Social Worker turned podcaster Elle Castillo decides to share the 20 year old cold case of a dormant serial killer. known as "The Countdown Killer" with her listening audience. The killer terrorized the town abducting and killing and then just stopped. But do serial killers stay gone forever?

In this case, no they do not.

Another child is missing and Elle will stop at nothing to solve this find the identity of the killer(s).

Dark, twisty thriller and a very well done debut novel. I can see this as a series of books and I would certainly read them.

Elle Castillo host a true crime podcast, and she is working on the Countdown Killer case. I am true crime aficionado- I read true crime books and watch true crime on Netflix all the time! Therefore, this book was really interesting to me. I enjoyed the fact we could 'hear' the podcast as the story went on, it felt really realistic.
I didn't give this 5 stars just because Ellie annoyed me sometimes because of the some of the things she did, and her interactions with her husband also annoyed me!
Other than that, the writing was good, the story kept me intrigued; although I did guess at who Ellie was about halfway through the book.
I think the author has delivered a great first book - actually it didn't even feel like I was reading a debut as the writing was so good.
I would definitely read more books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for a digital ARC of Girl, 11 in exchange for an honest review. Elle Castillo used to be a social worker; now she hosts a true crime podcast. Her most recent case is the Countdown Killer. The Countdown Killer has not been caught and he has not killed for twenty years. Elle receives a tip from a viewer saying he knows who the killer is. When Elle arrives at his home, she finds his dead body. Elle will stop at nothing to determine who the Countdown Killer is. This book had an interesting format going back and forth between Elle's daily life and her podcast with viewer's. I enjoyed the book; it kept my interest.

Good story but feels similar to something I read a few months ago. Good characters and story but nothing really grabbed me.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this novel!

I love love love true crime. Love true crime podcasts. So this fictional story about a woman that tries to solve cold cases, was so right for me. Elle hosts a successful podcast and in her newest season, she is trying to find the countdown killer. My reason for not giving it 5 stars was because I figured out Elle’s big secret pretty early on, so when it was revealed, it was kind of a letdown. I felt gypped of a twist. But I really enjoyed the switch from podcast episode chapters to Elle’s story and then later on in the book, the killers backstory.

Amy Suiter Clarke makes an impressive debut with this thriller.

Things that worked for me:
1. The build up: The alternating POVs of the main characters as well as the 'transcript of podcast' format of the narrative worked very well in setting up the mystery.
2. The integration of various issues like racism and women's autonomy, to name two of them, roots the story well into today's reality.

Things that did not work for me :
The denouement: The climax actually felt a bit anti-climactic and the ending felt a bit rushed.

I didn't really like this one, but credit where it's due, the author absolutely nails the tone. If you've ever listened to a true crime podcast (or, really, any podcast with a white woman speaking on a serious subject in a measured, almost sedate broadcaster voice...), you'll instantly feel like you've heard this one before. It's note perfect. The phrasing, the sentence structure, the show format, even the personality of the host. If this was a podcast, I can actually see people believing that it was really true crime.
So there's that. The writing was very effective. (There were a number of instances of awkward sentences or word choices, though, that stuck out, and maybe should have been caught in an edit.)
The protagonist was insufferable, but believably so. I found myself frequently wanting to tell her off. Or give her a metaphorical smack upside the head. The author really points out (without being heavy handed or preachy) the ethical quandries of true crime podcasting, and shines a light on all of the things that can go wrong.
The format- interspersing podcast transcripts with sections written from the points of view of the protagonist and the killer, worked very well.
The story, though, wasn't all that interesting to me. It was very straightforward. Serial kidnapper/killer starts up again after a break. Podcaster with a personal interest takes up the case. There was no treading of new ground, here. The killer never felt like a fully formed character, which was a shame.
I don't know. It was ok, the writing was accomplishes, but it just wasn't really for me.

definitely a huge fan of books including podcasts into their format like Girl, 11 by @suiterclarke Pub date is 4.20.21 🔎

Elle, once a social worker, now has her own true crime podcast that helps solve cold cases. On her lastest season, Elle is going over the case of the Countdown Killer that was active twenty years ago.
Her obsession with finding the killer, and a secret, something traumatic that happened to her when she was younger that becomes slowly revealed, has made her reckless and in danger.

