The Girl on the News is about a mother whose daughter is falsely reported missing via social media. She now must keep her daughter safe while also keeping her dark past a secret.

I was immediately drawn to the premise of this book. The idea of an anonymous Facebook post essentially destroying everything you have built is very relatable.

I thought the book was well written and the audio narrator was good. There was a nice pace from chapter to chapter as it switched from past to present.

I do think the ending felt a little rushed. I wish we were given a bit more there.

My Rating: 3.75
I received an uncorrected advance review copy of the audiobook The Girl on the News by Elizabeth Carpenter, narrated by Zoe Mills, from NetGalley and Bookouture Audio in exchange for feedback. Thank you!
I requested this book primarily because of how interesting the plot description sounded, and I’m glad I was able to read it! The audiobook is about 7 hours long, and I listened to it all in one day. Mills did a fantastic job on the narration!
I really enjoyed the variety of POVS throughout the story and found the characters interesting and complex. While some of the plot twists were fairly guessable, others kept me questioning until the very end.
I did find the ending to be a bit rushed- I would have enjoyed more details on the reveal at the end and more insight on some characters’ motives. (SPOILERS: Why did Mark marry Jessie? Did Billy commit the murders on his own? What were Liza’s intentions when establishing context with Jessie? I understand the appeal of an open-ended conclusion to the story, but I think that could have been done while answering some of these questions.)
Overall this book was just what I want in a thriller: a mystery to be solved, intriguing narration, and plenty of suspense. I would recommend it to fans of authors such as Katherine Faulkner, Freida McFadden, and Lisa Jewell.

I was really interested in the storyline of thos book but I'm afraid the narrator threw me off too much. For some reason she did a sharp intake of breath after every sentence and it was so distracting and off putting that it ruined the experience of listening to the actual book.

Thank you Netgalley and bookouture for sending me this audiobook for review purposes!

This is a slow burn mystery solid 3.5. The first half of the book was pretty slow but I was still very interested in the outcome of the story! The ending made it all worth it and there were a couple twists that I could not figure out!! It all came together nicely! I had a little trouble in the beginning figuring out all the characters and the narrator had a UK accent so I think that had something to do with it but after a little I caught on!!! If you love a slow burn mystery you will love this audiobook!!!!

This book started off pretty slow and super confusing. As it went on, it continued to be confusing as there were so many different characters that were introduced. The different perspectives didn't help. Maybe I was confused because I wasn't that invested into any character. I am also not sure why the author threw a name change in there, that certainly didn't help, especially crossing timelines where different names were used.

It also felt very off because the clues were there on who killed Lauren but the police didn't look further into it or talk to enough people. Not sure why it took Sadie having these conversations to get any information. It is a bit infuriating.

This story wasn't for me, but it did pass the time while working.

Quite a slow start to this book, but the pace picked up quite quickly. Lost of twists and turns, and a really good ending.
I listened to this on audiobook and the narration was excellent. Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy.

A very intriguing premise, but this was a very slow burner for me. So much so that I sort of would space our & forget about who certain characters were.

Thank you NetGalley& Bookouture Audio for the ARC!

This book just wasn't for me. I finished it yesterday and to be honest I don't think I could tell you much about it as I found it forgettable.

I think the narration put me off. It was as though it was being played at the wrong speed. Just a fraction to fast. Like someone in a rush to tell their story. If it was just for one character I would say it was intentional but it was like that the whole way through.

The other thing I didn't like about the narration was that the tone was the same for each character. As the story is told from multiple points of view it was a bit confusing at times to work our who was meant to be talking if you missed the chapter title.

I may give this book another try but in physical formate because the narration really let it down but for now I can't give it more than 2 stars.

Was approved for an ARC on NetGalley
I was drawn to this book especially by the cover. I thought it was about mistaken identity and kidnapping but it took a different turn and I was not expecting it at all. There were so many twists with the characters among the loss, revenge and social media.
You never knew what was coming next but you could feel the anxiety of a mother and the lengths she would go to, to protect her child. I did not see the ending and loved how it was wrapped up.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/201943695-the-girl-on-the-news" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Girl on the News" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699614938l/201943695._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/201943695-the-girl-on-the-news">The Girl on the News</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16861836.Elisabeth_Carpenter">Elisabeth Carpenter</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6146076191">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Was approved for an ARC on NetGalley <br />I was drawn to this book especially by the cover. I thought it was about mistaken identity and kidnapping but it took a different turn and I was not expecting it at all. There were so many twists with the characters among the loss, revenge and social media.<br />You never knew what was coming next but you could feel the anxiety of a mother and the lengths she would go to, to protect her child. I did not see the ending and loved how it was wrapped up.
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/31644606-char">View all my reviews</a>

Thank you to NetGalley, Elisabeth Carpenter, and Bookouture Audio for this ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 STARS

BRAVO, to the narrator Zoe Mills! Each character felt unique and spot on.

