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They Say A Girl Died Here Once
Seventeen-year-old Anna has a space in her memory of a night her brain won’t let her remember, a night that devastated her life and forced her to drop out of high school. Her grandmother, Evelyn, is slowly losing her memories to Alzheimer’s. When the family moves into a forgotten house on the outskirts of Evelyn’s home town, it's supposed to be a fresh start and a quieter life for all of them.
But when Evelyn starts behaving strangely in her lost moments, it’s Anna who witnesses it. It’s Anna who helps her. And as she’s drawn into life in the town and learns some of its recent gruesome history, she can’t help but begin to wonder if the dead are trying to talk through Evelyn’s empty spaces. And if so, what is it they’re trying to tell her?
But when Evelyn starts behaving strangely in her lost moments, it’s Anna who witnesses it. It’s Anna who helps her. And as she’s drawn into life in the town and learns some of its recent gruesome history, she can’t help but begin to wonder if the dead are trying to talk through Evelyn’s empty spaces. And if so, what is it they’re trying to tell her?
200 pages, Hardcover
First published October 31, 2016
About the author
Sarah Pinborough
92 books8,518 followersSarah Pinborough is a New York Times bestselling and Sunday Times Number one and Internationally bestselling author who is published in over 30 territories worldwide. Having published more than 25 novels across various genres, her recent books include Behind Her Eyes, now a smash hit Netflix limited series, Dead To Her, now in development with Amazon Studios, and 13 Minutes and The Death House in development with Compelling Pictures. Sarah lives in the historic town of Stony Stratford, the home of the Cock and Bull story, with her dog Ted. Her next novel, Insomnia, is out in 2022. You can follow Sarah on Twitter at @sarahpinborough.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 646 reviews
May 19, 2026
They say a girl like me shouldn’t have read this...
Anna Maybourne feels trapped in Harper’s Creek. The town is known for the unsolved cases of two women who died exactly three years apart from each other. But Anna being new in town wonders if the closed case is actually unsolved and she wants to get to the bottom of it.
Ugh I am so annoyed that this wasn’t an enjoyable read for me as I really do enjoy this author, but this was sooooo damn boring.
Admittedly I was drawn in at first with the mystery and eerie behaviors of the characters and the town but as the story went on my mind started wandering off.
I became, bored, confused and was ready to DNF. But the FOMO in me (even if I am not having a good time) decided to ride it out and it all came to a drastic end in the final two chapters.
It did not give me the same ‘WOW’ factor that I had with Behind Her Eyes and it was somewhat predictable and underwhelming.
I don’t want to write this author off, but I think I need to lower my expectations going into her future reads, so I don’t get so disappointed easily.
2.5 ⭐
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
⋆｡°✩pre read⋆｡°✩
Solely because of Behind Her Eyes
I must continue reading this woman's books
I hope this one is a winner!
💛🧡🧡💛
Anna Maybourne feels trapped in Harper’s Creek. The town is known for the unsolved cases of two women who died exactly three years apart from each other. But Anna being new in town wonders if the closed case is actually unsolved and she wants to get to the bottom of it.
Ugh I am so annoyed that this wasn’t an enjoyable read for me as I really do enjoy this author, but this was sooooo damn boring.
Admittedly I was drawn in at first with the mystery and eerie behaviors of the characters and the town but as the story went on my mind started wandering off.
I became, bored, confused and was ready to DNF. But the FOMO in me (even if I am not having a good time) decided to ride it out and it all came to a drastic end in the final two chapters.
It did not give me the same ‘WOW’ factor that I had with Behind Her Eyes and it was somewhat predictable and underwhelming.
I don’t want to write this author off, but I think I need to lower my expectations going into her future reads, so I don’t get so disappointed easily.
2.5 ⭐
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
⋆｡°✩pre read⋆｡°✩
Solely because of Behind Her Eyes
I must continue reading this woman's books
I hope this one is a winner!
💛🧡🧡💛
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
August 18, 2026⭐️ 3.25 ⭐️ This is a mystery about two murdered girls in Harpers Creek, a town full of dark secrets. After Anna and her family move into this town, she becomes obsessed with the murders attributed to a killer called Farmhandman. As the anniversary of murders leans closer, everyone begins to feel the tension. The house that she lives in, including her dementia-stricken grandmother, starts to feel haunting. Her grandma grows more delusional and paranoid. But those delusional episodes are somehow the key to discovering the truth. What did REALLY happen to those girls?
This is a classic Pinborough structured book: you have a very creepy town/atmosphere with unsettling vibes and people (a drought stricken town/the town, the sheriff, the pastor, the neighbors all seem fishy), you have characters with a past (Anna) that is also an unreliable narrator and a psychological side (past trauma, memory repression).
What makes this book great is that as you're reading it, you kind of start losing your wits. Anna is a character who can't trust her own memories. She experienced a traumatic event which caused a lapse in her memories. Can something like this actually happen? Yes it can. Some trauma causes people to repress their memories or make them inaccessible. So everything and anything can become distorted and questionable. Along with Evelyn's progressive dementia, it was hard to differentiate fiction from the truth and I wasn't sure what is reliable vs imaginary. Was the grandmother imagining things or remembering something? Her 'visions' were creepy but also felt like the biggest clues to the overall mystery. I thought that the combo of Annas psychological trauma/lapsed memories and Evelyn's dementia was arguably the best aspect of the story.
The novel lost me with its ending where I felt everything was compressed into the last two chapters. The twist didn't work for me because it felt far-fetched. It felt too paranormal for a psychological novel. Pinborough added an element of magical realism that simply wasn't written in well, so it felt out of place, making the pay off disappointing.
I'd say this is still worth reading if you want a slow-burn mystery with good built up. But don't expect a shock ending that will give you that WTF moment like in Behind Her Eyes.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and the author, Sarah Pinborough for an early ARC.
