Emily Gunnis is a new author for me and I wasn’t sure what to expect from ‘The Girls Left Behind.’ With triple timelines – World War Two, the Seventies/Eighties and the Noughties – it’s a complicated mixture to handle and there are a lot of personalities and twists to hang on to.
In the Prologue it is 1975. A month ago WPC Jo Hamilton attended the beach where a young girl had fallen from the cliffs and died. Gemma Smith, fifteen, lived at Morgate House, a children's home in an imposing Victorian building on the cliffs at Saltdean. The ‘Morgate children’ are generally regarded locally as wild. Now Jo is called to a ‘domestic’ at a house in Wicker Street. When violence turns to fire, Jo rescues two young sisters from the blaze. They are the only survivors. She takes Holly and Daisy to Morgate House. ‘The Girls Left Behind’ is the story of the Morgate girls, vulnerable teenagers open to exploitation and whose tragedies are woven into the life of a young policewoman.
In 2015 and now a superintendent, Jo Hamilton is in her last week at work before retirement. When human remains are found it takes Jo back to a case she worked on as a young policewoman, a case that was emotionally difficult to handle, when she felt her voice was ignored by the top brass. Jo has carried regrets with her all her career. Her week becomes extra intense when her elderly mother is moved from her care home to palliative care. Her relationship with her mother Olive, is prickly; she is close to her older brother and fellow police officer Charlie; with her daughter Megan, things are changeable.
Intertwined with the two slices of Jo’s life, is the story of her mother Olive who during World War Two worked at Bletchley Park as a motorcycle courier trusted with top secret packages. Olive lodges in the village with Lorna, another Bletchley girl who she met on the train journey. Olive’s world is small, just Lorna, her boss Commander Travis, Geoff Price, manager of the bike workshop, and a few of her fellow motorcycle couriers. Then Olive falls in love for the first time.
A slow-mover for me. The two girls, Gemma and Holly, and their similar storylines merged together. The frequent summarising and repetition meant I reluctantly skipped paragraphs. But oh my, at about 70% and in one of Olive’s sections, the story took off and didn’t stop until the end.
A good mystery thriller which would benefit from a reduced character list and from being cut in length with shorter snappier chapters to increase the tension. A sad story with dark complex characters, hidden secrets and lies told to protect important people.
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Took me some time to complete but thoroughly enjoyed this book! Full of twists and turns and at one point I was sure I had worked out who was responsible............totally wrong! Very easy to read and story moves easily with totally believable characters! Love to read more by this author.
Many thanx to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for allowing me to rread and review this book

Superintendent Jo Hamilton is days away from retirement, but one case has stayed with her since she joined the police force in the 1970’s. When a body is found and identified as a girl who went missing from a local children’s home, she is determined to find the murderer but time is not on her side.
This is a twisty thriller with several plot lines that are all linked. Set in three different times, it keeps the reader guessing and is fast paced. A great read.

The Girls Left Behind by Emily Gunnis was a gripping mystery thriller. I was initially drawn to the eye catching cover but as soon as I began listening to the audiobook I was hooked. The audiobook was well narrated by Clare Corbett. The Girls Left Behind was well plotted, fast paced and had several twists. I particularly enjoyed that The Girls Left Behind centered around the lives of three strong female characters. The time line alternated between the 1940’s when Olive, Jo’s mother was working at Bletchley Park during World War II, the 1970’s-1980’s when Jo Hamilton was a young rookie constable and present day. All three time lines wove together flawlessly by the end of the book.

Jo Hamilton was days away from retirement. She was the Superintendent of the Sussex Police department and had earned the right to retire. There was one case, though, that had haunted Jo Hamilton throughout her career. More than forty years ago, Jo Hamilton was a young constable. She responded to a case of suspected domestic violence. As she entered the identified house, Jo witnessed an irate husband, a cowering wife and two scared and frightened daughters. As Jo tried to get the two daughters out of the house and away from their out of control father, a terrible accident occurred. Jo accidentally knocked over an ashtray and before she realized what she had done the room was engulfed in flames. Jo was able to get the girls out of the house safely but their mother was not as lucky. Even though the fire was an accident, Jo blamed herself. She took full responsibility for the two young sisters. Jo Hamilton realized she had no choice but to take the sisters to a children’s home. Not long after the girls were placed in the children’s home, the older sister disappeared, never to be seen again. Jo never got over the guilt she felt about the fate of the two sisters. Now just days away from her long awaited retirement, Jo Hamilton learned that bones belonging to female victim had been discovered near Saltdean. Could the bones belong to Holly, the older sister, who disappeared all those year ago? Jo became determined to finally bring closure to this case. Could she finally solve this case that had haunted her her entire career? Jo knew that she had to locate Daisy, Holly’s younger sister, to get the answers she desperately needed to finally solve this case. While Jo immersed herself in trying to determine whether the bones that had been uncovered belonged to Holly she also had to come to terms with the fact that her mother was dying. Olive, Jo’s mother had harbored secrets her entire life. Was she ready to divulge them now that she was dying?

