The Prized Girl - Amy K. Green

From debut author Amy K. Green comes a devastating tale of psychological suspense: a teen pageant queen is found murdered in a small New England town, and her sister’s search for answers unearths more than she bargained for.

Days after a young teenager named Jenny is found murdered, her small town grieves the loss alongside her picture-perfect parents. At first glance, Jenny’s tragic death appears clear-cut for investigators. In the murder of a former pageant queen from a safe and loving family, the most obvious suspect is a fan who got too close for comfort. But Jenny’s sarcastic, older half-sister Virginia isn’t so sure of his guilt and takes matters into her own hands to find the killer.

But for Jenny’s case and and Virginia’s investigation, there’s more to the story. Virginia, still living in town and haunted by her own troubled teenage years, suspects that a similar darkness lay beneath the sparkling veneer of Jenny’s life. Alternating between Jenny’s final days and Virginia’s determined search for the truth, the sisters’ dual narratives follow a harrowing trail of suspects, with surprising turns that race toward a shocking finale.From debut author Amy K. Green comes a devastating tale of psychological suspense: a teen pageant queen is found murdered in a small New England town, and her sister’s search for answers unearths more than she bargained for.

Days after a young teenager named Jenny is found murdered, her small town grieves the loss alongside her picture-perfect parents. At first glance, Jenny’s tragic death appears clear-cut for investigators. In the murder of a former pageant queen from a safe and loving family, the most obvious suspect is a fan who got too close for comfort. But Jenny’s sarcastic, older half-sister Virginia isn’t so sure of his guilt and takes matters into her own hands to find the killer.

But for Jenny’s case and and Virginia’s investigation, there’s more to the story. Virginia, still living in town and haunted by her own troubled teenage years, suspects that a similar darkness lay beneath the sparkling veneer of Jenny’s life. Alternating between Jenny’s final days and Virginia’s determined search for the truth, the sisters’ dual narratives follow a harrowing trail of suspects, with surprising turns that race toward a shocking finale.
From debut author Amy K. Green comes a devastating tale of psychological suspense: a teen pageant queen is found murdered in a small New England town, and her sister’s search for answers unearths more than she bargained for.

Days after a young teenager named Jenny is found murdered, her small town grieves the loss alongside her picture-perfect parents. At first glance, Jenny’s tragic death appears clear-cut for investigators. In the murder of a former pageant queen from a safe and loving family, the most obvious suspect is a fan who got too close for comfort. But Jenny’s sarcastic, older half-sister Virginia isn’t so sure of his guilt and takes matters into her own hands to find the killer.

But for Jenny’s case and Virginia’s investigation, there’s more to the story. Virginia, still living in town and haunted by her own troubled teenage years, suspects that a similar darkness lay beneath the sparkling veneer of Jenny’s life. Alternating between Jenny’s final days and Virginia’s determined search for the truth, the sisters’ dual narratives follow a harrowing trail of suspects, with surprising turns that race toward a shocking finale.

My Review:


A fantastic debut from Amy K. Green, I thoroughly enjoyed this tense, thrilling drama. I will look forward to what comes next from Green.


With the whole town morning local beauty queen, 16-year-old Jenny, we read on as her sister, haunted by her own childhood issues, seeks the truth about what happened.


 The story is told from both Jenny’s point of view and that of her much older sister, Virginia. We see that Jenny isn’t the happy, sweet and innocent girl people think she is whilst Virginia isn’t the selfish, loner we may have initially thought. The different perspectives help the story unfold in a brilliant way, and as we got further into the book, I realised there would be more twists and turns more than I thought would. 


The characters are not the most ‘likeable’ but I didn’t mind that at all with this book, in fact in was interesting to see the flaws or issues with each one. I did sympathise for some of them and it was clear to see they were only the way they were because of the actions and treatment from others. 


It is a real, interwoven, dark story that kept me gripped. It was very well written and paced nicely, not much given away too soon but just enough to keep me interested throughout.

The ending – oh the ending! Not at all what I expected, and if I’m honest still not entirely sure what I think but it was different. Also left me wondering if we would be seeing some more from this set of characters.


A book I will happily recommend to others. 


Thank you to HQ for a copy of this book to read and review honestly.