British author Sian Gilbert delivers a discussion-worthy debut novel, “She Started It” (2023), that I alternately thought was awful and brilliant. It’s a page-turner, which is certainly to its credit. I got drawn into Christie-esque mystery plotting that riffs on “And Then There Were None” as five (and counting down) 28-year-old women are alone on an isolated island.
It’s filled with plot conveniences, but Gilbert taps into that Hitchcockian trait of having the suspense outstrip the need for logic. A reader wants to know what will happen next, so as long as the plot is barely plausible, we keep going.
Mean adult girls
Whether you think the characters are shallowly written or perfectly written shallow people might depend on who you’ve encountered in real life. Four British women friends (one narcissist and three just-plain-mean people) find themselves invited to a private island in the Bahamas by Poppy, their classmate who they haven’t seen in 10 years who is now getting married.
“She Started It” (2023)
Author: Sian Gilbert
Genre: Mystery
Setting: Bahamas, 2023
Note to readers: The Book Club Book Report series features books I’m reading for my book club, Brilliant Bookworms.
Gilbert alternates between the five women’s perspectives. Annabel, Chloe, Tanya and Esther chronicle the 2023 hen (bachelorette) party’s events, and we learn more about Poppy via journal entries from 2013.
The four invitees are interchangeable enough that Gilbert could’ve gotten by with three of them – which would’ve nicely matched the trio in “Mean Girls.” They keep secrets from us, even though we’re in their head, and that might frustrate some readers. They are barely distinguishable by their lots in life: Annabel is a restless housewife, Chloe is a rising social-media influencer, Tanya is an event planner fallen on hard times, and Esther is a workaholic bank manager.
All four remember that they bullied Poppy in school, but take the position that it was 10 years ago, so that’s irrelevant to the present day. Even Annabel, who has a master’s in psychology, believes the past doesn’t affect the present. (What does it say about the school when it awards a master’s in psychology to a narcissist?)
Mystery chops amid choppy waters
The women’s awful personalities will be a pivot point for whether you like “She Started It.” Gilbert consistently keeps the quartet shallow and oblivious to the idea that Poppy might’ve taken umbrage to them ruining her life; to them, it was a funny prank. In a way, it’s a winning formula – see scheme-oriented teen franchises like “Gossip Girl,” “Pretty Little Liars” and “Riverdale.” But then there’s the question of whether that’s as enjoyable to read as it is to watch.
Although I might’ve liked one of them (perhaps Tanya, who was Poppy’s friend till age 11) to have remorse about their actions, “She Started It” is a brisk read for other reasons. One, Poppy is totally sympathetic. I felt absolutely horrible for her when reading the journal entry wherein the mean girls trick her into thinking a cute guy likes her. Although her main trait is “victim” in the same way the others’ trait is “bully,” that’s fair enough for this novel, because it drives home the brutal effects of bullying.
Two, the mystery is good. Although it plays like Christie-for-young-adults, it’s well-clued and compelling. This is especially impressive since there are only five people on the island. Much like the island in “And Then There Were None,” this one is small enough to be seen from the central hilltop. It could be quickly searched, but there’s a nighttime storm rolling in.
I successfully guessed whodunit and the twist, and I found it fun to do so. As such, I won’t hold it against Gilbert that she failed to trick me. But on the other hand, an additional surprise beyond that would’ve put “She Started It” more on par with Christie.
I mostly enjoyed the reading experience and learned a lot about the psychological tactics of female bullies (which differ from male bullies, who tend to be physically oriented, based on beating up the smaller kid). Gilbert is clearly in the category of novice writer (you might think this book is bad when first getting to know the mean girls), but she has upside. “She Started It” could start a nice career.