I’m extremely skeptical that being a social worker and creating a true-crime podcast qualifies a person as an “excellent investigator,” as our protagonist insists she is. She comes off as smug and self-righteous a lot of the time. I have serious qualms about the ethics and effects of her podcast as well as its effectiveness. All of this undermined the effectiveness of this book as a thriller for me. I listened to the audiobook, so it’s possible that the narrator contributed to my impressions of the protagonist, but my skepticism of her ethics and qualifications would remain even had I read a written version. ( )

Elle is doing a podcast on the Count Down Killer. She interviews a variety of people. All too soon the killer, gets personal, and Elle is racing against the clock to save one of her own. ( )

Elle Castillo's podcast Justice Delayed has a following of several hundred thousand. She basically deals with cold cases and has been succesful in solving a number of them. The case she has decided to focus on in her fifth year of production is over twenty years old. After a number of murders in which the female victims become progressively younger, TCK suddenly stopped when he had taken an 11 year old victim.

Now, in response to Elle's podcast, he appears to have started up again. Listeners often contact Elle with information, but this time she arrives to find her informant has been killed.

The story features a number of voices. The transcript of the podcast has Elle asking questions of people related to the topic, interspersed with voiceovers from Elle explaining her thoughts. The transcripts are interspersed with descriptions of what Elle is doing in response to tips. The effect is to build tension. Each section is dated and that provides challenges to the reader too as the chapters are not sequential. The effects of the podcast though is that her listeners learn new information almost as quickly as Elle does.

Elle reveals a lot about her back ground, what motivates her to produce the podcasts, and then ultimately she reveals her true identity.

A well constructed and powerful debut novel. ( )

Elle Castillo has devoted herself to her highly popular podcast focused on solving crimes and helping bring the criminals to justice, and closure to the victims families. After four series she decides to take on her biggest case yet, The Count Down Killer a particularly twisted and meticulous planner when it comes to the crimes he commits until one day abruptly the crimes stop for no known reason. So what happens when Elle obsesses over solving the case?

This is an absolute MUST READ. The characters are well developed, Elle in particular is easy to love and root for and the narration is strong, detailed and flows naturally It's obsessive and dim with major twists and turns that are impossible to seem coming!. I am a devoted thriller fan and thus was a bit hesitant about diving in to a debut but this one comes in with a bang! A gripping page turner I did NOT want to put down. Amy Suiter Clarke has certainly claimed her rightful spot on the must follow list.

A BIG thankyou to netgalley and publishers for allowing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I am very grateful to have had the pleasure of reading this novel and will be singing its praise for the foreseeable future! ( )

Revenge of the Serial Killer

In this debut suspense novel, Elle Castillo has a podcast called Justice Delayed, which she started specifically to catch a serial killer who preyed on women in Minneapolis, but who has long been inactive and presumed dead. Elle begs to differ, and when girls are again being taken and murdered in a pattern matching the modus operandi of The Countdown Killer, the recurrence reinforces her belief the killer lives. And not only lives, but is seeking her out as revenge for resurrecting his case, calling attention to him once again. This turns into something of a cat and mouse game between her and the killer, with the killer eventually striking close to her.

Clarke has structured the novel in three parts, one being Elle’s podcasts, the other being Elle’s daily life, and the third focused on the killer himself and how he came to be TCK, including why and how his pattern of murder and display of victims developed. Clarke does a good job with the podcast segments and though it feels clumsy introducing the killer segment later in the novel, it too makes for some compelling reading as readers learn the significance of his rituals, including kidnapping two girls within days of each other, his countdown by age from 21 to 11, his method of torture and murder, and his timing from taking to displaying his victims. The portions of the novel devoted to Elle herself prove the weak link, as working through her obsession and personal traumas become something of trial to wade through, and make the novel seem longer than it is. However, overall Girl, 11 proves a credible addition to the serial killer sub-genre bookshelf already weighted to groaning, testifying to the allure the subject holds for readers.
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