Title: The 13^th Girl

Author: Sarah Goodwin

ISBN: 9780008467401

Pages: 336

Source: NetGalley Review Copy

A little girl in a white nightdress stands out in the snow, watching the large brick house burn before her eyes…
My name is Lucy Townsend.
I was born on Friday the thirteenth, and I was the thirteenth girl living in the big house. Unlucky for some.
But I was the fortunate one. I escaped. The only one who made it out alive.
And now, twenty years after that fateful night, the secrets of the past and what happened in that house are pulling me back.
I might not be so lucky this time…

Official Summary

16 May 2022

Can you imagine what life would be like if everyone around you was controlling you, bending and moulding you to their needs? When you open this book you will meet Lucy, a woman haunted by nightmares, or are they memories? The 13^th Girl is a gripping page-turner that will see you reading into the early hours. This book is full of twists, making it a fantastic read you will not want to miss out on.

This was my first Sarah Goodwin book and it has made me a fan. She pulls you into her story, keeping you gripped from start to finish. I enjoyed the uncertainty of where this story was going. The characters are original and realistic. She adds a little mystery to the characters leaving you unsure of who to trust. My heart broke for these young girls as the past truth was revealed.

Lucy is haunted by her past. Her memory of what happened to her during childhood is unreliable, but twenty years ago she was saved from a fire, yet so many others were not that lucky. She remembers their screams; it was the night she lost her mother. A mother who was not there for her. A mother she barely remembers. When Lucy finds out that she is pregnant, it is not good news. She is not ready to be a mother, she is not even sure she wants to be a mother. When the press reveals her true identity, Lucy is forced back to her childhood, forced to remember what really happened, especially when new allegations point a finger at her mother, calling her a murderer of children. Now people are blaming Lucy, but is she ready for the truth that awaits her?

My heart broke for this woman. She is carrying so much guilt with her. She feels responsible for things that happened when she was seven years old. I was enraged by the actions of her mother. Thinking it possible for a mother to treat her child this way left my blood boiling. I found myself so engrossed in this book, I was forced to remind myself that it is only fiction.

Lucy Townsend is introduced as a troubled woman. She is hiding what little she remembers about her past, and when her husband finds out the truth, he is forced to help his MP dad deal with a media frenzy they never saw coming. This man was just annoying with his concern, it did not feel balanced. Lucy is sent away – for her own good – but she finds herself in an unusual situation that forces her to face her past. I love how the author kept her real, not turning her into a super-human to overcome the situation she is faced with. Yet the author allows Lucy to find her strength and become a woman determined to stand up for herself. Her selfless act at the end of the story showed just how strong she was.

This booked breezed its way onto my loved list for 2022. I loved every minute I spent reading it and I cannot wait to have the chance to read more books from this author.

If you enjoy a twisty thriller that will leave you turning pages till the early hours, then I would highly recommend this book. It’s a fabulous moving story you will not want to put down until you have reached the last line. The 13^th Girl is a brilliantly creative tale.

Also By Sarah Goodwin

Stranded

Eight strangers.
One island.
A secret you’d kill to keep.
When eight people arrive on the beautiful but remote Buidseach Island, they are ready for the challenge of a lifetime: to live alone for one year.
Eighteen months later, a woman is found in an isolated fishing village. She’s desperate to explain what happened to her: how the group fractured and friends became enemies; how they did what they must to survive until the boat came to collect them; how things turned deadly when the boat didn’t come…
But first Maddy must come to terms with the devastating secret that left them stranded, and her own role in the events that saw eight arrive and only three leave.

About the Author

Author bio from the author’s site

Sarah Goodwin is a novelist who grew up in rural Hertfordshire. She was raised on ‘The Good Life’ ‘Anne of Green Gables’ and ‘Little House on the Prairie’ by her parents, who turned a blind eye to her dabbling in herbal medicine, feminism, eco-warrior ideals and witchcraft. They were understandably unsurprised when she developed the lifetime ambition of building a hut in the woods and living there like a soothsayer. However, after being terrified by a large beetle on a camping holiday, she decided to become a writer and just imagine the wilderness instead. Survival, grim reality and occult mystery continued to intrigue her and she began to make up stories. There isn’t much else to do in rural Hertfordshire but write and go for long walks. At Bath Spa University Sarah studied for a BA in Creative Writing and self-published many novels across various genres, including YA magical realism, contemporary women’s fiction, romance and horror. Sarah graduated in 2014 with an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University. After writing several historical novels, she decided to return to her roots and write instead about the wild, the darkness and survival, which led to her coming up with the idea for ‘Stranded’ which would become her first professionally published novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this wonderful review copy. I loved this book and cannot recommend this one highly enough.

Thank you for visiting the blog. Are you a Sarah Goodwin fan? What is your favourite book? Leave a comment below and I will try to add it to my ever-growing TBR. Until next time…Happy Reading!