This was my first April Henry book, and I couldn’t put it down! I loved the fact that I was able to share this book with my teenage son, even though he’s not finished. I’m looking forward to what he has to say about it.

I immediately got absorbed in all the aspects of the book from the podcast to the murder investigation. With the incredibly short chapters, I flew through the book in no time. I definitely recommend this book if you like quick, easy, who done it murder Mysteries.

CW: Murder, Suicide, Overdose, Drug Use

Ok, so we all know this will be the usual CAWPILE/CAWPIRE review – so here we go!

Girl Forgotten – The Review
Characters
There are a LOT of characters in this book, so I’m just going to give a quick overview of how I felt about a couple of them.

I love Piper! She’s funky, she’s cool, and she loves true crime podcasts. I also love true crime podcasts, so I connected with her from that. She’s got a secret she’s keeping, but don’t we all?

Then we have Jonas. He’s an interesting character, also keeping a secret, but again, don’t we all keep some sort of secrets? I like him quite a bit. He seems like someone I’d be friends with.

I can’t really talk too much about other characters without giving away the story, so I’m going to stop there with the characters. All I’ll say is that one character I really liked, until I didn’t!

Atmosphere
Our setting is what I’d guess is a mid-sized city in Oregon. Not quite a metropolis but not a small town either. It’s a decent place to set the story and the atmosphere there is one that I’d say fits the plot well. After all, it’s not meant to be a dark and gloomy/spooky thriller – the crime happened 17 years ago after all!

Writing
I really love April Henry’s writing style. Girl Forgotten is my first book by her and I honestly wish I’d picked up one of her books sooner! She has a way of writing that makes the books easy to read, easy to follow, and memorable enough that if life gets in your way and you have to put it down for a few days1 you’ll still know what’s happening when you pick it back up. Definitely an author I want to read more of!

Plot
Girl Forgotten has a very cool and rather unique plot. I’m sure there are other books based around true crime podcasts, but by a teenager? And detailing just one specific cold case? I’m pretty sure that’s a unique plot line and if it isn’t, well I haven’t seen a book like this before. I loved the plot for this book and found it to be very interesting and well written.

Intrigue
What’s a thriller without intrigue? Every time you think you know what’s going on in Girl Forgotten, you don’t. Trust me. If you think you know what’s going to happen next, you don’t. This book kept me wondering what was going to happen next and there are twists I would never have guessed would happen.

Romance
I know, you’re wondering why romance and not logic. Well, because I think there’s a bit of romance going on in this book, whether you want to believe it or not. It’s extremely subtle, but it is there. It’s a very sweet thing and I wish there was going to be a sequel if only to explore this romance more. But alas, from all indications, this is a standalone novel.

Ending
The ending to Girl Forgotten blew my mind. First the biggest plot twist of the entire book happens. Then in another twist, we find out exactly what happened. And when someone comes to the rescue, you’ll realize how big of a deal it is that the savior did so. This ending was perfect – I wouldn’t change a thing!

Conclusion
This book is an absolute must read. If you’re into YA thrillers, you have to check this book out. If you’re not into them but you’d like to get into YA thrillers, try this book. And if you love adult thrillers, check this out – you just might find you like it more than you think you will!

In “Girl Forgotten” we follow young Piper Gray who is starting a True-Crime Podcast for her passion project. Piper absolutely needs to find out what happened to Layla Trello, and is doing everything she can in order to do so. However, her adventure soon becomes very dangerous.

Where should I start? You probably know that I loved the “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” Trilogy, or at least the first two books because I haven’t finished the third one yet. So I was absolutely thrilled to see that “Girl Forgotten” was also about a true-crime podcast hosted by a young adult.

I loved every second of this book. The writing style was fluent and managed to keep me hooked on the action. The chapters are very short, something I absolutely enjoy in Thrillers because it helps me to read faster. I simply didn’t want to put this book down, and highly encourage you to grab a copy of this one!

There were also some twists and turns and as the chapters are short and fast-paced, “Girl Forgotten” is a quick read.

This book is a must-read if you love True-Crime stories about small-town murders.

✨ PRINCEMAN REVIEW ✨

📝 Senior, Piper Gray, moved to Firview, Oregon to live with her dad after her mom died. The day before school starts, she finds the grave of Layla Trello, a teenager who was murdered 17 years ago. Loving true crime podcasts, Piper decided to make one of her own, hoping to uncover new information about this murder for her senior passion project. What starts out as an innocent investigation, then turns into one of threats and danger. With Layla's killer still out there, is Piper safe, or could she become the next victim?

