Description
Transport yourself to mid-century New York in this compelling and evocative story of secrets, jealousy and hidden love
'BOOK OF THE MONTH' WOMAN & HOME
'DAZZLING DEBUT' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
'SUPERLATIVE' RED
'SO VIVIDLY EVOKED' CLARE CHAMBERS, AUTHOR OF SMALL PLEASURES
'I WAS GRIPPED FROM THE FIRST PAGE' SARA COX
'BROKE ME, PUT ME BACK TOGETHER. JUST BUY THIS. YOU WON'T REGRET IT' 5* READER REVIEW
_________
1955
In an apartment on the Lower East Side, school teachers Dovie and Gillian live as lodgers. Dancing behind closed curtains, mixing cocktails for two, they guard their private lives fiercely. Until someone guesses the truth . . .
1975
Twenty years later in the same apartment, Ava Winters is keeping her own secret. Her mother has become erratic, haunted by something Ava doesn't understand - until one sweltering July morning, she disappears.
Soon after her mother's departure, Ava receives a parcel. Addressed simply to 'Apartment 3B', it contains a photo of a woman with the word 'LIAR' scrawled across it.
Ava does not know what it means or who sent it.
But if she can find out then perhaps she'll discover the answers she is seeking - and meet the woman at the heart of it all . . .
_________
'Made me cry, took me to smoke-filled jazz bars, and made me want to dance. A brilliantly written, evocative and moving novel' ANNA MAZZOLA, AUTHOR OF THE CLOCKWORK GIRL
'Sad, rage-inducing and uplifting - a very emotional read' HARRIET TYCE, AUTHOR OF BLOOD ORANGE
'I will remember this book for a long time' LOUISE HARE, AUTHOR OF THIS LOVELY CITY
'Not only assured, pacy and involving, but both heartbreaking and heartmending' HOPE ADAMS, AUTHOR OF DANGEROUS WOMEN
**WOMAN & HOME 2022 BOOK CLUB AWARD WINNER**
READERS ARE FALLING IN LOVE WITH THAT GREEN EYED GIRL
'The pacing is perfect, the voice is striking' 5* READER REVIEW
'So well written that you truly feel like you're there' 5* READER REVIEW
'The ending will floor you' 5* READER REVIEW
'I was blown away by this book! So evocative of the period' 5* READER REVIEW
'It would make a lovely film, with beautiful visuals and a killer jazz soundtrack' 5* READER REVIEW
'Pick it up if you wanted to be transported to mid-century NYC (and if you like a novel that makes you want to dance and weep in equal measure)' 5* READER REVIEW
'This is the kind of book that takes your heart in its hands' 5* READER REVIEW
About the Author
Julie Owen Moylan was born in Cardiff and has worked in a variety of jobs from trainee hairdresser and chip shop attendant at sixteen to business management consultant and college lecturer in her thirties.
She then returned to education to complete her Master's degree in Film before going on to complete a further Master's degree in Creative Writing. Julie is an alumna of the Faber Academy's Writing a Novel course. She lives in Cardiff with her husband and two cats.
Julie can be found on Twitter: @JulieOwenMoylan
Reviews
Loved this . . . I was gripped from the first page and eked out the last chapters as I didn't want to leave the smoky clubs of 1950's Manhattan. A stellar line-up of brave, complicated and bright women . . . prepare to lose yourself in a tale of love, loss and deceit -- Sara Cox, Radio 2 DJ and host of BBC 2's Between the Covers
Summer sparkles in this book and so does the prose! -- Damian Barr
A gorgeous, evocative novel that's part love story, part coming of age and part mystery. But all parts are superlative! * Red Online *
I so enjoyed That Green Eyed Girl. The atmosphere of city heat and dust and stifling apartments was so vividly evoked. And I was equally invested in both narrative strands . . . I was hooked from the beginning -- Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures
It's beautifully written and particularly wonderful on forbidden love, loss and forgiveness * Daily Mail *
I loved this. Dovie and Ava are both such compelling characters and the evocation of time and place so strong - I was irresistibly drawn into their stories. Sad, rage-inducing and uplifting - a very emotional read -- Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange
Julie Owen Moylan expertly places her readers in a New York apartment, where you feel the heat and hear the tinny radio . . . There's a cinematic quality to this novel; the characters are deftly drawn and emotionally engaging, and the plot develops at the right pace, with unexpected twists. An accomplished debut * Woman & Home, BOOK OF THE MONTH *
That Green Eyed Girl takes hold of you and draws you along. I loved the little connective details between the timelines and the unravelling of the gentle mystery of it all. Hits a perfect bittersweet note - I predict big things -- Kate Sawyer, author of The Stranding