Narrator: Saskia Maarlevald
Duration: 9 hours 20 minutes
Speed: 1.75x
Publication date: August 25, 2026
This is a classic Pinborough structured book: you have a very creepy town/atmosphere with unsettling vibes and people (a drought stricken town/the town, the sheriff, the pastor, the neighbors all seem fishy), you have characters with a past (Anna) that is also an unreliable narrator and a psychological side (past trauma, memory repression).
What makes this book great is that as you're reading it, you kind of start losing your wits. Anna is a character who can't trust her own memories. She experienced a traumatic event which caused a lapse in her memories. Can something like this actually happen? Yes it can. Some trauma causes people to repress their memories or make them inaccessible. So everything and anything can become distorted and questionable. Along with Evelyn's progressive dementia, it was hard to differentiate fiction from the truth and I wasn't sure what is reliable vs imaginary. Was the grandmother imagining things or remembering something? Her 'visions' were creepy but also felt like the biggest clues to the overall mystery. I thought that the combo of Annas psychological trauma/lapsed memories and Evelyn's dementia was arguably the best aspect of the story.
The novel lost me with its ending where I felt everything was compressed into the last two chapters. The twist didn't work for me because it felt far-fetched. It felt too paranormal for a psychological novel. Pinborough added an element of magical realism that simply wasn't written in well, so it felt out of place, making the pay off disappointing.
I'd say this is still worth reading if you want a slow-burn mystery with good built up. But don't expect a shock ending that will give you that WTF moment like in Behind Her Eyes.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and the author, Sarah Pinborough for an early ARC.
Narrator: Saskia Maarlevald
Duration: 9 hours 20 minutes
Speed: 1.75x
Publication date: August 25, 2026
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2026
Anna has moved back home after “the thing” happened to her in college. She’s taking some time off to help her mom and sister with her grandmother, who has beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. The town they move to is where her grandmother grew up, where everyone knows everyone’s business, and they are still reeling from the deaths of two young women, three years apart, that have given way to a bit of folklore. Every three years, a woman is killed, and the town is coming up on the anniversary. Anna doesn’t believe the local legend and decides to do some detective-ing of her own.
I really enjoyed the premise of this. I loved the folklore, mystery, and atmosphere surrounding the town. The mystery gave both natural and supernatural elements to investigate and ponder. Although, I wish the supernatural element had been more fully explored. It was an interesting premise and would have loved to see more of it.
Where it went downhill for me was Anna. She mentioned “the thing” it felt like every page. Between that and her man-hating remarks on EVERY man, it became so repetitious it became distracting. Being this was a slow burn of a novel, these things stood out even more.
The novel premise is good. I just found myself having a low tolerance for the repetition surrounding Anna.
I really enjoyed the premise of this. I loved the folklore, mystery, and atmosphere surrounding the town. The mystery gave both natural and supernatural elements to investigate and ponder. Although, I wish the supernatural element had been more fully explored. It was an interesting premise and would have loved to see more of it.
Where it went downhill for me was Anna. She mentioned “the thing” it felt like every page. Between that and her man-hating remarks on EVERY man, it became so repetitious it became distracting. Being this was a slow burn of a novel, these things stood out even more.
The novel premise is good. I just found myself having a low tolerance for the repetition surrounding Anna.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Claustrophobic, haunting, and eerie, They Say a Girl Died Here was Pinborough at her best as she took a gripping family drama and wrapped it up in a small-town murder mystery. Don’t get me wrong, the best part of this immersive tale was the interplay between the oppressive atmosphere and the strong sense of place. Evocative and vivid, it almost felt like another character as it came alive more and more with each page. You see, I not only felt as if I was in this dying farm town, but the oodles of secrets and side-eye-worthy suspects kept me fully invested as Anna went about her sleuthing campaign. Surely hiding a dark mystery at its core, I couldn’t get enough of Harper’s Creek as the tension wound tighter until it blew up sky high. Yup. You’ll be happy to hear that Pinborough delivered yet another one of her classic mind-bending twists, which made the slow-burning pace even more delicious.
I do have to say, though, that on top of the hypnotic plot and powerful setting, the characters had that extra special something. Complex, messy, and yet strong in their own ways, Anna and Grandma Evelyn were the true stars of the show. The latter, however, had to be my favorite of the two. Grumpy and sharp-tongued but also endearing, she made me question what was real as the ambiguity around her memory got more and more intense. Alongside of the deeply traumatized Anna and the rest of her family, it was quite the combo of dysfunction and love. As I mentioned, though, the twists were the *chef’s kiss* part of the puzzle. Clicking into place with a mind-blowing “WTF?!” reveal, the ending reframed it all. So if you loved the atmosphere of We Have Always Lived Here and the shock value of Behind Her Eyes, grab this book now. I can promise that it was all that and more. Rating of 5 stars.
Read if you’re a fan of:
- Genre-bending plots
- Supernatural elements
- Murder mysteries
- Suspicious characters
- A dark past
- Unreliable narrators
- Dysfunctional family dynamics
- Mind-bending twists
- Slow-burning suspense
- Short chapters
- A strong sense of place
- Small-town secrets
- Thought-provoking themes
- Purposeful ambiguity
- Amateur sleuthing
- A dash of feminine rage
SYNOPSIS:
Anna Maybourne never imagined herself living in a place like Harper’s Creek, a nowhere town full of dusty farmland plagued by drought. It’s supposed to be a new start for her and her family, but after dropping out of college, Anna feels stuck in place―working a part-time job, watching her little sister grow up, and taking care of her grandmother with dementia, whose paranoid episodes have started to unnerve her. The only interesting thing about her new town, it seems, is the string of grisly murders attributed to a killer called the Farmhandman―and the clue she discovers that reveals the case is yet unsolved.
