Utterly gripping and captivating. This book drew me in and had me on the edge of my seat. I think it was particularly more engaging as I had it as an audiobook.

Normally, I reserve audiobooks for non-fiction reads - I’ve always struggled to get into fiction audiobooks for some reason. But The Girl on the Platform has changed my mind! I was HOOKED.

Bridget is on her commute home from work one day, when she sees a horrifying a sight. A little girl sat on the train platform, snatched by a gang. But no one else has seen it. In fact, everyone - her fellow passengers, the police, her family - think she’s either making it up or imagining the whole thing. But the more Bridget looks into the kidnapping, the more she gets sucked into a potentially dangerous world she cannot escape.

As a professional armchair detective, I was SO angry at myself for not guessing the outcome to this one. Looking back, the clues were there - a really delicately-laid trail of breadcrumbs throughout the story - but none of my theories were quite right. In all honestly, that’s the main thing I look for in a thriller. And it definitely kept me guessing.

I got a little bit lost throughout the middle - this was a book with a lot of names and stories to remember. I don’t know if it was the audiobook format, but I found myself losing track of important characters and their stories.

All in all, this was a clever, twisty thriller that’ll keep you guessing. Think The Girl on the Train meets Gone Girl - unreliable narrators, mental illness, and gritty domestic drama.

My rating: 3.5 stars

On her way home from work, Bridget sees a little girl being kidnapped from an isolated railway platform. As Bridget herself is in a passing train, she rallies around to see if anyone else has witnessed the crime. When no one steps up, Bridget decides to take things in her own hands and find that missing girl. The problem? Bridget is a new mom, and struggling with post-partum depression. As there are no other clues that confirm the kidnapping, Bridget finds herself questioning her own sanity. And yet, she continues to be obsessed with the girl for some unknown reason, to the point of lying to and ignoring her own family. To what extent are her suspicions rooted in reality? Will her delicate family situation be able to survive her fanatical quest into the truth?

The story starts off spectacularly. While it is easy to dismiss the book as yet another book related to a train, the way Bridget’s emotions and insecurities are portrayed really take the story to a whole new level. However, after a point, the pace becomes too slow, though the action does consistently moving forward. What saves the book from the lagging middle section is the dramatic turnaround at the end. While I did see it coming in advance, I didn’t guess the complete extent of the twist. So that was a wonderful surprise.

The overall book is quite dark and twisted. Author Bryony Pearce does her best to make sure that your attention doesn’t get diverted, and to a great extent, she is successful. What I feel didn’t work for me is that I was expecting a thriller but found more of a psychological drama. Only towards the end does the book seem like a thriller again. If this were marketed as a drama, I would have read it with different expectations.

That said, the author nails Bridget’s character perfectly. Her PTSD, her emotional highs and lows, all are written in a way that leaves you feeling for her character. The personal note by the author at the end of the book reveals her personal experience with PTSD. And that explains why she was able to write about it without glamorizing or exaggerating it.

I heard the audio version of this book and narrator Nneka Okoye does a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life. Right from portraying the emotions to providing distinct voices to the characters, she is fantastic. I shall look forward to more of her narrations.

I will still recommend this book, in spite of my slight dissatisfaction. Just make sure you read it as a psychological drama.

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio, for the Advanced Audio Review Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This audiobook delivered a worthy addition to the psychological fiction genre.

Bridget, mother to baby Grace, commutes from work one evening to witness a child being taken from the train platform.

To her horror, no one else witnesses this abduction and she finds that both police and family write off her observation as a product of her own imagination, an assumption made on the basis that she is a sleep deprived new mum being medicated for postnatal depression.

Using her mathematical skills she does some amateur sleuthing to uncover a pattern of abductions across time and country but quickly finds that this lands her in trouble, and not just with her husband Tom!

Fearing for her own safety, and more so that of baby Grace, Bridget struggles and uncovers some truths that are shockingly close to home.

I enjoyed this story immensely, it wasn’t spoiled by in places being predictable as I didn’t feel that plot twists where where the author wanted to take us with this story.

Characters were constructed really well, Bridget’s struggles with her own appearance and identity as a new mum being utterly relatable.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this audiobook. My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I was lucky enough to read and review the audiobook version of The Girl on The Platform. A fast paced, mystery with plenty of twists to keep me interested. The best thing about this book is I really felt the frustration of the main character as people around her doubt her story of witnessing a kidnap.
I felt I’d worked out where the book was going fairly early on in the book, but although I was correct in my”solving the mystery” I was still left surprised by the ending. A fantastic novel, very easy to listen to with great narration that fit perfectly with the story

Audiobook version: I received a free copy from the publisher.. This is my honest review.

As a fan of psychological thrillers, I find it increasingly difficult to find a new book that grabs me with twists that satisfy,. This is a well-written novel, and the twists and turns were intriguing and interesting. I enjoyed this book and will be recommending it to others.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Bryony Pearce for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I don’t know what I was expecting from this audiobook but it certainly wasn’t what I read. What a book! This is a dark and gritty thriller. The suspense is quite scary at times. Perfect for any lovers of psychological thrillers. Bryony is the new queen of suspense.

