Ok first of all, the title of this book is so misleading! The first 60% of the book isn’t even about what the synopsis says it’s about. Then the last 25% is a bunch of fluff, followed by everything the book is supposed to be about in the last like 15%. I was highly disappointed with this read.

The Girl in the Basement feels like more of a YA thriller to me. Once I sorted that out in my brain I enjoyed it a lot more. The first half of the book was on the slower side. It felt like it was just a lot of detail and information. A lot of felt repetitive to me. Once I got a little past the halfway mark it picked up steam. I enjoyed the twists and turns even if they did feel a little on the predictable side. I think that teens or people just trying out thrillers would really like this book. I look forward to reading more by this author and seeing how she grows.

This book was impossible to put down. Its thrilling, twisting, interesting until the very end of this book. It had me worrying whether they would find the girl in time.

This was good. I think I would totally recommend this book to my early high school readers who want a thriller that will keep them roped in from beginning to end. I did find this book a bit slow to get through, the first 60% was a lot of information and that’s where the bulk of the twists and turns took place. The rest was what I was really hoping the whole book could have been. The writing was so captivating and the resolution was perfect.

I absolutely loved this book. I was hooked on the first page. It was so fast paced and super twisty which is exactly what I like in a thriller. I read this book in one day because I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend this one!

This book reads more like a YA thriller premise, but unfortunately, it falls short in execution. The initial 60% of the book is bogged down with excessive information that feels unnecessary and slows down the pace, the remaining 40% picks up the momentum and offers a gripping read.

The central idea behind the book is intriguing and has great potential. However, the writing doesn’t fully realize this potential, leading to a story that feels predictable. By the 30% mark, the plot becomes quite transparent, and the twists lose their impact.

Despite its shortcomings, “The Girl in the Basement” does have moments that shine, particularly in the latter part of the book. If you can push through the slow start, you’ll find some enjoyable suspense and resolution. Overall, the book had the potential to be a standout YA thriller, but it ultimately didn’t deliver the punch I was looking for.

What a twisty fun thriller ride this was. I thought it was going to go one way then it went the other. I liked the multiple timelines in the story telling, it made me feel like I was living the trauma with them. This was the first time I've read anything by this author and I'll be looking up more books to read by them.

I wanted to love this book. It sounded fantastic, but the title didn't really match the book or the vibe it gave. I found it a little too slow for my liking, and the first half of the book was setting the scene, and it then left the last half feeling rushed. Most of the it felt unrelated to the synopsis and left me feeling like I didn't get what I expected.

This book took me a little while to get into. The second half was definitely better, as with most thriller and mysteries. I thought I'd solved it early on, but the end is definitely a surprise.

There was plenty of suspense throughout, although the actual basement scenes aren't a very large portion of the book. The simplified language and high school setting that is in the majority of the book makes this feel more like a young adult mystery than an adult thriller. However, I do enjoy an easy read and the plot was enough to keep the pages turning until the end!

The book is a quick read. A few local college girls go missing. Podcast narrators tell the story and slowly put the pieces together. Several suspects are thought to be the culprit commiting the crime. Truly a shocking and surprising ending.

I had to choose a whole number, so I went with a 3 star rating for The Girl in the Basement by Eoin Dempsey, but it's probably closer to a 3.5 star read for me.

This book is listed in adult fiction, but I would lean more towards young adult due to the subjects being high school students for most of the story. However there are some themes that would put this in the adult category (kidnapping, murder, etc.).

Like many thrillers, it took me well into the book to get to the "can't put it down" portion of the mystery, but it definitely got there in the latter half of the story. The ending was not evident, and the book kept you guessing throughout, which is a sign of an enjoyable thriller.

I enjoyed the suspense of it, but the wording was on the simplified side for me as a reader. I would have liked some more complex descriptions.

The title helps keep the suspense as you don't know who is in a basement for a long time.

For those looking for an easy, suspenseful read, this is a good one for you.

Thank you to Net Galley, Storm Publishing, and Eoin Dempsey for an Advanced Reader Copy.