This is a fast paced thriller that delivers a punch in the end. If you're looking for a quick thriller with an AMAZING narrator, be sure to check this one out!

first and foremost, Zoe Mills did an excellent job bringing Carpenter's story to life! this was a story about the value of the truth and how you can never escape your past. I liked the dual perspective and the intermittent interview style, and I really liked how it felt like a slow-burn mystery so I could feel like I solved it with the characters. I'm not sure I would have been as glued to my seat if it wasn't an audio book, but it was still fairly engaging! I would recommend this to anyone wanting a "true crime" feeling British drama, it publishes on January 29th! I would not recommend this to anyone with mommy issues. (Thank you to NetGalley, Elisabeth Carpenter, and Bookouture Audio for sending me the audiobook to review. All thoughts are my own.)

Good story! Took a bit to get into it. Was pretty slow. But picked up and the ending was great. I wasn't a fan of the narrator.

The Girl on the News by Elisabeth Carpenter
Narrated by Zoë Mills

There is a LOT going on in this story, many people have lied in the past and are telling lies now. I wasn't positive who did what until the very end although I had a good idea. It was nice to be so confused and unsure of who to trust for so long and in the end the story wraps up quickly, in an almost ambushed kind of way.

Four year old (ALMOST FIVE!) Mia is adorable. So very smart, intuitive, and the jewel of any mother's heart. Her parents, Jessie and Mark, are extremely protective of Mia, as any parent should be but especially because of events in the past. They know that no child is safe and that can lead to paranoia. Now there have been text alerts that Mia is missing, but she's not, she's right here, she's fine. Who is sending out these text alerts?

Something very bad happened in the past and someone seems to want it to come out. Or they are threatening to tell if something doesn't happen? It's hard to tell just what is going on, who is doing what, but maybe the people who you thought you knew aren't who you thought they were?

Overall the audiobook narration is good. For the most part the women sound good, if sometimes whispery, and the narrator does a very good job of portraying the hysterical chaos some of the women feel at times. Mia sounds so cute, smart and like a four year old (ALMOST FIVE!). It's with the voices of the men that I had some trouble. Almost all the men sound like they are four pack a day smokers with very severe cases of laryngitis. I think I got a sore throat listening to them...narrating like that has to hurt the narrator's throat. That's my only quibble with the narration and maybe that growly, smoker's voice can be backed way off in the future (unless the character is over ninety year old and led an extremely hard life). Back to the actual story, it's short enough that I was able to finish it quickly, entertaining, and did a really good job of giving us likable characters amongst the not so nice characters.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

Rating: 2 Stars ⭐️
Genre: Thriller 🔪
Format: Audiobook 🎧

Imagine you see the news 'missing girl' and a picture of your daughter accompanying it. Panic sets in, but it turns out someone is pretending and she is safe, but why would anyone lie about it? It can mean only one thing, someone has uncovered who you really are and what you were convicted of.

I have have done my own summary of the synopsis because one the official synopsis isn't completely accurate to how certain events play out in the book and two it reveals something that happens at about 75% of the way through the book spoiling it. The synopsis also reveals something else that could have been a great reveal/surprised element. There really were not many twists in this and I worked who it was at 50% of the way through so there could have been more twists to throw you off the trail.

I listened to this on audiobook and while it started off well with the introduction of new characters I found there was little differentiation between the voices so it was hard to follow the narration at times.

If the synopsis didn't reveal those key things that happen and are revealed late in the book I would rated this at least 3 stars. Surprise elements in a thriller are key to a great story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookoutre for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you love a British crime thriller which involves flashbacks and family drama, this is for you! I do love this kind of story as an audio and I really enjoyed this one. Such a fast paced, intriguing thriller with a few twists and turns throughout.

I am typically not an audiobook girlie but I absolutely could not stop listening to this audiobook.

I was absolutely hooked and had to find out what was going to happen.. This does include some time jumps of when the FMC was younger and now when she was older but without those flashbacks, you don't realize how those accusations had shaped her into who she was today.

Rosie has been in the young offenders unit charged with the murder of her best friend Sadie, but did she kill her?
The book then goes the the present day and Rosie daughter Mia is on Facebook missing, but where is she? Who can she trust? Sadie wants to help her gain back her innocence. There has been a few murders on the same day for a few years, could they be connected.


This is a very quick read/listen that keeps you guessing, easily readable in one sitting, you will want to too. Rosie has been written well and the rest of the characters too. A great psychological thriller.

I listened to the audio book and it was an easy listen that will keep you engrossed for an afternoon. The narrator is good and easy to follow.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a copy.

🎧4.25⭐️

I had the audiobook read by Zoe Mills. I found her male voices to be overly breathy which was a bit distracting.

Book set slightly ahead in time for one time frame wed 13th march 2024 which is unusual.

There are various POV, Rosie was was convicted as a 12 yr old who k*lled her best friend. Sadie who is a sister of Lauren the m*rdered girl.
Heather is Lauren’s mom.

Rosie claimed to be innocent, Sadie an investigative reporter is convinced that there’s a serial killer at large. In several aspects it didn’t feel 100% realistic, but it’s entertaining through out which is what I want most from a book. There are several intertwined relationships. It’s got a decent pace. One if you want an entertaining easy listen.

This one was a DNF for me. I got 25% of the way through and found the narrator hard to listen to, thus making the story hard to follow.

3.5 Stars
An intriguing read

Although the pace of the novel was initially slow, it gradually picked up and became more engaging as the story progressed. The ending was a bit predictable. However, the overall storyline was still enjoyable. This is a good novel for those looking for a slow-burn mystery.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Elisabeth Carpenter, and Bookouture Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***