I listened to the audio version of this book
Brigid is the hardworking mother of an 8 month old, when one day travelling home from work on the train she witnesses through the window a little girl being bundled into a van at one of the train stations the train rushes past. She calls the police as soon as she has a signal, but unable to identify the station and with no other witnesses or children reported missing, the police put it down to the medication she is on for postnatal depression.
Convinced what she saw was real and unable to put the girl out of her mind Brigid begins to investigate herself,
I felt the narrator read this story well, it was written in the 1st person and I really felt like Brigid was telling her own story. The narrator getting the right tone in the character, the whining, the need to be listened to and the searching to discover the truth.
I wasn’t overly drawn to Brigid’s character, I felt she was a bit spoiled and self centred, failing to put her husband and child 1st. However you need to remember that this is a mum struggling with pnd and I felt this was very well portrayed in this character.
I wasn't surprised by how the story evolved as I had already ( almost from the start) worked it out.
However I did still enjoy listening to it.
I did find it all a little far fetched and found some bits to be unbelievable., but all in all a good book worth reading (or listening to)

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review

Yes!! (Fistbump) I called this 1!

What a brilliant story! I absolutely loved this book from the beginning to the end. At times it felt like I was getting heart palpitations in frustration with nobody believing poor Bridget! On her way home, she sees a young girl being abducted from a train station but nobody else on the train sees this. The police cannot find any proof that a girl has gone missing. Did she imagine or dream these events? Soon her life spirals out of control. Will her obsession to find the truth destroy her marriage? Some people might think it is better to let dead dogs lie.......

The characters were very well portrayed and I felt like poisoning a few!! (Cough in fist whispering MOTHER)
The narrator did a stellar job of portraying the characters and I will look out for more work from her.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

This review was written after I read the book, unfortunately the advanced copy of the audio book didn’t arrived until after I’d finished the book.

Bridget is the mother of an 8 month old baby girl who has gone back to work to support her stay-at-home husband who is doing the child-care. She has suffered/is suffering and being treated for post-natal depression. She works long hours and has a substantial London commute by train. One night she sees a child being snatched by two men at a station as the fast train from London hurtles past. She rings the police and everyone on the train is questioned but no-one else saw anything and distressingly for Bridget, no-one reports a child missing. All the indicators point to her having dozed and dreamt what she thought she saw. But Bridget can’t let it go and begins investigating herself.

I didn’t take to Bridget’s character and although I deeply sympathise with post-natal depression, I struggle to empathise because I was lucky enough never to suffer from it. I felt for her husband and struggled to believe the lengths she went to investigating this kidnapping - which resulted in her spending less time with her little girl and her husband. I felt the police were portrayed in a fair way, hard to know what else they could, in reality, do about a reported crime, unseen by the rest of the commuters on the train, no reports of a missing child, no reports of anything untoward from any of the stations, and the woman who reports the crime is shown on the CCTV as dozing for most of the journey and she’s on medication for depression, which is known to have the side-effect of causing bad, vivid dreams?

I had a ‘light-bulb’ moment half way through the book when I thought ‘aha, I get it!’ but I didn’t anticipate all the twists at the end, which, in my opinion, were slightly far fetched, especially the ‘flower-bed’ part.
.
When I started his book, my initial thoughts were that the author had just finished a writing course and this was her first book because half of her prose was very detailed and flowery with in depth descriptions (which I remember being encouraged to write on my writing course) and the other half short, staccato sentences. I hoped it wouldn’t continue like this throughout the book and to be fair that lessened but having said that it was all written in the first person and I’m not a lover of that either.

However, I have to say, it did keep me interested all the way through and at no time did I consider giving it up and for that I give credit and stars. I normally enjoy psychological thrillers but this one.........sorry, not so much, just wasn’t for me.

My thanks go to the author, to NetGalley and to the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest, unedited review. (less)

This book is way more then the blurb. Really intriguing storyline that focuses on first time parents, all that comes with it along with juggling it and everyday life. I liked and disliked the characters if that even makes sense. I did find myself getting really frustrated at the fact that no one took Bridget seriously. It’s a really well written storyline but I found I was urging it to speed up and move on as I think it didn’t need to be as long and the daily struggles may not have needed as much description but on the other hand I think after finishing the book that was the authors way of getting her point across. The narration was fantastic and really easy voice to listen to. I had worked out how it was going to pan out but that didn’t take from the outcome and the last 2-3hrs of the book was really well paced and really had me hooked. Really good listen and would recommend...

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK Audio for the opportunity to read and review this ARC that was published on the 15th of April.

On her way home from work Birdget is convinced she has seen the abduction of a child from another station, calling the police to make a statement but no one else in the train saw anything, sending Bridget spiralling into paranoia.

