Cover Image: Girl, 11

Girl, 11

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Member Reviews

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

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Dark thriller that had you hooked from the off. The book was very well written. Great plot. Very exciting. Fast paced to get your heart racing. Loved this book

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So great to start a new year with a 5-star read straight away!

Sometimes certain things trend in crime fiction - e.g. social media influencers. In this case, there came a trend of thrillers about true-crime podcasts. The immediate comparison title for me is Eliza Jane Brazier's IF I DISAPPEAR. While I recommend both, they are different beasts. IF I DISAPPEAR has a better voice, but for sheer attention to detail GIRL, 11 wins. It also contains a crucial element that the other book lacks - a stronger back story for the protagonist.

Twists revealed in GIRL, 11 won't shock readers who pay attention, but they nonetheless pack a punch. This novel is an absolute standout amongst serial killer stories, and will leave readers eager for whatever the author has next in store. (NOBLE WIFE, due out in 2023 - mark your calendar.)

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As a big fan of True Crime and Crime Podcasts, I had high hopes for this modern thriller and it didn't disappoint.

After a career in Child Protection Services, Elle created a podcast called Justice Delayed which focused on cold cases and trying to gain justice for the victims. For years Elle has been obsessed with one particular case - The Countdown Killer (TCK), who abducted girls in a particular pattern. He started with a girl aged 20, and then another three days later, the ages going down each time. This horrific pattern came to an abrupt stop when Girl, 11 managed to escape.

When Elle decides to take on this case, it seems like her investigation has kick started the killer once again as an 11 year old girl goes missing with the exact same MO. Was he just waiting for the opportunity to start again, or has her in depth report on the case inspired someone else to finish what the original killer started?

The thing I enjoyed the most about Girl, 11 was the way it explored the nature of True Crime Podcasts, the reasons why people are interested in these stories, but also the negative impact this could have on the family members and any existing police investigations. I really enjoyed the format and in particular the sections written in the style of a podcast - an engaging and addictive debut.

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I enjoyed this novel, it almost reads like a true crime book, in the fact that it is based around a serial killer and a woman who is making a podcast of the case. The book is peppered with script from the podcast and the main character is not a police detective which is a refreshing change. The author builds up the background of the characters and the plot is an original idea. The novel was fast paced and I did not see the twists and turns. I would certainly recommend this to crime lovers, and would be willing to read more written by this author.

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Some of my favourite plot lines are kidnapping and serial killers. And I love a book based around and using a podcast format, although I've not read many! So this thriller instantly ticked all the boxes for me!

Girl 11 follows our main character Elle as she uses her podcast to investigate the cold case of The Countdown Killer. A serial killer who kidnaps young women, a year younger each time, holding them for a week, killing them and leaving their bodies to be found. Pretty creepy yes!?

I loved following the investigation. The book gives us transcripts of podcast episodes and then reveals little clues and information to us. It's full of twists and turns and really kept me gripped and constantly wondering what was going to happen next.

Ok, so it is a little far fetched that Elle would be so involved in a police investigation, and she was a bit irritating at times, but in general I really enjoyed the book! Definitely recommend it if you like twisty thrillers and are happy to suspend a bit of belief for some light entertainment!

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This book is electrifying and intense--a thrilling tale of a serial killer awakening to restart their deadly pattern and the dogged podcaster who risks everything to stop them. It was perfectly crafted, dark and twisty tension the whole way through and I was absolutely riveted the entire time.

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In the past I’ve really enjoyed books that include the format of a true crime podcast (Sadie by Courtney Summers and the exceptional Six Stories series by Matt Wesolowski spring to mind) so I had really high hopes for Girl, 11 and I’m pleased to say my expectations were met and quite possibly exceeded! The story follows Elle Castillo, a podcaster doing a series on the infamous Countdown Killer, a serial killer from the 90’s. As her podcast gains more and more attention and she starts to get close to unmasking the killer suddenly he seems to resurface from his twenty year hiatus and Elle finds herself in a race against time to stop more bloodshed.

