Enjoyable read with suspense, thrills and uncertainty. A little drawn out n places, but overall a great read

A good read
Will keep you turning the pages
Love Lisa’s books and this one doesn’t disappoint
Thanks NetGalley

Well written with a compelling story line and well developed characters. There was a good level of twists and unpredictability, with pacing that was a slow burner at first but quickly increased as plot tension increased

A bit of a slow starter this one but it doesn't disappoint - it is Lisa Jackson after all!

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy

4/5

Lisa Jackson is an auto buy author for me, she’s great at what she does and what she does is thrill!
I think it started slightly slower than others of her books but definitely built up in tension and suspense and intrigue to an amazing crescendo of a plot that kept me guessing. Really liked this one!

The Girl Who Survived is the latest gripping thriller by Lisa Jackson.
In short, Kara McIntyre survived a brutal, bloody family massacre alongside her 18 year old brother, who was convicted of their murder and has now, 20 years later, unexpectedly been released from prison. This sets off alarm bells to many especially Kara who suddenly starts receiving cryptic messages and fears for her life.
I always enjoy a book written by Lisa Jackson and ‘The Girl Who Survived’ is no exception, a good interesting plot with plenty of drama and shady characters. It’s a deep dive into the murky depths of a blended, wealthy family and the consequences of that horrific massacre.
Big thanks to Lisa Jackson, Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.

Lisa Jackson is one of my favorite authors, and once again she doesn't disappoint. I really enjoyed the twists and turns, and can't wait for the next one!

I was on the edge till the end and each turns or twists surprised me. A dark, twisty and gritty story that I thoroghly enjoyed.
Well plotted, good storytelling and fleshed out characters.
A bit slow in the middle but always gripping.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

The Girl who survived is a suspenseful and exciting book about Kara, who family were brutally massacred one Christmas eve when she was 7 years old.. Her Mum and dad and her three brothers had all been slashed and her sister Marlie who had tried to hide her saying she would be right back but didn't return. Kara managed to unlock the door to the attic where her sister had hidden her to keep her safe and crept downstairs to find her murdered family.. Only one brother Jonas was still alive and asked her to get help, only for Kara to be spotted and chased by someone.

The story moves on to the present where twenty years later Kara is still struggling with her past and her brother Jonas is just released from prison for the murder of the family. But what happened to Marlie who disappeared twenty years ago and hasn't been seen since..

I really enjoyed this book and the interaction with other family members, the Police and the press all trying to get in on the story or find out the truth particularly after other murders take place.

This was a realty exciting whodunnit and you don't find out until the very end. Lisa Jackson is a great author and I will read more by her in the future.

A big thanks to Hodder & Stoughton, Mulholland Books for the opportunity to read and review this book. I would give it 4.5 stars and have rounded up to 5. I have always enjoyed books by this author

This book was a little bit slow for me, the first couple of chapters were great and it definitely got me hooked but then it just fell a bit flat until halfway through, I would have liked to mystery to have moved on a little bit by then. Once it did pick up, I liked the suspense and it did keep me guessing towards the end although I felt like the romance angle was a little bit forced.

Twenty years on from a family massacre, the youth charged with the killings is released from prison. Kara, the title character, is still haunted by the events. Jonas, her stepbrother, was the one convicted although he has always protested his innocence. Kara doesn't know - she hid after being warned by her sister Marlie who then disappeared and hasn't been seen since.

Kara seeks the truth, teaming up with a reporter whose father had also died that day. The off duty cop had aided Kara before succumbing to a heart attack. This is a complex set up, with two parents, each with children, murdered. There are many other suspects: exes, relations, business partners. And almost all have questions to answer.

The Girl Who Survived has a great set up, but doesn't fully deliver on its promise. The pace is slow until the final section, and the tale is told from multiple points of view, complicating things even further. It's not a bad read, but feels like a missed opportunity to deliver a much better book.

