BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'Long Lost Girl' by Jill Childs.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Jill Childs, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 17th May 2022.

This is the third book I have read by this author. I have previously read 'The Mistress' and 'I Let Him In' which I also recommend.


I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that 'Fans of Jodi Picoult, Kelly Rimmer and Kerry Fisher won’t be able to put this book down.' I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult and Kerry Fisher so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Jill Childs and if this is half as good as 'The Mistress' and 'I Let Him In' it is sure to be a page turning read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of a prologue and 71 chapters. The chapters are short in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in London, 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture.

This book is written in a mix of third and first person perspective and the protagonists are Paula Turner, Sara Turner and Ruth. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything. To have the benefit of both first and third person perspective ensures you don't miss out on anything.

It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture.

OMG!!!! WHAT DID I JUST READ!?!?! MIND BLOWN!!!!

Another fantastic book from Jill with vivid descriptions which put you right in the picture. It really felt like Paula and Rute were talking directly to me from across the table over a cup of tea. The synopsis and cover suit the book perfectly.

The storyline is absolutely addictive and had me sucked in from the first page until the explosive ending. It is a heartbreaking story about regret, family, secrets, what ifs, deceit, twists and much more. I couldn't stop turning the pages until early hours of the morning so if you pick this up I seriously advice you to clear your schedules and also have the tissues at the ready. It is filled with heartbreak, hope, love, loss, secrets, family and a few humongous twists that I did not see coming. A huge well done to Jill on not just one but several bombshell!!! I would have never guessed either of the twists in a million years. Very rarely I am shocked by books having read so many but this absolutely had me a cracker and completely blew my mind. If you are fed up of guessing the ending by 50% then this one is for you!!! There were moments of tension, suspense and others of sadness that really caught in my throat. Whilst I loved the ending it was also heartbreaking for Ruth for never getting something she so desperately wanted at the same time but also life changer for Paula. It is so hard to talk about it without giving anything away so I will just say if you want a book with twists you will NEVER see coming this one is for you!!! This is definitely a book that will leave you thinking about trust, assumptions and Kindess.

Do not start this until you have cleared your schedules as you won't be able to put it down!!

I absolutely adored both Paula and Ruth. They were both strong realistic characters and I was completely invested in them both. It was heart wrenching reading their stories but beautiful to watch them come together in their grief. I wasn't a huge fan of Sara and struggled to click with her as I didn't trust her. Again, I can't even say how I felt at the end of the book as it will give too much away so I will leave it at that. My heart really did go out to Ruth along with the many women who would have been in the same position, I'd like to say many years ago but sadly I wouldn't be surprised if similar situations still continue. Although I liked Paula, I did find her to be a bit judgemental at times but at the same time, considering the circumstances it is hard to know if I would react in some of the situations. Needless to say whether you loved or hated them, the characters were perfect for this absolutely fantastic storyline.

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Jill on one of the most shocking twists I have ever read and an absolutely addictive book!!

Overall an addictive, page turning, heartbreaking story with bombshells you will never see coming!!!

Genres covered in this novel include Psychological Thriller, Mystery, Women's Saga, Women's Psychological Fiction, Women's Literary Fiction, Suspense and Thriller amongst others.

I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Jodi Picoult, Kerry Fisher, Kelly Rimmer, Nicholas Sparks, Kerry Wilkinson and anyone looking for a book that will shock you.

351 pages.

This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle or free on kindle unlimited (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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This audiobook was sent to me for review from Netgalley. The story is slow…the characters all run together because there are so many stories. Others might like this book. I could not get into it.

An interesting story about what happens when a tragedy happens and those left behind have to figure out how to move forward with their lives. Sara is kidnapped at the age of three and the family has to live their lives not knowing what happened to her. Is she still alive? Safe, happy? Will they ever find out? And suddenly she does. Or does she? So many characters in the story line (a few too many in my opinion), so many questions? Is she who she says she is? What is her game plan? How did she manage to worm herself into the family without answering any of the questions they all have? The author weaves a good and emotional tale.