I absolutely loved Girl, 11 which is the very definition of unputdownable – I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough as the the pace gathered speed towards a dramatic conclusion. I don’t want to give much away because there are some fantastic twists and red herrings which I would hate to spoil but I will say that the story is a smart and thrilling journey into the mind of a brilliant lead character and a terrifying villain. I was rooting for Elle from the start. She is capable and brave but also very human with layers and flaws that made me like her all the more. The podcast element works beautifully, we get transcripts of the episodes whilst also following Elle in real time as she digs further and further into the darkness of The Countdown Killer. Girl, 11 is a current, intelligent and unnerving psychological thriller which also take things further and begins to explore the fascination people, often women, have with true crime. It is an immensely skilful debut and all I can say is I desperately hope that we get more instalments of Elle’s podcast, Justice Delayed in future books from this very talented author.

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Girl, 11 is an immersive thriller debut which takes up the premise of hunting a killer through podcast. Podcast thrillers have always had a whole different vibe to them honestly, and Girl, 11 was nothing less. It takes use of the podcast style pretty well to formulate a good thrilling story.

In this book, we follow Elle, an ex-social worker and a current host of a popular crime podcast Justice Delayed, where she follows dried up cases and tries to solve them. Her recent season focuses on the ruthless The Countdown Killer (TCK). A new girl has been abducted but the killer was supposed to be dead. Now, is he actually alive or is it just a copycat killer rising again? Elle is determined to find out and the case is soon going to get very personal.

Personally, I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It was super interesting and had such a great flow with all the secrets keeping me in place. While Elle is not the most likeable character, you are in it for the plot. Elle is a very self-obsessed character, or at least comes off as such. She is the type of character that is adamant about being the right always. And even when she ends up in dire situations because of her own stupidity and lack of judgements, she is not the one to take accountability lol. So, yeah, even though I enjoyed parts of the story, I didn't like her character. Especially after the 50% mark.

A lot of shit went down after the 50% mark ngl. POVs were introduced and secrets began to be spilled out and new girls were abducted. What happened in the last quarter was the new POV getting introduced, that of the serial killer's on top, and then it just got a little messy. I liked the way it portrayed the killer's POV too and gave us an insight into his life and the way it unraveled too - which was interesting. To follow his story up to how he got into the mindset of the killer and doing his first kill and why it spiraled later on. It was nice. However, I felt like it put a dent in the original flow of the story because it came on very late and kind of blew up the flow. Like, up till the 50% half, we only got Elle's POV so randomly and suddenly getting the killer's POV was abrupt and weird.

The book just goes so haywire at the end though. It goes all over the place and so fast after the slow and steady burn for the first half. Not saying that I didn't like the rush, haha. It was good but at the same time, it was not. I don't know exactly but it felt like something was missing.

However, at the end, despite the unlikeable main character and her stupidities, I did enjoy this book. It was a decent thriller. It also is very similar to Catherine Ryan Howard's The Nothing Man. So if you enjoyed that book, you'd probably also like Girl, 11.

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3,5 stars

My heartfelt thanks to @netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A thriller revolving around a true-crime podcast and an active serial killer! What’s not to like?

After reading AGGGTM I’m kind of addicted now to books where podcasts are featured. So when this came up on NG I couldn’t resist requesting it!
Although I enjoyed this book quite a lot, it did have a few flaws here and there! Like the fact that the MC was frequently called in by the police to collaborate, although she wasn’t an official investigator , or that she kept threatening people with her gun.... all a tad far fetched.
The writing was fluid and the podcast transcripts were very authentic and lent credibility to the story!

Elle hosts a popular true-crime podcast ‘Justice Delayed’ on cold cases relating to missing children! She is almost obsessed with trying to find the famous serial killer known as The Countdown Killer who committed a string of murders on young girls in her home town almost twenty years ago. When a young girl suddenly goes missing while waiting for the bus, Elle is called in by the police to help find her.
It only takes a few minutes to realize that the MO is the same as TCK! But could the killer really be back after all these years?

Hard to believe this was a debut! I thought the dialogue and pace were brilliant and I particularly loved the podcast transcripts interspersed with the story.
The MC was a little self-centred but you understand why near the end. The copy I received from NG wasn’t complete because for some obscure motive it left out all the text messages Elle received or sent to ppl, so it was a little difficult to follow at times.