A great book full of twists.

I found this book quite disturbing at times especially the behavior of the young mum who became obsessed about a crime to the point of neglecting her own baby. The new mum Bridget clearly had mental issues and could not get the help and support she needed, I didn't really like this character and her dialogue however the plot was so intriguing I had to keep reading until the end. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook..

Thanks Netgalley for providing me with an audiobook version in return for an honest review.

This is the first time listening to any books by Bryony Pearce and it won't be my last. I loved it as it kept me thinking from beginning to end. This is a great thriller and the audio narrator is fantastic too which can be a make or break for me. 5 stars from me!

Many other people have written a resume of this book and I always think that there are professionals who write a blurb in just the right way to set the scene and give a taster without giving the plot away so I won’t try to do their job here.
This was a book which I found drew me in at the start and then I began to get loose track BUT if this happens to you, then stick with it! Over the last few chapters I just couldn’t stop listening as I got drawn into the concluding revelations. At times I was rather annoyed with the narrator and her portrayal of the main character, Bridget but I can forgive that as she was extremely stressed out! I must admit that I guessed much of it but even so it was thrilling to see how the scenes played out. Far-fetched, yes, but this is literature, make believe, not a true crime retelling so it allows for some good dramatic licence. Quite scary at times but a good read/listen.

Intriguing novel. Although I guessed one of the major twists early on, it still kept me hooked and a number of other things were revealed within the narrative. Kept me interested throughout. Good narrator.

Firstly, the narration is generally excellent bar the odd shrill note that mad me cringe. However these were at times when perhaps they were called for due to the mood of the character.
The tale is excellent. A woman sees a kidnapping from a train window and is then followed by someone in a white van, but no one will believe her and blames it all on the postnatal depression she is suffering. It soon becomes obvious to the reader (well it was to me) that the truth is an even darker story. A thoroughly stressful read (listen). I loved it.

New mum Bridget is tired, overwrought and on antidepressants for post natal depression. Her husband stays at home to look after the baby and Bridget goes to work. On her long train journey home she witnesses a kidnap of a young girl. However when she reports it there is no evidence of any crime being committed.
Bridget knows what she saw but noone believes her, not even her husband.
A great thriller.
Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

"𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚎𝚛𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚎… 𝙿𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚖 𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚑" - Brooke Shields

Bridget hurries to get a seat in the train since she should travel for another 50 minutes to reach home, to her husband Tom and her 7 months old daughter Greece. Since she was paid well, they decided that she should resume her work and Tom would take care of Greece. Bridget is completely exhausted because of all those staying up night and working continuously. On that day, when she was returning home, she sees a girl in a school uniform being kidnapped on the platform. Before noting down the station name everything passed out quickly. Nobody other than her in the train witnessed it. When she informed the police, they were not convinced to believe her since she was already in medication for postpartum depression and they said hallucination is one of its symptoms. Being the only witness, Bridget pledges to solve this case by herself.

This story has a gripping storyline. The first half was draggy a bit and the author described all the exhaustion parts deeply. But, once the story started revealing it's suspensive elements, it was unputdownable. I didn't know much about postpartum depression but reading about it changed my perspective towards the new moms. It is a serious issue. It was scary too.

The author also showed how one's family should take care of new moms. Because when a child is born, everyone's concentration will be on him/her but we fail to understand that it is all new to the mother too. I understood that we should never feel bad to reach out for help. There is nothing to feel bad about it since it's natural.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins Audio and Bryony Pearce for my advanced listening copy of The Girl on the Platform in exchange for an honest review.

Published: 15th April 2021

The Girl on the Platform is cited as the new 'Girl on the Train' and 'Gone Girl' and I'm always a little dubious of those sorts of comparisons and let me tell you, it isn't. But not for the reason you think. It's because it's better, it blows those two books right out of the water and if there was an award for most compulsive read of the year I'd be awarding it right now.
Bridget is exhausted. She's recently had a baby and now she's returned to work, the long commute in addition to the fact she's still breast feeding and getting up in the night with little Grace means she's exhausted. So when she manages to catch the train before it leaves the platform she's just relieved to be able to grab a seat where she can doze against the window. But when the train passes a dimly lit station, Bridget is horrified to witness a little girl being kidnapped. And she's the only one that sees it. Bridget calls the police as soon as she can but the problem is they don't believe her. Nobody does. Not her husband, not her mother, not the police. There are no other witnesses and anti depressants can cause hallucinations and bad dreams right?

This is an incredibly dark book and not for the faint hearted. The writing is fantastic and the narration was good although the posh accent was a little annoying/fake at times. I just couldn't stop listening until the end. Although I'd got clues and was pretty sure I'd figured it all out or at least most of it, it was still thrilling, compulsive reading waiting for Bridget to put together all the pieces. It was also interesting to listen to the authors afterword where she discusses her own struggles with post natal depression and how the book was designed to shed light on that struggle. A fantastic read that I will be recommending to everyone I know.