Book Review: ‘My Sweet Girl: A Novel’ By Amanda Jayatissa

The debut novel from Sri Lankan author Amanda Jayatissa has everything you want in a thriller. Secrets, twists and turns and a climax you don’t see coming. A very good first novel. Paloma Evans is 30 years old and is living in San Franciso. She was raised in an orphange until she was 12 and then was adopted by the Evans family and taken to the United States. She lives with a roommate Arun, who she doesn’t see that often and who has discovered her secret. She’s not sure what to do about him and just drinks and is going to confront him. When she gets home she discovers him dead in their apartment and passes out drunk in the hallway. When the police arrive they find no signs of a dead body in the apartment. All his stuff is gone and she starts to doubt herself. The surveillance tapes only show she was in the cleaning closet getting supplies. She goes to her parents house, they’re away on a trip in Sri Lanka and things are not right for Paloma. Strange things are happening, a neighbor goes missing, the lady across the street is watching her and then her past finally catches up with her, we learn her secret and she may not live to have to worry about keeping it quiet.

You can pick up My Sweet Girl in stores on Tuesday, September 14th from Berkley.