Other than that I would recommend this book to all true-crime thriller lovers and will look out for this author in the future!

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I really enjoyed this book, which is an ideal read for those who are interested in true crime, Criminal Minds, Mindhunter, and the Serial podcast.

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I have enjoyed a few crime podcasts so the story was of interest. I did find the way the author wrote about the podcast was very clear and easy to follow but the other parts of the book I thought much less interesting. I live in the UK so my knowledge of US police forces is obviously limited but I can’t imagine they would rope in a podcast presenter/ researcher to help with a murder. The other element of the story that grated was Natalie the ten year old who sounded easily fifteen so never believable. It’s very hard writing how a child speaks but some authors do it beautifully sadly for me Amy Suiter Clark didn’t convince me.

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As an aficionado of true crime podcasts myself (the Australian Casefile production in particular), I was immediately drawn into the world of Girl, 11. Amy Suiter Clarke's new release mystery-thriller features a main character who produces her own well-researched and popular podcast, Justice Delayed, based in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.
The main narrative is interspersed with transcripts of Elle Castillo's current podcast series, focussing on the crimes of a brutal and unidentified abductor-murderer of young women, known as The Countdown Killer (TCK). Over twenty years previously, TCK abducted a series of women and girls, each victim a year younger than her predecessor, and each found dead exactly seven days after her disappearance, with the exception of the last intended victim, an 11-year-old girl, who escaped her captor. In the present, it seems Elle's investigation has stirred the long-dormant killer, as a potential witness is killed virtually under Elle's nose, and another 11-year-old girl goes missing.
As Elle, a former child protection officer, chases down leads provided by her listener base, she liaises with her contacts within the local law enforcement and forensics community, including her own husband, Martín Castillo, a forensic pathologist. Not unexpectedly, this uneasy relationship gives rise to many ructions, as Elle repeatedly withholds information and oversteps the mark as she involves herself in the current investigation. Amy Suiter Clarke explores the phenomenon of true-crime podcasts - their proven popularity with listeners, occasional tendency to prurience or voyeurism, their magnetism to trolls and weirdos and occasional potential to aid police in solving long-running "cold cases".
I found Girl, 11 stimulating and compulsively readable, with a genuinely thrilling conclusion and several well-plotted twists along the way. Some of Elle's decisions and behaviour, and the relative forbearance of police, especially her friend and former colleague Commander Ayaan Ridwaan, stretched credibility at times. However, this isn't an unusual experience within the genre and most readers are, like myself, prepared to suspend their disbelief for the sake of a good story. Amy Suiter Clarke's strong characterisations really galvanised her imaginative and complex plot. Elle Castillo is a flawed but incredibly conscientious investigator, with a complex personal history that's gradually revealed over the course of the book. Her relationships with both her husband, the supportive but deeply concerned Martín, and the intriguing police Commander Ayaan Ridwaan are convincing, and reinforce the emotional toll this particular case is taking on Elle and those around her.
I'd strongly recommend Girl, 11 to any and all readers who enjoy an action-packed but cerebral mystery-thriller. I'd be delighted if Amy Suiter Clarke were minded to continue a series featuring these characters.
My thanks to the author, Amy Suiter Clarke, publishers Pushkin Press - Pushkin Vertigo, and NetGalley UK for the opportunity to read and review this title.

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Cold cases hold a special fascination for the public – a killer who has never been found is a killer who is still out there, potentially still posing a danger to innocent people. And everyone likes to see justice being done, not someone getting away with murder (quite literally). Which are two of the reasons that attract me to the theme of cold-case investigations. In GIRL, 11, we have a particularly nasty serial killer, one who targets children. He is also meticulous in his planning and the execution of his crimes, which has seen him evade law enforcement for over twenty years. Elle, a social worker who specialises in children who have been the victims of violent crime, has targeted The Countdown Killer (TCK) in her true crime podcast in an effort of unearthing more witnesses and evidence that could lead to his capture. But then a listener who calls Elle with information suddenly winds up dead and the stakes become a lot higher still...

