Girl, 11, is a compulsive thriller where the presenter of a murder podcast awakens a sleeping beast causing the local community to panic. Elle Castillo is a former social worker, who specialised in supporting young victims of violent crimes, turned true-crime podcast host of the popular show Justice Delayed, a show in which she investigates unsolved crimes and cold cases against children. She uses the podcast to share her findings on cases as well as ask for tips and information from the local community where need be and has an excellent success rate. Elle has spent several years now being consumed by the most notorious serial killer case that scarred her hometown of Twin Cities, Minnesota and wants nothing more than to see justice being done in relation to the horrific crimes; justice for the victims of crimes that have never been solved. She now, although nervous, feels ready to take on her biggest case to date, her white whale, if you will, The Countdown Killer, or TCK. Twenty four years ago, the notorious serial killer established a gruesome pattern of taking and murdering three girls over seven days, each one a year younger than the last and each poisoned with ricin. No one's ever known why he followed this pattern and why he had a strange preoccupation with numbers. His first victim was 20-year-old psychology undergraduate Beverly Anderson who disappeared from the student community of Dinkytown after a night out at the Kitty Cat Klub. His killing spree lasted for 4 years but he ceased after his 11-year-old intended victim, Nora Watson, managed to escape and they were never able to catch him.

Most believe him to be dead after the charred remains of two adults and one of the missing victims were found in a burned-out cabin a short time later and also because he has been dormant for almost two decades now. Elle knows he is not and is hellbent on serving historic justice. But she now has to wonder whether her discussing of TCK so publicly has reignited his desire for thrill killing when 11-year-old Amanda Jordan vanishes on the way to a bus stop. This happens right after Elle receives a tip via email from a man who informs her that he knows who TCK is; he ends up dead before she can get the information. Is TCK back in action or is this merely coincidental? Then as a 10-year-old child, Natalie Hunter, Elle’s neighbour’s daughter, is abducted while walking home the ten blocks from her piano lesson when Elle forgot to collect her causing Elle to panic and feel immense pressure to convince both the authorities and her podcast audience that TCK has returned, before the Countdown Killer can claim his next victim. This is a riveting and adeptly plotted serial killer thriller with an original premise and full of unpredictability, twists and action aplenty. I found the format in which it was written easy to speed through with alternating chapters between the script of the podcast and normal chapters from Elle’s perspective; this is quite unusual but it worked beautifully to immerse you and capture your attention from start to finish. The several chapters of the killer’s thoughts are woven intermittently into the narrative and add a disturbing and intriguing twist to proceedings. This is a nuanced, compulsively readable debut complete with all the thrills, chills and palpable tension required for a page-turning read. Highly recommended.

Have read in past, review being pasted!

Wow, wow, wow! I think podcast books are becoming the new thriller topic, which is fine by me, even though I don’t listen, the books are always riveting and this one was no different! Absolutely unputdownable, phenomenally written, with fantastic character development, and while not an unique topic, definitely an unique story! Lots of great twists and turns, thrilling thrills, chilling chills, and gasp worthy shocks, in this fast paced rollercoaster of a read! Highly, highly, highly recommend, but must warn you to clear schedules, and do not start prior to bed time, as this riveting book will have you ignoring everything and staying up way past bedtime!

Elle, the creator of a crime podcast discusses a case that has never been solved; when another girl goes missing Elle must solve the case before anyone else is killed.

The way that the book was written partly in a crime podcast format was really interesting. I loved the character of Elle and there were some twists and revels that I never guessed and added another layer to the Count Down Killer case. I was gripped and really loved this book and would definitely recommend.

Than you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

Wow! I was so hyped to be given the opportunity to read this novel and I was not disappointed. It is an outstanding debut. I though that both the structure and the characters were fantastic. I will be recommending this for sure!

Oh my goodness. I couldn’t put this book down. From the very first page, I was hooked. I didn’t know what to expect but I absolutely loved it. The mystery, the intrigue, the twists and turns - everything! I honestly could not have asked for anything more. I really enjoyed the plot and will definitely be looking out for more books by this author. I also loved the main character! Would definitely recommend to everyone I know without a doubt.

I was so excited when I spotted this on Twitter and it really did not disappoint. In fact, I loved it! The characters really jump off the page and the story is very compelling and kept me guessing til the end. Structurally, it's remarkably well-crafted to keep the pace very quick and the suspense and sense of dread really high. The podcast chapters are so well written that as a huge fan of true crime podcasts, I could literally hear the intro music and the rhythm and intonation of Elle's voiceovers in my head. An outstanding debut and definitely a great read, especially for fans of I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The main character of this novel is Elle, who hosts the Justice Delayed Podcast. Her latest podcast season is about The Countdown Killer, who committed a string of murders twenty-four years ago and has never been caught – although many believe he is now dead. The beginning of this book was really interesting, as chapters relate issues of the podcast, telling of the crimes of the Countdown Killer, while alternate chapters introduce us to Elle and her friends and family, including her husband, Dr Martin Castillo, best friend, Sash, and her young daughter, Natalie.

