This book started off strong. Lots of great characters, plot lines that keep you guessing. I loved it right up until the last chapter. There's a twist...and while the twist itself is questionable....the repercussions of that twist that carry on throughout the book make no sense to me.

Such a great start to what I hope will be a long series! I have this thing about small town mysteries from way back in town, and someone returning to find out the truth years later. I like the main character and even though her family history is not one you want, it is definitely one you want to read about.

It was impossible to let this book down, and I just needed to keep on reading until the very end. I love it when I find a new author and a book that is fantastic! Well-written, great story line, intriguing characters, and the perfect atmosphere!

“The Girl Who Survived” by Nichole Severn introduces us to FBI agent, Leigh Brody.

Leigh returns to her hometown, a place she isn’t welcome, to solve a series of murders that resemble the murder of her little brother twenty years ago.
Faced with her past, Leigh has to put her emotions aside to catch a killer.

Ms. Severn writes a story that is engrossing, twisted, and shocking. When you think you know who the culprit is, the author throws in a red herring and makes you second guess yourself.
Like it states on the cover, this book is “unputdownable” and I one hundred percent agree.

FBI agent Leigh Brody, who profiles killers, has never lost sight of her young brother's abduction and murder 20 years ago, nor has she abandoned her believe that her father was wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for the crime. When she is called back to her hometown for a similar murder, she is determined to find out if the man accused 20 years ago has begun to kill again, and if corruption in the local police department has paved the way.

Surprise endings are few and far between in mystery/suspense novels. Usually the author drops enough clues that an engaged reader can figure out the whodunit, and that's part of the fun of reading this genre. This spell-binding book's bombshell ending was totally unexpected and completely satisfying. Rarely are those two things accomplished in the same story with such skill.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Firstly, thank you NetGalley for this ARC and I'm giving my honest (emphasis here) review.

Initially, my rating would have been 4.5 stars, my only critique was some of the prose was ""too prosey"" and it sometimes distracted me. That's subjective and it was just a minor thing.

I liked the pace. I enjoyed, for the most part, Leigh. I appreciated the fight she had against all odds. She fought where others might have given up. She had chips on both her shoulders and that spoke to me. I'm okay with not agreeing with every choice a character males, I find imperfection far more interesting.

I enjoyed the narrative. The set up. The premise. All good things. It kept me reading and I devoted it in a few hours.

That was me at 90% of the book.

Then... the end.

I don't know how to put this delicately but... what the... actual.

Firstly, the unsub. Yeah OK, not so much a surprise. But that, to me, is a good thing. It should make sense. There should be little crumbs throughout a books that get you there. Their motive... didn't make sense to me. I was willing to try and reconcile that with their trauma and I could buy that. It doesn't have to make sense to me, a generally sane person.

But, the other ""twist"" was hands down ridiculous to the point where I was tempted to rage quit at 98%. I have done this before. I am petty and stubborn and I'll do it.

It made no sense and beyond that... well [here come the spoilers]
(Removed spoilers - on goodreads)

Phew, got that out of my system. I'm sorry Nichole, I actually really like your writing and your pacing , but that end ruined it all for me. It feels like you could lift it out and it would make no substantial change to the story, but to make it better.

I would read her writing again, but Leigh is kinda ruined for me as a character.

I liked the setting and the fact that they wanted her specifically on the case and why. However, it did seem a little confusing because typically that same reason is why someone would not be on a case. I liked the twists. I just didn’t feel a connection to the book for some reason and I’m not sure what it was other than some books are just not for everyone.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley + Storm Publishing for my DRC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for this eARC!

One word comes to mind with this book, and that’s WOW. So many twists I did not see coming. So much action packed into one book. I absolutely loved this book. It was a bit of a slow burn at first, but when it took off, I was in for a WILD ride. The ending had me absolutely shook. Fantastic action, great plot, likable protagonists. Everything about this book I loved, and I will absolutely be reading sequels when they come out.

This is the perfect psychological thriller!! It dives deep into the complexities of the human mind, delivering an enthralling journey filled with unexpected twists and a jaw-dropping finale that will leave readers stunned. With its gripping narrative and expertly crafted suspense, this book is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. I'm excited to follow along on Leigh Brody's journey!