Along with outspoken loner Melissa Laverne and handsome deputy Todd Greenbough, Anna fills her hours with the town’s darkest curiosity―but even though the prime suspect is long dead, the Farmhandman murders begin to feel too close for comfort as the anniversary nears. Tension is building in Harper’s Creek, and everyone can feel it. The house is becoming more claustrophobic by the day, and her grandmother is growing stranger. Anna begins to wonder if her delusional moments are somehow the key to discovering the truth about the murders, and if the old house, and her new start, is haunted by its own bloody baggage.
Thank you Sarah Pinborough and Flatiron Books for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: August 25, 2026
Content warning: dementia, alcoholism, violence, murder, grief, gun violence, rape, mention of: drug abuse, addiction
I do have to say, though, that on top of the hypnotic plot and powerful setting, the characters had that extra special something. Complex, messy, and yet strong in their own ways, Anna and Grandma Evelyn were the true stars of the show. The latter, however, had to be my favorite of the two. Grumpy and sharp-tongued but also endearing, she made me question what was real as the ambiguity around her memory got more and more intense. Alongside of the deeply traumatized Anna and the rest of her family, it was quite the combo of dysfunction and love. As I mentioned, though, the twists were the *chef’s kiss* part of the puzzle. Clicking into place with a mind-blowing “WTF?!” reveal, the ending reframed it all. So if you loved the atmosphere of We Have Always Lived Here and the shock value of Behind Her Eyes, grab this book now. I can promise that it was all that and more. Rating of 5 stars.
Read if you’re a fan of:
- Genre-bending plots
- Supernatural elements
- Murder mysteries
- Suspicious characters
- A dark past
- Unreliable narrators
- Dysfunctional family dynamics
- Mind-bending twists
- Slow-burning suspense
- Short chapters
- A strong sense of place
- Small-town secrets
- Thought-provoking themes
- Purposeful ambiguity
- Amateur sleuthing
- A dash of feminine rage
SYNOPSIS:
Anna Maybourne never imagined herself living in a place like Harper’s Creek, a nowhere town full of dusty farmland plagued by drought. It’s supposed to be a new start for her and her family, but after dropping out of college, Anna feels stuck in place―working a part-time job, watching her little sister grow up, and taking care of her grandmother with dementia, whose paranoid episodes have started to unnerve her. The only interesting thing about her new town, it seems, is the string of grisly murders attributed to a killer called the Farmhandman―and the clue she discovers that reveals the case is yet unsolved.
Along with outspoken loner Melissa Laverne and handsome deputy Todd Greenbough, Anna fills her hours with the town’s darkest curiosity―but even though the prime suspect is long dead, the Farmhandman murders begin to feel too close for comfort as the anniversary nears. Tension is building in Harper’s Creek, and everyone can feel it. The house is becoming more claustrophobic by the day, and her grandmother is growing stranger. Anna begins to wonder if her delusional moments are somehow the key to discovering the truth about the murders, and if the old house, and her new start, is haunted by its own bloody baggage.
Thank you Sarah Pinborough and Flatiron Books for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: August 25, 2026
Content warning: dementia, alcoholism, violence, murder, grief, gun violence, rape, mention of: drug abuse, addiction
October 11, 2016
Sarah Pinborough has a gift of telling amazing stories of teenaged girls with empathy, passion and honesty. With the book "They Say a Girl Died Here Once" is the third book of Ms. Pinborough's that I have read over the past year, following "Thirteen Minutes" and "The Death House" both of which were excellent.
In "They Say a Girl Died Here Once" we have a story dominated by the X chromosome. The main characters are Anna, her younger sister, Anna's mother and Anna's Grandmother, they all live in the same house in a small town. These female's all have flaws and they are trying to cope with these flaws.
The small town has had two recent mysterious murders of highschool girls. And due to circumstances Anna has the need to try and understand what has happened while her mother has begun dating the new handyman.
Ms. Pinborough has given the world another gift through her talent. If possible pick up one of these wonderful Earthling hardcovers, there are only five hundred, of this number twelve in their halloween series and keep your eyes peeled for her next offering, you will not be disappointed.
This is copy 144 of an edition of 500 signed and numbered hardcover copies signed by Sarah Pinborough.
In "They Say a Girl Died Here Once" we have a story dominated by the X chromosome. The main characters are Anna, her younger sister, Anna's mother and Anna's Grandmother, they all live in the same house in a small town. These female's all have flaws and they are trying to cope with these flaws.
The small town has had two recent mysterious murders of highschool girls. And due to circumstances Anna has the need to try and understand what has happened while her mother has begun dating the new handyman.
Ms. Pinborough has given the world another gift through her talent. If possible pick up one of these wonderful Earthling hardcovers, there are only five hundred, of this number twelve in their halloween series and keep your eyes peeled for her next offering, you will not be disappointed.
This is copy 144 of an edition of 500 signed and numbered hardcover copies signed by Sarah Pinborough.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you so much to Sarah Pinborough and Macmillan Audio for my copy of this amazing book! It was about Anna, a girl who feels trapped in the midwest. The town is known for the murders of two women who died exactly three years apart. The killer, known as the Farmhand, was killed, but Anna believes that the cases are still unsolved. As the three year anniversary approaches, Anna's grandmother starts having episodes, claiming she knows about the girls who died. Strange things start happening in their house, and Anna realizes she's much closer to the mystery than she ever thought.
Thoughts: I loved this story! It was so much fun to read about Anna, an unreliable narrator who is full of trauma and depth. The plot really caught my attention and I couldn't put it down. I wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't. It was definitely a slow burn, but it unfolded piece by piece and I couldn't wait to see where it was going. 4 stars for this eerie thriller.