Emily Gunnis masterfully wove together the stories of these three strong female characters. The ending was brilliant! I never would have guessed it. I was greatly bothered by the conditions and treatment of the young children at Morgate House, the children’s home where Holly and Daisy ended up. The Girls Left Behind touched on the themes of sisterly love, friendship, deceit, lies, secrets, friendship, guilt, child abuse and determination. I really enjoyed this audiobook and highly recommend it.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of The Girls Left Behind by Emily Gunnis through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a good historical mystery thriller that spans over time. I felt this was well written and an enjoyable book if you like thrillers with multiple timelines.

The more that technology, especially that around mobile phones, advances, the trickier it can be to build suspense and obstacles into detective fiction, particularly police procedurals. One consequence may be an increase in stories within the genre that are set in the recent past, which is fine with me, especially when that means mysteries with their pivotal events occurring during multiple decades within my lifetime. In this case, the main happenings are spread over the 40 years of one police officer’s career, with linked stories taking place in 1975, 1985 and 2015, and a secondary plot taking place during World War II.

In 1975, Constable Jo Hamilton is still relatively new to the force and even newer to attending risky crime scenes, when she attends a reported domestic violence incident. Already haunted by the recent (presumed) suicide of a teenager from a local children’s home, Jo fears for the lives of the two children in the house where their father is beating their mother. In her rush to save the girls, Jo is unable to prevent a fire breaking out and the children end up at that same home themselves, a consequence Jo regrets for her entire career.

Returning to the force in 1985, after a career break to raise her daughter, one of Jo’s first cases concerns the disappearance of the older of those girls – assumed by all but Jo to have run away – and Jo spends the next 20 years wondering if she could have done more to locate the girl or to have prevented whatever happened to her in the first place. Finally, in 2015, a year before Jo is set to retire at the level of Superintendent, the mystery Is partially solved when the bones of the missing girl are found in a shallow grave. Jo sets out to bring the person responsible to justice but finds herself shut out by her superiors and largely unsupported by her family. Meanwhile, the younger sister of the dead girl – now working as a carer herself – is also determined to solve the mystery.

The two women distrust each other, but each has access to information that is unavailable to the other, and it soon becomes clear that the killer is still close by and keen to ensure that his crimes remain unsolved. Yes, crimes: it soon becomes clear that the other runaway was a victim of the same killer and had been targeted for very similar reasons.

I liked the way these two very different women had been shaped by the events that had involved them both and also by their individual family circumstances. Jo comes from a family of farmers and police officers, whose relationship with her own mother is strained for reasons that become clear to the readers as we learn more about Jo’s mother’s early life as a wartime motorcycle dispatch rider, her friendship with the couple who later become the managers of the children’s home, and her ill-fated affair with a Canadian also based at Bletchley Park.

Unfortunately, I found the wartime story to be less engaging than the other parts of the book and would have liked to have seen more page-time devoted to the more recent events instead. That said, I’d like to read more from this author and would recommend this book to fans of mysteries set in any of the eras it covers.

Set over different time lines with strong female characters, this book really does pull on your heart strings. There are secrets and twists making it hard to put down and Superintendent Jo Hamilton is racing against time to solve this last case before her retirement. Life in the children’s home for Holly and Daisy was heartbreaking and it made you think of all the children that ended up in these homes. I remember reading this author’s debut novel, The Girl in the Letter, which actually reduced me to tears. If you haven’t read any of Emily’s books yet then you are really missing out. Thank you to NetGalley and Headline Review for letting me read and review this book.

