With her latest twisty thriller, RECKLESS GIRLS, Rachel Hawkins presents us with four young women who end up together on what would appear to be a tropical paradise. It’s a deserted island near Hawaii where the beaches are golden, the water is warm and the sunsets are stunning. With plenty of good food, wine and charming male companionship, what more could anyone ask for?

The first person narrator is Lux, and while she shares her story openly, we don't really find out what her hidden desires and motivations are until well into the novel. She's the only child of parents who divorced, and her mom moved them to San Diego, wanting a fresh start. That left her father out of her life, and he didn't make any effort to see her or be part of her childhood.

Then, during Lux's first year of college, her mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. So she dropped out of school to help her. Her mother died three years later, and Lux didn't feel the urge to return to school. She has made do with different low-paying jobs and working in restaurants. Then she meets Nico, the handsome, fun-loving and rebellious son of a wealthy family. He is utterly charming and loves to sail.

"Hawkins' writing is taut and incisive as she delivers a story filled with violence and ugliness in the middle of what should be paradise."

When Nico suggests that Lux meet him in Hawaii and they can sail the world together, she jumps at the chance. But when his boat arrives needing major repairs, they are stuck in Hawaii. Lux is back doing menial work cleaning hotel rooms, and Nico is happily working at a marina. All they can afford is to stay on a mattress in one of Nico's friend's apartments. It's not the glamorous life Lux was expecting. And then she gets fired.

At the same time, Nico is approached by two young women who want to visit Meroe Island. Lux has a brilliant idea: the fee will include repairing the boat, so she and Nico can resume their plan to sail the world together after the cruise. The women would like Lux to come on the trip as well, and since Nico doesn't want to go without her, she agrees. A week on a deserted tropical island sounds like paradise, right? And Brittany and Amma seem as if they'd be good traveling companions.

After a somewhat perilous few days sailing to Meroe Island, they are disappointed to find another boat already anchored in the bay --- a bigger, richer boat with a golden couple on board. Jake and Eliza seem like the perfect pair, he with a rich Australian accent and she with a posh British one. They are open and generous, sharing their delicious stores of food and liquor. Lux thinks that perhaps being on the island with these two will have its benefits.

Meroe Island becomes almost another character as we read about it. There are eerie vibes before they even set anchor. Lux senses somehow that it isn't a friendly place, and as they explore, they realize it’s inhospitable. The narration is effective and serves to give us insight into both its visitors and its past. The island has its own narration, shared through newspaper articles, emails and other artifacts. That's how we learn about its deadly history, where survivors of a shipwreck resorted to cannibalism. The jungle is filled with snakes and poisonous plants, and even the fish swimming in the lagoons are reputed to be venomous and deadly if ingested.

Hawkins divides the narratives into "Now" and "Before" as she gradually reveals tantalizing glimpses into the backgrounds of all the women. We learn not only how Brittany and Amma say they met, but how they actually met. We know both are nursing a tragedy in their past, but those details are shared slowly. As is often the case in real life, the men in the story control the actions of the group because they have the power. They are the owners of the boats and the scions of wealthy families. They are the ones with nothing to worry about as they enjoy life on their terms.

RECKLESS GIRLS has been compared to Agatha Christie's AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, and when people start to disappear or are murdered, we can't help but wonder who will be the next to go missing. Compulsively reading on, we find ourselves hoping to figure out who is behind all the violence. We are especially invested in Lux's story because of her first-person narrative, and we can empathize with her frustrations about Nico and her situation.

Hawkins' writing is taut and incisive as she delivers a story filled with violence and ugliness in the middle of what should be paradise. The juxtaposition of the cerulean sky, the azure waters, the endless gold beaches, and the shadowy violence that lurks in the dark recesses of the jungle makes the novel even more compelling. Just what are we capable of when our backs are to the wall? We find out what some of these women are capable of, and it's not what we expected.