One of the Girls by Lucy Clarke

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Today I'm a stop on the Random Things tour for Lucy Clarke's latest, One of the Girls!

No one expected Lexi to ever get married. Least of all Lexi herself. But here she is, just weeks away from settling down with Ed. 

But first, her friends have planned an epic hen party to see her off!

Bella, the wild one, planned the whole thing. With the help of her girlfriend, Fen, whose aunt owns a fabulous villa in Greece! Robyn, a single mom, deserves a weekend away in paradise celebrating her best friend. Eleanor, who recently lost her own fiance, is there as Ed's sister, so that Lexi can get to know her better. And finally, Ana, the newest of the bunch, who met Lexi during yoga one day and became fast friends. 

It's to be a weekend of sun, fun, and drinks. Except they're all lying to one another. And at least one of them has ulterior motives in being there. And by the end of the weekend, someone will be dead. 

A beachy thriller that begins with the reader knowing something terrible is coming!

So six women, three of whom have been best friends since they were kids, convene in what is undeniably paradise to party and celebrate the Lexi's upcoming nuptials.  

Lexi, once a backup dancer for various acts—and a verifiable party girl, has traded in her wilder ways for a yoga studio and a steady relationship. And honestly, no one ever expected it. In fact, Lexi swore she'd never get married. Just goes to show what can happen when you meet the right person.

Bella isn't ready to give up her wild ways. In fact, she misses having Lexi along for the ride. And as the self-appointed maid of honor, she's vowed to give that Lexi one final weekend. 

Fen, isn't jazzed about returning to her aunt's villa. Her memories of the place are tainted in a way the even Bella, her own girlfriend, isn't aware of. But she knows that in spite of that, it is the perfect place for a hen weekend. If only it hadn't started out so very badly for her and Bella. 

Robyn hasn't had much time to spend with her old friends for quite a while. As a soon to be divorced single mom, all of her focus and energy has been on her infant son and her job. And having to move back in with her parents while trying to decide what comes next for her and her small family hasn't made things easier. She needs this weekend away. But she can't help feeling guilty. And things have been frosty between her and Bella for some time too. 

Eleanor and Ana are the outsiders. And they both feel it. Eleanor has never quite fit in and the loss of her fiance has made her even more uncomfortable at a hen party of all places. Plus, she can't help but feel that she's only there because Lexi feels obligated to invite her as Ed's sister. 

Ana, meanwhile, is also a single mom. And would never spend her hard earned and should be saved money on a trip to Greece under normal circumstances. But her sister has taken her sullen teen son for the weekend and Lexi really wanted her new friend to be there. 

Together, they all make a bit of an odd group. But they all have one thing in common. Lexi. Which is not to say that all of them are there for exactly the same reasons!

The book begins with the glaring fact that something has gone terribly wrong on this particular party weekend. And it's easy to guess what that something is. But the facts around it are teased and throughout the book as we go back to the beginning and the group's arrival on the fictional island. 

Points of view alternate between all of the women and a mysterious narrator who sprinkles in more clues about what's to come, giving the reader a chance to get to know each of the women and what motivates them as the plot progresses. 

One of the Girls was great fun! A perfect summer read with just the right amount of tension!

One of the Girls is out now in ebook and due out in paperback and hardcover (in the UK) and in hardcover (in the States) later this month.