What I 🤍:
🐇 Quick, Fast-Paced Chapters
🎧 True Crime, Podcast Vibes
🌲 Southern Oregon Setting
🧩 Engaging Plot, What Happens Next!
🏔️ Plot Focused, Not as Much on Characters

I devoured this book so quickly! The way Henry structured this book, had readers getting a new piece of information with each short chapter. It made it easy to read, 'just one more chapter..." I also appreciated how this book was focused more on the process of solving the murder rather than relationship focused. For example, there really isn't any romance involved with the FMC, which was refreshing.

Prince's Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Scare Factor: 😱 (Not at all ~ This is a great unsolved mystery to start with)
Read If ➡️: You love True Crime Podcasts, Want a quick read
Read 📅: Beginning of the School Year
CW ⚠️: Fatal Car Accident, Suicide, Murder, Drug Abuse, Death of Parent, Incarcerated Parent

I really enjoyed this book, although, I would have loved a bit more THRILL. I wasn't scared at all, and was able to read it right before bed. I also would have loved to see a flash forward featuring Piper's future dreams and how she bonded more with her Dad's side of the family. Overall I recommend this book to anyone wanting a Podcast-Like Unsolved Mystery.

🙏 Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours, April Henry and Netgalley for a Free digital ARC of this book. Girl Forgotten is out now.

I read this in one day because the characters were engaging, I was constantly learning more about the hobby in question, the mystery kept me intrigued, and I just needed to know how it was going to end.

Book Review

Title: Girl Forgotten by April Henry

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Rating: 3.5 Stars

From the synopsis alone, this gave me similar vibes to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder so I was excited to see what April Henry could do in less than 300 pages. I did read Playing With Fire and was surprised by what the author delivered in so few pages and I hope she can do it again. The opening of Girl Forgotten introduces us to Piper Gray who is living with her father and step-mother and starting a new school, we don’t know what happened to her mother but I believe that she is dead. While listening to her favourite podcast in the local cemetery she learns about Layla Trello, a 17 year old who disappeared and ended up murdered and no one was ever caught. Honestly, given how much I loved A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder this is hitting all the same vibes so far and I can’t wait to see what Henry does with it.

 

Piper is a massive fan of true crime and decides after her father buys her a new phone and laptop to do a podcast investigating Layla’s murder for her senior project. I really sympathise with Piper of starting a new school and not knowing anyone as I went through that exact situation myself. Much like Pip for A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Piper begins poking around in things that she shouldn’t and begins getting threats. While these threats let her know she is on the right track to finding out what really happened to Layla, they also tell her that the killer is still around and the stakes are high as her own life could be on the line. One thing that I struggled with was the whole book takes place over less than 24 hours so when Piper’s podcasts begins getting popular and everyone suddenly wants to be her friend didn’t really make sense. At least with A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Pip went through a lot of backlash and sacrifices to bring the mystery full circle and she ended up sacrificing a lot to get there.

The small amount of romance between Piper and Jonas was good as it didn’t overwhelm the mystery but provided some more light-hearted moments which were needed. I also really liked how Jonas was the tech guy helping Piper with the more technical aspects of creating and editing a podcast. The reveal of the killer was huge surprise to me as they weren’t on my radar at all and those sorts of reveals is something that Henry does really well. My biggest issue was the book wasn’t long enough for me, in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder there is main mystery that continues over three books with other reveals and side mysteries along the way, even if Henry didn’t want to make this mystery a series I felt it definitely deserves at least another 100 pages to flesh things out a bit more and make the stakes a bit more but overall, it was a good read and I will definitely be picking up more from the author in the future.

This book has a similar vibe to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, in that both of the main characters are making podcasts looking into murders that have taken place in their home towns. Despite having similar storylines, Piper's backstory is different. She has just moved to town to live with her father at the start of her senior year and learns of the murder by stumbling across the headstone of Layla Trello. She gets teamed up with a boy named Jonas to teach her the ins and outs of making a podcast.

Move over Nancy Drew, there is a new crime-solving sleuth on the loose! She's armed with a broken past and a microphone add that together and you have Piper and the mysterious Jonas opening the cold case of a dead 17-year old. What could possible go wrong? I'm sure the anonymous threatening notes are harmless...right?

Loved this YA mystery.

Piper starts a podcast on a 20 year old cold case of Layla Trello, in a new city. The problem is in this quiet little town, any one in town that night could have been the killer. With the help of Jonas, another podcaster teaching her the ropes, she will interview everyone who was there that night. These interviews lead to even more potential killers. Will she be able to get justice? Or will her own secrets lead up to her ending up just like Layla?

