This one grabbed me from page one. FBI Agent Leigh Brody returns home to a town that hates her and her family.. well her father anyway, was convicted of killing his son and another boy. And when two people are murdered in an eerily similar way Leigh is called in.

Leigh has her work cut out for her from the moment she arrives in Lebanon. No one is happy to see her and they make it known time and time again. But she is bound and determined that not only is she going to solve the current murders, but she is going to finally prove that her father wasn't behind her brothers and the other child's death.

I was invested from the first page and was kept on the edge of my seat as each new piece of information was revealed. Leigh was a great main character, she was determined to solve both current and past murders, and even when she was blocked at every turn she didn't let that stop her.
And not to spoil anything but that ending was action-packed and took me completely by surprise.
I think this is a great first book in the series and I can't wait to see where it's going to go from here!

Thank you Netgalley, Storm Publishing, and author for the ARC of this book. This review is my own opinion.

WOW. I must be one of the few who did not enjoy this book. Overall 2/5 stars. The plot went in circles and was repetitive, yet at the same time was all over the place. I found it very hard to follow the thought process of our main character, Leigh, because we had multiple story lines happening and none of them cohesively went together. There was no flow between ideas and the chapters are long winded! “Flighty” is the best word to use for the plot. I struggled to understand why certain things were even brought into the plot line as the story unfolded.

Another part of this story that bothered me was how I could not connect to the main character at all. I found Leigh whiny, illogical, and childish. She doesn’t follow procedure and there’s no way half of the things in this story could happen. I don’t understand her motivation for any of her decisions through book.

We finally learn what is really happening in the last 2-3 chapters and let me tell you, it made me MAD. The author wraps the end of the book with a bow. Except the bow was meant for a totally different book. Everything is explained, mysteries totally solved. And all done while leaving it open for a sequel. The ending was way too convenient, but also doesn’t make any sense. A 17 year old able to do any of the things stated in the last 50ish pages? No way. 2/5 stars. I won’t be reading any other books from this author.

This book had me hooked from the intriguing prologue to the end, which left me speechless. I loved Leigh, a character who's world was shattered 20 years ago when her brother was killed. She's called back to a town that hates her and wants nothing to do with her, as her father's in prison for two murders. A copycat killer has been leaving a toy soldier with her name on it by the victims to lure her back.
Leigh has incredible intuition and investigative skills. I enjoyed how the narrative allowed the reader to see into her mind and know her feelings about the case, the town and her brother as time goes on. The twists are truly unexpected, and just when I thought the tension couldn't get higher, it did.
This book delivers on the promise on the cover- an absolutely addictive thriller. If you enjoy complex characters, a thorough plot and investigation and strong female main characters, read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and Nichole Severn for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

"The Girl Who Survived" by Nichole Severn offers a mix of compelling writing and a slower-paced storyline that might not resonate with all readers. While the prose is commendable, the narrative's pace may challenge some readers' engagement levels. The characters, while well-crafted, may not evoke strong connections or relatability for everyone. As a first-time reader of Severn's work, I appreciated the quality of the writing, though the storyline didn't entirely captivate me. This honest review was made possible by an early copy provided by NetGalley.

Leigh is brought back to the village where she grew up to investigate a murder that is weirdly similar to her brothers murder 20 years ago.
This book has a lot of twists and turns! There are a few slower moments but it is worth persevering for the unexpected twists.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC

I really enjoyed reading this book, it had a great overall feel of the crime thriller element. It was a strong start to the Leigh Brody FBI Mystery series. The characters were everything that I wanted and enjoyed the overall feel of this story, I'm excited to read more in this series and from Nichole Severn.

I was really excited about reading this book and the connection that Leigh had with the killer really drew me in. Unfortunately I just felt like this book really dragged on and fell short in the execution of the story. I couldn’t really connect to it at all

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read a pre released copy. I don’t want me review to discourage anyone from going on the adventure themselves.

Publishing: May 6th, 2024
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️(3/5)
Review:
I enjoyed the author's writing. The pacing was slow for me. I lost interest in it several times. There are many unrealistic procedures when it comes to the law enforcement side of this story. I also couldn't connect with any of the characters. The ending felt far-fetched as well. It made me angry. It also felt like I read a completely different book at the end. I may try another book by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, & Nichole Severn for this ARC.

