Fabulous reads – Debut book is a deliciously dark mystery

The Luckiest Girl Alive, Jessica Knoll, Pan MacMillan, ISBN 978144728620

IT comes as a breath of fresh air when you pick up a book and you’re not exactly sure what to expect when you crack open the cover and turn to the first page. The Luckiest Girl Alive is a brilliant read.

The book kicks off with the protagonist TifAni FaNelli contemplating murdering her fiancé with a knife they would later add to their gift registry. One and a half pages in and a murderess bride is on the loose and one cannot help but be intrigued.

TifAni, who goes by the name Ani, is an accomplished magazine editor in her late 20s, who appears to have it all, including a loving significant other who has a bountiful bank balance to match. She has seemingly ticked every box that could possibly need to be ticked. But her past has her trapped and there is a film crew which is looking to shoot a documentary of her tragic teen years, that could make or break her.

At first, the present-day Ani was easily portrayed as a mash-up of The Devil Wears Prada’s characters, Miranda Priestly and Emily Chalton – bitchy and snobbish. Not someone that could be endearing or relatable to most readers.

Her teenage self, who makes an appearance on every alternating chapter, is just a girl looking to make headway into the popular crowd and provides a dazzling contrast to the sleek and gritty adult protagonist. The two characters seem worlds apart, and as the book unravels and dark secrets are revealed, an undeniable link is made. The character is flawed, broken and the journey she goes through is remarkable and the ending is deeply satisfying. It’s not your Cinderella happily-ever-after fairytale ending, or perhaps, in Ani’s case, it could be.

The book is superbly written with bites of humour spread throughout.