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this story!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 4.5 stars
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC of this book via TBR and Beyond Tours in exchange for an honest review!

Girl Forgotten is a mystery story in which Piper starts a podcast in the hope of solving a seventeen-year-old murder case.

“Hello, armchair detectives! Welcome to the first episode of Who Killed Layla Trello?”

I have always murder mysteries and I really liked the take this book took! Feeling very inspired, I started listening to murder mystery podcasts more instead of only bookish ones hahaha.

The story is a very quick read, has a very fast pace and short chapters which make them easy to read. I really liked the technical aspect that went into making a podcast and how it was very apparent in this book. It made the book more believable and real, because Piper didn’t magically know everything and did it perfect from the get-go. I also really enjoyed the podcast chapters and imaging the words being spoken in my ears. It can be compared to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, but it is still very different in feels and overall vibe to the story, but you’ll probably enjoy this book if you enjoyed that one.

I liked the plot a lot and it was fun and engaging. It was believable with trying and sometimes failing to get information on what happened so many years ago. I did struggle a bit in the beginning to really understand Piper’s reasoning for doing this. She somehow connected with Layla, but I believe the reasoning and motivation could’ve been showing better.

I liked Piper as a character. I liked her determination to try to find out what happened, even if her motivation wasn’t clear to me. I also liked how human she came across and questioning herself if what she is doing is the right thing and if she’s doing it for the right reasons.

I liked the relationship between Piper and Jonas, which did not take away from the story but added a nice layer to it. I did think more would happen and somehow sooner. It made me question if I was imaging their chemistry haha.

I liked the conclusion to the story. While I had expected some of the events or something similar to happen towards the end, I hadn’t really guessed who the murderer was until it became quite clear in my eyes. I liked that it kept me guessing and wandering if it was possible to truly solve a murder from so many years ago.

Overall, Girl Forgotten is a quick murder mystery that didn’t keep me from sleep for any other reason than me wanting to figure out who the murderer was.

Piper is new in town and recently learned she must complete a passion project at school. As a true-crime podcast fan, she decides she wants to create a podcast about what happened 17 years earlier to Layla Trello. She doesn’t think she can solve the case, she just wants to spark interest and see if people would give answers now that they are older. As Piper gets further into the podcast, she begins to get threats. Is the killer still around?

Girl Forgotten is a stand-alone mystery that was a very quick read. Fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder will enjoy this story and I also liked the sidebars about what it takes to create a podcast. Piper has some secrets of her own that are revealed and when the killer is discovered … I was pleasantly surprised. This mystery won’t keep you up worried about your safety, but you may stay up trying to finish before sleeping.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my e-ARC of Girl Forgotten!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🎧 want to learn how to make a podcast
👛 enjoy thrifting
🪦 know of a local unsolved murder
🏫 are in high school or have a high schooler

• 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄

After an incident involving her mom, Piper Gray transfers to a new school where she must complete a passion project in order to graduate.

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Piper Gray just moved to Firview, Oregon. The day before school, she stumbles upon an old tombstone, Layla Trello, who died nearly 17 years ago at just 17, the same age as Piper. When she discovers she must do a senior passion project to graduate, she decides to make a podcast about the unsolved murder. Could delving into Layla’s murder mean digging her own grave?

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was a really fun YA thriller with a lot of twists and turns. I enjoyed the podcast episodes and appreciated that they sounded as though a high school student could have created it. This added to the overall realness of the story. I had to keep reminding myself that Layla wasn’t a real person. While I did guess the killer, I liked hearing all about their motive and what happened. I also loved how informative this book was - learning about how to create a podcast, how to thrift, how the police can discover clues! This is great read for all ages.

Quick and easy read. Perfect for YA thriller lovers, especially on the younger side, This has it all - an interesting mystery, secrets, small towns, twists and turns and oh a character with a physical disability (yay rep!).

It is a story about a girl that moves in with her dad. She hides some secrets from her past life, and takes this as an opportunity to remake herself, her image. She has to create her senior project, that has to last the whole year. She chooses to do a true crime/cold case podcast about a girl that has disappeared and then was found dead in this town.
The podcast trend is really hitting it for me. I love that it brings a different tone to the story, as well as breaks the monotony of the plot.

This was a very quick, fast moving plot with a lot of information on podcasting. Loved the mystery, and though I figured out who the killer was, I still liked getting to the end to see how it will all unfold. Another chilling YA thriller from this author.