I have been digging back into psychological thrillers from contemporary romance, this had a bit of the romance aspect still left in it. I got sucked in to the story line between Ellie and Josh, but found that the point of the book being the girl in the basement, it would have been a more pertinent aspect to the novel. Much like some other reviews, I found that the beginning half was a bit tangential, whereas the latter half would have benefited from some additional detail. All in all a good read!

haven’t read a thriller in awhile, so jumping into this one was so great! a shorter read - less than 300 pages. it was definitely an attention grabber and a page turner that I finished in one day!

told from the past and present, ellie fell for the new kid at school who was suspected his ex-girlfriend’s death. getting to know him meant getting to know his family too. and ellie definitely had some weird feelings about his parents. after being abducted and locked in a basement, all the clues point to her boyfriend’s father. but fast forward a few years and ellie has a daughter. and at just about the age that ellie was, her daughter was also abducted. but who did it? it couldn’t be her teenage boyfriend’s father - he’s been locked up in prison for years.

a story of history repeating itself, buried family secrets, and teenage love.

The book has a great premise but for me failed to deliver a bit.
The title would lead you to believe the perspective would be mostly either on or from the girl in the basement but in reality it focusses far more on the subsequent kidnapping of Ellie and then attempts to weave the two stories together.
Unfortunately for me it failed to grip me as the story moved quite slowly and the details became more important than the storyline.

The Girl in the Basement is a gripping YA romance thriller that held my attention from start to finish. While I saw the ending coming, the story remained compelling. I wished for more insight into Jess' perspective on her kidnapping to deepen the plot. Initially resembling a typical YA tale, the book stood out with its captivating writing style and well-developed characters. Despite preferring other books by this author, this one delivered suspense and unexpected twists that kept me hooked. Centered on Ellie and her boyfriend Josh, whose past shadows him despite being cleared of his ex-girlfriend's murder, the narrative is filled with intriguing twists, culminating in a surprising conclusion. I recommend it to fans of thrilling narratives.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the advanced copy.

Good read couldn’t put it down. The first half took a while to get into but loved the rest and would recommend to others

My 6P review: Publication, Plot, People, Place, Prose/Pace, Praise

The premise of the book was the disappearance of Jess. The blurb told the whole story so there really wasn’t any point in reading it. 70% of the book was the abduction of Ellie and I felt it didn’t really focus on the disappearance of Jess. The first 70% was also in-depth and laboured at times. The last 30% was too quick and it wrapped up too nicely with no depth to it.

It felt more like a romance than a psychological thriller.

It was easy enough to read though.

I’m really not sure how I feel about this book. This was the first I’ve read of this author and I’m unlikely to read any others.

I found the characters annoying and I didn’t get a sense of where I was either

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

The Girl in the Basement by Eoin Dempsey


Eoin Dempsey's *The Girl in the Basement* is a letdown. Despite its intriguing title, the girl is in the basement for only two pages, making the title misleading. The plot is very predictable, lacking suspense and surprises.

However, a personal highlight was that Josh goes to LSU, which added a nice touch for an LSU fan. Overall, the book fails to deliver an engaging or unexpected narrative. #GeauxTigers

I loved this book. I was hooked right from the first few pages and didn't stop reading until the book was finished.
There were a few twists and turns that threw me off trying to figure out who the bad guy was (don't want to give anything away) But about half way through I figured it out. Guess watching so many true crime programs has made it easier for me to figure these things out.
All in all though a really good read.

This story follows a girl named Ellie Welsh who gets kidnapped but escapes. Twenty years later her young daughter also gets kidnapped while she is on a date with her childhood crush named Josh. But the thing is, Josh was the same guy who was suspected in the murder of his ex girlfriend. So it all seems a little fishy that bad things keep happening when he is around. This book has so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming! I couldn’t put it down and I read it almost in one sitting! I am also a sucker for dual timelines. This was my first Eoin Dempsey book but it definitely won’t be my last! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Such an easy read that I would recommend to anyone! Thank you to Net Galley, Storm Publishing, and Eion Dempsey for early access to read this book! ❤️