Can you imagine what life would be like if everyone around you was controlling you, bending and moulding you to their needs? When you open this book you will meet Lucy, a woman haunted by nightmares, or are they memories? The 13th Girl is a gripping page-turner that will see you reading into the early hours. This book is full of twists, making it a fantastic read you will not want to miss out on.
This was my first Sarah Goodwin book and it has made me a fan. She pulls you into her story, keeping you gripped from start to finish. I enjoyed the uncertainty of where this story was going. The characters are original and realistic. She adds a little mystery to the characters leaving you unsure of who to trust. My heart broke for these young girls as the past truth was revealed.
Lucy is haunted by her past. Her memory of what happened to her during childhood is unreliable, but twenty years ago she was saved from a fire, yet so many others were not that lucky. She remembers their screams; it was the night she lost her mother. A mother who was not there for her. A mother she barely remembers. When Lucy finds out that she is pregnant, it is not good news. She is not ready to be a mother, she is not even sure she wants to be a mother. When the press reveals her true identity, Lucy is forced back to her childhood, forced to remember what really happened, especially when new allegations point a finger at her mother, calling her a murderer of children. Now people are blaming Lucy, but is she ready for the truth that awaits her?
My heart broke for this woman. She is carrying so much guilt with her. She feels responsible for things that happened when she was seven years old. I was enraged by the actions of her mother. Thinking it possible for a mother to treat her child this way left my blood boiling. I found myself so engrossed in this book, I was forced to remind myself that it is only fiction.
Lucy Townsend is introduced as a troubled woman. She is hiding what little she remembers about her past, and when her husband finds out the truth, he is forced to help his MP dad deal with a media frenzy they never saw coming. This man was just annoying with his concern, it did not feel balanced. Lucy is sent away – for her own good – but she finds herself in an unusual situation that forces her to face her past. I love how the author kept her real, not turning her into a super-human to overcome the situation she is faced with. Yet the author allows Lucy to find her strength and become a woman determined to stand up for herself. Her selfless act at the end of the story showed just how strong she was.
This booked breezed its way onto my loved list for 2022. I loved every minute I spent reading it and I cannot wait to have the chance to read more books from this author.
If you enjoy a twisty thriller that will leave you turning pages till the early hours, then I would highly recommend this book. It’s a fabulous moving story you will not want to put down until you have reached the last line. The 13th Girl is a brilliantly creative tale.

As a child, Lucy was raised in a cult, and was the only one to survive when the place went up in flames. Taken into care, she is able to start a new life and forget her past. But when her secrets come out, her staid in-laws are unimpressed, not least because her father-in-law is a politician. Everything needs to be hushed up, and the damage limitation exercise begins...

I loved Sarah Goodwin's last book so I was so disappointed when I read her second book, which was just sensationalised and silly. The beginning of the book was promising, particularly the representation of the controlling relationship between Lucy and Marshall, but once she came into contact with the cult again it all became too unbelievably dramatic and silly for my tastes.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Lucy has kept the fact that up until the age of seven she was raised up in a cult from her husband Marshall and his family. But when newspapers pick up on the story she has to tell them as her father in law is a local MP. A fire at the cult's Manor House and her mother's death caused her to enter the care system. But at a hastily prepared press conference more revelations come to light and a pregnant Lucy is forced by Marshall to stay away from their house. She takes the opportunity to stay in a cottage in Wales where a friend is visiting local seminars. Whilst there she decides to visit her old home and memories start to flashback. What happens next is a mind blowing and life changing experience for Lucy as she revaluates all she previously knew.
I enjoyed this book, it was a good read with some likeable and unlikeable characters

Sarah Goodwin's The Thirteenth Girl featured a lot of detail that kept drawing me away from the mystery of the plot. Because there was too much over-explanation, I found myself skimming passages. I thought the story was okay. However, I plan to read future novels by this author because the story's premise sounded intriguing; it was only that the execution was lacking

This is the second book written by Sarah Goodwin.

The story starts with Lucy Townsend who finds herself pregnant. She wasn't ready to become a mother after when her own mother had been terrible towards her but her husband, Marshal seems to be happy. Lucy seems to be leading a happy life with Marshal. But then, her tormented childhood past soon came to light--her mother was involved in some sort of cult that involved kidnapping and killing little girls. As both Marshall and his father are MPs and needed to save their faces, Lucy was sent to a cottage. Then one day, she goes off to the house where she stayed and her past buried many years ago.

I have to say, the story did start out really good. After reading Stranded by this very same author, I actually had high expectations with this book. Unfortunately this book did not really live up to my high expectations. I am not saying this was bad--it was good. The writing was good and the first part was engaging. But then soon, when the middle of the story took hold what with describing about the cult, it got...let's just say unbelieavable. Not boring but unrealistic and unbelievable in my opinion. Nonetheless I did enjoy the story although I have to say, unlike her first book, this was not as good as stranded.

Overall, if you like cult based thriller, you can try out the Thirteenth girl. Worth 3.5 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Lucy was brought up in a cult as a young child, she was taken into care and she tried to forget her past.
Now a married woman with a child on the way her past life is about to come back to haunt her.
A harrowing story with some very unsavoury characters that felt unbelievable in parts.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Thirteenth Girl is a fun, twisty thriller! I truly enjoyed the twists and turns. Sarah Goodwin has a great, fast paced writing style that kept me turning the pages!

The characters were blah, the plot was blah, and the authors style of writing was very slow and boring.

