Audio Version of this book 📚 What a great read ! Each chapter told by a different character which brings the past and the present together with a great twist! Highly entertaining, I will definitely read more by this author.

The narrator was excellent, bring characters to life and very easy to listen too

A wonderfully immersive story which moves at a good pace and introduces a variety of fascinating characters.

Multiple trigger warnings for this audiobook. I listened to a book not long ago and the trigger warnings were listed at the beginning, I think I’d like to see this become a “thing”

Anyway, beyond the triggers the writing is fabulous. The story was carefully and cleverly plotted, set from multiple pov’s and split over various timelines. I particularly enjoyed the Bletchley Park timeline, and would perhaps like to have seen the story revisited. The two separated sisters absolutely broke me. That said this was handled with care and compassion, and I feel there was a lot of research done in order to handle it with care.
I loved Jo, she’s at that time in life that comes to us all, reaching retirement, still a mother still a daughter and struggling to balance those, then an old case raises its head and she feels shut out. She can solve it before she goes though, right?
The twist was an absolute shocker, I love it when I don’t see it coming!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book!

Told across multiple timelines, I enjoyed reading about Olive’s work during WWII and as the three timelines started to link together, the story just got better and better.

I really liked Jo Hamilton and the two timelines that involved her as a new cop and then a few days before retirement were cleverly linked. In fact, all the characters were well written, even the ones that weren’t nice! My heart broke for Daisy, Holly, Gemma and Eve and all of the kids in the home.

I thought I knew who the perp was and of course I was wrong!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Emily Gunnis and Headline for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I loved this book. It was extremely dark with a couple of great twists. The subject matter is disturbing, with young girls and a manipulative, destructive older male. There are 4 timelines, between the 1940s and present day, which eventually meet, bringing light on the entire situation.
The end is bitter sweet, but perfect in my mind.
I would genuinely encourage you to read this book.

The Girls Left Behind is a great thriller that merges the past with the present to reveal a killer.

Jo is ready for retirement, but still thinks about the "one case that won't go away." A few days before she leaves the job, the remains of a young girl are found and Jo believes they are related to her case from years ago, which has ties to a children's home. As she searches for answers with the clock ticking ,she also navigates her relationship with her mother who is in hospice care, and her rocky relationship with her daughter.

In the midst of this we are introduced to Daisy, who has been searching for her sister for years. She has a strange connection to Jo in more ways than one, and is hopeful she will be reunited with her sibling.

I loved the how Jo gathering the clues and managed to stay on top of the investigation.
I was a little frustrated at times with one of the back stories. I don't know that so much time needed to be devoted to it for the relevance to what was happening in the present time to make sense. I felt that it took away from truly delving into the suspect's motivations which would have made the story more interesting. There were a few characters that could have been fleshed out more, but over all, this was a satisfying thriller with a satisfying end. The ending seemed a bit rushed, while other parts were too long (with the backstory) and didn't really explain how some conclusions were drawn, who knew what and when, and who (and why) particular individuals had acted the way they did.

Also some of the actions of the characters when faced with danger were the kind that make you shake your head!

My only concern is that it doesn't seem to lend itself to a follow up book with the same character, which is a shame. I really enjoyed it and would hope to revisit the character in the future.

I thank Net Galley for giving me a copy in return for my unbiased review.

The Girls Left Behind by Emily Gunnis is the thrilling, heartbreaking, and shocking story of dark secrets, twisted lives, lies, and manipulation. The twist! OMG! I even don't know where to start! The twist was so perfect, so - OMG I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING!!!!!! I literally gasped out loud and all my family members stared at me!

The Girls Left Behind audiobook is narrated by Clare Corbett. It's definitely on a high-quality audiobook shelf! Phone conversations etc are made to sound like ones, it was so easy to picture the story! I would say this is the best audiobook in a long time!

If I need to summarize this book I don't know where to start. I would say Superintendent Jo Hamilton is the heart of this story! She served well for 40 years and is ready for her well-deserved retirement but things get complicated when the bones of a female are discovered and a decade-old case is ready to be solved!

This book is about power, manipulations, innocent lives, an unfair system, dreams, and heartbreak!

This book covers many timelines - 1945, 1975, 1985, and 2015 and there could be questions about why and how all this is related but just a little bit of patient and everything will come back together.

I stopped everything to finish this book as I knew I couldn't wait til tomorrow - I must know tonight!
One of the best stories I listened to this year!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Headline for this audiobook! I will shout out loud!

3.5 stars

This kept me nicely entertained on some boring walks.
The narrator did a great job, happily listen to them again.
I spent a lot of my time wondering how the three timelines wove together... any tiny clue I jumped on, jumping to conclusions.
Always good to be proven right, and to have a few surprises.
The cast were mostly female, and varied in their outlooks to life. I'd love to delve more into the mother/daughter relationship.


Based on this one, I'll be picking up more Gunnis in the future.

Thank You for the review copy.

The Girls Left Behind by Emily Gunnis was an emotional listen.

Told over a span of decades this is the story of two sisters separated from their parents due to a domestic dispute. It is the story of a detective who is on the verge of her retirement but is then pulled away to solve a case which might have a link to the sisters. It's a wonderfully written tale that keeps you hooked. Definitely worth a read.