Thoughts: I loved this story! It was so much fun to read about Anna, an unreliable narrator who is full of trauma and depth. The plot really caught my attention and I couldn't put it down. I wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't. It was definitely a slow burn, but it unfolded piece by piece and I couldn't wait to see where it was going. 4 stars for this eerie thriller.
September 4, 2026
Anna is a big city girl, dropped into smalltown Nebraska to live with her mother, 12-year-old sister, and demented grandmother. She recently dropped out of Columbia University after this terrible thing happens (referenced many, many times). In the town she lives, two girls were murdered, 6 years ago and 3 years ago, nearly to the day. Another 3 years is approaching, and Anna becomes invested in finding out the truth because there are some folks in town who are convinced it will happen again. Also, there may or may not be some strange things happening in the house where they live.
I was so excited to get this early release. Behind Her Eyes to this day remains my favorite thriller of all time, and I also really enjoyed Insomnia. Unfortunately, this story fell flat for me. I wasn't invested in any of the characters or the mystery surrounding the storyline. There were some fairly obvious suspects early on that ultimately panned out as being...well, fairly obvious. I feel this was trying to be both a psychological thriller and a paranormal thriller, but I don't think either approach really hit the mark.
As far as the plot goes, this terrible thing that is referenced throughout the story and motivates nearly all of Anna's decisions and is the basis for her personality is barely grazed upon when all is said and done. There are characters that have more than bit parts (one fairly significant one) that are introduced and then never heard from again. Overall, it was a disappointing read. I do feel this author excels in atmosphere, and that was done well here again. Grandma was also very creepy at times with the things she said and her behaviors which was fun, but those things couldn't save the story for me.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.
I was so excited to get this early release. Behind Her Eyes to this day remains my favorite thriller of all time, and I also really enjoyed Insomnia. Unfortunately, this story fell flat for me. I wasn't invested in any of the characters or the mystery surrounding the storyline. There were some fairly obvious suspects early on that ultimately panned out as being...well, fairly obvious. I feel this was trying to be both a psychological thriller and a paranormal thriller, but I don't think either approach really hit the mark.
As far as the plot goes, this terrible thing that is referenced throughout the story and motivates nearly all of Anna's decisions and is the basis for her personality is barely grazed upon when all is said and done. There are characters that have more than bit parts (one fairly significant one) that are introduced and then never heard from again. Overall, it was a disappointing read. I do feel this author excels in atmosphere, and that was done well here again. Grandma was also very creepy at times with the things she said and her behaviors which was fun, but those things couldn't save the story for me.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
"A little fear was at least feeling something, and there were plenty who would call that progress in her post-trauma journey." *
I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book, but I was hooked after only a few pages! After a life-altering experience, Anna moves to the small town of Harper's Creek with her mother, little sister, and grandmother, who has dementia. Grandma insists they live in her old house, which has an eerie presence. The town has a brutal history of young girls murdered by the 'Farmhand'—who was never caught. Legend says he kills every three years, with the anniversary fast approaching. Everyone worries who will be killed next, including Anna. Her grandmother becomes increasingly agitated and mutters strange things—is it her dementia or something more?
A sense of unease, dread, and paranoia seeps from the pages as Anna deals with chunks of missing memories and her grandmother's disturbing utterances. Both women struggle with self-doubt and trusting reality—and so will readers. While I figured out a few elements and a key aspect, the latter you must accept without explanation. The twisty layers all come together in a spectacular fashion that fans of Pinborough—and new readers like me—will appreciate. This slow-burn atmospheric read is impossible to put down!
SARAH PINBOROUGH slays the gothic vibe in a contemporary setting—where there's no way to know what's really happening—while expertly delving into the fear of losing one's mind and the effects of trauma. Readers who enjoy ambiguity, cold case mysteries, and an immersive setting will love THEY SAY A GIRL DIED HERE!
____
*Quote is subject to change upon final publication
Thank you to Pine & Cedar Books & Flatiron Books for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.
I didn't know what to expect when I picked up this book, but I was hooked after only a few pages! After a life-altering experience, Anna moves to the small town of Harper's Creek with her mother, little sister, and grandmother, who has dementia. Grandma insists they live in her old house, which has an eerie presence. The town has a brutal history of young girls murdered by the 'Farmhand'—who was never caught. Legend says he kills every three years, with the anniversary fast approaching. Everyone worries who will be killed next, including Anna. Her grandmother becomes increasingly agitated and mutters strange things—is it her dementia or something more?
A sense of unease, dread, and paranoia seeps from the pages as Anna deals with chunks of missing memories and her grandmother's disturbing utterances. Both women struggle with self-doubt and trusting reality—and so will readers. While I figured out a few elements and a key aspect, the latter you must accept without explanation. The twisty layers all come together in a spectacular fashion that fans of Pinborough—and new readers like me—will appreciate. This slow-burn atmospheric read is impossible to put down!
SARAH PINBOROUGH slays the gothic vibe in a contemporary setting—where there's no way to know what's really happening—while expertly delving into the fear of losing one's mind and the effects of trauma. Readers who enjoy ambiguity, cold case mysteries, and an immersive setting will love THEY SAY A GIRL DIED HERE!
____
*Quote is subject to change upon final publication
Thank you to Pine & Cedar Books & Flatiron Books for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.
July 20, 2026
I’m sorry but this was awful. I know it was a republishing of a book from 2016 so I’m not sure if it’s just repackaged, rewritten, or a merger of old and new. Either way, it’s clearly not up to the level of the author’s recent work and should’ve been left on the backlist.