Thoroughly enjoyed this well written gripping read.
Really good storyline that grabbed my attention & held me throughout.
When superintendent Jo Hamilton was a young constable she dealt with a call out about a family in distress.
She ends up rescuing two girls from their burning house but their parents don’t survive.
She becomes disheartened as she has no choice but to take Daisy & Holly to a children’s home.
Daisy got adopted but unfortunately Holly became unruly & caused a lot of fuss until one day in 1985 she just disappeared.
Superintendent Jo Hamilton is days away from retirement when the bones of a young girl are discovered.
Jo is convinced these are the bones of the missing girl Holly & will not leave any stone unturned till she finds out the truth.
A definite page turner for me kept me engrossed to the very end.

A multi timeline story about the disappearance and deaths of two girls from a children’s home in Brighton and the policewoman who has an invested interest in them and who tries to solve the mystery. I really loved this book although I found myself being a bit confused at times keeping the story stratight! Overall an enjoyable read though.

Jo Hamilton is coming to the end of her career but a recent case has driven her back to her past. She investigated a missing girl from Morgate House and this case has brought it all back up.
I really enjoyed this story. The different timelines really worked to keep the tension alive. It is the first book I have read by Emily Gunnis but it wont be my last!
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for granting me and advance copy

First book I read from this author.
At first I didn’t really know what to expect., I actually thoroughly enjoyed it, so much that I actually had to finish it before going to sleep.
We are transported between 5 different timelines: the 1970s where we follow Jo’s first steps in the police as a woman in a very sexist environment and her connection to the Morley girls, the 1940s where we discovered more about Jo’s mom’s past, Olive, the 1980’s where we learnt more about two other Morsley’s girls, and now (2015), where a body is discovered a week before Jo’s retirement from the police and her obsession to discover the truth about two Morley girls.
I thought the storyline and timeline changes were cleverly done, and I could not wait to discover what happened to the girls who disappeared.


Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Part thriller and mystery, part historical fiction, Emily Gunnis’s latest novel is a fascinatingly complex multiple-perspective thriller novel. The novel jumps between the perspectives of police officer Jo Hamilton, her mother Olive (who worked at Bletchley Park during World War II), Gemma (who went missing in 1985), and Daisy (a caretaker whose sister Hannah went missing, also in 1985) as Daisy and Jo work to solve the mysteries of Gemma and Hannah’s disappearances with the discovery of a body in 2015. Gunnis certainly keeps readers on their toes, as the multiple perspectives in the novel adds to the complexity and mystery of the novel, and the thriller-mystery aspect of the novel already raised the stakes of this novel. Gunnis’ characters reveal aspects of their personality over time (some more than others), and she spends time focusing on the development of the plot and the mystery over the characters in the first half of the book. The alternating perspective is really well done in this book, and readers will enjoy the shift as the mystery progresses. Fans of both genres will enjoy this novel, and Gunnis is sure to keep them engrossed in the plot and the characters with her masterful use of characters, suspense, and multiple perspectives.

Jo first meets Holly and Daisy when they were little girls and now a few days before she retires, Jo is finally given the opportunity to find out what happened to one of them and set right the wrong she felt she brought the girls. Can she bring to justice and find some peace for Daisy and herself before its too late? What secrets will she uncover along the way?

Multiple timelines, murder and a detective determined to solve the mystery before her retirement is the recipe for a good story and Emily nailed it!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

The Girls Left Behind is a thrilling mystery.

Superintendent Jo Hamilton is days away from retirement when the remains are found which she fears may be that of a missing girl she once knew from a case she was involved with. Jo is determined to solve the case in the five days left before she loses access to the information.

The story is woven during several time periods, the 1940's, the 70's - the 80's and 2015. Jo will have to use all her resources to uncover the truth as this case will hit closer to home and time is running out.

I enjoyed this one and how well the different timelines worked so well together to tell this story.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Girls Left Behind' by Emily Gunnis.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Emily Gunnis, Clare Corbett and Headline publishers.

Publication date 9th November 2023.


This is the first book I have read by this author but it most definitely won't be my last!!!


This novel consists of a prologue, 31 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!


An absolutely epic read from the very talented Emily Gunnis!!! Absolutely rammed full of twists, tension and turns!! Congratulations Emily on a fantastic page turner!!


This is an extremely well written book with vivid descriptions that will suck you straight into the storyline and captivated from beginning to end. The synopsis and cover worked perfectly with the storyline.

