📚 ARC Book Review 📚

🔖 The Girls on Floor 13 by Helen Phifer
Genre : General fiction | True crime | Mystery/Thriller
Pub date : May 30th, 2024

𝓐 𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝓯𝓵𝓲𝓬𝓴𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓲𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓻𝓸𝓸𝓶. 𝓢𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓫𝔂 𝓼𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝔀𝓲𝓷 𝓫𝓮𝓭𝓼, 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓰𝓲𝓻𝓵𝓼 𝓬𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓫𝓮 𝓼𝓵𝓮𝓮𝓹𝓲𝓷𝓰, 𝓮𝔁𝓬𝓮𝓹𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓲𝓻 𝓹𝓪𝓵𝓮 𝓼𝓴𝓲𝓷 𝓲𝓼 𝓲𝓬𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓵𝓭, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓲𝓻 𝓬𝓵𝓸𝓼𝓮𝓭 𝓮𝔂𝓮𝓼 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓷 𝓪𝓰𝓪𝓲𝓷…

Detective Maria Miller is called to a New York City hotel room where the bodies of two teenage girls are found. Sinister messages on their phones suggest they were lured there using the hotel's haunted reputation as bait. With no DNA evidence, Maria suspects the killer is an employee. As she investigates, she uncovers a connection to a past murder and a chilling discovery in the room. Maria must solve the case before she becomes the next victim.

📖 : This is the third book in the 'Detective Maria Miller' series. The title piqued my curiosity, and I was eager to read it so I requested for it.

The book gave off an eerie atmosphere, with a plot that surrounded the investigation of de@ths that revolved around the supernatural realm. I must admit, it managed to spook me a couple of times, as I am easily spooked by such themes 😅. Nevertheless, I was determined to see it through to the end.

The plot itself was easy to follow and comprehend, though at times it became incredibly intense, that I had to resist checking for spoilers. On other occasions, it seemed to drag a bit. I really liked the characters in this book, everything just gave off ‘movie’

All in all, I enjoyed reading this book. It's a perfect choice if you're in the mood for something mildly spooky 😅. While it's not necessary to have read the previous books in the series, doing so may help your understanding of certain aspects.

Rating:⭐️ 8/10

This book brought together crime investigation, a gripping mystery and even some supernatural elements that kept me guessing what would happen next. The end did a great job of wrapping the various characters and plot twists up leaving me very satisfied - a fantastic reading experience! If you’re a fan of mysteries and thrillers with a touch of the supernatural, this book is a must-read.

Two bodies are found in room 1303 of a run down motel, the victims are teenagers and both are missing their feet. Detective Maria Miller and her partner are charged with finding who or what murdered them. They are going to need all the help they can get. Years before another murder had taken place in this same room and the same MO. Maria has to determine if they are connected before more bodies turn up.
Although not my usual genre I enjoyed this story . It was fast paced and tense reading. The pages flew by in my need to find out what was going to happen next and it didn't disappoint. If you like suspenseful. page turning, scares read this book.

Fantastic blend of the supernatural and a gore fest murder mystery with lots going on. I loved that it was set in a hotel as they already have a mysterious behind the scenes world going on already so it’s easy to link this to the more sinister events in this book. The ghost appearing as a warning to tragedy is a great time tested concept but gives a great edge of suspense and terror.
The goriest part of the book (no spoilers) made me audibly gasp out loud a few times much to the bemusement of my family. This is actually praise indeed as I normally consider myself quite hardened to the macabre partly due to my love of crime fiction but also my forensics degree, great writing!
The detectives and main characters were very likeable and engaging, so overall this book has a lot to love. Recommend.

Thanks netgalley for this ARC!
I've read alot of Helen Phifer's books and this one did not disappoint!
Extremely gripping right from the prologue!
Highly recommend.

This is part of a series that is referenced quite a bit. You get the gist of it but you'll probably enjoy this more if you read the series (I haven't) bc an investment in the characters will take you a long way in enjoying this book.

There were just too many elements missing for me to fully like this. I wish less air time had been given to all the ppl telling Maria that her rich boyfriend loved her and she should give love a chance and we spent a little more time with the victims (ie the girls that kickstart the story). We literally don't get anything about them (the little detective work into them was strangely overlooked). The ghost that looks in the beginning - her story makes no sense and I don't know what happened or why (also never explained in detail that rounds out her story) and the death that takes place outside of the main murders was unnecessary to the story.

