Karma is no joke
While part of the catering team for a party held by well-known multi-millionaire Griff Tilden, Rooney Budd finds herself assisting his wife Kate up to her bedroom and out of the watchful eye of the other partygoers. Drunk and uninhibited, Kate tells a story of a deteriorating marriage and an increasingly abusive husband. Prior to passing out, Kate confides in Rooney and reveals a veritable treasure trove of riches in an adjacent walk-in closet. Rooney breaks down and pockets several packets of the bills; after all who will know? But when confronted by Griff instead of turning her in, he offers her a job. Become his wife’s full-time companion, offer her friendship in the hopes of keeping her deteriorating mental condition from worsening and possibly assist her with writing her memoirs and he will not prosecute the “Girl Thief”. Backed into a corner she accepts, but what Griff doesn’t know is that Rooney has secrets of her own. She knows who he is, she knows what he’s done, and she is not at his estate by accident. As Rooney and Kate begin to bond it becomes apparent that Kate wants her husband dead just as much as Rooney does. Together the two hatch a plan to make Griff Tilden disappear for good, but with Kate’s erratic behavior becoming more and more extreme Rooney doesn’t realize that there is more to the story until it’s almost too late.
The Girl Thief is the newest psychological thriller from Author J.A. Schneider. Coming off the heels of last year’s The Wife List, Schneider again delivers with an engaging and fast paced read. Main character Rooney Budd is struggling to make ends meet as well as still recovering from her mom’s death. With a past that can only be described as traumatic, her and her mother have lived in relative obscurity for as long as she can remember. But that is going to end if she has anything to say about it as she finds herself face to face with the person directly responsible for her trauma. After reluctantly accepting Griff Tilden’s blackmail disguised as a job offer, Rooney and Kate grow close, but this only solidifies her vengeful plans. While reading through The Girl Thief , I immediately related to Rooney; her past and current situation were portrayed in a way that made me want to root for her to be successful. With each chapter and new development, Schneider ratcheted up the suspense in such a way that before you knew it Rooney was in way over her head and scrambling to find an exit strategy. In fact, in the final third of the book, I found myself reading with such fervor as if I were part of the action and when the end game was finally revealed, I was completely blown away. With vivid character depictions and scenes that could be straight out of a movie, The Girl Thief is in my opinion, my favorite J.A. Schneider offering to date and while she has outdone herself with this novel, it makes me eager to see what she has in store for the reader in her next one.
If you like fast-paced psychological thrillers with high suspense and mind blowing twists The Girl Thief is a must read.
Full disclosure – I was provided a copy of this book by the author; however, I have voluntarily chosen to write a review. All opinions are my own.
Jennly Reads 