I was excited at the idea of this book, and found that it wasn't difficult to get into and included some parts that were real page-turners. However I found many other parts, specifically the characters as they relate to one another slightly difficult to follow, resulting in re-reading several portions. The idea behind the plot was a good one that seems to have been executed in a way that leaves room for much improvement. That aside, it did contain some good twists and if I'd been able to keep the characters straight, it would have been a solid 4 for me. I do look forward to reading others by this author. #LONGLOSTGIRL #NETGALLEY

I can't help feeling like I have been slightly mislead by the cover and blurb for this book - I was expecting this to be more of a missing girl mystery with potential duplicitous behaviour, but it's really a character lead women's fiction read. The story felt a little unremarkable and really nothing much happened until the 60% mark; and even that was a subplot. In fact, there are a host of needless subplots, some of which are mysterious, but which do detract from the main plot - including sale of the family silver, homeless people interactions, life drawing classes, Hugo, applying for a job, online gaming, Hannah going missing, the secondary timeline with Ruth. It all felt like needless padding. It's an OK read but not very compelling. Thanks anyway to NetGallery and Bookouture Audio for allowing me to get a copy of the book, which in all honesty I would not have finished had I not felt obliged to do so.

Sara was only three years old when she disappeared from the Turner family. The family has never recovered, hoping day after day, year after year that Sara would return. Out at lunch one day, the family is approached by someone and she claims to be their missing Sara. She has the same looks, the green eyes and the straight hair.

Her father Alan is beside himself, yet distant. Her aunt Paula is skeptical. Her Gran is more than happy and so very glad her granddaughter has returned. When her mother took her away at the tender age of three, the family thought they might never see her again. Now that she is back, the question begs itself, where was she all of this time and why didn’t she come back sooner?

Sara carefully wedges her way in, starting with lunch with the family, but then she quickly moves in after that. It’s as if she never missed a beat. However, there are secrets and the secrets are starting to unravel and this creates tension on a huge level as well as the fact that there is someone who may or may not be telling the truth about everything.

Sara gets along quite well with Hannah, Paula’s daughter, and this rubs her the wrong way. Paula want answers. Sara fits in too well but not with enough of a clear vision as to what went on during the years that she was gone. With twists and turns in this book, revelations are revealed, thus everyone is at sixes and sevens. With her signature style, Jill Childs writes a compelling read from the intriguing beginning to the shocking ending, all while layering this book with deep emotional moments.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Please enjoy my YouTube video review - https://youtu.be/wLfsMGXV0io

The blurb leads you to believe you are delving into a thriller about a missing child but not so much. Told through a dual timeline of past and present but more emphasis on the present. It was a slow burn to start and then it picked up somewhat but I felt it did lack the suspense aspect. There was a few twists and turns thrown in along the way but I felt I needed more. Some really likeable characters, some you didn’t really get to know properly and I did find the main character Paula irritating at times. The narration was superb. It was an ok listen that held my attention.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to #LongLostGirl

This is my first book by Childs, and would certainly encourage me to pick up another of her novels!
I am a little obsessed with missing people novels and I am always on the lookout for another one to recommend!
I think this was marketed as more of a womens/ literary fiction book rather than a thriller, which I think would have suited the plot a little better. It was a mystery and there were lots of secrets revealed, but I think Childs is a much more emotional, character-driven writer, and this came across well. The intrigue was kept throughout, but I do prefer more plot-driven books with premises like this.
I would definitely read more books by Childs on the back of this one.

I actually feel quite sorry for the next book that I read because there is no way it be able to compete with this twisty gem. Tears rolled down my cheek whilst listening to this moving audiobook.

I listened to the audio version and loved the narrator, she brought a lot to the story with her emotion and character voices. While the story did take too long for me to get invested in, I ended up really enjoying it.