I really enjoyed this first in the series.
I opened it and just fell straight into it it really called to me and I couldn’t. Put it down. I adored Leigh and can’t wait to find out more about her she’s totally a bad ass.
The crime was shocking and gripping
It’s a fast paced intense crime thriller which I loved

Returning to her hometown to help right a terrible wrong from the past and help solve a string of new murders Leigh Brody comes up against hatred and prejudice from law enforcement and townspeople. So much going on in this suspenseful mystery. The connections to the past are overwhelming. The ending was a total shocker. I didn’t see that coming at all. This is a great start to what looks to be an amazing series.

An interesting premise. Plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing all through the book but the ending was just too unrealistic and unbelievable.. I will give her next one a chance and hope it is more realistic. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

4.5/5.0 ⭐️’s for The Girl Who Survived
Holy Mother of all Things Thriller! An emotional return to a childhood that was anything but good brings Leigh Brody right back to her tragedy. Filled with more twists, turns, murders and mayhem this thriller should have you on the edge of your seat, heart racing, and trying to figure out the who, what, where and when! I loved it!!!

The psychological thriller "The Girl who Survived" by Nichole Severn follows Agent Leigh Brody on her assigment as she is summoned back to her hometown, Lebanon in New Hampshire, to help with an ongoing investigation on a murder that is very similar to a murder that occured in the town twenty years ago - one that did cost Leigh her brothers life and got her father arrested as the murderer.

Convinced by her fathers innocence, Agend Brody never truly let go of the case and her neutrality towards the copycat murder is faltering by her emotional bagage. Her hometown welcomes her anything but friendly and she has many obstacles to go through on her journey to help her partner, Boucher, solve the case.

Throughout the story, more and more things get uncovered and the picture that exposes itself is something no one has truly expected.

I was HOOKED. I was literally hooked. The story is so well written and SO intriguing that I could not stop reading until I came to the end and boy oh boy. I am rarely wrong with my guesses whenever I read thriller but even I did not see this one coming. Just when I thought I solved the case, new things happened, new evidences got uncovered and my oh my. AND THE END. A real, pardon my french, mindf*ck. In all the good way.

The book is to be published on the 6th of May, 2024.

Thank you NetGalley, Storm Publishing and the of course Nicole Severn for the ARC of "The Girl Who Survived" in exchange for an honest review. I did absolutely love this book.

Twenty years ago, two young boys were found murdered in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Leigh Brody's father was convicted of the crimes, one of the victims her brother. But Leigh always believed in her father's innocence. Now, another body shows up in Lebanon, and it has a direct connection to Leigh. Now with the FBI, Leigh returns to her hometown to face the past.

Phew. Where to begin with this one? I was really looking forward to starting a new series featuring a kickass female FBI agent, and it sounded like an intriguing mystery/suspense. Seeing as this book came from an established author, I had high hopes. Sadly, I was disappointed.

First, Leigh is a horrible lead character. She seems to spend half the book bristling at the injustices she encounters because her father was convicted of murder and her hometown has seemingly turned against her because of it (which doesn't even make sense, considering she was still a child herself at the time and could not have been responsible for his actions; muss less, drive adults to irrational, even murderous decisions when she comes back into town). In all of this, Leigh just comes across as a martyr of her own making even before *that* reveal at the end. But beyond that, she is written as underqualified and unprofessional, and frankly, just plain unlikeable. But hey, at least she can still impale someone and shoot (underwater) after being nearly burned alive, beaten several times with a baseball bat, shot in the shoulder, and nearly drowned, right?

Second, I realize I am quickly tiring of the whole "traumatized law enforcement personnel returning to their small hometown to basically solve the case that traumatized them in the first place" . Now, before you say this is a "me problem", let me explain: the general setup still intrigues me if done right, but sadly, it is not more often than not. This book in particular does not seem to follow any procedural rules (or even common sense). No one would let anyone with Leigh's personal connection to the case unto the task force in the first place - any defense attorney straight out of law school would have a field day with it! And speaking of Leigh, why has someone who supposedly graduated top of her class from the police academy and then made it into the FBI never interrogated anyone before? Why would that someone - who has never interrogated anyone and who spent her time at the FBI analyzing data - then been given such a prominent role in this investigation, doing all the interrogations? Certainly the BAU has other (and frankly. more qualified) agents at their disposal? I have more examples, but in sum, none of the criminal proceedings and rules seemed properly researched.

