The Girl Without A Voice is an eery story about a mute girl named Alice. Alice’s parents have kept her very sheltered and living in isolation. When her father gets ill and passes away her world gets shaken up as she learns the truth of who her parents really are.
I was quickly invested as you get the sense early on there is a lot be revealed. Is a slow burn but a quick and easy read. The characters leave you curious and with a need to understand them more.
This book is narrated by Eve Passeltiner. Narrated very well. Easy to keep up with and listen to.

I absolutely loved the book, but I do wish the blurb hadn’t revealed such major plots.

The only unexpected part for me was the lesbian couple and the reason behind why Alice and Hailey met.

Overall, loved the story, but the synopsis needs a rewrite.

The Girl Without A Voice is a dark, chilling, twisty and unputdownable thriller that had me completely consumed. I am a sucker for a serial killer thriller and especially some death bed confessions! I loved how the fact that Alice was mute just made the whole book even more creepy and chilling. Why is she being kept isolated ? Why can't she talk ? Things are revealed slowly and perfectly. It kept me absolutely glued to the pages. It was a perfect blend of thrills, dark family secrets, self discovery and ultimately finding out the truth. I really enjoyed the entire journey the author took me on.

The characters were complex and so interesting. The secrets they held and the revelations absolutely took me by surprise. There are many twists and turns that I didn't see coming, while I had others figured out, but it did not keep me from enjoying this book at all. As much as it is a slow burn, the pace is still fast and steady throughout, never feeling like anything dragged on for too long. I really enjoyed the storyline and how the author wove her plot so expertly.

Overall, this is a great read. Original and different with twists that will keep you on your toes and a storyline that will keep you hooked.

The Girl without a Voice gets a solid 3.5/5 from me.

While the plot was largely revealed in the blurb, I did find some of it a little shocking, but it didn’t leave too much room for imagination. I will say there were a few plot holes that I go back and forth on. The writing style was great, and not too redundant. It kept me interested enough to finish in a little over a day. Overall, I would recommend this read.

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for a review!

#thegirlwithoutavoice #booksonaburger #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #arc #netgalley

Thank you to NetGalley and Sandra J. Paul for the chance to listen to The Girl Without a Voice early. What a chilling, emotional ride this was!

Set in the early ‘80s, this story pulled me in right away with its eerie atmosphere and unforgettable main character. Alice, a mute young woman who's been isolated most of her life, finds herself uncovering a horrifying truth when her father, on his deathbed, admits to something unthinkable. What follows is a slow-build mystery full of tension, emotional weight, and some truly jaw-dropping reveals.

I really appreciated how the bond between Alice and her friend Hailey was portrayed, it felt authentic, tender, and gave the story a much-needed heart. Their determination to get answers had me rooting for them the whole way. And the twist about Alice’s own past? I didn’t see it coming, but it tied everything together in a really impactful way.

Eve Passeltiner’s narration was great. She really captured the mood and made the story feel even more immersive. A couple parts dragged just a little, but overall, I was hooked.

This one is for readers who love layered mysteries with a true crime vibe and a lot of emotional depth. Definitely recommend, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for more from Sandra J. Paul.

I find the premise of the book really interesting and perfect for a thriller but unfortunately the execution fell a bit flat for me after the 30% mark or so.

The beggining was pretty good, with the tension of this woman having been locked up her whole life, knowing nothing of "real life" and being scared of her parents finding out her interactions with this new neighbor. I felt myself getting nervous when Hailey spoke aloud or when they spoke for too long. Unfortunately, the author decided to go down the insta-love route, which made me instantly enjoy less their relationship. I can understand it from Alice POV since she's never interacted with anyone besides her parents but it felt like it came out of nowhere from Hailey's part imo. And there was also pretty much zero talk about their queerness? I understand it wasn't the focus of the book but you can't just slap a lesbian relationship on a book set in the 80's and not have the characters talk a little bit about it? Alice barely focused on how weird this was compared to what she has seen/read about. Hailey didn't hesitate one second to tell her she loved her despite not knowing if she was queer and/or if she reciprocated her feelings. But then at the middle of the book you have Alice suddenly saying that she didn't knew if this feelings were normal? That despite Hailey not saying anything about it nor anyone talking to her about it (she did get called a slur at one point but she didn't even recognized the word)

The middle part lost me almost completely and dragged down the book from 4 stars to around a 2. It felt pretty detached from the rest of the story and I feel like if someone decided to step into the book around the 40% mark they would have pretty much no idea this wasn't a queer romance or roadtrip type of book. I will admit it was cute seeing Alice experiencing all this new stuff (food, a roadtrip, a new town, etc) but I didn't came here for this lol.

