Psychological Thriller Review: American Girl | Wendy Walker

If you are a fan of stories about small towns with big secrets, Wendy Walker’s American Girl is must-add to your to-be-read list!

About the Book | American Girl

A pulse-pounding novel about a small-town business owner found dead and the teenage girl caught in the crosshairs, American Girl is the latest thriller from international best-selling author Wendy Walker.

Charlie Hudson, an autistic 17-year-old, is determined to leave Sawyer, PA as soon as she graduates high school — in the meantime, she works as many hours as she can at a sandwich shop called The Triple S to save money for college. But when shop owner Clay Cooper — a man who is both respected and feared by many in this economically depressed community — is found dead, each member of his staff becomes a suspect in the perplexing case. Charlie must work to protect herself and her friends, and uncover the danger that may still be at large in their tightknit community.

Best-selling author Wendy Walker returns with another riveting thriller, told through the eyes of an unforgettable protagonist. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

Review | American Girl

This book felt different from the other books I’ve read by Wendy Walker. Her books often involve past and present timelines, alternating narrators, and more of a domestic suspense edge with psychological thriller flair. American Girl is no-less compelling than her other books, but the story felt grander somehow.

It’s the story of one of a million girls living in a one of thousands of small towns in America. She’s a girl who has big dreams but everyone underestimates because she is different. However, this is a book about how her differences make her exceptional. That people underestimate her may be the key to beating the odds and taking on the town that dismisses her.

The titular American Girl is Charlie Hudson. Charlie is 17 years-old and she’s autistic. She lives in a small, rundown town called Sawyer that is in rural Pennsylvania. When she was young, her grandparents threw her mother and her out on the street. For many years they lived in a downtrodden apartment, scraping by but largely Charlie was content. Eventually, Charlie’s mother marries an attorney and has children with him. He tolerates Charlie but never really takes to her. Still, he treats her better than the other men her mother dated over the years.

Charlie works at a sandwich shop called The Triple S. She likes this type of work. It soothes her when her mind feels frazzled. Charlie is working hard to save money towards college (she has been admitted to M.I.T.) and to help her friend Keller save enough to get her grandmother a spot in a care facility.

On the day the book opens, Charlie has bigger problems. Clay “Coop” Cooper—the owner of many businesses in Sawyer including The Triple S—has been murdered. Charlie is seemingly the only witness. The reader knows that Charlie is keeping something a secret, but we don’t know exactly what it is or why. Charlie is the type of girl who is smart but literal. She’s fiercely protective of those she loves, such as her best friend Keller and her ex-boyfriend but forever love Eann.

Charlie is eventually approached by a federal agent who is assisting with the investigation. It’s unclear to the reader if Charlie is afraid to say what happened, having anxiety over something that occurred the night of the murder, or if she is protecting someone. The relationships in the book are complicated, and soon it becomes clear that Charlie is at the center of a complex mystery that may be the key to a much bigger problem in Sawyer.

I loved that Charlie was such a unique character. Her story is somehow ordinary and exceptional at the same time, and that’s because in a town like Sawyer, many girls share parts of the same story. Girls need to be pretty enough to land a man. They have no hope of going anywhere on their own. The town will shun them if they get pregnant out of wedlock. The men can do what they want to women and no one will listen to them because they probably deserved it.

If a girl isn’t pretty, she better get a job or be smart. But if she’s smart and accomplished and finds a path out of the town, the town won’t help her. The town will do everything it can to hold her back. The town doesn’t want her, but the town doesn’t want to let her go. The town needs these girls—the pretty ones, the used ones, the ones who get beaten up, the ones who have an opportunity that gets snatched at the last moment.

I don’t want to spoil too much of the story, but this book delivers on so many levels. The mystery is compelling. Charlie is a standout one-in-a-million character. The people in the town are well-crafted as are their stories. The way the clues and puzzle pieces come together at the end delivers that punch that a good psychological thriller has. The reader cares about the characters and what happens to them. Their stories aren’t all happy ones. Many of the stories felt bittersweet and left me thinking of them for days.

I greatly enjoyed this book and the way it was written. I loved Charlie—I didn’t want to leave her behind! I was captivated by the way the mystery came together, the twists, and I loved how the stories were concluded. Brilliant!

About the Author | Wendy Walker

Wendy Walker is the author of the psychological suspense novels All Is Not Forgotten, Emma In the Night, The Night Before, Don’t Look For Me, What Remains and American Girl. Her novels have been translated into 23 foreign languages, topped bestseller lists both nationally and abroad, and have been optioned for both television and film.

Wendy holds degrees from Brown University and Georgetown Law School, and has worked in finance and several areas of the law. As a former family law attorney with training in child advocacy, Wendy draws from her knowledge of trauma and psychology to write compelling and complex characters and stories.