This is one of the best thrillers I've read in awhile. The characters are great, the choices they make are both realistic and often infuriating, and the killer is creepy enough to make you want to keep reading. One of the twists wasn't as much of a surprise as it was probably supposed to be, but that's likely my fault for reading too many books like this. It's clear that this book was inspired by Michelle McNamara and her obsessive search for the Golden State Killer, but those small homages to that very real case only make this story feel more real.

I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve been on a thriller kick lately and I thought the podcast part was pretty cool. I hadn’t clued in about the twist but once it was revealed I felt like I should have realized. There were definitely some heart pounding parts. Overall it was a good read and I would recommend it.

“Genetics load the gun, personality, and psychology aim it, and experiences pull the trigger.”

Elle Castillo, a former social worker is now the host of a popular true-crime podcast, Justice Deferred that focuses on the cold cases of missing children in her hometown of Twin Cities, Minnesota. Her current season focuses on a serial killer, —The Countdown Killer once she happened to be one of his victims 20 years ago but fortunate to escape before he kills her. Now it's been 20 years everyone happy to believe that TCK is dead or no longer a threat to the community but Elle thinks otherwise.

I read was highly impressed with the audiobook and felt like I was listening to a true podcast. The story unravels from Elle's POV and the serial killer and the page-by-page story shows the dark and the psychological side of the serial killer and Elle's strong spirit.
I like the authors writing style and how she builds the characters. Also been a Minnesotan, this story felt close to the home and gave me the perfect thrilling experience.

The overall story is well done and quite impressive to be the author's debut novel. I’m excited to see what she comes up with next and highly recommends to anyone interest reading crime/podcast novel.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amy Suiter Clarke, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for this free digital ARC, in exchange for my honest opinion!

Elle left her life as a social worker to moderate her own true crime broadcast where she has been successful in solving crimes.. In the current season, she is going to attempt to find the Countdown Killer. I really liked the format of the book and liked how it moved the plot along and made the story more dramatic. I struggled a bit with how the other characters just seemed to let Elle do whatever she wanted and did not try to keep her away from harm, This just did not seem realistic to me, especially with the job that her husband had, Overall, I really liked this one and found it to be thrilling and well written. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Podcasts seem to be all the rage right now. I have only listened to one for two but I admit I do find them quite interesting. Girl, 11 combines the elements of a podcast with a murder mystery to make a sensational, unforgettable story!

TCK - The Countdown Killer - has a thing for numbers. His first victim was believed to be age 21 and then each additional victim is one year younger. Each kidnapping occurs 3 days apart and the bodies are found on the 7th day. What is the significance of the numbers 3, 7, and 21 to this killer? While the case is now considered cold, one woman wants to bring about justice for those lives taken. Her name is Elle and her platform for doing so is a true crime podcast that seems to be growing in popularity. Will Elle's good intentions and search for knowledge bring about even more death and destruction however?

This is book is a page turner. From the very start, the reader realizes just how evil TCK is. Clarke does a great job delving into the serial killer's psyche. The murder scenes are attention grabbing and gut wrenching without being overly descriptive or gory. At the same time, the reader is given insight into the events that formed the man into a killer. The juxtaposition is great. He's evil and yet there's also a push to feel some level of empathy for what he has endured.

Clarke does a great job with characterization. She writes scenes in ways that would most likely play out in real life. The characters don't hold back. They say what they think and they make mistakes. In intense moments, hurtful things are said because that's what would really happen. I appreciate the feeling of authenticity that type of dialogue gave to this story.

I will say that I knew what the twist was early on and I'm guessing most others will as well. I'm not even sure that Clarke meant it to be a big reveal. If so, it was an easy one to figure out. It didn't matter though because it didn't take anything away from the overall story.

All in all, I would say this is a really good mystery/thriller book. For a fan of the genre, I would say this is a must read and one highly recommended as well!

Thanks to Net Galley for an ARC of this book to review. This review is a summary of my true thoughts and feelings pertaining to this book.

