Book Review: Girls Who Stray

Book Name: Girls Who Stray
Author: Anisha Lalvani

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Genre: Crime, Thriller and Suspense Fiction/ Psychological Thriller 

Format: Hardcover

Print length: 296 pages 

Rating:4/5

Anisha’s debut novel, Girls Who Stray, is a monologue delivered by a narrator who reflects on her journey through the choices she makes, all while confronting the societal expectations placed on women.

 

Blurb

A, 23 and unnamed, returns from an obscure British university armed with a useless degree to her new home in Noida—a home of feeble men—and the breakdown of her parents’ marriage. Serial procrastinator, overthinker, anxious and unhinged, A overcompensates her low self-esteem and sense of alienation with snootiness, even as she so badly wants to belong. Her only saving quality is that she is self-aware. Before long, A finds herself elbow-deep in an affair with a property developer and subsequently in a double murder. Faced with the anxieties of the crime along with precarities of living in a hypermodern city marked by seething inequality, A navigates heartbreak and tiny acts of freedom. Girls Who Stray is about the foolish choices you knew you shouldn’t have made. A dazzling literary debut, this coming-of-age thriller is a heady mix of real estate dons, crime and the twisted, twisted nature of love.

Review

The storyline is told through the voice of a 23-year-old unnamed narrator, A. Upon returning from a British university to Noida, she struggles to settle back into her life, navigating the tension of her parents' breaking marriage. She begins living with her father, grandfather, and a male nurse who looks after her grandfather. As she desperately searches for a suitable job, she finds herself drifting into hotel rooms and construction sites - places shadowed by murder, where she is sometimes a witness, and at other times, the perpetrator.

A’s character is morally grey, yet her journey offers a compelling narrative for readers. The male nurse, though a minor character, adds an intriguing layer of tension. His seemingly innocent small talk with A creates a sense of suspicion—as if he knows more about her than he lets on—inviting readers to look deeper into what lies ahead. These moments also subtly build a strange sense of belonging.

Anisha’s writing is bold, direct, and unflinching. She explores complex themes of violence, crime, patriarchy, and gender disparity in urban India, with a raw honesty that can be unsettling. While some readers might find the narrative pacing uneven, once they understand and get the feel of the book, it will get easier to read through as it unravels the human psyche and the extent to which humans can go for their survival, validation, and power.

Readers will appreciate the growth A undergoes, from struggling as an abroad return to finding a job and discovering herself as she finally tries to work on her relationship with her father and continues her corporate journey. What truly sets this book apart is its vivid sense of place. As someone who has lived in the NCR for years, I could vividly imagine the construction sites, shady, half-finished, and creepy. Anisha’s descriptions make readers feel like they are right there, standing in the dust and silence, watching the story unfold.

This is not a book for the faint-hearted. But for readers who enjoy psychological thrillers with suspense, crime, and emotional complexity, Girls Who Stray offers deep insights into self-discovery, alienation, and the brutal realities faced by women in urban spaces. While not without its flaws, particularly in pacing, its strength lies in its uncompromising honesty and the questions it leaves behind long after the last page is turned.

Buy it from Amazon - Girls Who Stray

This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla .