Paloma thought her perfect life would begin once she was adopted and made it to America, but she’s about to find out that no matter how far you run, your past always catches up to you…
Ever since she was adopted from a Sri Lankan orphanage, Paloma has had the best of everything—schools, money, and parents so perfect that she fears she'll never live up to them.
Now at thirty years old and recently cut off from her parents’ funds, she decides to sublet the second bedroom of her overpriced San Francisco apartment to Arun, who recently moved from India. Paloma has to admit, it feels good helping someone find their way in America—that is until Arun discovers Paloma's darkest secret, one that could jeopardize her own fragile place in this country.
Before Paloma can pay Arun off, she finds him face down in a pool of blood. She flees the apartment but by the time the police arrive, there's no body—and no evidence that Arun ever even existed in the first place.
Paloma is terrified this is all somehow tangled up in the desperate actions she took to escape Sri Lanka so many years ago. Did Paloma’s secret die with Arun or is she now in greater danger than ever before?
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Amanda Jayatissa’s debut psychological thriller, My Sweet Girl, follows Paloma Evans, a thirty-year-old woman living in San Francisco who was adopted from a Sri Lankan orphanage as a young girl. Despite growing up with wealthy American parents, Paloma's life is rapidly unraveling. She has been financially cut off by her family, relies heavily on alcohol to cope, and is struggling to keep her head above water. To afford her overpriced apartment, she takes on an Indian immigrant roommate named Arun. However, the living arrangement turns dangerous when Arun discovers a dark, deeply hidden secret from Paloma's past before her adoption and begins blackmailing her for cash.
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G-NRIS™ identifies My Sweet Girl primarily as Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, and Psychological Drama. Its strongest themes include Identity and Self-Discovery, Secrets and Revelations, Family and Adoption, and Cultural Displacement. Prominent narrative patterns include Dark Secret, Fish Out of Water, and Roommate Conflict.
“My Sweet Girl pushes the boundaries of what a thriller can do. — The Washington Post”
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