The Girl on the Platform

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.

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

This book is way more then the blurb. Really intriguing storyline that focuses on first time parents, all that comes with it along with juggling it and everyday life. I liked and disliked the characters if that even makes sense. I did find myself getting really frustrated at the fact that no one took Bridget seriously. It’s a really well written storyline but I found I was urging it to speed up and move on as I think it didn’t need to be as long and the daily struggles may not have needed as much description but on the other hand I think after finishing the book that was the authors way of getting her point across. The narration was fantastic and really easy voice to listen to. I had worked out how it was going to pan out but that didn’t take from the outcome and the last 2-3hrs of the book was really well paced and really had me hooked. Really good listen and would recommend...

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK Audio for the opportunity to read and review this ARC that was published on the 15th of April.

On her way home from work Birdget is convinced she has seen the abduction of a child from another station, calling the police to make a statement but no one else in the train saw anything, sending Bridget spiralling into paranoia.

A great book full of twists.

Thanks Netgalley for providing me with an audiobook version in return for an honest review.

This is the first time listening to any books by Bryony Pearce and it won't be my last. I loved it as it kept me thinking from beginning to end. This is a great thriller and the audio narrator is fantastic too which can be a make or break for me. 5 stars from me!

Many other people have written a resume of this book and I always think that there are professionals who write a blurb in just the right way to set the scene and give a taster without giving the plot away so I won’t try to do their job here.
This was a book which I found drew me in at the start and then I began to get loose track BUT if this happens to you, then stick with it! Over the last few chapters I just couldn’t stop listening as I got drawn into the concluding revelations. At times I was rather annoyed with the narrator and her portrayal of the main character, Bridget but I can forgive that as she was extremely stressed out! I must admit that I guessed much of it but even so it was thrilling to see how the scenes played out. Far-fetched, yes, but this is literature, make believe, not a true crime retelling so it allows for some good dramatic licence. Quite scary at times but a good read/listen.

Intriguing novel. Although I guessed one of the major twists early on, it still kept me hooked and a number of other things were revealed within the narrative. Kept me interested throughout. Good narrator.

Firstly, the narration is generally excellent bar the odd shrill note that mad me cringe. However these were at times when perhaps they were called for due to the mood of the character.
The tale is excellent. A woman sees a kidnapping from a train window and is then followed by someone in a white van, but no one will believe her and blames it all on the postnatal depression she is suffering. It soon becomes obvious to the reader (well it was to me) that the truth is an even darker story. A thoroughly stressful read (listen). I loved it.

New mum Bridget is tired, overwrought and on antidepressants for post natal depression. Her husband stays at home to look after the baby and Bridget goes to work. On her long train journey home she witnesses a kidnap of a young girl. However when she reports it there is no evidence of any crime being committed.
Bridget knows what she saw but noone believes her, not even her husband.
A great thriller.
Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

"𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚎𝚛𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚎… 𝙿𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚖 𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚑" - Brooke Shields

Bridget hurries to get a seat in the train since she should travel for another 50 minutes to reach home, to her husband Tom and her 7 months old daughter Greece. Since she was paid well, they decided that she should resume her work and Tom would take care of Greece. Bridget is completely exhausted because of all those staying up night and working continuously. On that day, when she was returning home, she sees a girl in a school uniform being kidnapped on the platform. Before noting down the station name everything passed out quickly. Nobody other than her in the train witnessed it. When she informed the police, they were not convinced to believe her since she was already in medication for postpartum depression and they said hallucination is one of its symptoms. Being the only witness, Bridget pledges to solve this case by herself.

This story has a gripping storyline. The first half was draggy a bit and the author described all the exhaustion parts deeply. But, once the story started revealing it's suspensive elements, it was unputdownable. I didn't know much about postpartum depression but reading about it changed my perspective towards the new moms. It is a serious issue. It was scary too.

The author also showed how one's family should take care of new moms. Because when a child is born, everyone's concentration will be on him/her but we fail to understand that it is all new to the mother too. I understood that we should never feel bad to reach out for help. There is nothing to feel bad about it since it's natural.

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.

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.