I was intrigued by the premise of this and excited to listen to it on audio. The narrator was excellent and the audio part was exceptional but I did not care for the lackluster plot. The characters were unremarkable and the story didn't hold my attention too well. I was also confused by the relationships of all the different characters and had trouble keeping track of them and how they related to one another. The end did produce a few surprises, so that was plus. Overall, though, not my favorite.

The little girl you lost is back or is she? This Domestic Suspense is intriguing, heartbreaking and beautiful in equal measure. From the first page to the last it's an emotional roller-coaster of intrigue and family dynamics. #netgalley #LongLostGirl

Regrettably I couldn't get into this at all. It was too slow moving and boring. I sw other reviewers say it picked up around 50% but I can't wait that long... too many books too little time.

I was expecting a story about a missing little girl but that isn't what I'm getting... I was hoping for more of a thriller with a steady pace.

Name of Book: Long Lost Girl
Author: Jill Childs
Narrator: Emma Stansfield
Genre: Mystery/Family Drama
Publisher: Bookouture Audio Pub Date: May 17, 2022
My Rating: 3 stars
I have only read one other Jill Child novel ~ I Let Him In"] which I really liked: so have been looking forward to reading another.
I was pleased when one reviewer stated that this isn’t the typical story of an adult claiming she is Sara the lost girl whose mother took her away when she was three years old.

Story is told from the POV of Sara, Grandmother Ruth, and Aunt Paula.
A bit slow at first ~
Yes! There was a twist in this.
Yes! I ended up liking this story!

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 17, 2022.

Wow. While I'm only giving this 4 stars because I wasn't a huge fan of the narrator, the story itself was great.

While the story had alternating POVs, it wasn't super hard to follow. It does take you through many, many emotions, and it was interesting to see how everything played out in the end. I can honestly say the ending was a surprise for me. All the loose ends were tied up nicely as well.

This is the first book by this author. Sara, at age 3 is torn from her family causing never ending grief, but 20 years later a young woman returns claiming to be this child. The story covers decades and focuses on three females, secrets, loss, coping and other struggles. I have to say that even though parts were good, this book was not at all what I expected. From reading the description of the book, I thought it was going to be a thriller about a missing child. The first half was slow but it did pick up about halfway.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity.

I couldn't stop listening to this terrific audiobook. I pretty much had it done during two long days of gardening!

I'm going to highly recommend it (without spoilers!) as one to grab as soon as you can.

The story is fast paced and gripping, the narration is fantastic and God, that ending was one that I definitely didn't see coming.

Thanks so much to the author, Bookouture Audio and Netgalley for the review copy.

Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of Long Lost Girl by Jill Childs. I loved this while story. But that twist! I haven't read a twist that good in so long! Bravo to author and narrator!

I requested this book on Netgalley for two reasons - I was currently without a book to read and I liked the title and cover. I knew nothing about the content. I was fortunate to get the audio and after listening for about an hour, complained to my husband how much I hated the book. But, I was committed to finishing.

Late that same night.....I told my husband I had just finished a five star book I loved. He commented that was great since I disliked that other book.....SAME BOOK. Sticking with it, getting past the very slow burn at the start, and I was hooked.

From the title I expected the formulaic domestic thriller but author Jill Childs managed to write a unique, multi POV contemporary novel that kept my interest all day, and I was actually sad at its completion.

In brief, Sara, at age 3 is torn from her family causing never ending grief, but 20 years later a young woman returns claiming to be this child. The story covers decades and focuses on three females, secrets, loss, coping, strength.....

As an audio book, narrator Emma Stansfield adeptly voiced characters ranging from child to senior citizen, and with each jump in POV the story worked perfectly. There were several occasions I wanted to smack some of these people, and I think that indicates good writing on Childs part. I was invested in these women, and was able to relate to them.

I highly recommend long, lost girl and thank Bookouture and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen in advance of its May 17, 2022 release.