#TheGirlWhoSurvived #NetGalley #StormPublishing
Also posted on goodreads

The author did an amazing job on the background information for this book. At first, I felt it was slow, but it finally picked up. It is a fast paced read with well developed characters. My only issue was the FMC, for some reason I couldn’t connect with her. That did not mess with the story for me though.

Thank you to NetGalley and StormPublishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

"The Girl Who Survived" by Nichole Severn was a captivating 4-star read! This book introduces us to Leigh Brody, an analyst for the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Systems division within the Behavior Analysis Unit. Leigh must return to her hometown to help track down a killer who has left a plastic Army infantryman just like when her brother and his friend were killed 20 years earlier. Not only does she have to try to avoid a deadly killer, but also a town that has not forgotten that it's her dad who is in prison for the killings from her childhood.

I thought this book was very well written, and I didn’t want to put it down. There was a lot going on that kept me interested. The townspeople may have gone a little far with their hatred for Leigh. There were plenty of twists that will keep you guessing. But then there was just one twist too many for me. This was a 5-star read, but after the last twist I wanted to give the book 3 stars, so I went in the middle with 4 stars. I wish I could go more in-depth, but without spoilers, that just isn’t possible. I saw that this author has written several other series I intend to investigate.

Thanks to Storm Publishing, Nichole Severn, and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC and share my honest review

Wow! This is a super-twisted police procedural with interesting plotting and lots of red herrings and surprises along the way. I had one twist figured out but the rest were a great surprise. Told from the perspective of FBI Criminologist Leigh Brody, this story pulls you in fast. Leigh is returning to the hometown she fled after her father was convicted of murder, and a dead body is found with similarities to the murders her father was convicted of. The residents mostly resent her presence after her years of trying to prove her father's innocence stained the town's image. Combine that hate with another internal conflict within the detective's personal life, and the suspense is ratcheted off the charts. I highly recommend this one for fans of crime and psychological thrillers.

I have to admit I had a hard time getting into the book, but it was purely from a personal standpoint. Once I sat done to really read the book, I couldn't put it down. The book was written with enough background information to fully understand what was happening with town and the main character Leigh. It did keep me guessing throughout the story, as to how she could prove her theories on who she believed was the perpetrator. But the ending was not what I expected, and really to my way of thinking, very satisfying.

I would like to thank Net Galley and the author Ms. Severn for the ARC copy.

Nichole Severn, has many outstanding books in the romantic suspense genre. With this book, she has left her comfort zone of this genre, and decided to jump off the curb and into the busy literary highways of psychological thrillers. I admire her courage and tenacity! She has created a protagonist, Leigh Brody, FBI Profiler, that is excellent in her career, but still obsessed with solving murders that occurred in her youth, while hoping to resolve an injustice that affects her father. She is independent, resilient and committed, and has chosen to live a lonely life. Her preoccupation to find answers keeps her mentally locked into the past, always there in the background as she focuses on her career, while still wearing grief and anger from those tragedies. She is called back to her hometown to help solve murders that appear similar to those that occurred 20 years ago. It was easy to understand how she must have felt when rejected and shunned emotionally by her community and old acquaintances, even though she’s there to help. It was a bit challenging for me to connect with this character at first. She was written as struggling emotionally, driven by her need to find answers to the murders in her past, and now rejections in her current life in the community where she grew up. But by the end, she was notably stronger, willing to fight for her beliefs, and bring justice for many. I ended up really liking this flawed character, and watching how she strategically put the pieces together in this thriller.