I've been reading Lisa Jackson books for more than twenty years and am a big fan. However, I found this one very dry. The story just didn't seem to flow and I couldn't really get into it. I had to almost force myself to finish it. Disappointing.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #MulhollandBooks for the copy of #TheGirlWhoSurvived by #LisaJackson
20 years ago when Kara was 7 her family were murdered, with only Kara surviving. Her brother Jonah was convicted of the crime and her older sister Marlie disappeared that night and has never been found.
But now Jonah is out on a technicality, and Kara is terrified, her testimony helped to convict him.
I thought it was slightly overlong and skipped various pages.
A good ending.

Now this is what I call a top crime thriller. Anyone who has read her books before will know what to expect and if you are a new reader you are in for a treat. Atmospheric, chilling with great characters and a first class plot. Go to bed early and read this book I promise that you will not be disappointed.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

The Girl who Survived was made available for me to download in March this year, and the publication date is April 6. Usually I read other reviews here on GR after I’ve read a book so as to avoid being influenced by other reviewers. I was a bit surprised to see all other reviews date back to 2022. However, reviewer Alexis will be happy: as far as I can see the publisher took your comments to heart and had this book revised. No ‘nibs’ and no ‘paws’ anymore.
So, does this make this book better? A little, I think. My main problem with this story is the endless repetition of what happened the night of the murders. Now Jonas, the alleged murderer, is being freed from jail on a technicality, suddenly everybody is (again) talking about it. That doesn’t mean that we have to read the same story multiple times. And then there is the family history. I get it that people in blended families have different family names. But here we have a man who already has two children from two previous marriages, a woman who’s in her second marriage, and a daughter from that marriage. The woman apparently has a first name and two family names, but no middle name? Why did she kept the family name of her first husband? And very, very strange: her eldest son gets the two family names as first and last name. Poor child. What makes it more complicated to read is the fact that the author keeps referring to people in different ways. Sometimes by their first name, sometimes by their family name. Since there are a lot of characters in this story, the reader has to remember all those names in full. Then there is the aunt, aunt Faiza. Faiza and her husband have been skimming money from the estate that will be legally Kara’s when she turns 28. Now Kara is nearing this important birthday but she is not doing anything about this. She visited a solicitor once and he told her all the money was gone, gone to Faiza’s luxurious life style. And that’s it? Kara spent a lot of time growing up with the former family lawyer, and she trusted him and his second wife (it’s not important for the reader to know she’s his second wife because she’s dead by the time Kara is in her twenties and the lawyer married someone else) but he is also guilty of helping Faiza to skim the money.
I could go on and on but I think my point is clear: there is an interesting story here but it’s muddled by too much information and not enough real action.
Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this review copy.

The Girl Who Survived by Lisa Jackson.
All her life, she's been the girl who survived. Orphaned at age seven after a horrific killing spree at her family's Oregon cabin, Kara McIntyre is still searching for some kind of normal. But now, twenty years later, the past has come thundering back. Her brother, Jonas, who was convicted of the murders has unexpectedly been released from prison. The press is in a frenzy again. And suddenly, Kara is receiving cryptic messages from her big sister, Marlie-who hasn't been seen or heard from since that deadly Christmas Eve when she hid little Kara in a closet.
Omg. Absolutely brilliant read. Twisty and gripping. 5*.

Deftly Drawn..
A traumatic and harrowing crime has made Kara the girl who survived, made her what she is today and she is still searching for normality. The past is about to catch up with her when a prison release becomes reality. Tense and harrowing with a mounting sense of menace, this is a pacy suspense with a deftly drawn cast, a fluidly fast moving narrative and a plot populated with twists aplenty and shocks galore as it races towards an explosive denouement.

I have read other books from this author so I had high expectations from this book and it lived up to them. The characters were all written well and the settings described so you could picture them. I was never sure who was innocent or guilty until near to the end, but even that had a twist. A book I will be buying for my daughter who loves thrillers

Sorry I requested this book by mistake so I will not be reviewing it. Apologises for any inconvenience caused

This was my first book by the author and I would be keen to read more. The story really played along well and it was definitely an excellent premise.