I loved this book!! I loved the podcast aspect and I loved that it was about a prolific serial killer. This book caught my attention literally within the first page and I didn’t wanna stop reading until I finished. This probably would’ve been a 5 star read for me except for two little things: the first being that it was pretty easy to predict what was going to happen (regardless, I still enjoyed reading it), and second, DJ annoyed me in his chapters which made me not wanna read them. Besides that, I honestly really enjoyed this book and would recommend!

If you like true crime style books and are a fan of podcasts, this book is for you! I like to listen to podcasts and have never listened to the true crime variety, but Elle Castillo runs a podcast that I know I would enjoy listening to. The setup of this book is both story line in real time, and transcripts of her podcast episodes that are written out so well I was hearing them in my mind as if I was actually listening to them. While I was not at all surprised by any of the events in this book, I still very much enjoyed it and did not want to put it down as I had to find out how it ended. I think this book would make an excellent movie!

Elle is very passionate about her quest to find the TCK killer and she is both fearless and reckless in her actions to find the truth. She has an amazing, very supportive husband, which is a huge blessing with all that she has to work through with the TCK case. Two other characters in this book that I really enjoyed: Natalie is the ten year old daughter of her best friend and I found her to be a very feisty old soul who is incredibly smart and witty, and Ayaan is the lead detective on the current cases in this story and she felt very realistic in her actions, standing firm while at the same time caring for Elle. If Elle And Ayaan were to show up in another book I would read it for sure!

Thank you to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was one of the most surprising books I’ve read in a while! I didn’t expect it to be so much fun. I always love a good podcast element threw in and this was well done. The twists also caught me off guard so I really can’t complain.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

a true crime podcast?
missing children?
a strong female protoganist?
count me in! this is the story of elle who hosts a true crime podcast. lately a lot of story-lines centre around podcasts, which i personally enjoy a lot!
elle tries to figure out the mystery around THE COUNTDOWN KILLER who's case was never really solved. he seems to just have stopped which isn't supposed to be considered as a case closed.
a wild and very engrossing story that kept me reading on and on.
parts of the book came a bit hard on me, since i had troubles with the descriptions of the rituals and the murders. somehow i never manage to skip parts of a book so i kept on. we even get some insights into the killer's mind. this makes up a well paced and very gripping read.

thanks #Houghton Mifflin Harcourt #Amy Suiter Clarke and #NetGalley for an ARC
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The main protagonist is Ellie who hosts the Justice Delayed Podcast. Her latest podcast season is about The Countdown Killer,
A. Number of murders committed over 24 years ago where the murderer has not been caught
Ellie gets involved in wanting to solve these murders and puts her own self and love ones at risk.
This is a great debut thriller from this author and explores the personal, and social responsibility of those who put their thoughts, opinions and passions out into the public arena .

As an aficionado of true crime podcasts myself (the Australian Casefile production in particular), I was immediately drawn into the world of Girl, 11. Amy Suiter Clarke's new release mystery-thriller features a main character who produces her own well-researched and popular podcast, Justice Delayed, based in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.
The main narrative is interspersed with transcripts of Elle Castillo's current podcast series, focussing on the crimes of a brutal and unidentified abductor-murderer of young women, known as The Countdown Killer (TCK). Over twenty years previously, TCK abducted a series of women and girls, each victim a year younger than her predecessor, and each found dead exactly seven days after her disappearance, with the exception of the last intended victim, an 11-year-old girl, who escaped her captor. In the present, it seems Elle's investigation has stirred the long-dormant killer, as a potential witness is killed virtually under Elle's nose, and another 11-year-old girl goes missing.
As Elle, a former child protection officer, chases down leads provided by her listener base, she liaises with her contacts within the local law enforcement and forensics community, including her own husband, Martín Castillo, a forensic pathologist. Not unexpectedly, this uneasy relationship gives rise to many ructions, as Elle repeatedly withholds information and oversteps the mark as she involves herself in the current investigation. Amy Suiter Clarke explores the phenomenon of true-crime podcasts - their proven popularity with listeners, occasional tendency to prurience or voyeurism, their magnetism to trolls and weirdos and occasional potential to aid police in solving long-running "cold cases".
I found Girl, 11 stimulating and compulsively readable, with a genuinely thrilling conclusion and several well-plotted twists along the way. Some of Elle's decisions and behaviour, and the relative forbearance of police, especially her friend and former colleague Commander Ayaan Ridwaan, stretched credibility at times. However, this isn't an unusual experience within the genre and most readers are, like myself, prepared to suspend their disbelief for the sake of a good story. Amy Suiter Clarke's strong characterisations really galvanised her imaginative and complex plot. Elle Castillo is a flawed but incredibly conscientious investigator, with a complex personal history that's gradually revealed over the course of the book. Her relationships with both her husband, the supportive but deeply concerned Martín, and the intriguing police Commander Ayaan Ridwaan are convincing, and reinforce the emotional toll this particular case is taking on Elle and those around her.
I'd strongly recommend Girl, 11 to any and all readers who enjoy an action-packed but cerebral mystery-thriller. I'd be delighted if Amy Suiter Clarke were minded to continue a series featuring these characters.
My thanks to the author, Amy Suiter Clarke, publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

