Hi All,

Happy Sunday! Our first official Sunday of spring in the UK. Losing an hour of sleep has truly messed with me today and I’m struggling to get my life together. I’m so tired but this is really not helped by the fact that I was awake until an ungodly hour last night glued to this book.

Book 📖

If I read the words dark and twisty in reviews for a book, I’m sold immediately. So when I saw this book and the fact that it was likened to series like Broadchurch and The Missing I knew I had to read it. Thank you so much to @AvonBooksUK and @BryonyPearce for this advanced audio copy of The Girl on the Platform in return for an honest review. The Girl on the Platform is due to be published on 15th April 2021 and you can get a copy here.

Description 🔖

Bridget is a new mother and like most she is exhausted. When on the train home from work she is the single witness to a crime so horrific it distresses her deeply. She sees a child abducted right from the train platform.

Except she is the only witness; not a single other person on the train saw a thing and nobody has reported a little girl missing. So the police write the report off and Bridget struggles to convince even her husband that it happened. With nobody looking for the little girl, she takes it upon herself to investigate but this comes at a high price.

General Thoughts 🤔

What a fantastic read this book was. True to it’s description, it’s dark and twisty and really quite disturbing. It was one of those books that made me feel uncomfortable but I couldn’t put it down and stop. I had to keep going because I had to know what was going to happen next.

There was so much to unpack in this book, I couldn’t possibly cover it all in a review (and I don’t do spoilers!). As well as being gripping and tense, mental health plays such a big part in this book and it really made me think about medical vs therapeutic treatment. I know that there are people in either camp that have strong feelings but I think I really started to appreciate that no two people require the same treatment. There is no right or wrong other than getting the treatment that you need to feel better. The important part is acknowledging an illness and reaching out for help and support.

Characters 👫👭👬

My heart broke for Bridget, but I admired her courage and strength. Despite everything she was going through personally and despite the reactions from the police, she was persistent in her plight. I felt like some of the other characters allowed her mental illness to define her rather than attempting to help her and I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been.

I really liked Bridget’s husband Tom. There was a dark cloud over their family but he was there and he was supportive. Yes, he had his moments of it all getting too much, but I that didn’t make me like him any less. I think he just needed to take a breath and sometimes that is what allows people to come back stronger.

Writing Style ✍️

This isn’t the first (and I hope it isn’t the last) super impressive debut that I have read so far this year. New authors seem to be bringing their A game at the moment and Bryony Pearce is no exception. I loved that she was able to write Bridget’s character with sensitivity but also convey raw emotion. Bridget narrates the story and I think her voice was written beautifully.

About half way through the book, some parts of the puzzle started to slot into place, but I knew that with 50% of the book left to go, there was more to be unravelled. The intricacies of the story and all of those lovely twists and turns were weaved and undone so well and kept me well and truly hooked.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖️

This was such a fantastic read and I will 100% be recommending this to all. The storyline was superb, the writing was amazing and the narration of the audiobook was perfect. Congratulations to Bryony Pearce on this debut and I look forward to keeping a look out for her future work.

😍😍😍😍😍