First of all, it can be tough to write trauma. Many authors throw one sentence in and call it a day, despite nothing being realistic about the response of the characters to trauma. This doesn’t do that but instead Anna tells us about 10 times a page about the “the thing” yet none of her actions align with her thoughts. She hates men, which we get told repeatedly, and she randomly freaks out around men but then she’s going to a hotel to meet with a random strange man she just met.
Secondly, the entire plot is inconsistent. Things change to fit the plot. Like supposedly it’s a super small town and everyone knows everyone and everything that goes on except twice Anna goes to the dental office and that apparently exists in a void where no one knows anything? In a town with three businesses (and a dental office that wasn’t mentioned early on with the three businesses).
Third, this was apparently sponsored by American Spirit cigarettes. Not only do we hear about everyone smoking and cigarettes about every third sentence, but we get it drilled into our head repeatedly that Anna smokes American Spirits. Weird.
Fourth, the pacing is a wreck. It started fairly quickly but then nothing happens for ages and then it all gets rushed together at the end. Cut 100 pages of cigarettes and we’d be better off.
Fifth, there’s an attempt at tossing in some paranormal sci-fi time travel that feels like an afterthought with no real purpose.
Finally, the portrayal of trauma, mental illness, drug addiction, dementia, poverty, etc. are all beyond problematic and insulting. The religious stuff is also a bit confusing as it’s sort of shown as a cult then shown as great? Pick a lane.
I only finished this because I need to know how things end. I should learn to DNF but I won’t so I’ll continue to suffer. I’m not sure what other people read but this was not good. I like the author and I’ll read her again, especially because this was an early book just tossed back out to readers.
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley.
First of all, it can be tough to write trauma. Many authors throw one sentence in and call it a day, despite nothing being realistic about the response of the characters to trauma. This doesn’t do that but instead Anna tells us about 10 times a page about the “the thing” yet none of her actions align with her thoughts. She hates men, which we get told repeatedly, and she randomly freaks out around men but then she’s going to a hotel to meet with a random strange man she just met.
Secondly, the entire plot is inconsistent. Things change to fit the plot. Like supposedly it’s a super small town and everyone knows everyone and everything that goes on except twice Anna goes to the dental office and that apparently exists in a void where no one knows anything? In a town with three businesses (and a dental office that wasn’t mentioned early on with the three businesses).
Third, this was apparently sponsored by American Spirit cigarettes. Not only do we hear about everyone smoking and cigarettes about every third sentence, but we get it drilled into our head repeatedly that Anna smokes American Spirits. Weird.
Fourth, the pacing is a wreck. It started fairly quickly but then nothing happens for ages and then it all gets rushed together at the end. Cut 100 pages of cigarettes and we’d be better off.
Fifth, there’s an attempt at tossing in some paranormal sci-fi time travel that feels like an afterthought with no real purpose.
Finally, the portrayal of trauma, mental illness, drug addiction, dementia, poverty, etc. are all beyond problematic and insulting. The religious stuff is also a bit confusing as it’s sort of shown as a cult then shown as great? Pick a lane.
I only finished this because I need to know how things end. I should learn to DNF but I won’t so I’ll continue to suffer. I’m not sure what other people read but this was not good. I like the author and I’ll read her again, especially because this was an early book just tossed back out to readers.
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2026
The tension starts from the first page and doesn’t relent. There is a horrible sense of dread as you try and decide if Anna’s past trauma is causing her to lose her mind, if Grandma is really psychic or is it her dementia, and if the killer of Lila and Bonnie was really caught. Only Sarah Pinborough could write so convincingly that you will be jerked from one scenario to another until you are finally shown the unimaginable truth. #pineandcedar #flatironbooks
July 15, 2026
If you have read Sarah Pinborough books before you know that you are in for a wild ride. They Say a Girl Died Here is expertly narrated by the wonderful Saskia Maaleveld, one of the best there is. She brings this intense and creepy story to life and I loved it.
Anna and her family are looking for a fresh start in Harpers Creek, as all creepy town whose residents aren’t exactly what they appear to be. There has been 2 girls murdered, 3 years apart and the killer is supposedly dead, but the anniversary is nearing and the townspeople are on edge. Anna doesn’t think the stories that she has heard make sense and so does her own investigations which of course puts her in danger.
Anna has plenty of her own secrets and is struggling with what has happened to her before moving to Harpers Creek. She finds herself fighting with her mother all the time and being a carer to her little sister and her grandmother who has dementia. Are her grandmothers ramblings just bad dreams or is she trying to warn Anna? She is a frustrating character and an unreliable narrator but you come to understand her actions as the story moves along.
This is a slow burning mystery that you need to take your time with but trust me it is worth the wait. The outcome was shocking and worked so well.
Thanks so much to Macmillan Audio for my advanced copy of this audiobook to listen to. Out on August 25th.
Anna and her family are looking for a fresh start in Harpers Creek, as all creepy town whose residents aren’t exactly what they appear to be. There has been 2 girls murdered, 3 years apart and the killer is supposedly dead, but the anniversary is nearing and the townspeople are on edge. Anna doesn’t think the stories that she has heard make sense and so does her own investigations which of course puts her in danger.
Anna has plenty of her own secrets and is struggling with what has happened to her before moving to Harpers Creek. She finds herself fighting with her mother all the time and being a carer to her little sister and her grandmother who has dementia. Are her grandmothers ramblings just bad dreams or is she trying to warn Anna? She is a frustrating character and an unreliable narrator but you come to understand her actions as the story moves along.
This is a slow burning mystery that you need to take your time with but trust me it is worth the wait. The outcome was shocking and worked so well.
Thanks so much to Macmillan Audio for my advanced copy of this audiobook to listen to. Out on August 25th.
July 28, 2026
Nothing revolutionary.
