The Eighth Girl: A Novel

Optioned by Netflix and a most anticipated book from Bustle, The Rumpus, Electric Literature, and LitHub!

An unsettling, seductive psychological thriller about a young woman with multiple personalities, perfect for fans of Caroline Kepnes and Clare Mackintosh

"An
electrifying, thought-provoking, and unflinching novel." —Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee

“An exceptional debut from a talented author.” —Clare
Mackintosh, New York Times bestselling author of I Let You Go

Beautiful. Damaged. Destructive. Meet Alexa Wú, a brilliant yet darkly self-aware young woman whose chaotic life is controlled by a series of alternate personalities.

When Alexa’s friend Ella gets a job at a high-end gentlemen’s club, she catches the attention of its shark-like owner and is gradually drawn into his inner circle. As Alexa’s world becomes intimately entangled with Ella’s, she soon finds herself the unwitting keeper of a nightmarish secret as she follows Ella into London’s cruel underbelly. Threatened and vulnerable, Alexa will discover whether her multiple personalities are her greatest asset, or her most dangerous obstacle.

Electrifying and breathlessly compulsive, The Eighth Girl is an omnivorous examination of life with mental illness and the acute trauma of living in a misogynist world. With bingeable prose and a clinician’s expertise, Chung’s psychological debut deftly explores identity, innocence, and the fracturing weight that young women are forced to carry, causing us to ask: Does the truth lead to self-discovery, or to self-destruction?

“I am so impressed. I love Chung’s writing: The sheer joy she takes in the tones of the separate personalities, and the skill of her negotiation of what is actually a very complicated plot. It’s a brave and ambitious book.” - Sabine Durrant, author of Remember Me This Way

“Chung does an excellent job balancing the ensuing dramatic tension with a sharp portrayal of [dissociative identity] disorder, which also plays a crucial role in building suspense.” - Los Angeles Times

“An authentic and heart-rending page-turner. An exceptional debut from a talented author. I can't wait to see what she writes next.”  - Clare Macintosh, New York Times bestselling author of I Let You Go

"In The Eighth Girl, Maxine Chung has created a searing portrait of a young woman with multiple personalities who is drawn into London's underbelly. An electrifying, thought-provoking and unflinching novel." - Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee

“The second I finished this impressive debut, I went back to the beginning and read it again: I defy anyone else to do otherwise.”  - The Observer

"[D]ark and disturbing, this psychological thriller, told in the voice of multiple unreliable narrators, is filled with surprises until the end, and is a fresh take on the suspense genre." - Booklist

“Deftly written by an author whose professional expertise shines through, I was captivated by The Eighth Girl. A dark and disturbing tale set in London’s gritty underbelly, The Eighth Girl asks big questions about identity, truth and society.” - Adam Hamdy, author of Black 13

“[A] fascinating debut.” - Kirkus Reviews

"Fans of psychological thrillers will be curious to see what Mei-Fung Chung comes up with next." - Publishers Weekly

“A multilayered and compelling exploration of Dissociative Identity Disorder. The author’s expertise of the subject is clear. Intelligent, sensitive and totally engrossing.” - Will Dean, author of the Tuva Moodyson Series

“[S]tunning and disturbing…Chung’s compelling debut plumbs the depths of trauma and its long-lasting effects on the human psyche.” - Library Journal

“Intricately plotted and sensitively written, The Eighth Girl draws the reader into the dark heart of London’s underworld with relentless tension until the shock of the final reveal.”  - Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange