Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins Audio and Bryony Pearce for my advanced listening copy of The Girl on the Platform in exchange for an honest review.

Published: 15th April 2021

The Girl on the Platform is cited as the new 'Girl on the Train' and 'Gone Girl' and I'm always a little dubious of those sorts of comparisons and let me tell you, it isn't. But not for the reason you think. It's because it's better, it blows those two books right out of the water and if there was an award for most compulsive read of the year I'd be awarding it right now.
Bridget is exhausted. She's recently had a baby and now she's returned to work, the long commute in addition to the fact she's still breast feeding and getting up in the night with little Grace means she's exhausted. So when she manages to catch the train before it leaves the platform she's just relieved to be able to grab a seat where she can doze against the window. But when the train passes a dimly lit station, Bridget is horrified to witness a little girl being kidnapped. And she's the only one that sees it. Bridget calls the police as soon as she can but the problem is they don't believe her. Nobody does. Not her husband, not her mother, not the police. There are no other witnesses and anti depressants can cause hallucinations and bad dreams right?

This is an incredibly dark book and not for the faint hearted. The writing is fantastic and the narration was good although the posh accent was a little annoying/fake at times. I just couldn't stop listening until the end. Although I'd got clues and was pretty sure I'd figured it all out or at least most of it, it was still thrilling, compulsive reading waiting for Bridget to put together all the pieces. It was also interesting to listen to the authors afterword where she discusses her own struggles with post natal depression and how the book was designed to shed light on that struggle. A fantastic read that I will be recommending to everyone I know.

This was an enthralling book-I could not put it down!
It was relevant and moving!
The main character was frustrating at times but when you read the book you know why.
I want more and the message at the end about mental health is powerful!
I can’t wait for more!

On a train ride home Bridget witnesses a girl been snatched from a train station. But no one else sees anything, no child is reported missing. A no one believes her. Finding the girl becomes an obsession, after all she's the only one looking for her. But soon her whole life starts to unravel, threatening her marriage and sanity. Did she something? Soon even she isn't sure.

I enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator really gives it her all (she actually made me jump at one point) and breathes drama into the story. My only criticisms are it's too obvious too early what has happened plus the end is just a step too far. I'm not one to criticize for a book been unbelievable but it really is a bit OTT! But I really enjoyed it so I didnt care in the end. A great listen.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio arc of this book, all opinions expressed here are my own.

The Girl on the Platform by Bryony Pearce is the first book I have read by this author.

Bridget is an exhausted new Mum working full time and battling mental health issues. Bridget sees a young girl being kidnapped from a train station or did she? Bridget is the only one who saw this happen, despite how full the train is.

This was a dark and twisty read with an unreliable narrator as the main character, a slightly predictable plot, and an incredibly gripping story.

I don’t want to say much that could potential spoil the book, but this was a fascinating three star read. The Girl on the Platform by Bryony Pearce is available on the 15th of April.

The Girl on the Platform focuses on Bridget who witnesses a young girl being kidnapped, and follows the aftermath of this crime.

No one reports the young girl missing, and CCTV appears to show Bridget sleeping at the time of the supposed kidnapping, so police don’t believe believe her. However Bridget can’t let it go. Convinced she is the only one looking for the little girl, she continues to investigate on her own.

This was a really gripping story, and was extremely well written. Overall, I enjoyed this book however, hints are dropped early and often so I guessed where the story was going from very early on. This is the only reason I am rating it 3 stars. I imagine if I hadn’t figured it out so early, I would’ve enjoyed it much more so I still highly recommend it to other lovers of this genre!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was an audiobook and I loved the Nneka Okoye who narrated it. Disappearances, lies and mental illness are interwoven all throughout this mystery/thriller. A young mother sees something terrible happen and no one believes her.
This felt like someone’s worse nightmare and it had me on the edge of my seat. This novel felt a little bit like Gillian Flynn. Creepy, sometimes scary situations that quickly became more out of control. I highly recommend this if you love a good thriller.
Thank you HarperCollins UK Audio via Netgalley. I’ve voluntarily given my review.