I had never read a book by Emily before this one but I am definitely hooked after and have already added all her books to my wish list. I was absolutely hooked throughout, a true page turner from beginning to end. Emily is one of those amazing authors who writes these epic books that when you are reading them you promise yourself one more chapter and then you'll go to sleep but each time she ends her chapters in a way that has you hooked so you have to read just one more, but then another and before you know it you have walked around all day with the book glued to your hands or your earbuds stuck in your ears in my case and have devoured it in one sitting!!! The fantastic Clare who narrates this book also brings the book to life with her dramatic voice that really brings the suspense to life perfectly with Emily's descriptiosn.The storyline was in depth and packed with suspense, history, murder, twists, family, tension, hate, grief, intensity, heartache, shocks and everything you could ask for in a page turner!!! It is an edge of your seat, nail biting and heart racing psychological thriller. Emily does a fantastic job of weaving the chapters written from different protagonists points of views and the ones from different timelines together perfectly to slowly drip feed the reader just the right amount of information they need to understand what is going on without giving too much away to allow the reader to work it out too quickly!!! There are also not one but several very clever and very unique storylines that are all weaved together perfectly so there is something constantly happening but not too much as to confuse the reader. I was absolutely hooked from start to finish. I read this book in less than 24 hours and I'm looking forward to reading more books by this fantastic author as well as listening to more books by the brilliant narrator. This book is an absolute rollercoaster ride filled with twists, action, murder, heartbreak, suffering, suspense and everything you could ask for in an absolutely thrilling page turner. I was mind blown when the killer was revealed so a huge congratulations Emily!! After reading hundreds of crimes and thrillers it's getting harder and harder to shock me but at no point did I even consider them!!! If you want to know more about this absolutely epic page turner which you will have to grab your copy today to get them!!! It is one of the best books I have read this year and I really enjoyed and loved the ending!!! Emily ensures there were no loose ends at the book and that everything was explained and tied up. It is one of my pet hates having loose ends at the end of a book so well done Emily!! I won't say more as not to spoil it for future readers. It is a true page turner that will leave you biting your nails on the edge of your seat with your heart racing. Hope your busy typing your next book up Emily as I cannot wait!!! Thankfully I can get stuck into your previous books while I'm waiting!! This book would make an absolutely amazing and box selling movie that I would be first in line to see!!!

It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture

This is one of the few books that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. If I listen to a book on audiobook I usually also read the physical book between but I listened to the whole book and I was impressed! I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Clare Corbett who did a great job bringing this story to life. I would listen to it in the car and while walking at any opportunity and Clare did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices!!! I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Emily but also to listening to more books narrated by Clare!

Clear your schedules as you will not be able to put down this heart racing thriller!!!

I loved meeting all the characters who were all strong, well defined and unique. I become completely invested in Detective Jo Hamilton and her mother Olive along with Holly and Daisy Moore Amanda plus all of the other amazing characters. I would absolutely love to see Detective Jo Hamilton to have her own series from when she was younger as I would love to meet her and her mum Olive again and get to know them more!! Hint, hint Emily 😉!!! In this book Jo is due to retire but is determined to solve the last case before being taken over by the males above her. That is one thing I loved about her is her fierce determination and the fact she refuses to back down when she knows the truth is waiting to be revealed!! She is one kick butt lady but also a compassionate one and a woman who is being pulled from all sides from the work she is being pushed out of to her family who want her home to babysit their children to her own mother who is being cared for in a home by Daisy Moore. My heart broke for both Daisy and Holly Moore who suffered greatly as children but I won't go into any further details s I don't want to spoil it for future readers. Emily's fantastic writing skills and Clare's brilliant narrative really do bring each of the characters to life and I won't be forgetting them anytime soon!! A fantastic group of intriguing, realistic and solid characters all brought to life by Emily's fantastic evocative writing skills along with Clare's narrative!

This is exactly why I would like to welcome you to my favourite authors Emily!! Here is to your next guaranteed success 🥂!!

I could not praise this book enough and highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. Emily I cannot wait to read more of your very successful work!!! I would also love to see this book turned into a movie. Another absolutely addictive, compelling and gripping true page turner!!!

Overall another absolutely captivating, engrossing page turner that is compelling and addictive by an extremely talented author!!!


366 pages/10 hours 23 minutes


This book is just £4.99 to purchase on kindle, £8.27 in paperback, £11.37 in Audible and £2.99 in Audible with membership via Amazon at time of review, which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!


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Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this book and a chance to read and review. A thrilling mystery spanning decades and multiple generations. This story is told from different POVs and time frames which I enjoyed. The characters were all very well developed, even the inconspicuous ones. Heartbreaking, secrets, lies, and a shocking end, this story will touch you and stay with you well after you’re finished.

