - but it shows: Even "BFF" have their dark secrets.
After learning about the journalist's interest in the case, Olivia can't help but think, "I wish England's media would leave me alone, it's been 20 years and I still don't have any answers about my friends' disappearance." As Jenna delves deeper into the investigation, she realizes, "The 'Girls Night' tragedy has become a global sensation, with thriller novels, movies, and now a podcast based on it, but the truth behind Devil's Corridor remains elusive."