Elle is driven to gain justice for the victims of crime, especially children, and we learn fairly early on that she has a tragic past. When she gets a message, suggesting someone has knowledge of the Countdown Killer, she immediately heads out to try to hunt down the lead, but finds herself embroiled in a crime which may, or may not be, linked to her podcast. Then, when a child goes missing, Elle is invited to act as a police consultant. However, when she suggests links between the missing girl and the Countdown Killer, it causes suspicion regarding her judgement.

This is a fast-moving thriller, with an interesting backstory. I found the beginning of this novel really interesting, as the ritualistic killings of the Countdown Killer and the initial crimes are discussed. Perhaps I read too many thrillers, but I found some parts of the storyline simply too obvious and, having set the scene really well, it was not a surprise as events unfolded in the way they do. As such, for me, it was pretty much a book of two halves and I enjoyed the first half far more than the conclusion; even though that was the part which should, really, have had me gripped.

Still, this has much to recommend it and is a good, solid, psychological thriller, with an interesting scenario and characters. I would definitely try more by this author and liked her writing style. Even though I could see what was coming, I enjoyed the journey and was invested enough in the characters to want to know the outcome. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

A quick read that conjured the experience of a deep dive into a podcast perfectly, in fact, I found myself going to play it multiple times before remembering it was a book! While some of the twists and turns were fairly predictable this didn't spoil the fun of the reveals. An interesting take on the crime genre, which plays on our obsession with true crime and fascination with its monsters while considering the ethics of the platform it provides.

I absolutely loved the storyline and premise of this book! It was catchy and definitely written for lovers of true crime podcasts. I also really enjoyed how they added more personalisation and emotion to the read which I've noticed isn't as common in other thrillers lately. However, with so many different names and characters in this read, I found myself getting lost and more and more disengaged trying to keep up.

Wow, this book took me on a wild ride. Girl, 11 was a stellar and rare 5 star for me. When it comes to mystery-thrillers I very rarely give them 5 stars, most tend to not immerse me fully or keep me hooked, but this book? This book had everything I could want and then some. I was genuinely captivated all the way through and experienced so many emotions I can’t properly explain them. I can only strongly recommend you read this book when it is released in June 2021.

First off, the podcast element of this book completely hooked me. I’m a sucker for anything mixed media and with true-crime podcasts being so popular at the moment I thought it was very clever of the author to include and have as a method of describing the sheer terror and horror of the Countdown Killer. It also broke up the story nicely and kept me wanting to read more. This book definitely veered on the more mystery side of mystery-thriller, but it never became boring or tedious to get through and the pace combined with the podcast snippets kept me immersed and wanting to know more about any possible breaks in the case and to follow our MC Elle’s progress.

There was however one particular plot point that I did find very predictable; from the beginning I knew what was going to happen, however it didn’t reduce my enjoyment of the story and when it did come to fruition it made me even more interested and definitely upped the stakes and boosted the pace when I feel like it was needed. The end third of the novel was where it really earned that 5 star rating for me, the pace was slowly but surely building throughout the whole book to that ending and my heart was pounding by the end. It was a brilliantly crafted story about the hunt for a killer, a murderer who kidnaps young women and what happens when one woman takes it upon herself to solve the mystery and get justice for those victims.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for giving me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Girl 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke is utterly compelling , diving into the world of true crime podcasts it’s a shakeup to the format often seen within the thriller genre and adds a neo gothic darkness and a chilling undertone that will keep you utterly intoxicated by the story from start to finish. Be warned you may need to turn off your phone and grab some snacks because once you dive in you’re going to get lost in this one until you’ve finished it!

So before we go further here’s the book synopsis …

True-crime podcaster Elle Castillo has been obsessed with The Countdown Killer for decades. Twenty years ago, he established a gruesome pattern of taking and murdering three girls over seven days, each a year younger than the last. No one’s ever known why he followed this pattern, or why they stopped abruptly after the eleventh victim. Most believe him to be dead. Elle knows he is not and is hellbent on serving historic justice.

When the kidnappings start up once again, Elle must confront her responsibility in forcing the killer out of hiding. She needs to stop the deadly countdown and convince both the authorities and her podcast audience, before the Countdown Killer can claim his next victim.