A thrilling and an engaging read. While I had to read the book twice to keep track of the events, it was a good read both times.

This story has many strands; there is Jo Hamilton, now a police superintendent about to retire, there is Olive who during the War went to work as a despatch rider for Bletchley, and there are Holly, Daisy and Gemma, young girls in the 1980s in an almost Victorian children's home, deprived of love, attention and even basics like food and heat.

Each 0f the strands is an interesting story in its own right, but gradually it becomes clear all the stories are interlinked, first as Jo is the catalyst for Holly and Daisy to be taken to the children's home, then Jo finds Gemma dead below the cliffs. Years later the bones of a young woman are found near the children's home, now long disused and Jo is determined to use her last days on the job to discover what happened to her.

The stories are sad and eventually the strands work together, although the likelihood of all these characters being intertwined for so long does stretch credulity a little. I guessed what was happening fairly early on but read on to find out how the author would draw it all together, which she does with a great crescendo as we will Jo to reach the action in time to stop further tragedy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to Headline Review for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Girls Left Behind’ by Emily Gunnis. I was also invited to take part in their publication week blog tour.

This work of crime fiction has quite a complex plot that enfolds between four timelines! In 2015, the novel’s present, Superintendent Jo Hamilton is due to retire from the Sussex Police. When the remains of a young woman are discovered in the woods close to Saltdean, she reflects on her early career as a constable when she had often been called out to deal with runaways from Morgate House, a local children’s home located on the Saltdean cliffs.

In 1975, Jo had attended a domestic incident that ended in tragedy. Sisters Holly and Daisy Moore were orphaned and housed at Morgate House. In 1985, Holly has become a troubled teenager desperate for love. When she meets a man who promises to take care of her, Holly hopes her luck has finally changed. Then she is reported missing and was never found.

In 2015 as the clock ticks down Jo recalls an incident when another female resident of Morgate had fallen from the cliffs. Jo has long been convinced the couple who had run the home before its closure were hiding something. She decides to track down Daisy and seek to re-open the case. The fourth timeline is set in 1944 as Jo’s mother, Olive, becomes part of the dispatch team at Bletchley Park.

While the chapters are clearly marked with the date and viewpoint character, this constant hopping about in time meant that close attention is needed to avoid confusion. There were also a few minor anachronisms with respect to period details, that proved slightly distracting.

In her Author’s Note Emily Gunnis shares that she drew on her mother-in-law’s experiences as a Sussex Police constable during the 1970-80s to highlight difficulties faced by women serving in the police as well as the inadequacies of social services, especially when dealing with vulnerable teenagers, who often fell between the cracks.

She also sought to highlight the roles of women who served as motorcycle dispatch riders at Bletchley Park. There are also explorations of the often fraught relations between mothers and daughters.

Overall, I found ‘The Girls Left Behind’ an engaging police procedural. However, while I appreciated that the author had wanted to focus on various historical social issues, I felt that it resulted in so much going on in its pages.

Having said that, I expect that it would prove a suitable choice for reading groups that are seeking a work of crime fiction that goes further than the search for whodunnit.

The girls left behind, by Emily Gunnis, published by Headline Review

Emily Gunnis is a talented writer from United Kingdom who puts a lot of research into what she is writing about, and let me tell you it pays off.

If you have ever wondered how people’s lives intertwine this is the book for you, and it all starts with a police women answering a call for help.

The characters are very relatable (or hate-able) And it is because of this I was not able to put the book down. Following the lives of Jo, Gemma, Olive, Hollie, Daisy and Megan took me away from my world and into each of theirs.
I find some books, that try to have a twist, can be predictable and I carry on reading to confirm my predictions, Emily Gunnis, however, had me shouting at the book in pure shock. I even went back a couple of paragraphs to make sure I read it properly.

The book follows a police investigation but has so much more depth to it, it’s not just a ‘who did it?’ story, it explains how situations impact different people, and how without realising, they have been part of each others lives all along.

I didn’t find any lulls in the story, it was easy to follow and made me feel so many different emotions. When I finished the book I was sad it was over, I hope there is more to come from this talented author.

Now the nights have drawn in, get your favourite mug filled with hot chocolate, find the most comfortable spot and be prepared not to move until you have finished the book.

Thank you to Emily Gunnis, Headline Review and NetGalley for allowing me to read this amazing book ready for release.

Click here to view the book on Amazon