A visit to the grave for some 'peace' led Piper Gray on the trail of Layla Trello's murder who was a student of North High, the same school she currently attends. She turns her obsession with the true-crime podcast Dead, Deader, Deadest by producing her own true-crime podcast covering Trello's story for a school passion project. Meanwhile, Piper has mixed feelings about her stepmom, Gretchen. The phone she currently owns is the only thing that brings her close to her dead mom whom she misses dearly.

Will she get to the bottom of this cold murder case even when her own life is hanging in balance?

I will confess that I have never read a YA mystery before and after reading a fair amount of middle-grade books, I know there's a phase every individual in that age group goes through which is a mix of trials & tribulations, uncertainty & confusion, tough choice, and peer pressure. I'm so used to reading/watching professionals analyzing and solving cases that it took me a while to get used to Piper Gray's method.

The story develops slowly and unearths layers of mystery and suspense. This gave me ample amount of time to formulate my own theories regarding the case. The narrative traverses back and forth between partial podcast transcripts (which I loved reading), their individual podcast discussions with Jonas, and foggy witness accounts. As the story moves forward, the suspect pool widens, and the hunt for the unsub is on. More people come forward to narrate their POVs and the reader has to sift through them to gather facts.

Many of us listen/watch true-crime podcasts/series purely for entertainment. The storytelling made me perceive the heinous crime from a human perspective.

I figured out who committed the crime but I was clueless about the events that conspired to it.

4 ⭐️

This book is the perfect YA thriller read. It’s quick to get though, you like the characters, and the story is interesting. Reminds me of an adult thriller but is perfect for middle/high school kids because there isn’t much violence. Mild references to drinking, drugs, and sex, but still friendly enough for a book to keep in your classroom library.

Girl Forgotten is a YA murder mystery that follows a teenage girl who starts a podcast about solving a cold case murder. Something that has been a book trend in the last few years. Here we follow Piper who comes across an old tombstone, which leads to an almost 20 year old cold case. Inspired by this Piper starts her own podcast trying to solve the case. The main thing that sets this book apart from other similar ones is its focus on running a podcast. Since Piper is new to hosting and producing a podcast, the story has also heavily involved her learning how to record audio, editing, script writing and finding people to interview.

I wish that both the cold case and the characters were as fleshed out as the podcast. It just lacked something to really connect me to the story. When it comes to Piper she’s not the most empathetic character. She has zero calms or cares about other feelings, or upsetting people. Just brushing off all of the concerns since she’s doing “a good deed” according to herself.

The book also adds characters and plot points that went unresolved. It wants to be too many things at once, and it just leaves the reader with more questions than answers.Not to mention that the ending felt rushed and a bit underdeveloped. The story had potential, but ended up focusing too much on details to tie together the bigger picture.

Girl Forgotten is a twisty thriller that will be appealing to YA readers. I appreciated that Piper investigated like a 17 year old would and has to grapple with ethical dilemmas like repeating unfounded rumors publicly and the ramifications of things like slander. Those are situations that are important to talk about when it comes to true crime podcasts and making Piper unaware felt realistic. Her relationship with Jonas was neccessary for the plot, though underwhelming as far as romance.

This is now one of many books released in the last year or so I have read where there is an unsolved murder and someone starts a podcast about it. It is going to quickly become a tired plotline, though I understand with the popularity of true crime podcasts why it's become a thing. It also has a lot of ethical dilemmas and the question of where the line is between helping a case and exploiting it is important. Henry's examination of the legal aspects of defamation was impactful without being preachy and Jonas often serves as the devil's advocate for when Piper is crossing a line. Henry handled these issues well without taking away from the pace and suspense of the novel.

This is the first book I've read by April Henry and it won't be the last. The podcast angle is what first drew me in, but the story really sucked me in from the beginning. It was fast-paced, entertaining, and I flew through it in just a few hours.

I loved Piper and Jonas. I loved Piper's sense of style, and how dedicated she was to getting Layla's name back out in the world. I loved the actual podcast segments that we get throughout, as well as getting to see the news articles that Piper looked up about the crime. There are twists and turns everywhere especially after Piper really gets into her investigation. I did figure out who the killer was but not until the very end right before it was revealed, and it didn't dim my enjoyment of the story at all.

After reading a few books by April Henry it seems that she is starting to get stagnate. I think this one was super predictable and the ending was very rushed. I did enjoy it for the most part but overall it was lacking in something to really grip me.

This was everything it promises to be — fast, suspenseful, and easy to digest. (It was also a prefect palate-cleanser after two weeks of struggling with an epic fantasy.) The podcast angle was a clever tool to facilitate investigation of the crime, and I enjoyed the extra layer of depth Henry created by raising questions about ethics in true crime media. A solidly enjoyable diversion, especially for reluctant teen readers.