April 22, 2026
2.5⭐️ I am so bummed to have not enjoyed this book. After struggling to pick it up for the past few weeks, I finally finished it. My main takeaway is that I really struggled to feel engaged on any level with this story. Normally a fan of Sarah Pinsborough’s atmospheric writing, I never felt that wonderful eerie vibe she normally elicits. The pacing felt very, very slow and stagnant, and the characters felt flat and two-dimensional.
🎧 I chose to do an immersive read, and I’m not sure if the audiobook hurt or helped; or if it really just stayed consistent with the more meh storytelling. Ultimately, this should have been a DNF for me.
Will any of this stop me from running to read her next book when it’s released? No chance. But I do remain saddened that I don’t have glowing words for this book.
Thank you to Flatiron Books and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies.
🎧 I chose to do an immersive read, and I’m not sure if the audiobook hurt or helped; or if it really just stayed consistent with the more meh storytelling. Ultimately, this should have been a DNF for me.
Will any of this stop me from running to read her next book when it’s released? No chance. But I do remain saddened that I don’t have glowing words for this book.
Thank you to Flatiron Books and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies.
July 21, 2016
4.5 stars.
THEY SAY A GIRL DIED HERE ONCE, by Sarah Pinborough, is book #12 in Earthling Publication's Halloween Series, for 2016. I've been a fan of Pinborough's style for quite some time now. She brings her characters to life with their emotions, even more so than their actions. Another strength of hers is setting up a realistic atmosphere that ensnares the reader into it--much like a spider's web--keeping them mentally "trapped" in her novel, unable to focus on anything external while reading it.
This particular novel struck me very strongly as "psychological horror", because the emotions and internal conflict are so prominent throughout. However, there are still plenty of physical horror elements, entwined with several mysteries, that all combine in this evocative tale.
We begin with Anna's Grandmother, Evelyn, buying a house near her old hometown, in order that they might all escape from a traumatic "incident" that happened to Anna--effectively marking her as a pariah in the former town, and giving them all (Anna, her younger sister, Caroline, mother Claire, and Evelyn--who is now showing the effects of the onset of Alzheimer's) a change and a chance to have a fresh start. Unfortunately, the atmosphere of this town showcases more of a decay than a new life: ". . . It was a town being swallowed up by dust. Struggling to stay alive but dying all the same . . ." Despite the surly attitude that Anna is determined to portray outwardly, she is racked with guilt inside--knowing that this move was all on account of her, and that awful, fateful night in her past.
". . . Anna had trapped them all in that night even if they never talked about it . . . "
At the heart of this novel is the relationship between Anna and Grandma Evelyn--who she feels "blames" her for the episode in her past. As the two grow increasingly closer due to their own missing "memories", Anna begins to wonder, " . . . when Grandma got lost, how far did she go? . . . What if, when her mind was lost, she reached a place the dead could talk to her? . . . "
Amidst all of the internal drama, we then have the small town itself--with all of its small town secrets.
"They say a girl died here once . . . "
In the hands of Pinborough, we have a novel full of emotion, death, mystery, suspense, and of course, the human drama--exemplified by the cruelty of others; rumors, jealousy, resentment, and unfounded allegations. As Anna, who just wanted to "disappear" in the eyes of others soon discovers: ". . . there was no good way to try and be invisible to people who insist on seeing you."
This is a spellbinding tale that kept me thinking about those all-too-real characters, and the things that might harbor in the empty spaces our mind sometimes creates; whether from a disease, or some other trauma.
Highly recommended!
*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
THEY SAY A GIRL DIED HERE ONCE, by Sarah Pinborough, is book #12 in Earthling Publication's Halloween Series, for 2016. I've been a fan of Pinborough's style for quite some time now. She brings her characters to life with their emotions, even more so than their actions. Another strength of hers is setting up a realistic atmosphere that ensnares the reader into it--much like a spider's web--keeping them mentally "trapped" in her novel, unable to focus on anything external while reading it.
This particular novel struck me very strongly as "psychological horror", because the emotions and internal conflict are so prominent throughout. However, there are still plenty of physical horror elements, entwined with several mysteries, that all combine in this evocative tale.
We begin with Anna's Grandmother, Evelyn, buying a house near her old hometown, in order that they might all escape from a traumatic "incident" that happened to Anna--effectively marking her as a pariah in the former town, and giving them all (Anna, her younger sister, Caroline, mother Claire, and Evelyn--who is now showing the effects of the onset of Alzheimer's) a change and a chance to have a fresh start. Unfortunately, the atmosphere of this town showcases more of a decay than a new life: ". . . It was a town being swallowed up by dust. Struggling to stay alive but dying all the same . . ." Despite the surly attitude that Anna is determined to portray outwardly, she is racked with guilt inside--knowing that this move was all on account of her, and that awful, fateful night in her past.
". . . Anna had trapped them all in that night even if they never talked about it . . . "
At the heart of this novel is the relationship between Anna and Grandma Evelyn--who she feels "blames" her for the episode in her past. As the two grow increasingly closer due to their own missing "memories", Anna begins to wonder, " . . . when Grandma got lost, how far did she go? . . . What if, when her mind was lost, she reached a place the dead could talk to her? . . . "
Amidst all of the internal drama, we then have the small town itself--with all of its small town secrets.
"They say a girl died here once . . . "
In the hands of Pinborough, we have a novel full of emotion, death, mystery, suspense, and of course, the human drama--exemplified by the cruelty of others; rumors, jealousy, resentment, and unfounded allegations. As Anna, who just wanted to "disappear" in the eyes of others soon discovers: ". . . there was no good way to try and be invisible to people who insist on seeing you."
This is a spellbinding tale that kept me thinking about those all-too-real characters, and the things that might harbor in the empty spaces our mind sometimes creates; whether from a disease, or some other trauma.
Highly recommended!
