'Twenty-five years ago, I escaped. One of us didn’t. The third girl has been lying ever since.'

A very interesting blurb and one that really did catch my attention. Three best friends, Emily, Penelope, and Christina, a party and a kidnapping. Three girls taken, did they all survive? This is a dark and tense read and one that really kept me on edge and wanting to read more. Bringing the past and the present together to weave a tale like no other we find out what happened to the three girls and why only two returned and/or survived. But what really happened to the third girl, Penelope, is she still alive?

So many secrets, so many unknowns and will the truth ever be told. This is certainly a page-turner, well paced, well written and if you love a good tension filled, suspenseful novel this is for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Nostalgic as I grew up in the same era as Christina so a lot of the references made my heart happy. Kept me guessing until the very end, and I didn’t see a lot of things coming. Overall really enjoyed it.

Dark, unsettling, and full of questions, The Third Girl hooked me early and had me turning page after page, needing to know the truth behind a long-buried nightmare. The story weaves past and present as the narrator is forced to revisit a traumatic abduction that tore her world apart—and left her best friend behind.
There’s a chilling atmosphere throughout, and the author does a brilliant job of keeping the tension simmering. I was constantly second-guessing everyone, trying to figure out who was really behind the kidnapping, and what secrets were still being kept—even now, 25 years later.
While the plot kept me intrigued, the pacing did feel slower than I usually like, which is what held this back from being a five-star read for me. That said, it’s still a compelling and layered thriller with plenty to unpick and some truly haunting moments.
Recommended for readers who enjoy psychological suspense with a deeply personal mystery at its core.

S.C. Shannon’s The Third Girl is a dark, intricately layered mystery that demands—and rewards—close attention. From the outset, the narrative immerses readers in a shadowy, tension-filled atmosphere that never lets up. The plot unfolds with a steady stream of twists and turns, each one deepening the sense of unease and intrigue. Shannon masterfully maintains a consistent tone of darkness, using it to heighten suspense and enrich the emotional stakes. This is a gripping, well-paced thriller that keeps readers on edge as the mystery unravels, piece by chilling piece.

You know how some books land in your TBR pile at the perfect time? That is just what happened with this book. I wanted, no, needed a tense, thrilling, explosive read, and that is exactly what this book delivered.

This is the first book I have read by this author, but it won't be the last. Her writing style was phenomenal. It had me hooked within minutes, and the fast paced execution made it such an easy read.

Told on dual timelines of 'before' and 'after' and through the narrative of three POVs, this is one hell of a rollercoaster.

Three schoolgirl best friends, Emily, Penelope, and Christina are living their teenage lives in the safe haven of Tranquility Ridge but their friendship is fraught with abusive homelives, secret relationships, and the change in friendships as they grow older. One night, two of the girls are abducted, and weeks later, only one escapes. Life will never be the same again.

Penelope never escaped. Their abductors were never caught.

Years later, Christina has lived her life as a recluse, feeling the constant agonising guilt of leaving Penelope behind, and she was never found. She receives a note through the door from Emilys husband. Emily has died but instructed her husband to find Christina and pass on her bombshell message... 'Penelope is alive. Find her'

This revelation comes with a host of devastating consequences. The only way Christina can find the truth is by going back to her hometown, a place she hasn't revisited since she escaped. Will her survivors guilt hinder her, or can she move past it to finally understand what happened that fateful night 25 years ago.

Arriving in her hometown for the funeral, she reconnects with Emily's brother, who also happens to be her first love. He promises to help Christina investigate, and they start to visit old friends, acquaintances, and the officers who were involved in the original investigation.

This is a plot brimming with suspense, twists, unexpected turns, and tension. The originality was superb, I thought I had it all figured out, but I was wrong time and time again.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Joffe Books for the ARC.

Another brilliant book from this author. the story centres aroud three school friends Emiky, Christina and Penelope. When Christina and Penelope suddenly go missing the quiet town is shocked. Then out of the blue Christina manages to escape and has an horrific tale to tell. Years on Christina decides to look into what happened to her friend and that is when the story really picks up.
Great book from beginning to end, One of my favourite authors.

I really enjoyed this book! The mystery and the hunt to find the third girl and the emotional ending for CJ. I throughly enjoy the switching from past to present to better get a full story on the situation and now

First book by this author but won’t be my last if they all grip me the same!