Let me start by saying that I absolutely loved the podcast elements in this book, which were brilliantly done. Even though we cannot hear the music scores, special sound effects and voiceovers in the podcast, nor are we able to see or hear all the characters involved, the author has written the podcast chapters in a way that brought it to life for me. I felt as if I was tuning in, and I was excited to come along for the ride!

It’s hard to put my fingers on reasons why the rest of the story didn’t grab me as much as I would have liked, but I will try:

*) Elle herself was the sort of character who should be able to drive this particular story well, and yet I never really fully connected to her. It’s not because she is holding things back from the reader (I do love a good unreliable narrator), but something just didn’t click between us. I think I would have preferred Elle to live in a share house, be down on her luck and recording her podcast in the basement than this uber-confident “I am a brilliant investigator” type person who preaches quite a few times about current affairs topics that weren’t part of the story.
*) I’m never very fond of chapters written from the perspective of the killer (with the exception of THE NOTHING MAN by Catherine Ryan Howard) because often they turn out to be stereotypes or give away too much. As soon as the killer’s POV made an appearance, the story became predictable for me and totally lost steam. TBH, the mix between trying to make us feel empathy for the killer because of his traumatic childhood on one hand, and asking us not to give the killer any attention for his crimes was odd.
*) Characters that were just a bit too “convenient”. The perfect medical examiner husband who has all the facts of the recent murders at hand to share with Elle. The police chief friend, who invites civilian Elle to be part of the investigation. The modern single mum career-woman friend whose ten-year-old-going-on-forty daughter is of course so much tougher and smarter than most of her peers. I can’t really put a finger on why these bothered me so much, but all together they didn’t ring true to me. Some side characters almost seemed like “token” characters to me to add diversity.

I think that with a bit of tweaking and editing out of information that didn’t add all that much to the story, the book would have moved at a faster pace and kept my interest for longer. As it was, I eagerly devoured the podcast chapters but almost groaned every time TCK made an appearance.

GIRL, 11 will appeal to readers who enjoy the use of different story elements in a thriller, in this case episodes of a true crime podcast. The author really brought the podcast elements to life with the use of snappy dialogue and descriptions of other effects used to garner the audience’s attention. And whilst some of the other story elements dragged a little for me, the overall mystery was intriguing enough to keep reading.

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Elle is the investigative journalist who writes and records the podcast,Justice Delayed.

Created and started after her own career with the CPS(Child Protection Service) went awry, she tackles cases looking for closure and justice for the victims.

However, in the course of her obsession with the Countdown Killer(TCK) something untoward has been revealed. And, before Elle can pull the tangled threads of a decades long investigation into their component parts, danger is on her doorstep. And a killer is stalking the ones she loves...

This is a brilliant, insightful thriller which examines the personal, and social responsibility of those who put their thoughts, opinions and passions out into the public arena.

Elle's passion for seeing the scales of justice balanced are driven by her background in child protection as well as finely tuned moral compass-she is not a podcast host out of boredom, or grim fascination with gruesome crimes, she wants restorative justice for the families affected and to return their family to them rather than having them known as 'Victim X'.

In the TCK case, girls were being abducted in pairs, the first aged 20,kept for 7 days, hidden at an unknown location and then poisoned with berries. They were placed so as to be publicly found, a monument to the killer's ingenuity. He set a clock ticking with the first abduction, took another girl 3 days later and kills the first on the 7th day. The only reason he appears to have stopped, is due to losing Girl 11, the only one who managed to escape his clutches.

A burnt out cabin appears to be the final resting place of TCK and partner, the murders stopped, Girl 11 changed her identity and went undercover, never to be found again.

Until now.

TCK is the next case Elle has decided to take on, despite the advice not to from her husband, her best friend and neighbour, Sash, and her police detective contact, Ayaan.

Before long, a girl has gone missing.

11 years old, taken in broad daylight, and with strong resemblances to TCK cases. But is this a copycat who has taken all the details from Elle's podcast? Did the police close the case too quickly on the flimsiest of evidence decades earlier?

How it feels to have possibly inspired a copycat killer is so equisitely detailed, you can really feel the distress Elle is going through, especially as the book comprises transcripts from her podcast episodes, alternated with scenes from Elle's life.