Sound great? It really is, this stunning debut will quickly captivate you with the headstrong and determined protagonist Elle Costello, and capture you in a web of dark pasts, murder, and secrets in a novel that is expertly crafted and related with precision storytelling. Suiter Clarke has successfully crafted a tense, compelling and heart pounding read as she weaves excerpts from Elles true crime podcast with her real-time quest to find the infamous Countdown killer, a blood thirsty serial killer as time runs out. This is told in the first person narrative and so It feels so real as if you’re there with Elle on this wild ride. At times itsfast pace sweeps you up and at times threatens to leave you behind, it’s a whirl wind… and an utterly intoxicating read.

If you love true crime as well as thriller fiction this has your name stamped all over it. It’s adrenaline fuelled with a macabre murder we who intends to prey on their youngest victim to date, can Elle solve this and stop him in time??

Can’t rate this highly enough- it’s got all the ingredients us thriller fans crave, and a premise that adds a new spin on a very busy genre. It’s pitched perfectly to entertain even the savviest thriller fan…

Huge Thankyou to Pushkin Verigo for allowing me to access this title via netgalley in return for an honest review. I loved the book and hope to see more of both this talented author who absolutely nailed it with her debut, and our sassy protagonist Elle and her true crime podcast! Brilliant !

3.5 stars

Just over twenty years ago The Countdown Killer, a serial killer with a distinctive numerical signature evades all Minnesota’s detectives. In late 2019/early 2020 Elle Castillo focuses her popular podcasts ‘Justice Delayed’ on hunting the monster who hasn’t killed in a long while. She’s an independent investigator who specialises in cold case crimes against children but these particular broadcasts strike very close to home.

The first three quarters of the book is good and immersive reading. The premise is a dark one, the writing and the podcasts feel authentic and plausible. The best parts of the book for me are the podcasts which are intriguingly analytical on TCK and shine a fascinating spotlight on the killers motivation and obsession with numbers. There is tension in this section and some decent twists as Elle’s determination, if not obsession, unearths some possible insights into the killers identity.

However, unfortunately the very promising bulk of the book isn’t maintained in the last quarter where I think it starts to fall apart when the plotting becomes unbelievable. One of the victims sounds and act like NO ten year old I know and I find that characterisation hard to accept especially in some of the exchanges with the killer. The dialogue in the final denouement is stilted if not cheesy and the ultimate end feels melodramatic and not especially good. I also find that Elle is not a character that is not easy to warm to. She convinced she’s right and everyone is wrong, she’s very impulsive and frankly, bull headed. I also think it’s a stretch that she would be allowed to join in the Minneapolis PD as an investigator on the case - but hey, it’s fiction so I’ll let that one go!!!

Overall, the first three quarters definitely warrants a four star rating but the last part drags that down in my opinion. However, this is a very promising debut and I would like to read what the author comes up with next.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Pushkin Vertigo for the arc in return for an honest review.

Wow! This was an unexpected ride and I loved it!

Told in the form of podcast and first person narrative this was an absolute gem of a book and I sincerely hope that we meet Elle and her podcast again.

The podcast seeking justice for victims turns into an attempt to solve a cold case which has unexpected consequences for Elle, the narrator. As the past clashes with the present who will believe what Elle has to say and how can she save those she holds most dear.

With the support of her loving husband, Martin and techy wizard, Tina, Elle continues to follow her gut instinct but will she be too late this time?

What a great highly original storyline. Elle Castillo is a professional podcaster who specialises in True Crime. After helping to solve several cold cases , her next big podcast is on the serial killer TCK killer. With lots of twists and turns and clips of the transcripts cleverly woven into the storyline, this book is a great read!

This was a good book overall but I gave read many that are similar. This unfortunately was not unique and at parts was rather predictable. I’m sure some people will enjoy it more than me though.

Amy Suiter Clarke's "Girl, 11" is creepy from the outset. The Minnesota setting is distinctive, the descriptions so vivid you can virtually feel the cold. Elle Castillo is on the trail of The Countdown Killer. A social worker turned podcast host, Elle is looking at cold cases in an attempt to gain justice for victims and their families.

It's an uncomfortable read at times due to the subject matter. I loved the references to the brilliant, and pioneering, work of John Douglas in profiling for the FBI. I particularly enjoyed the podcast format and the exploration of the venom and vile abuse directed at women who have any sort of public presence online. Suiter Clarke also illustrates the notoriety and attention craved by killers, and the ways in which the media (wrongly) fuels, and fulfills, that desire. She also notes that not all who are abused go on to be abusers and of those who do, their behaviour is inexcusable. I'm glad this was addressed and highlighted. I also liked the notion of denying them a legacy.