I read this one so quickly! I can’t seem to get enough of this true-crime podcaster/crime solver genre.
Elle Castillo used to be a social worker and now she is the creator and host of a popular true crime podcast, one that focuses on cold cases of missing girls. The suspect is a man nicknamed The Countdown Killer who murdered young woman and girls in the 1990s. He killed all of his victims in the same way, ritualistically using a numerical system to choose the ages of his victims, the length of their captivity and the type of torture they received.

Twenty years later, Elle is covering this case, and finds disturbing similarities in this current case to the methodology of TCK. Elle must figure out if this new killer is a copy cat or is TCK back?

This is a roller coaster ride—we see Elle acting recklessly but in service to the victims of these crimes, and red herring after red herring later, we reach a very satisfying if not surprising ending. I enjoyed this cat-and-mouse thriller and would definitely love to see Elle in a series.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

TCK is a serial killer who terrorised Minnesota in the 1990's. Elle is a social worker with a true-crime podcast and is investigating TCK.

What twisty turns this book throws up!! The story alternates between transcripts of Elle's podcast and Elle's daily life. Some parts are a little unbelievable but, for the most part, this is an enjoyable, fast paced book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

I'm pretty sure I read this one quarter of the book at a time lol. It was an easy. fast paced read that I enjoyed.

I was so invested in Girl, 11. This is a twisty and thrilling wild ride. Buckle up and hang on. You're in for a treat. Can't wait to read more from the author.

The popularity of true crime podcasts is behind this...along with a story that becomes more interesting as we learn extra details about those involved.
Our main character is Elle, the presenter of a highly popular true crimes podcast. We don’t know much about her, other than she is driven and determined to give a voice to those victims who are too often forgotten. When we first meet her she is coming under pressure as she follows her convictions surrounding the man known only as the Countdown Killer. Believed by many to have died in a cabin fire, this man struck terror into those living in the area that he haunted. Only Elle is convinced he didn’t die.
When she is contacted by someone on the back of an episode, Elle heads to meet the man. Upon arrival she finds him dead. Something tells her this is not a coincidence.
Then a young girl is abducted. The profile of the abduction fits...could the Countdown Killer be back?
The success of this depends on a crucial detail being revealed partway through. There are definite clues to this, and it does explain some of the rather erratic behaviours we see, but it definitely makes us more invested in finding out what happened.
Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication.

A very good book- smart, fast and suspenseful.
Many thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Girl, 11 is an outstanding YA thriller debut featuring a true crime podcast at the center of the story. The novel is fast-paced, suspenseful, and engaging with well-fleshed out characters. This one will have readers on the edge of their seats trying to solve the case right along with Elle. Elle Castillo has had a true crime podcast for the last four years and has successfully solved the cases that she has investigated. Now she's tackling a killer known as The Countdown Killer who has laid dormant for the last twenty years. Law enforcement deemed that the killer had committed suicide, but Elle doesn't think that's the case. What happens when Elle's latest podcast starts the murders all over again? Is it the same killer from 20 years before or is it someone new entirely? If you're interested in YA thrillers involving podcasts, this is one of the best. Highly recommended!

Loved the podcast format. Great dark thriller. Heart pounding. One of my favorite reads!! Thank you NetGalley for the arc.