**Listened to the audio book**

Really enjoyed this book! The narrator was fabulous, and really brought this book alive.
I was super hooked from the beginning. The book was incredibly fast paced and I just had to keep reading/listening.
About 80% of the way through this book became incredibly far-fetched. Normally this would make me dislike a book and switch off. But it didn't hinder my reading experience with this book. I was so engrossed in the plot It didn't deter me. But just when I though it couldn't get any more far fetched and over the top, it did!! (This is the only reason I didn't give this book the full 5*)
The acknowledgements of this book were incredibly emotional too - giving the reader/listener a real insight into why Bryony Pearce wrote this book in the first place. Made me fall in love with her even more.

This book is incredibly dark, and has the unreliable narrator trait which I adore.
I don;t want to reveal too much about the plot as I think thriller books are best going into blind.
But what I will say is that any thriller love should definitely read this book - and even better - listen to the audio version which was brilliant!!

Can't wait to see what Bryony Pearce does next!!

The Girl on the Platform is a psychological thriller that contains many twists and turns. Bridget is a new mother who has recently returned to work. Struggling with postnatal depression and sleep deprivation she sees something on her commute home and immediately informs the police. Unfortunately, nobody else on the train witnessed a child been taken by two men and Bridget begins to question her own sanity when people stop believing she really saw anything.
This book really highlights the struggles of new parents, and the challenges they face. You can feel the desperation of Bridget’s attempts to find out what really happened on the station platform and the difficult relationship she has with her formidable mother is another stressful challenge for her.
I did find the ending a little far fetched for what had mainly been a believable novel, which is a real shame. However, the narrator was really great and added to the drama and tension of the story.

A gripping fast paced thriller!
Bridget is a tired unstable mum , suffering from post natal depression and anxiety. One night on her return journey from work, she sees a girl being snatched from a train station platform.
Bridget reports this to this police , but her report is dismissed by the police they believed she drifted off to sleep and dreamt the scene that she saw. Bridget decides to investigate things herself , but this lead to more anguish for her fragile mental state.

The writing is both emotive and insightful in to mental health issues specifically post natal depression, I found the book compelling with plenty of twists and turns and enjoyed the conclusion. There are unpleasant issues tackled in the book such as gaslighting, child abduction and alcoholism as well as mental health issues. The calibre of writing weaves these in to the story expertly and makes an engrossing read! The narration is both excellent and expressive bringing the story to life .
I look forward with anticipation for the next Bryony Pearce novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for this copy.

Description 🔖

Bridget is a new mother and like most she is exhausted. When on the train home from work she is the single witness to a crime so horrific it distresses her deeply. She sees a child abducted right from the train platform.

Except she is the only witness; not a single other person on the train saw a thing and nobody has reported a little girl missing. So the police write the report off and Bridget struggles to convince even her husband that it happened. With nobody looking for the little girl, she takes it upon herself to investigate but this comes at a high price.

General Thoughts 🤔

What a fantastic read this book was. True to it’s description, it’s dark and twisty and really quite disturbing. It was one of those books that made me feel uncomfortable but I couldn’t put it down and stop. I had to keep going because I had to know what was going to happen next.

There was so much to unpack in this book, I couldn’t possibly cover it all in a review (and I don’t do spoilers!). As well as being gripping and tense, mental health plays such a big part in this book and it really made me think about medical vs therapeutic treatment. I know that there are people in either camp that have strong feelings but I think I really started to appreciate that no two people require the same treatment. There is no right or wrong other than getting the treatment that you need to feel better. The important part is acknowledging an illness and reaching out for help and support.

Characters 👫👭👬

My heart broke for Bridget, but I admired her courage and strength. Despite everything she was going through personally and despite the reactions from the police, she was persistent in her plight. I felt like some of the other characters allowed her mental illness to define her rather than attempting to help her and I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been.

