Review: First Girl to Die - Helen Phifer

Review: First Girl to Die - Book #4 Detective Morgan Brookes Series - Helen Phifer - October 2021

You know that feeling when you settle into your favourite reading chair with a fresh cup of tea, crack open a new book, and somehow end up standing in the kitchen at midnight because you simply could not put it down? That was me with First Girl to Die. I genuinely had to remind myself to breathe.

A little side note before I dive in,  this was another wonderful secondhand find from Xanadu Book Exchange in Papamoa. If you haven't browsed their shelves yet, honestly, what are you waiting for? So many of my best reads have come home with me from that place, and this one was no exception.

This is the fourth book in Helen Phifer's Detective Morgan Brookes series, and while I'd recommend starting from the beginning just because Morgan is such a richly built character, you can absolutely pick this one up cold and be utterly gripped. Phifer is wonderfully generous in weaving in just enough backstory to keep a new reader oriented without making the rest of us feel like we're sitting through a recap episode.

The story opens with Morgan being called to what looks like a suicide and then the gut-punch: she recognises the woman. Brittany. A friend from a long time ago, from a group of teenagers whose world was shattered by the death of a boy named Brad at a party that none of them have ever fully left behind. What follows is that particular brand of thriller that gets right under your skin  not just because of the procedural tension, but because Morgan is personally entangled in every thread of this investigation. Her grief, her guilt, her memory  all of it is fair game.

I could feel the cold of the crime scene, smell the rain, sense the unease of a small community where everyone carries old secrets. The pacing is relentless without ever feeling rushed , she gives you just enough to think you've worked it out before pulling the rug clean away.

What I love most about this series is that Morgan never feels like a superhero detective. She's fallible, emotional, sometimes reckless  and completely compelling because of it. Watching her dig into painful memories while trying to hold herself together professionally is the kind of character work that makes you genuinely care about the outcome.

First Girl to Die is dark, clever, and deeply satisfying. A proper page-turner with real heart. Four stars from this corner of the phantom library and I'll be starting Book Five just as soon as I've had a decent night's sleep.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4w5WV4O