The ending picked up the story a bit, but it never quite reached the feeling at the beggining. I was expecting the book to be more about Hailey and Alice investigating about the murders on their own, trying to gather clues, but they just went to one town, cross-examined her dad's journal with the towns gossip and went straight to the police. Pretty much everything that was needed was in those journals. That was a big letdown. I would have enjoyed it more if, despite the dad being suspicious af and having "confesed" on his death bed, they still weren't sure about him being a serial killer. I truly just wanted more solo investigation.

Don't even get me about the ending. I understand Alice being scared of being like her father, in regards of "loving Hailey too much that she wanted her to be with her forever" but come on... Not the author destroying the queer relationship on the last 5 min of the book? Not a good ending imo.

WOW! What an incredible, powerful book. I received an ARC of this audiobook from #NetGalley, and it was un-put-downable.

Alice, a young adult with mutism, lives in a house with her mother, and father who travels a lot. Alice is virtually a prisoner, as, because of her condition, her parents keep her shut away from the world and its inhabitants. Through the window in her bedroom, Alice strikes up a friendship with the next-door neighbor, a single woman who just moved in. When Alice's father takes to his bed with Stage 4 cancer, little by little her world starts to unravel. Alice's parents never seemed "quite right' to her, and she's about to uncover the secrets they have been hiding her entire life.

Trigger warnings: kidnapping, sexual assault, imprisonment, trauma, abuse, murder

While I typically enjoy a thriller, this one seemed to go on and on when it was unnecessary. I tried to feel connected to the FMC so I could empathize since her parents were so awful, but something about the writing didn't draw me in. A lot was given away in the blurb, and the story didn't go much further than the blurb. I liked the idea of the book more than the actual book itself.

The pacing in this one was a bit slow for my taste, but the story still kept me curious. The beginning pulled me in—right away, it was clear something was off with Alice being in that family. There’s a lot of focus on her childhood, and while that backstory helped build the emotional layers, it did take up a big chunk of the book.

Hailey coming into her life added a shift, and while she didn’t seem terrible at first, something about her just felt off. I was right to be suspicious. The twists throughout the story weren’t too obvious, which I appreciated—it kept things from feeling predictable. Her father, in particular, was unsettling in that quiet, calculating way that really made my skin crawl.

The ending was interesting and unexpected, but it felt kind of abrupt. After all the detail and buildup, I was surprised there wasn’t more depth in how things wrapped up. Still, Eve Passeltiner did a great job with the narration and made the slower parts more engaging. A solid performance all around.

Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.75/5)

The Girl Without a Voice starts with a compelling hook and a deeply atmospheric setup. Sandra J. Paul draws us into the life of Alice, a twenty-two-year-old woman born mute and isolated by her controlling parents. From the beginning, the story promises a gripping psychological mystery with emotional weight — and for the most part, it delivers.

The audiobook performance by Eve Passeltiner is truly a standout. Her narration is top-tier, elevating the entire experience. She brings nuance and life to Alice’s world, making it easy to follow the complex emotional shifts in the plot. Narrators can make or break an audiobook, and Passeltiner absolutely makes it. Her portrayal of both the quiet intensity and tender moments gives the story extra depth.

The early chapters are fantastic — tense, mysterious, and emotionally resonant. Alice’s bond with her only friend Hailey is tender and well-drawn, and the shocking confession from her dying father sets the stage for a chilling journey. I was convinced I was heading into a five-star read.

However, the momentum starts to lag in the middle. The pacing slows significantly, and the narrative leans more heavily into romance than I had anticipated. While the relationship between Alice and Hailey is sweet and heartwarming, I found myself wanting the thriller elements to maintain more of the focus. That said, their love story adds emotional stakes that are meaningful — even if it wasn’t quite what I was expecting.