And of course, it would not be a true Nichole Severn pulse-pounding book without her signature surprises or shocking finales. Here, you have both! She has perfected a way of keeping her protagonist under constant threat from secrets and lies buried underneath in the community. This adds to the tension and intrigue, and inspires the reader to join Leigh and her journey to justice. Ms Severn also is wonderful at adding compelling twists and turns that were effective in drawing you in even deeper into the investigation. I look forward to future books in the series with Leigh Brody, and hope through more cases she is able to enhance her inner strength, and continue to thrive in her FBI position. Ms Severn has brought us another amazingly gripping story. I received a complimentary ARC, but I am voluntarily offering my personal opinion.

thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC.
FBI agent Leigh Brody returns home to help in the investigation of a murder that is quite similar to the murder of her brother, a crimer that her father was arrested for years ago. It was quite weird that she was even allowed to work on the case despite her connection to it and some of other police procedures felt completely wrong.
I somehow was not able to like the main character, she is underqualified, irrational despite supposedly graduating top of her class.
The twists and mystrery aspect were great and kept me hooked till the end, and I enjoed the ending very much. The pacing and writing were always on a point, so i think this book is will be a great read for every thriller lover.

Just finished this - read it in 24 hours, I was so hooked, the plot was excellent.
We follow FBI agent Leigh Brody as she is called to consult on 2 murders that have happened in her home town, that she hasn't been back to, since her dad was arrested and put away for the murder of her brother and his best friend. The new murders look like the work of a copy cat and Leigh starts to investigate.
The story is fast paced, the characters are well thought out and I really enjoyed the dynamics between the characters. Would highly recommend and can't wait for the next one in the series.

This one was good but it didn’t have me hooked. There were parts where I felt like it dragged a bit.

Interesting twist at the end that I honestly didn’t see coming. I look forward to more books with these characters.

What a book! I was hooked from the very first page and kept reading until the end as I wanted to know what happened. There were so many twists and turns that it had me guessing until the end. I highly recommend it.
💖 Thank you to storm publishing and netgalley for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

In The Girl Who Survived follows FBI agent Leigh Brody who is called in to look at a case in her hometown of Lebanon, New Hampshire. She had sworn never to step foot in again after the murder of her younger brother, the arrest of her father for the crime, and the suicide of her mother. When a murder similar to that of her brothers takes place, the BAU sends for Leigh to lend her expertise and insights from her experience of the original crimes. She has limited time and help to figure out if the original killer is back or if this is the work of someone new. Leigh wants her dad to finally be freed from what she is certain is his wrongful conviction, and for the real killer of her brother Troy to finally be held accountable.

I know I am in the minority here given the number of enthusiastic positive reviews I've seen... but for me this fell flat.. The descriptive writing was detailed enough to give you a full picture of the places, people and events going on throughout the book, there was some suspense, intrigue and emotional depth to the story and Leigh as a character to begin with, but as the story went along scenes became repetitive as did Leighs internal monologues which caused a good chunk of this book to drag and I found my attention drifting more than once. Without giving details so as not to spoil it the "twists" didn't surprise me in all honesty, the reveal of who was behind it all made me roll my eyes as it was clear it had to be someone with the kind of access that character had. And as for the final twist at the end it made absolute ZERO sense and completely undermined the entire story as a whole but especially Leighs characters entire motivation for everything she did. Not to mention how completely outlandish it is that a 17 year old girl was able to pull off what we are expected to believe she did and law enforcement didn't realise it. It felt shoehorned in at the end to try and make the story more sensationalized than it is and felt totally unnecessary.

I have been a fan of Nichole Severn for a long time and this book didn't disappoint.
FBI agent, Leigh Brody had returned to her home town of Lebanon, New Hampshire after twenty years, the town didn't hold the wonderful memories of her childhood that Leigh cherished, the town was cold and hostile. Leigh has worked hard to put herself through police academy and now the FBI with one thought in mind, to uncover the truth.
Twenty years ago. Leigh's ten year old brother and his best friend had been murdered in the most hideous way, Leigh's father had been charged with the murder and he remained, two decades later, in jail.
Now copycat murders were happening, were they connected? or were Leigh's suspicions that the true murdered was still out there, the MO was the same and each victim has a toy soldier, the same toy soldier that was found on Leigh's brother, the same toy soldier that she now carried in her pocket as a reminder of what she had to do..........the same toy soldier that the latest victim held only this one had Leigh's name carved in it.
This story has so many suspects, so many red herrings, so many clues that led nowhere, it is action packed, suspense filled and with a surprise ending that I didn't see coming. I look forward to reading more stories in this series.
I received a free copy of this book and my review is voluntary.