Here is my review for The Third Girl by S. C. Shannon

This was a brilliant psychological story that hooked me right from the start of the book. The story involved three best friends : Penelope, Emily and Christina. They usually hung around together. One night, Emily invited Penelope and Christina to a bonfire night and they were all meant to meet there at 9pm. Penelope and Christina went together to the location and were kidnapped from there twenty five years ago. A few weeks later, Christina manages to escape but her life was changed forever. After receiving a note from Emily to say Penelope is still alive and to find her, Christina’s mind is spinning so she decides to try and find her. She goes back to Tranquility Ridge and starts searching. This story is superbly written and really well plotted. There are a lot of twists and turns in this story to keep you guessing. The story is told in the present and the past. Both time zones are told from all three characters' viewpoints. I like books like this. This story was a really intriguing suspenseful read and was full of tension. The three characters were written exceptionally well with a lot of good details included. The other characters were written well too and helped make this an exceptional read that I just couldn’t put down as I had to know what happened next. The descriptive text and detailed writing helped me picture this story in my mind as I was reading it. I liked the author’s writing style which was very easy to read. I liked the synopsis which drew me to read this book which I loved immensely. I look forward to reading more stories from this author in the future.

Blurb :


Twenty-five years ago, I escaped. One of us didn’t.

We were best friends — Penelope, Emily and me — growing up in the picture-perfect town of Tranquility Ridge. Pine-lined streets, quaint diners, creaky porch swings. The kind of place nothing bad is supposed to happen.

But the night before my seventeenth birthday, everything changed.

Emily invited us to a party.

That’s when we were taken.

I woke up shackled to a rusted metal bed. My wrists bled. My ankles bruised. Music blared around the clock — too loud, too cruel. I never saw who did it. I was trained not to look.

I escaped.

Penelope didn’t.

And Emily? She’s been lying ever since.

Now, twenty-five years later, a stranger appears with a message, scrawled in Emily’s handwriting — a message I never expected to read:

Penelope’s alive — find her!

A RAZOR-SHARP PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER PACKED WITH BURIED SECRETS, BRUTAL TRUTHS, AND TWISTS YOU WON’T SEE COMING.

So good such a page turner I will recommend because it kept me wanting to know what will happen next thank you for this

The Third Girl by S.C. Shannon just drew me in from the beginning till the very end and I really enjoyed it. this book was full of twists and turns and became a very twisty psychological thriller with great characters.

Emily, Penelope, and Cassie have been friends since their childhood and now they are all turning 16 and they all went to school together. They are growing up in the perfect but quiet safe place of backwater of Tranquillity Ridge, a picture perfect town, with pine-lined streets, quaint diners, creaky porch swings. what more could you ever want? this was a perfect place to grow up in. It's now the Summer time and they all go to a seventeenth birthday party and are all looking for drink and fun and especially boys.!!!

What could ever go wrong? It's just a party?

But, That's when it all goes wrong.

This is when everything changed for all of them! Penelope and Christine were kidnapped. . . . . . . . . They did not know where they were and they were put through Hell! Christine managed to escape, with with help from Penelope and she ended up running to the closest house she could find to get help!
When Christine got there she explained she and Penelope has been kidnapped, the owner of the house phoned the Police. Christine was distraught, took the police back to the house she'd been held in, But, there was no one there.

Where is Penelope?

Now, 25 years pass. . . . . . . .and Emily is dead. Her husband visited Christine's house and she would not answer the door to strangers. He has puts a note through her day. . . . . . Saying "Penelope is alive."

But is Penelope really alive or it this a hoax?

They only way Christine is going to find out, is to go back to her hometown and where it all happened!. to find out what happened to them both. . . .

Sadly Christine, has a fear leaving her house because of what happened all those years ago now,

Excellent book. Loved it

Three young women who have been friends since childhood attend a 17th birthday party at a friend's home. The party turns deadly when two of the friends are taken. Working together, one of them escapes to seek help. When they return, there is no trace of the girl or the crime. This book synopsis suggests so many questions, there was no doubt I had to read THE THIRD GIRL. The answers are given in small bites throughout the dual timeline, which is broken into sections before the kidnapping and 25 years after. A quick, fast-paced story that has enough twists to keep you reading and guessing right up to the incredible reveal.

Three teenage girls are enjoying a high school summer when Christine and Penelope go missing and only Christine returns. The book starts with Christine’s escape and vow to return to Penelope only to find Penelope is no longer there. We fast forward to when the third girl, Emily, dies and begs Christine to find the Penelope saying she is still alive. Christine has spent her life since the kidnapping hiding away so returning to her hometown is painful but necessary for her as she’s never forgiven herself for not saving Penelope.