I really liked Bridget’s husband Tom. There was a dark cloud over their family but he was there and he was supportive. Yes, he had his moments of it all getting too much, but I that didn’t make me like him any less. I think he just needed to take a breath and sometimes that is what allows people to come back stronger.

Writing Style ✍️

This isn’t the first (and I hope it isn’t the last) super impressive debut that I have read so far this year. New authors seem to be bringing their A game at the moment and Bryony Pearce is no exception. I loved that she was able to write Bridget’s character with sensitivity but also convey raw emotion. Bridget narrates the story and I think her voice was written beautifully.

About half way through the book, some parts of the puzzle started to slot into place, but I knew that with 50% of the book left to go, there was more to be unravelled. The intricacies of the story and all of those lovely twists and turns were weaved and undone so well and kept me well and truly hooked.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

This was such a fantastic read and I will 100% be recommending this to all. The storyline was superb, the writing was amazing and the narration of the audiobook was perfect. Congratulations to Bryony Pearce on this debut and I look forward to keeping a look out for her future work.

What a great twist! I didn’t see it coming until I was quite a way in. Excellent, pacy storyline. I liked the main character and spent most of the book just wishing someone would believe her! I will be checking out more by this author. I should also say that I enjoyed the narration.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the audioARC of this book.

Im torn about this book because I knew what was going to happen before it happened and that's not because it's predictable but because I read a book IDENTICAL to this either last year or the year before. Even to the point that the mother didn't talk to the daughter for 1 month.
I've tried to go through my goodreads and kindle account to see if I could remember what the book was so you guys could check it out but I read/listen to 340 last year and almost the same the year before so just looking at covers isn't jogging the name of the book.

Anyway for this book I loved the narrator! She's amazing and I give her 5 stars.

This book I give 3 stars but if I have brought it from Audible I would have returned it simply because of the reasons I've stated above.
Due to these reasons I'm also not going to publish any reviews on social media as I didn't pay for this book I feel it would be unfair.

When Bridget sees a little girl stolen from a train platform on the way home from work, she reports it to police. Being a new mother herself, she can only imagine the agony the child’s family must be in. When no child is reported missing, authorities dismiss Bridget’s report as a fabrication. But Bridget knows what she saw and she resolves to find the child herself, no matter what the cost. Be prepared for some surprises in this fiendishly clever thriller

Talk about an ending you don’t see coming! Wow, this book was pretty dark, a lot more than I had expected. The audio was fantastic, always helps to have a great narrator. For the first part of this book I was pretty frustrated with the main characters but as the story progressed and the twists kept coming I couldn’t stop reading. You might think that you know what is going on here... but believe me, it is far worse than you think.

Bridget is a tired and stressed out first time mum. She has gone back to work while her husband stays home with their 8 month old daughter Grace. She is in medication for depression and anxiety and feels like she is letting her daughter down constantly. One night in the train coming home, she witnesses a girl being snatched from a platform. But nobody else on the train saw it and the police and her family don’t believe her. But she is certain of what she saw and is determined to find out.. to the point of obsession. But when she finds out the truth will she regret looking?

Thanks to Avon Books UK for my advanced audiobook to listen to.

I listened to the audio version of The Girl on the Platform, which was narrated by Nneka Okoye. I would certainly recommend the audio as Nneka did a really good job of the narration.

The Girl on the Platform is a suspenseful thriller that combines an unreliable main character and some rather crafty twists of reality. The story begins with Bridget who is on the train heading home after work. As the train moves through one of the stations she briefly catches a glimpse of a young girl on the platform. A girl who is kidnapped by two adults and thrown into a white van. She reports the crime and kicks into motion a disturbing chain of events.

This all seems rather reasonable until you begin to understand a little more about Bridget such as her mental health problems, postpartum depression, fatigue and general level of functioning. The clues arrive rather early in the novel and I must admit by midway I had an idea of how I thought it would play out. Yet this is exactly what makes an unreliable narrator so challenging to read because you never really know what is real. It is a good thriller, with a nice pace and enough tension to keep you wanting to find out how it all ends.