*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*
September 2, 2026
3.5 ⭐️
A slow-burn, atmospheric small-town mystery with plenty of creepiness and an unsettling sense of dread. I loved the creepy farmland mythology, the oppressive setting, and the exploration of grief, guilt, and trauma. The family dynamics—especially Ana and her grandmother’s relationship—were a standout for me.
One element of the story didn’t quite land and left me with more questions than answers, but overall I enjoyed this eerie and suspenseful read!
A slow-burn, atmospheric small-town mystery with plenty of creepiness and an unsettling sense of dread. I loved the creepy farmland mythology, the oppressive setting, and the exploration of grief, guilt, and trauma. The family dynamics—especially Ana and her grandmother’s relationship—were a standout for me.
One element of the story didn’t quite land and left me with more questions than answers, but overall I enjoyed this eerie and suspenseful read!
July 21, 2026
This one started off interesting but got a little weird and far-fetched for me.
Anna lives with her mom, sister, and grandma, who has dementia. It’s clear she’s not happy with her life, but we know she’s had some trauma in the past, referred to as “the thing” throughout the book. So she’s kind of just stuck, working through her own issues while helping with her grandma and figuring out what she wants to do next.
Saskia Maarleveld narrates the audiobook, and she’s great. It carries on like a typical mystery as Anna becomes increasingly obsessed with finding out what happened to the two girls who were murdered exactly three years apart. Everyone we meet is a suspect as the date of the murders approaches, along with talk of “the Farmhand” returning for his next girl.
It’s relatively obvious what “the thing” that happened to Anna is, but it gets a little frustrating that it is referred to so often without us getting the full story.
Eventually, this takes a weird turn, and that’s when it started to lose me a bit. We carry on questioning everyone, including our narrator, and for a while I wasn’t even sure what kind of story this was becoming.
By the end, there were too many twists, familiar tropes, and people involved in covering everything up for it to feel believable to me. I was also still confused about a few details, and I’m not sure whether I missed something or they simply weren’t fully explained. We do finally get the full story about “the thing,” though.
Overall, this was an okay mystery with an interesting setup, but the ending became more complicated than satisfying. The narration was great, though, and helped keep me listening.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy.
Anna lives with her mom, sister, and grandma, who has dementia. It’s clear she’s not happy with her life, but we know she’s had some trauma in the past, referred to as “the thing” throughout the book. So she’s kind of just stuck, working through her own issues while helping with her grandma and figuring out what she wants to do next.
Saskia Maarleveld narrates the audiobook, and she’s great. It carries on like a typical mystery as Anna becomes increasingly obsessed with finding out what happened to the two girls who were murdered exactly three years apart. Everyone we meet is a suspect as the date of the murders approaches, along with talk of “the Farmhand” returning for his next girl.
It’s relatively obvious what “the thing” that happened to Anna is, but it gets a little frustrating that it is referred to so often without us getting the full story.
Eventually, this takes a weird turn, and that’s when it started to lose me a bit. We carry on questioning everyone, including our narrator, and for a while I wasn’t even sure what kind of story this was becoming.
By the end, there were too many twists, familiar tropes, and people involved in covering everything up for it to feel believable to me. I was also still confused about a few details, and I’m not sure whether I missed something or they simply weren’t fully explained. We do finally get the full story about “the thing,” though.
Overall, this was an okay mystery with an interesting setup, but the ending became more complicated than satisfying. The narration was great, though, and helped keep me listening.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy.
September 15, 2026
2.5 stars
Started off a lot stronger than it ended!
Review to come…
Started off a lot stronger than it ended!
Review to come…
August 11, 2016
I promise not to give anything away in this review. They Say a Girl Died Here Once is so special, I'd hate for any reader not to have the same thrill of discovery I enjoyed reading this volume.
Seventeen-year-old Anna works as a waitress and lives at home with her mother, Clair, and her sister, Caroline, who is ten. Anna's grandmother, Evelyn also lives in the house.
About her situation...
It was a dead end job in a dead end town and they were all dead end people.
Also...
Four stages of womanhood stuck together by life, but with nothing in common.
This is one of those stories which reveals its secrets slowly. There's the secret about Anna's past, the one about the dead girls, Lila and Marcie, and Anna new friend, Melissa, certainly has her secrets.
The rest you'll need to discover for yourself. I will say, I found They Say a Girl Died Here Once to be quietly disturbing, yet beautifully written, spellbinding, powerful stuff It's not a "fun" read, but it is a powerful story which builds to a pulse-pounding climax.
In my modest opinion They Say a Girl Died Here Once is as close to a perfect horror story as you'll find. One of my favorite reads...ever.
Published by Earthling Publications, They Say a Girl Died Here Once is this year's book in their highly regarded Halloween series. Limited to 500 signed hardcovers and 15 lettered editions. I would like to thank Paul Miller and Earthling Publications for the chance to read an electronic ARC of this book. I like it so much I immediately ordered my own copy. I have to have this in my permanent collection. You can order your copy direct from the publisher here.
Sarah Pinborough's bio - Sarah is a critically acclaimed adult and YA author based in London. She was the 2009 winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story and the 2010 and 2014 winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Novella, and has been short listed for Best Novel four times. Sarah is also a screenwriter who has written for the BBC and has several original television projects in the works.
Seventeen-year-old Anna works as a waitress and lives at home with her mother, Clair, and her sister, Caroline, who is ten. Anna's grandmother, Evelyn also lives in the house.
About her situation...
It was a dead end job in a dead end town and they were all dead end people.
Also...
Four stages of womanhood stuck together by life, but with nothing in common.
This is one of those stories which reveals its secrets slowly. There's the secret about Anna's past, the one about the dead girls, Lila and Marcie, and Anna new friend, Melissa, certainly has her secrets.