Told in dual timeline we go back the summer everything happened. I was hooked on this story because of the dual timeline and the secrets and twists. This is a great read!

This was such a twisty read and it kept me guessing. As the secrets come back and the past cannot be buried, it was a very fast paced and gripping read.

This is one of the few instances where I was just as curious as to what was happening in the current storyline as I was with the past storyline that was happening simultaneously throughout the book. The ending was relatively obvious so I wouldn't say there is a big twist, but I binged this book and was entertained the whole way.

Complicated thriller set in two time periods twenty five years apart.A kidnapping and a disappearance.

Christina has not coped well with her PTSD and survivors guilt over what happened 25 years ago. She escaped the fiend who kidnapped her but her friend Penelope disappeared. Now, with the death of Emily, she's looking for answers and for Penelope. This uses multiple POVS and timelines to tell the story of these three women. It's about what comes after as well as lingering trauma. And resilience. It starts strong but sags a bit in the middle and while you might find it somewhat familiar. Shannon puts a good spin on the story. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARc. A good read.

With 3 different povs and 2 seperate timelines, this gives a very in depth understanding of the plot and a clarity about the characters and events that tenaspired. I'm not convinced it's the most realistic book but if you ignore some of the characters behaviours and don't try to renationalise it then it is such a good book! It's definitely captivating, a bit slow in parts but definitely worth sticking with. It did give 2000 serial killer film vibes which is exactly my jam so I loved it! There are twists and turns i didn't see coming and it's just a fun, easy read

DID ANYBODY READ THE "FOR ANYONE WHO IS FANS OF" well yes sorry to capital there but as soon as i read the names i was iiiiin!
and it didnt disappoint. but woweee was i hooked and wanted to not be so i could have a break but unable to because i had to finish this.
its not an easy read but boy is it worth it and im not sure what type of person it makes me but this type of psychological book is my absolute adored favourite.
the book begins in the past when three best friends are torn apart by a kidnapping. one got away. all lives were changed. forever.
then years we are bought back to one of the victims Christine when she gets a message about one of the three's death. but with that she is informed that her other friends, the one that never got away is still alive. and so Christine is propelled back into that time. back to that place. and back to question everything she has buried deep for so long. just what happened that night? was it all she remembered. was it all she was told? was it all she told herself?
this book had me on my edges all the way through. emotionally it was so impact. but sadly it felt so real. all the connections, secrets and lies were all so authentic and felt like yes they could indeed be happening and the ripples thereafter so painfully realistic.

Christina Johnson was just seventeen when she and her best friend Penelope Solace were kidnapped. It was supposed to be a summer of fun for the two girls and their other friend Emily, but things turn out quite differently. Held captive for weeks tortured, the Christina that escaped is extremely damaged. It is Penelope that encouraged her to run and bring back help, but when she returned to the building Penelope had vanished. Now, twenty five years have passed and Christina is back in town after finding out that Emily has died but that she believed Penelope to be very much alive. Christina is determined to solve the case, but can she make it out alive?

There were some details that were off, Christina felt very immature, though I didn't give a ton of thought to it as she could have been stunted by being kidnapped so young. Though certain points stuck out to me, certainly she would have heard of Cerebral Palsy? She also dropped her guard and teamed up with a former friend very quickly for someone who doesn't really trust anyone.

Christina lives life very much like Neve Campbell in one of the later Screams. She works and lives alone with lots of guns and a big dog. In fact, parts of Scream are referenced in during her investigation into her kidnapping.

I had a hard time with another plot point: I don't buy that people punished Christina for leaving without Penelope when it was clear that she was going to run and bring back help to save her. All of these points lead me to rate this 2.5 stars for a plot that often suspended believability.

I received this advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me an ARC of this via NetGalley! This did not influence my review.

This book is a good little crime/mystery book about three best friends who become involved in a tragic and dark crime. There were some really interesting plot twists, and I really liked the throwbacks (LimeWire in particular!). It was pretty easy to follow and it felt like a good representation of the complexities of young friendships.

Some parts were predictable and I found that this didn’t really have me ‘hooked in’. There were times where the plot felt slow and I struggle to read it, then it suddenly picked up and a lot of things were answered at once. There were also some phrases which just felt a bit repetitive and out of place at times. There were a few missed opportunities to expand on some of the character’s stories which made them hard to connect with and difficult to differentiate.

Overall, I think crime/mystery fans will adore this book!

Rating: 3/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)