Blog Tour - Q&A and Review: The Hanging Girl by Eileen Cook

Hi everyone~ I'm thrilled to be on the blog tour for Eileen Cook's newest book The Hanging Girl! Many thanks to Raincoast Books for the opportunity! Below I have a great Q&A with Eileen and my thoughts on the book :)

The Hanging Girl

by Eileen Cook

October 3, 2017
320 pages

 

Goodreads   Indigo

Goodreads Summary:
Skye Thorn has given tarot card readings for years, and now her psychic visions are helping the police find the town’s missing golden girl. It’s no challenge—her readings have always been faked, but this time she has some insider knowledge. The kidnapping was supposed to be easy—no one would get hurt and she’d get the money she needs to start a new life. But a seemingly harmless prank has turned dark, and Skye realizes the people she’s involved with are willing to kill to get what they want and she must discover their true identity before it’s too late.

Q&A

 

BCP: I noticed The Hanging Girl has a tag line on the cover, "Trust No One. Deceive Everyone." How did you/your publisher come up with that and what do you think goes into an eye-catching tag line?

 

EC: I can’t remember who came up with which half, but I think I was the one who came up with Trust No One, and my editor came up with Deceive Everyone. We were trying to figure out which we liked best when the idea occurred to us that we could combine them.

I find titles and tag lines difficult to create. This book was called “the psychic book” the entire time I was writing it. (And nope, that isn’t very catchy.) It wasn’t until I finished it and went back through the manuscript that the idea for the title popped up. I often brainstorm tag lines with either my editor or someone in my writing group until we land on something that seems to work.

Attracting readers to a book is a tricky process. It’s a bit easier if they’ve read that author before—but otherwise you’re counting on an appealing cover, a catchy title and a tag line that intrigues them enough to read the blurb about the book’s plot. Whenever possible, what works best is to raise a question in their mind. “Hmmm, I wonder what that’s about….” However, in the end everything really comes down to the story. Readers either keep turning pages or they don’t.
 

Thank you Eileen for sharing this with us today! I personally really love the tag line. Nothing yells "thriller" better than those two little lines. It definitely captured my attention ;)

 

About the Author
Eileen Cook is a multi-published author with her novels appearing in eight different languages. Her books have been optioned for film and TV.  She spent most of her teen years wishing she were someone else or somewhere else, which is great training for a writer. She’s an instructor/mentor with the Simon Fraser University Writer’s Studio Program.

You can read more about Eileen, her books, and the things that strike her as funny at www.eileencook.com. Eileen lives in Vancouver with her husband and two very naughty dogs and no longer wishes to be anyone or anywhere else.

Website    Authors Goodreads

Review

Eileen Cook's last thriller, With Malice, had me at the edge of my seat and now I can say another one of her book had me flipping page after page. The Hanging Girl was every bit fearful and thrilling as the tag line on the cover suggests.

The Hanging Girl had a two-part mystery that'll keep you guessing chapter after chapter. The beginning was a little slow but just when I thought my interest was waning a spoiler-y revelation had my eyes going wide. Don't believe in everything you read because they'll lull you into a false sense of trust. The first reveal was totally worth the slow build up. I honestly never suspected...

I really have to applaud Ms. Cook for setting the mood of the book. It was a perfect blend of curiosity, frenzy and unease. As I got closer to the final pages, my heart was hammering away in my chest. Even knowing a final reveal was coming the suspense never let up. I needed to know if my predictions were right.

Skye is an unreliable narrator in the sense that because of a past mistake she doubts herself from time to time too. "You want to believe everything happens for a reason, but the real reason is because other people make those things happen. You keep waiting for luck to lead you, and you aren't going to get anywhere." (ARC, p. 185). I wasn't Skye's biggest fan but I could sympathize with her precarious position throughout the book and her drive to set things right before they got out of hand. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about her final choice but I am happy to see her come to a decision. All on her own. It was what she needed to start fresh.

The clues that had her connecting the dots were fun as I followed along. The last one especially was clever. I didn't love the misdirection thrown in but thinking back they were solid leads and in reality made sense to follow up on.

While the second twist was a little obvious given certain developments I was still surprised by the way the story ended. Not what I imagined... But then again Eileen Cook always gives us a real treat with her stories.

 

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinion are my own and not affected in any way. All quotes were taken from the Advance Review Copy I received.

 

Check out all the other tour stops for more Q&As and reviews :)