The Fourth Girl by Wendy Corsi Staub

Three women reunite 25 years after the disappearance of a fourth girl when they were teenagers.

Author

Diego Dunne
May 02, 2025

Hey, it’s Diego.

I just finished reading The Fourth Girl by Wendy Corsi Staub.

It had its moments, but also left me scratching my head.

Let me give you my spoiler-free, unbiased review.

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The Fourth Girl by Wendy Corsi Staub – Review

The Fourth Girl centers around four best friends — Midge, Kelly, Talia, and Caroline — who shared a deep bond and a life-changing secret. On prom night, Caroline vanished without a trace. Twenty-five years later, the remaining three friends reunite in their hometown of Mulberry Bay, only to uncover new threats and buried secrets tied to that mysterious night.

Trigger Warnings: Murder, controlling relationships, implied teenage pregnancy, religious fundamentalism, dementia, emotional trauma.

This book is a domestic thriller where the majority of the story unfolds in the small town of Mulberry Bay.

Domestic thrillers: a subset of psychological thrillers that happen in a “domestic” location. This can be a family home or small town but can also be a hospital, prison, etc.

Wendy Corsi Staub’s writing is straightforward and functional, but she likes to meander in overly descriptive settings or backstory at times. Though there are beautiful descriptions of Haven Cliff, they are overshadowed by a big problem: We follow three points of view in the present and the past, and believe me when I say that I was confused as to who was who a lot of the time.

Once the book starts picking up steam, albeit very late in the game, as it’s a very slow book, you’ll want to find out what happens in the end.

As I got some characters mixed up, I didn’t connect with them as much as I would have liked, but I did connect to Midge, and I held on to her to find out what the mystery was.

There’s no romantic storyline here, nor are there explicit scenes or much swearing. Violence is present but not graphic, mostly dealt with in aftermath descriptions rather than real-time brutality. The tone keeps a consistent, creepy, suspenseful vibe throughout.

So, what about the ending? (No spoilers obviously)

I love my stories to wrap up nicely, with a neat little bow at the end. I like to read a cathartic scene where everything our characters have been through finally pays off physically and emotionally. Then a denouement in another chapter (or chapters) following the characters decompress where things are resolved and I’m left delighted at how well things played out at the end, every plot thread resolved.

The ending is open-ended, leaving several important questions unanswered, clearly hinting at sequels.

If you’re into slow-paced thrillers with lots of characters and their connections through jumping timelines, then this one may be the one for you. Especially if you consider this one as the first part of a larger story.

Similar Books to The Fourth Girl?

  • God of the Woods by Liz Moore

  • Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

That’s all for this week.

See you next time.

— Diego Dunne

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