If you can overlook that, it has Evil (the show) vibes. I just felt like things were missing, and I may have skipped them, so kept going back to re-read but it took me out of the story.

Wow. What a perfect mix of creepy, intregue and emotions. I was hooked from the 1st chapter, you know it's a good book when you find yourself reading a few pages whilst waiting for the kettle to boil .

Fast paced story with all the favourite characters from previous books, Maria and Frankie continue fighting weird and supernatural.

I’ll start off by saying that I’m a big fan of this author. So when I pick up one of her books, I have high expectations.
This one hit all of them, Written with her usual flowing style & grace, it’s easy to lose yourself in the story. With the characters being well thought out and beautifully executed, it really draws you in.
Although this is book number 3 in the series, it can standalone as a great book in its own right.( However, I would recommend books 1 & 2 also even if you read this first ).
A must buy for me and one I have no hesitation in recommending.
Thank you for the opportunity to read the arc.

I’m so sad because of the ending of this book. I’ll get to that in a moment. First, this engaged me right at the beginning, and I pretty much stayed there the whole book. I just love Frankie and Maria’s friendship, and I wish everyone had working relationships like that. Add in a spooky mystery, and this is a well-written, excellent way to spend a few hours. I was so sad at the end, like I said above, because of two things. One, this might be the last book, and I really, really hope not. Second, something happened that made me cry a little. Nope, not going to say; read it for yourself and find out. Highly recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

Gostei do título do livro, daí ter requisitado este ARC. Não sabia que fazia parte de uma série e achava ser apenas um thriller, mas incluí também horror e o sobrenatural, que na minha opinião deixou a história um pouco confusa e aborrecida. A escrita é simples, mas não muito cativante e senti que o final foi apressado.

Detective Maria Miller #3

A light flickers in the silent room. Side by side in twin beds, the girls could be sleeping, except their pale skin is ice-cold, and their closed eyes will never open again....

When the bodies of two teenage girls are discovered in a run-down New York City hotel room, Detective Maria Miller is called to the crime scene. The best friends were supposed to be at a sleepover miles away in the suburbs. With no record of the girls checking in and the room on the thirteenth floor closed off to guests, what were they doing there? Sinister messages on their phones suggest the girls were lured to the hotel, using its reputation for hauntings as bait. The killer left no DNA behind, and Maria's efforts to trace their identity leads to a dead end. But Maria feels certain that the murderer works at the hotel. How else did they access the room and know it was empty? While Maria races to interview the staff before another body turns up, the hotel manager shares an old newspaper article about an identical double murder decades before.

Detectives Maria Miller and partner Frankie are called out to Parker Hotel, where two teenage girls had been found dead in their beds. This book has both suspense and paranormal activity. Maria and Frankie need help from an unlikely source. The hotel has a checkered past. There's also the sighting of the blue lady that's reportedly only seen by people prior to something bad happening. My only criticism is that iIfelt it ended rather quickly. Although this book is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone.

Published 30th May

I would like to thank #NetGalley #StormPublishing and the author #HelenPhifer for my ARC of #TheGirlsOnFloor13 in exchange for an honest review.

It gave me Cecil Hotel in LA vibes and I think that's why I was all for it. Normally not the thriller reader onless its spooky season. But this paranormal thriller was so good I couldn't put it down.
It's a series but you can read it as a standalone but let me tell you there is a risk you will want to read the first two books after that.. just like a want now.
Following Detective Maria and Frankie on this adventure was exciting.
New York City, ghost stories, two girls... but they end up dead! Solving this crime is no piece of cake, but somehow Maria and Frankie are here for the supernatural.
The way it's written makes you feel like you're not reading but watching and I loved it. Helen Phifer had no problems to be tough with some scenes that were chilling. There is some romance throughout the book which just goes to show that even in the darkest places love can be found.

I enjoyed reading it and highly recommend it. Thank you NetGally and Helen Phifer for this opportunity

Despite not having read the previous books in the series, this was a fairly enjoyable read, especially if you like a supernatural element.

I personally enjoyed the paranormal aspect and the relationships between the characters, especially Maria and Frankie (and Harrison). Summed up in a few words, this ghostly mystery has a good plot, although do feel it lagged a little here and there. I also think I need to have read the first two for it to really click.