My review is voluntary and all comments and opinions expressed are
my own.

The Thirteenth Girl by Sarah Goodwin had a lot of detail that kept pulling me away from the story's mystery. I found myself skimming sections because there was too much over-explanation. The story was just an okay read for me. I will try more books from this author, though, as the story's premise seemed very interesting; it was just the way it was executed that left something to be desired.

#NetGalley @AvonBooksUK

I received an ARC of The Thirteenth Girl, by Sarah Goodwin. This book is a true thriller. 13 has been known to be an unlucky number, and for Lucy its true. Such a spooky story.

The Thirteenth Girl by Sarah Goodwin. While the premise was intriguing and the story had a viable beginning, Lucy's attitudes and actions were unrelatable and the pace of the book seemed to drag on. Ms Goodwin's fan are sure to enjoy the story which is well written and does a a satisfying ending.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I am sorry to say that I found this book to be very slow. Also I don't enjoy reading about cults, I don't know why I find them so off-putting ,and it is a personal thing but I don't enjoy reading about them. Sorry I really hope other readers enjoy this book more than I did.

A story of control and manipulation - in a marriage as well as in a cult. Poor Lucy had more than her share of trouble and I rooted for her all the way. With thanks to the author, publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

This story centres around a cult, which is always an interesting start to a book in my eyes! It held my interest and kept me reading until the end but overall it was a fairly slow-paced book and I wasn’t necessarily shocked by any of the big reveal moments.

I thoroughly enjoyed Goodwin's previous novel, Stranded, and had high hopes for this book; I was not disappointed. The Thirteenth Girl is very readable, it twists and turns and leaves the reader second-guessing throughout.

I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys fast-paced thrillers.

Many thanks to Sarah Goodwin, NetGalley, and Avon Books UK for this copy.

I enjoyed this book. The author blew me away, the writing is written perfectly. The story was a little creepy, super dodgy and EVERYONE was a suspect. I did enjoy the way this book wove its way through the stories. There wasn't too many characters and I was rooting for the MC.
I had to suspend my belief a little when we got 60 % in, and that threw me a little bit. But the final ending made up for it all.

All in all it was a good read. Wont be my last Sarah Goodwin book.

Wow is the only word to describe this book it is that good. It centres on a cult and one little girl who managed to escape and lead a normal life. That was until now, they want her back and will stop at nothing until they get her.

This book has an interesting premise and a promising start. Lucy Townsend is living in loved up bliss with husband Paul when she learns, to her shock, that she is pregnant. Lucy is not ready to be a mother, after all her own mother was a terrible role model. Marshal is a councillor on the Bristol Council and his father is an MP. They are very proper and are delighted to hear the news. Unfortunately Lucy has been keeping some big secrets about her past and a journalist has been sniffing them out. The publicity is not good. What will people think? Lucy is bundled off out of the limelight so things can settle down. It all for the best. By the way it doesn’t take long until you realise Marshal is a controlling and manipulative twat!

However, when Lucy arrives at her remote hideaway she decides to look into her past. Of course she does! She grew up in a cult. Yes, folks the dreaded cult strikes again. When she was 7 years old the manor house where a bunch of them lived burnt down, well nearly down, and there were few survivors. Lucy was one of them. So of course, since she’s in the area she needs to go poking around the manor. Doesn’t she know you never go into the basement?

The middle of the book was all about the cult and it got quite boring and totally unrealistic. A bunch of women prancing around worshiping the moon and having no rules, free love and all that stuff. After the fire of course it seems to be over. But is it?

In the final part of the book you learn that the cult has changed its focus, has gone a bit underground, figuratively and literally, and is now hellbent on …. I can’t tell you that.

The ending was quite good and totally fitting. I was rooting for Lucy by then and applauded the difficult decision she made. But it was not enough to save the book from being simply average. I don’t mind stories about cults, mostly, but this one seemed pretty ridiculous and I could imagine how it hung on as long as it did. But hey, you might enjoy the book a lot more than I did. I really enjoyed the author’s first book, Stranded, but this was a little disappointing. Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

Lucy Armitage is the thirteenth girl. At the age of seven she is found scantily clad and barefoot in the snow as the Manor House behind her burns. Now married and newly pregnant Lucy’s past comes back to haunt her, can she piece together her fragmented memories and leave things to rest?

The start of the novel is done well and the premise sounds very promising. Lucy’s early memories appear as bad dreams, you get hints of the trauma and the early details of the cult are extremely unsettling. In addition to this the vibe you get from her husband and his family means it soon becomes very disturbing. You feel sympathy for Lucy, none of the situation she finds herself in is her fault and yet I don’t connect with her, she is too unemotional and ambivalent about what is happening to her, probably understandably so. The characters are not easy to like and some are simply dreadful in the way they treat her.

However, it falls apart for me in the second half. There’s way too much explanation and over detail which slows the pace and prevents the tension and suspense which you should most definitely be feeling. There are sections here I just couldn’t take seriously especially details around the cult and there’s a lot of eye rolling from me. This is especially true with some of the dialogue which makes my jaw drop for the wrong reasons! The end is pretty good and saves the book from a lower than three star rating from me.

Overall, there is disappointment as I really enjoyed the authors last book ‘Stranded’ but with this one there are too many sections that require suspension of disbelief.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Avon Books for the much appreciated arc return for an honest review.

A dark, emotional read full of suspense and intrigue. The 13th Girl is a disturbing, slow burn thriller that will keep you gripped.