2022 ITW Award for Best First Novel
WINNER OF THE ITW THRILLER AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL
“My Sweet Girl pushes the boundaries of what a thriller can do.”—The Washington Post
“Fiendish [and] full of twists…. Sri Lankan author Amanda Jayatissa keeps us guessing and worrying until the very end.” —The New York Times
“A thriller centered on the meaning of identity and all the layers it can have.”—NPR
Paloma thought her perfect life would begin once she was adopted and made it to America, but she’s about to find out that no matter how far you run, your past always catches up to you…
Ever since she was adopted from a Sri Lankan orphanage, Paloma has had the best of everything—schools, money, and parents so perfect that she fears she'll never live up to them.
Now at thirty years old and recently cut off from her parents’ funds, she decides to sublet the second bedroom of her overpriced San Francisco apartment to Arun, who recently moved from India. Paloma has to admit, it feels good helping someone find their way in America—that is until Arun discovers Paloma's darkest secret, one that could jeopardize her own fragile place in this country.
Before Paloma can pay Arun off, she finds him face down in a pool of blood. She flees the apartment but by the time the police arrive, there's no body—and no evidence that Arun ever even existed in the first place.
Paloma is terrified this is all somehow tangled up in the desperate actions she took to escape Sri Lanka so many years ago. Did Paloma’s secret die with Arun or is she now in greater danger than ever before?
Genre: Mystery
“My Sweet Girl pushes the boundaries of what a thriller can do.”—The Washington Post
“Fiendish [and] full of twists…. Sri Lankan author Amanda Jayatissa keeps us guessing and worrying until the very end.” —The New York Times
“A thriller centered on the meaning of identity and all the layers it can have.”—NPR
Paloma thought her perfect life would begin once she was adopted and made it to America, but she’s about to find out that no matter how far you run, your past always catches up to you…
Ever since she was adopted from a Sri Lankan orphanage, Paloma has had the best of everything—schools, money, and parents so perfect that she fears she'll never live up to them.
Now at thirty years old and recently cut off from her parents’ funds, she decides to sublet the second bedroom of her overpriced San Francisco apartment to Arun, who recently moved from India. Paloma has to admit, it feels good helping someone find their way in America—that is until Arun discovers Paloma's darkest secret, one that could jeopardize her own fragile place in this country.
Before Paloma can pay Arun off, she finds him face down in a pool of blood. She flees the apartment but by the time the police arrive, there's no body—and no evidence that Arun ever even existed in the first place.
Paloma is terrified this is all somehow tangled up in the desperate actions she took to escape Sri Lanka so many years ago. Did Paloma’s secret die with Arun or is she now in greater danger than ever before?
Genre: Mystery
Praise for this book
"My Sweet Girl starts with a bang and doesn't let up. Haunted by her past, hunted in her present, Paloma must find her life in America, or lose it forever. A richly layered, firecracker of a thriller." - Eliza Jane Brazier
"A delicious, twisty, fast-paced thriller with the perfect hint of ghost story, MY SWEET GIRL is sheer reading pleasure." - Michele Campbell
"MY SWEET GIRL is equal parts witty, chilling, and hypnotic, and it includes some of the creepiest lines and images I've ever read. By expertly pulling the strings of this riveting story, Amanda Jayatissa will have you thinking you know the answers to the book's layers of mysteries-until she upends every expectation with a series of shocking reveals." - Megan Collins
"My Sweet Girl is like nothing else I've read. Set in San Francisco and Sri Lanka, this is a story about friendship, lies, and guilt. A stunning and original must-read." - Samantha Downing
"This breathtaking debut somehow manages to be terrifying and heartbreaking at the same time. Astonishingly crafted and constantly surprising, the talented Jayatissa lures us into the story with confident hands, and then yanks the rug right out from under us. Ridiculously good. Crazy good. Scary good. This is a big big book." - Hank Phillippi Ryan
"Dark, compelling and utterly original, My Sweet Girl heralds a fresh, new voice in psychological suspense." - Riley Sager
"A delicious, twisty, fast-paced thriller with the perfect hint of ghost story, MY SWEET GIRL is sheer reading pleasure." - Michele Campbell
"MY SWEET GIRL is equal parts witty, chilling, and hypnotic, and it includes some of the creepiest lines and images I've ever read. By expertly pulling the strings of this riveting story, Amanda Jayatissa will have you thinking you know the answers to the book's layers of mysteries-until she upends every expectation with a series of shocking reveals." - Megan Collins
"My Sweet Girl is like nothing else I've read. Set in San Francisco and Sri Lanka, this is a story about friendship, lies, and guilt. A stunning and original must-read." - Samantha Downing
"This breathtaking debut somehow manages to be terrifying and heartbreaking at the same time. Astonishingly crafted and constantly surprising, the talented Jayatissa lures us into the story with confident hands, and then yanks the rug right out from under us. Ridiculously good. Crazy good. Scary good. This is a big big book." - Hank Phillippi Ryan
"Dark, compelling and utterly original, My Sweet Girl heralds a fresh, new voice in psychological suspense." - Riley Sager
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