Now there wasn't anything spectacular about this novel, but I enjoyed the pacing and the characters. The way it switched from the podcast and to current time was clever enough and kept me engaged. However as we got to the last chunk of the book things got a bit messier and it was a bit frustrating the way the story was unraveling.

But this was still a really good read. A good debut novel. And I look forward to reading more of this authors work especially if it includes more of that awesome true crime podcast feel to it.

I recommend if you're into podcasts, serial killers, and need a thriller to read late at night.

3🌟 for me. Thank you @netgalley

~Review taken from my instagram @fortheloveofcrime

Such a wonderful debut novel by Amy! This was so well written and hard to put down once I started to read.
The premise of this book had me hooked, and I was so excited to receive it....and I was not disappointed!
Just amazing all around
I love podcast and the author did an outstanding job putting that into this story.
Hoping we see slot more of Ellie in the future

Very well developed characters and an extremely engaging story. Well thought out and very suspenseful story line that keeps the reader guessing until the final twist! This is the book to read this year! Highly recommended!

I am a huge fan of books with a podcast feel ever since I've read Matt Wesolowski's Six Stories series. This is the same format but with a twist which obviously I won't reveal. (In your dreams.)

The characters are great. I love the extra addition of married couple Elle and Martin's bilingual conversations. No, you dont need a translator. It's just a word or two and you can look it up. It just adds a whole other dimension and educates you at the same time.

With Elle being an independent investigator and formerly in Child Protection Services, and her husband a coroner, this should easily become a series. Lucky for us. Keep an eye on this author, I think we'll be seeing a lot of her. And Elle.

A gripping and extremely tense novel, Girl 11 was a huge surprise for me who was expecting just another whodunit.

Elle Castillo, a former social worker, now runs a true crime podcast that helps to solve cold cases. On the latest season of her show, Elle has taken up the case of The Countdown Killer that terrorised the town around twenty years ago. Elle has her own personal reasons for wanting to catch the killer who brutally murdered ten young girls. Her obsession with the case causes Elle to take reckless actions and soon it seems like Elle's podcast has awoken the dormant killer who begins his spree again, this time hitting too close to home.

Not having seen many reviews for Girl 11, I began reading this book half-heartedly. But the suspense-ridden plot quickly drew me in. Elle's impulsiveness, though annoying at times, begins to make sense when her backstory is revealed. From beginning to end, the author maintained a taut narrative. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Elle works as a journalist doing pod-casts about cold case files. A number of young girls have gone missing from her town over the years and seem to be linked to one killer who seems to be counting down to younger and younger girls every year.

All though the mystery seems interesting I stopped reading because I couldn't get into the style the author used of having some regular chapters and then some chapters that were scripts of a podcast which seemed to bog down the pace too slow that I didn't care to finish reading it.

4.5
This was a great read!
Switching between the Podcast retelling the past story and watching it unfold in the 'now time' was clever and engaging- leaving the reader wanting more (and tired as I couldn't put it down easily to sleep!).
It felt unrushed and well thought out and drew you into the characters superbly!
I love a crime story and a true crime podcast- so this ticked all the right boxes. I did make a link between characters earlier on than I would have liked, but maybe that just comes from reading and listening too to much crime!
A superb read. Thank you Netgalley.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s almost 3 stories in one. We have Elle who is a private investigator/police consultant. She is making a podcast about a 25 year old string of murders. The killer has never been found. Elle is a great character she is passionate and enjoyable. She is a little unreliable and I love that in the main character. Most of the supporting characters are terrible and they make Elle look even stronger.

This follows as a police procedural with rule breaking, a pod cast transcription and then another 2 points of view. I really enjoyed the format of this book. I was sucked in from the get go and really enjoyed the writing.

This was a winner for me.

Dark, tense and strangely intriguing. On the surface it’s a classic tale of someone, with their own deeply troubled upbringing, taking children, holding them captive and murdering them but there are plenty of twists and extra layers of interest. There are deep routed patterns to the victims he selects, which are novel and fascinating, added with some religious fanaticism. I also loved the modern twist of the story being presented by a main and pivotal character and as a series of podcasts. A seriously addictive read and very enjoyable.