Third, I was trudging through this hoping the end would make it worth it, but it actually made it worse because it was so far-fetched. For one, the suspect is not surprising in the least, but moreover, the motive behind the murders does not make the least bit of sense. Trying to write this without spoilers, but why punish innocent people for doing their job, especially when they're doing exactly what you want more than anything, namely bring a really bad person to justice? Why not just take it out on that bad person? None of the killer's motives added up! And finally, the last twist/reveal was absolutely ludicrous. Leigh's father went to prison over the murder of her brother and her mother committed suicide - and that was basically her fault! Leigh's distrust of local law enforcement may have stemmed from the way her brother's case was handled after the murders, but in the end, it felt like it was all Leigh's own doing, really. Considering how self-righteous she was throughout this entire story, I could not believe the insane (but not in a good way) reveal in her backstory.

Tl;dr: an incredibly frustrating story with very little mystery and an unlikeable protagonist. Sadly, I will not be returning to this series in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley! l’ve been really into police procedural books and this one was no exception. It has many twists and turns that I did not see coming.

Thank you to Nichole Severn, Storm Publishing, and NetGalley for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Leigh Brody returns to her hometown after a body is found, marked with her name. 20 years ago, she found the murdered body of her twelve-year-old brother, Troy. Her father was arrested for the crime, but she never accepted that he did it. Her hunt for the real killer almost cost her everything…Now working for the FBI, Leigh is called back to New Hampshire when a series of copycat crimes are committed. Only the killer has left a very specific calling card, a plastic army figurine, the same as the one she found on Troy’s body, and carved into its base: Leigh’s name. This case is as personal as it gets, and this time, Leigh is determined to make the right person pay. But when another child goes missing, can she dig deep into her past to find the clue she missed years ago, and put a monster behind bars for good?

WHOA! This is a fast paced thriller that hooked me from chapter 1. Leigh was such a likeable character for me and you really get a sense of the struggles she's faced since her brother was killed and her Dad was arrested for his murder. This new case is so close to home and the similarities between this current murder and what happened to her brother are too close to simply be a coincidence. In fact, all the characters are well developed and have a place in the storyline, which all comes together at the shocking conclusion. I thought I knew how this was going to turn out and I did my best to solve the crime, but between the red herrings (which I love) and the twists and turns, I was delightfully wrong. I will definitely be reading book #2 of this series. This delicious dark and twisty book publishes on May 6, 2024 and should be on everyone's TBR!

A change from the author’s romance stories, this one is a heavy mystery lead by FBI agent Leigh Brody.
Twenty years ago her young brother Troy and another boy were murdered in the town of Lebanon, New Hampshire. Her father was convicted of the murders and sent to a life in prison.
When two new murders occur in the town, similar ones to the one 20 years ago, Leigh is sent to consult. Her return is not appreciated by the town, especially since she’s a Brody.
Are these murders a copycat, or is a serial killer on the run? Even more disturbing have they been committed by the same person that murdered the boys all those years ago?
This is a fast paced story filled with lots of twists and turns, and for this reader, some farfetched turn of events. Sadly, I never warmed up to the main character.
For me it was more of a 3.5 stars story. But I have a great deal of respect for this author and the effort to start a different type of series. Thus , I will give it 4 stars.
I was entrusted a copy of this book by Netgalley. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

I volunteered to read and review an advanced readers copy through Net Galley of The Girl Who Survived . This is one of the best stories I've read . It's definitely a nail biter . There are twists and turns you never see coming . Special agent Leigh Brody never expected to return to Lebanon New Hampshire. The place where her family was devastated . Leigh was called there to consult on an investigation that brought back the darkest time in her life . When the investigation seems to be connected to the old case that sent her father to prison for two murders Leigh finds herself in danger and fighting for her life . This story is action packed and Suspenseful all out outstanding . I don't want to give too much away . This story will not disappoint . I highly recommend taking the time to read .

Leigh has been brought back to the last place she wants to be her hometown in Lebanon, but when a similar case to her brothers murder twenty years ago she's determined to solve this case. lots of twists and hanging on the edge suspense. By far this is my favorite book from Nichole. I'm patiently waiting for the next book.

"The Girl Who Survived" by Nichole Severn immediately captivated me. It had good pacing and the character development was well thought out and easy to follow. I loved the ending, wow! Highly recommend.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advance copy.