The intimacy evoked from seeing Elle and Martin in their natural environment, compared to the professional, no nonsense presentation of Justice Delayed creates an epistolary effect, and builds the tension up beautifully between past and present. A strong representation of the victims as people, not numbers, counter balances the way that modern culture categorises killers so casually by the number of victims they claim.

I doubt there are many reading this who don't know the way that a serial killer is categorised, as opposed to a spree killer.

But how many can name a victim of the Yorkshire Ripper?

At present, I am only just dipping my toes into the podcast arena, and true crime features largely in this landscape. Atlanta Monster, and more recently, The Ripper, on Netflix, really opened my eyes not only to the way in which crimes are reported, but how the victims get removed from them. In this book, Girl,11, focuses on retrieving the identity of these victims, remembering who and what they were, and returning them to their family and loved ones. It is a responsibility we need to bear in mind when talking, writing and reading about cases which fascinate the public by their psychology, such they are are still talked about decades later.

The Yorkshire Ripper is one that sticks in my mind as when he recently died, he was given an obituary in a national newspaper. He did not deserve that. A better way of remembering the appalling circumstances which allowed him to freely kill, is keeping the names of the women close, remembering these were mothers of children, and they were not protected by the public offices which were there to do so.

Read 'Somebody's Mother,Somebody's Daughter'  by Carol Ann Lee instead.

Girl,11 is a wonderfully engaging debut novel which looks at the way we frame victims of violence, especially women and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Great first book i have read off this author, it was tense and gripping and vety twisty tale, will definitely recommend to my fellow readers

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Absolutely fantastic read. I have loved this and been completely unable and unwilling to put this one down.
This is a great read which I will be highly recommending.

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Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book. I was totally hooked from the very beginning and could not put it down. The premise of following a true crime podcast investigator, the characters and all the twists and turns made this a great read. I’d highly recommend it to thriller fans.

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Girl, 11
By: Amy Suiter Clarke
Publication Date: 3rd June 2021

Elle is a true-crime investigator who has a successfull podcast that delves into the case surrounding The Countdown Killer. The book takes us through a few different timelines; it takes us through Elle's podcast, current timelines as the case comes back to life, and other timelines that I won't mention in case I spoil something by accident! This is a high stakes case for Elle as she navigates the case, works with the police department, contends with social media trolls, and keeps her private life intact.

The book feels like a true-crime story rather than a work of fiction as the podcast is brilliantly written. This book hooked me in from the beginning and didn't let go. I wasn't confused by the different timelines which is a big plus, as I usually find them difficult to navigate!

This is a first book from Amy Suiter Carke and I can easily say it's one of the best debut suspense/mystery novels I have read! This is a 5 star book. I thoroughly enjoyed it! This book hits the shelves tomorrow, so look out for it!

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This book was perfect for me. As a lover of all things true crime and criminal psychology, this book gave me everything I craved and more!! The book references both 'criminal minds' and 'mind hunter' and this definitely had a very similar feel and structure.

Elle, herself, was a bit of a mixed bag for me. To begin with, I completely aligned myself with her and how she desperately fought to figure out the truth of the 'TCK'. Like any armchair detective she thought her theories were always correct, regardless of police procedure or actual evidence. She rather went off her gut feeling and I did find this endearing. However, the book slowed a little for me in the middle and Elle became a little too self absorbed for me, especially when she had strong support networks (which are usually missing from this genre). However, during this time, a different viewpoint was added, which ignited my interest once more.

The author is a master of giving the reader lots of information but then keeping numerous twists a secret. Criminal profiling was a big part of the storyline so the reader understood the 'what' throughout the entire storyline but the author manages to slowly drip feed the 'why' enough that I NEEDED to continue reading. Once the 'who' was finally revealed I was satisfied that the book didn't fall into any of the usual 'traps' of other thriller book is have read in the past. I did have my suspicions about who the 'TCK' killer was but I definitely felt I was led there by the author instead of jumping the gun and figuring it out early.

I felt absorbed in Elle's world and I could not put this down. My only wish was that the final scene with the killer was a little extended. I wanted to know more of their own justifications and I wanted Elle to hear the answers for herself.

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