Overall, a strong debut and I'm keen to see what the author does next. "Girl, 11" is Nancy Drew for grown ups.

This was an excellent debut novel. A solid, well crafted crime thriller that any fan of true crime/unsolved mysteries will race through. I will say that a couple of 'twists' were a little predictable, but this may be due to my familiarity with the genre and expectations going in.

(Many thanks to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.)

Girl, 11 follows the story of Elle, a CPS social worker turned cold-case true crime podcaster as she makes a new series focusing on the illusive Countdown Killer. 20 years prior to the story, he carried out a series of meticulously planned murders with a special attention towards patterns and numbers. 21, 3 and 7 are prominent in his killing pattern with unknown symbolism and importance to the killer. One girl escapes, and breaks his pattern - bodies are found burnt to death in the cabin he kept his victims in, and seemingly, he is dead.

Or is he?

Now, with a man dead just before attempting to tell Elle who he thinks TCK is, Elle is asked to assist on a kidnapping case of another young girl, and the pattern seemingly starts again. This novel excellently flows between extracts of podcast episodes and paragraphs from Elle's point of view, which is a really fresh and interesting way of presenting the narrative. The conversational style is easy to digest and helps you familiarise yourself with the intimacies of the case quickly. Later on in the book, we also see extracts from the killers POV in different time periods, which helps to develop his backstory and pull threads of the story together.

I really enjoyed this book, I found it gripping and intense. It was action packed and filled with pressure - it definitely felt like a timer was running out!

Twisty and dark, this book is not to be missed if you're a crime thriller fan.

Girl, 11 is a book I devoured, unwilling to put it down as the tension mounted in the investigation. Then, when I finished it, I started picking holes.

That’s not to imply it was a bad book or plot by any means — if we’re going by enjoyment, it’s a good four stars. It’s just… you know when you finish a book and you start thinking again, and your brain catches up with what you’ve read and you go ...hang on. That’s how I feel about this book. I set it down, and then I started thinking about it.

Girl, 11 is a bit more of a thriller than a conventional mystery, although it straddles that boundary slightly. It follows Elle, a podcaster who, after her own childhood experience (which, in all honesty, is not hard to guess, but I won’t say anything), has decided to start solving cold cases, the biggest of which she’s just started on: the Countdown Killer.

Firstly the good stuff. I loved the way the present day narrative was interspersed with podcast transcripts. Those provided a great way of catching up with the case, so to speak, without being info-dumped on. I also found that they acted as a way of increasing the tension, both for the past case and in the present day.

Just in general, Amy Suiter Clarke is very good at ratcheting up the tension bit by bit. You feel the characters’ panic when certain events happen, you’re as on edge as they are to find out more. It’s definitely a very compelling read, and one of the best contemporary mysteries I’ve read recently.

But if we go back to where I said I was picking holes… I’m not saying this detracted from my enjoyment of the book, because I clearly didn’t pick up on them while reading, and I wouldn’t change my rating, but I just can’t stop thinking about them. For one, there was the whole deductive leap regarding the killer’s first murder. Now, I think this is where the introduction of the killer’s POV let the book down, because it made that little hole a bit more obvious. Basically, the problem I keep coming back to is how can the killer have known that the first person they killed’s age was 21? Because, based on their POV, that murder wasn’t planned. But if their whole thing circles around the number 21 — and the whole reason that leads Elle to look for a first murder — but that first killing was a total accident — it just doesn’t add up to me (perhaps I am thinking too deeply about this). Not to mention how exactly the killer is able to find out names and ages of the people they stalk. I don’t know, maybe it is that easy.

And, like I said, this is perhaps where it would have been better not to get the killer’s POV. Yes, it let you see the reason for the killings, and took away the need for any info-dump about that later, and it didn’t make it blindingly obvious who the murderer was like some I’ve read, but it added this dimension of holes to poke. Also, just personally, I’m never keen on getting killers’ POVs in murder mysteries.

But that aside — and the fact that, at times in the beginning, it felt like I’d been dumped in the middle of a series, with regards to character backstories — this was an absorbing read. And one I can highly recommend.

I knew I had to read this book as true crime podcasts are a guilty pleasure of mine and I’m surprised that this is the first time I have read a thriller with this as a back story. Elle is an investigator and podcaster who is obsessed with a serial killer known as the countdown killer. Although the killer has been dormant for several years, she believes he is still out there and when she receives a message from someone who believes he knows who he is, an exciting sequence of events is triggered that takes the reader on a roller coaster ride of peril and disaster. The narrative switches from “podcast mode” to a more conventional structure very effectively and it’s easy to believe that an investigative podcast could lead to the events that happen in the story. A serial killer story which is a little bit different.