Note before the review: I was unaware that this book was part of a series and therefore read it as a stand alone book. It made sense as a stand alone, however with reading of the whole series I would have been able to understand certain references to previous events better.

That said, I enjoyed this book. It was my first paranormal thriller I have read. A creepy hotel with all the sorts of characters you would expect to find. The first half of the book I throughly enjoyed and really loved the character Maria and her dynamic with policing farther Frankie. The building of tension was great throughout and I did not see the twist of “whodunit” coming.

The ending for me was very poor. It was wrapped up far too quickly and what should have been the most interesting part of the story to read ended up only being a couple of chapters. I kept wanting more and expecting more up until the final word. I did enjoy this book however and will keep an eye out for more work by this author.

While this is the third novel in the series, it was the first I read. If you find yourself in the same scenario, this book is easy to read on its own, but does make reference to the previous novels. A veiled homage to the Cecil Hotel, the Parker Hotel is a place where odd things happen, things that cannot be explained by most- insert Maria and Frankie, dynamic duo assigned to the unexplained/mystery police cases. The Girls on Floor 13 provides a decent story arc with many side characters playing crucial roles in its development. I will say, the main characters, Maria and Frankie, were not as well developed as one would assume with it being the third novel. I love a good romance storyline alongside the mystery, but the romance was lacking to the point that it perhaps was more of an afterthought. This paranormal mystery has you wondering the nature of what goes on at the Parker Hotel, with many twists and turns to keep you second guessing.
Thank you to #netgalley and #Stormpublishing for the ARC!

This book was so captivating! It was so twisty! I kept me on the edge of my seat! I binged this within a day! I can’t wait to receive a physical copy! A must buy for my shelf.

I have read books by this author, but it has been a while since the last one. This book is part of a series but it can easily be read as a standalone, although there were some references to previous books which confused me a little. This was a completely different book to what I expected though, but in a good way! I thought it would be just a police procedural read but it turned out to be that plus a lot of supernatural and downright scary parts in it!

We are in New York City to investigate the deaths of two girls at a notoriously haunted hotel, The Parker. Detective Maria Miller and her partner Frankie are sent to investigate and find some seriously weird goings on! The storylines switch between different characters and you are kept wondering who the killer is. I liked Maria and Frankie and their relationship was interesting and added some humour to a dark, tense plot. The storyline was gruesome and scary and held my interest throughout.

It wasn't the genre I thought it would be, but nonetheless it was a book which I really enjoyed! I will definitely be going back and reading the previous books of the series! If you're looking for a crime read with a little something different, then this is the book for you!

First I'd like to start by making it known that I wasn't aware this was the third book in a series, so I read this as a stand alone, which worked well. Reading the first two books might give more depth to the story.

The story of this book was very intriguing to me, I love thrillers, paranormal stuff and the horror genre in general, and the beginning drew me in immediately. At first it reads like a crime thriller, where you're trying to find out who the murderer of two teenage girls is, but it soon changes to a paranormal/horror situation. I did enjoy reading this book at the beginning, it definitely drew me in, however there was some inconsistencies that I couldn't get over and the ending I felt was a little rushed and I was a bit disappointed. I was finding myself getting confused and lost about who was talking and who was who at times, and I do think it would be easier to follow if it was clear whos POV each chapter was of and who was speaking. Overall though, it was an okay read and I would recommend it to people who enjoy horror/paranormal more than those who enjoy crime thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I enjoyed the spooky factor to this mixed with the murder mystery, BUT I feel like the ending was wrapped up too neatly too quickly.

Considering the assumption The Parker was built on a burial ground and the sleep demon possessing people and forcing them to commit crimes was an evil spirit from that burial ground, I feel like releasing it from The Parker would have taken more steps. Such as determining who the spirit belonged to initially, what item was holding it in place, etc. But maybe I’ve watched way too much Supernatural.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, characters, plot, and the concept but would have loved more depth in eradicating the evil spirit. I also think some closure in what happened to Rickie after he murdered the possessed murdered while also possessed by the demon would have been good. Possibly a 10 months later epilogue with that information, an update on Stanley and Cherry, and what Marie and Frankie decided to do (did they quit the strange cases task force?).

I’m not usually a paranormal reader, but this book was very surprising to me! I also didn’t realize this was part of a series, but it was easy to pick up with this book. Super quick read and kept me on my toes.