As the mystery unfolds, the story regains its tension, culminating in an unsettling truth about Alice’s past and the true horror at the center of her silence. Paul weaves these revelations with care, offering a haunting reflection on trauma and identity.

Overall, The Girl Without a Voice is a dark, emotionally charged listen that blends psychological suspense with romance and personal healing. While the pacing dips in the middle, the strong narration and powerful themes make it worth the journey.

The synopsis is a little misleading; Alice is not her father's caregiver at the end of his life. I know that seems like a small detail, but it's so different that it really makes the book something else completely. Not in a bad way! I just wish it had been a little more vague but also a little more specific? As if that makes any sense.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Not because I wasn't expecting to, just because I really didn't have any expectations at all. It's a bit of a slow build up, but once I was into it, I couldn't put it down. There were so many twists that I didn't see coming, and anything that annoyed me ended up making sense by the end. I can't say much else without spoilers, but in the beginning it was a little too far fetched for me and I'm so glad it didn't end that way.

Speaking of the ending.. LOVED. Some people may feel differently, but I think it was perfect.

There was one thing that was really hard for me, but it was because I was listening to the audiobook. The narrator was fine, except for the voice she used for Hailey. I don't know what it was about it, but it drove me absolutely insane all the way to the end of the book. Even just hearing it in my head makes me mad.

Release: August 19, 2025
Author: Sandra J. Paul
Publisher: Datura

Rating: 4 ★ 

Set in the fall of 1980, this story follows Alice, a 22-year-old woman who was born mute and has lived an extremely sheltered and isolated life under the control of her cold, manipulative mother and her strict, intimidating father. Her only connection to the outside world is through her neighbor and best friend, Hailey, who knows sign language and offers Alice a rare sense of comfort and trust.
When Alice’s father falls gravely ill with terminal cancer, she is tasked with taking care of him. During his final days, as he drifts in and out of consciousness under heavy medication, he starts revealing chilling secrets—specifically, that he may have murdered multiple women. At first, Alice doesn’t know what to believe, but the weight of the revelation pushes her to confide in Hailey.
The two set out to retrace the paths her father once traveled as a salesman, and what they uncover suggests a disturbing pattern that links him to several missing women. As they dig deeper, the truth starts to unravel not just about his crimes, but about Alice herself—especially why she lost her voice in the first place, and how her own past is more connected to her father’s dark secrets than she ever realized.
This is a tense and emotional psychological mystery that blends true-crime elements with a coming-of-age reckoning, perfect for readers who enjoy deeply layered characters and slow-burning suspense like Bright Young Women.
This book completely pulled me in! I had a hard time putting it down once I started. The story follows Alice, a young woman who was born mute and has been hidden away from the world by her controlling parents. She’s been told that if anyone ever found out about her, she’d be locked up. So she’s grown up in total isolation—until a new neighbor, Hailey, moves in next door. Slowly, a quiet friendship forms between them, and when Alice’s father dies and makes a shocking confession, the two girls set out to uncover the truth about his past.
The pacing is fast and steady—it never felt like it dragged—and the relationship between Alice and Hailey is the emotional heart of the book. There’s suspense, mystery, and some truly surprising moments, especially toward the end. At times it did feel a bit like a young adult mystery (think Nancy Drew with darker twists), and there were moments where I had to suspend a bit of disbelief, especially about how quickly Alice jumps into investigating. But overall, it was such a compelling read that I didn’t mind.
If you’re into emotional thrillers with strong characters and a touch of coming-of-age, this one’s worth picking up. It’s a story about secrets, friendship, and finding your voice—even when you can’t speak.

Favorite quote:
"Kept from the outside world by her cruel mother and overbearing father, her only friend is her neighbor Hailey with whom she communicates through sign language."

Alice lives a very sheltered live at 22. All that starts to change when her father confesses to murdering several women and she makes a friend next door named Hailey. This novel was very slow to start for me and about half way through it picked up and I was really into it. I did like that Alice started to come out of her shell throughout the story too after her rough life. The story does seem a little YA at times especially the beginning. There are several really good twists I didn't see coming and the ending was so perfect. If you are looking for a book with a bit of romance and a serial killer as a father this one's for you.
Thank you Tantor Audio for the audio.