With an intriguing opening line and a camera-like gaze, the author places her readers in a New York apartment, where you feel the heat and hear the tinny radio . . . The characters are deftly drawn and emotionally engaging, and the plot develops at just the right pace, with unexpected twists. An accomplished debut * Woman's Weekly *
The mystery at the heart of this novel had me hooked from the start. I spent a weekend sitting in 1950s bars, listening to jazz with Gillian and Dovie, then skipping ahead twenty years to walk the same streets with Ava, remembering the awkwardness of being a teenager. Heartbreaking but with a satisfying ending, I will remember this book for a long time -- Louise Hare, author of This Lovely City
Old school New York, cocktails and jazz bars and pulsing heat. A story of love and loneliness, it's heart-breaking and complex and oh so real. I loved it -- Laura Shepherd-Robinson, author of Blood and Sugar
Made me cry, took me to smoke-filled jazz bars, and made me want to dance. A brilliantly written, evocative and moving novel -- Anna Mazzola, author of The Clockwork Girl
Not only assured, pacy and involving, but both heartbreaking and heartmending -- Hope Adams, author of Dangerous Women
I've spent the whole day reading this mesmerising book. Such a devastating, gripping story and stunning, powerful writing. Once I started I just could not stop -- Aliya Ali-Afzal, author of Would I Lie to You
This book ... wow. So beautifully written, you feel you're there in New York, feeling everything the characters feel. A very original story that will stay with me for a long time -- Frances Quinn, author of The Smallest Man
A gripping tale of jealousy, loyalty and the lengths people will go to in order to protect those they love * My Weekly *
With an intriguing opening line and a camera-like gaze, Julie Owen Moylan places her readers in a New York apartment, where you feel the heat and hear the tinny radio . . . There's a sensory filmic quality to this novel - the characters are deftly drawn and the plot develops at just the right pace. A very accomplished debut * Woman *
I've just spent a couple of days in mid-century Manhattan, dancing in underground jazz clubs and feeling the sweat of summer on my skin . . . A smoky page-turner -- Jodie Chapman, author of Another Life
Wonderful . . . utterly transported me to the jazz bars and stuffy apartments of New York, while telling a moving and compelling story about a time in history I knew little about
-- Neema Shah, author of Kololo HillThe pacing is perfect, the voice is striking. Highly recommend. -- Nikki May, author of Wahala
A poignant coming of age and a gorgeously romantic and tragic queer love story -- Isabel Costello, author of Paris Mon Amour
I so enjoyed [That Green Eyed Girl]. I loved the evocation of NYC, the jazz, and the two storylines . . . so compelling -- Melissa Fu, author of Peach Blossom Spring
A cracking read. Compelling and stylish. I'll be thinking about Ava, Dovie and Gillian for a long time -- Claire Alexander, author of Meredith, Alone
Heartbreaking, multi-layered and thoughtfully written, this is a book that stays with you for all the right reasons * Culturefly, 'Books To Look Forward To' *
From the killer first sentence until the final page, I was totally gripped by That Green Eyed Girl. Told across two timelines twenty years apart, it's deeply immersive, hugely addictive and, like the girl in the song, it will haunt me -- Paul Burston, author of The Closer I Get
How the three women are connected is tantalisingly revealed in this evocative tale * Good Housekeeping *
Incredibly elegant and sophisticated prose * New Welsh Review *
Set in the smoky jazz bars of 1950s New York, this debut novel by Julie Owen Moylan brings to life an array of powerful, bold and complicated women - all of whom have their own stories and secrets. The mystery at hand is soft and gently unfolds to climax into a satisfying but heartbreaking ending * Evening Standard, Best Thrillers Books to read in 2022 *
Julie Owen Moylan's astonishingly accomplished debut is both a deftly constructed thriller and a bittersweet love story - expect to hear a lot about it this summer * Waitrose Weekend *
Evocative, thought-provoking and incredibly moving * My Weekly *
Read this if you want to be transported to NYC to feel the sizzle of summer and experience the smoky, sultry glow of 1950s jazz clubs * InsideKent *
Moving. A sensitive, endearing story * Sunday Mail *
Book Information
ISBN 9780241508015
Author Julie Owen Moylan
Format Hardback
Page Count 400
Imprint Michael Joseph Ltd
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 514g
Dimensions(mm) 222mm * 144mm * 36mm