The rest you'll need to discover for yourself. I will say, I found They Say a Girl Died Here Once to be quietly disturbing, yet beautifully written, spellbinding, powerful stuff It's not a "fun" read, but it is a powerful story which builds to a pulse-pounding climax.
In my modest opinion They Say a Girl Died Here Once is as close to a perfect horror story as you'll find. One of my favorite reads...ever.
Published by Earthling Publications, They Say a Girl Died Here Once is this year's book in their highly regarded Halloween series. Limited to 500 signed hardcovers and 15 lettered editions. I would like to thank Paul Miller and Earthling Publications for the chance to read an electronic ARC of this book. I like it so much I immediately ordered my own copy. I have to have this in my permanent collection. You can order your copy direct from the publisher here.
Sarah Pinborough's bio - Sarah is a critically acclaimed adult and YA author based in London. She was the 2009 winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Short Story and the 2010 and 2014 winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Novella, and has been short listed for Best Novel four times. Sarah is also a screenwriter who has written for the BBC and has several original television projects in the works.
July 25, 2026
The Say a Girl Died Here is a fast-paced mystery that kept me wanting to know what would happen next. Set in the small town of Harper's Creek, the story follows Anna, who has recently moved back home after a tragic accident. While helping her mom care for her grandmother, who has dementia, and looking after her younger sister, Anna becomes determined to uncover the truth behind the murders of two local girls.
Even though the police believe they killed the murderer, many people in town are convinced they caught the wrong person, creating an unsettling atmosphere throughout the story. I really enjoyed the mystery and how the suspense built as Anna searched for answers.
Anna's character was sometimes difficult to connect with because of her moody personality, and there were moments when I found her frustrating to read. However, the intriguing plot and quick pacing made up for it. Overall, this was an engaging mystery with plenty of twists that kept me turning the pages.
Even though the police believe they killed the murderer, many people in town are convinced they caught the wrong person, creating an unsettling atmosphere throughout the story. I really enjoyed the mystery and how the suspense built as Anna searched for answers.
Anna's character was sometimes difficult to connect with because of her moody personality, and there were moments when I found her frustrating to read. However, the intriguing plot and quick pacing made up for it. Overall, this was an engaging mystery with plenty of twists that kept me turning the pages.
September 4, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was exactly the kind of slow-burn, meticulously plotted mystery/thriller that I love. Add in some supernatural elements, an incredibly atmospheric setting, and a narrator you’re never quite sure you can trust, and I was completely hooked.
Anna and her family move to the small town of Harper’s Creek, where they’re trying to put the pieces of their lives back together after trauma. The town has a dark history involving the murders of two young women, killed three years apart, and with the anniversary of the most recent murder approaching, the possibility that the killer may not have been caught begins to loom over everyone. As Anna becomes increasingly interested in the old murders, strange things begin happening around her family—particularly involving her grandmother, whose dementia makes it difficult to determine what is real, what is memory, and what might be something much more sinister.
I could not put this book down! It’s definitely a slow burn, but Pinborough takes her time carefully layering the mystery, the characters, the family dynamics, and the supernatural elements until you’re completely immersed. I honestly wasn’t sure who was telling the truth, who had done what, what was real, or what the absolute tarnation was going on for much of the book. 😂 And I loved that!
The characters were another huge highlight for me. They’re incredibly flawed, messy, traumatized, and very human, but they were also so nicely fleshed out that I genuinely cared about them. I found myself rooting for this family of women as they tried to heal and start over in a new town while carrying so much baggage from their past.
I did NOT see that ending it coming, and I absolutely loved how everything finally came together. The reveal felt like the perfect payoff to all of the careful plotting and uncertainty that came before it.
Sarah Pinborough really is one of the best authors when it comes to incorporating supernatural elements into a thriller without making the story feel completely over-the-top. She has a way of making the supernatural feel just believable enough that you start questioning whether there might actually be something going on beyond what can be explained.
This is a novel I highly recommend for those looking for something atmospheric, creepy, twisty, emotional, and wonderfully unsettling. This was an excellent mystery/thriller that was an easy five stars for me, and one that I highly recommend!!
This was exactly the kind of slow-burn, meticulously plotted mystery/thriller that I love. Add in some supernatural elements, an incredibly atmospheric setting, and a narrator you’re never quite sure you can trust, and I was completely hooked.
Anna and her family move to the small town of Harper’s Creek, where they’re trying to put the pieces of their lives back together after trauma. The town has a dark history involving the murders of two young women, killed three years apart, and with the anniversary of the most recent murder approaching, the possibility that the killer may not have been caught begins to loom over everyone. As Anna becomes increasingly interested in the old murders, strange things begin happening around her family—particularly involving her grandmother, whose dementia makes it difficult to determine what is real, what is memory, and what might be something much more sinister.
I could not put this book down! It’s definitely a slow burn, but Pinborough takes her time carefully layering the mystery, the characters, the family dynamics, and the supernatural elements until you’re completely immersed. I honestly wasn’t sure who was telling the truth, who had done what, what was real, or what the absolute tarnation was going on for much of the book. 😂 And I loved that!
The characters were another huge highlight for me. They’re incredibly flawed, messy, traumatized, and very human, but they were also so nicely fleshed out that I genuinely cared about them. I found myself rooting for this family of women as they tried to heal and start over in a new town while carrying so much baggage from their past.
I did NOT see that ending it coming, and I absolutely loved how everything finally came together. The reveal felt like the perfect payoff to all of the careful plotting and uncertainty that came before it.
Sarah Pinborough really is one of the best authors when it comes to incorporating supernatural elements into a thriller without making the story feel completely over-the-top. She has a way of making the supernatural feel just believable enough that you start questioning whether there might actually be something going on beyond what can be explained.
This is a novel I highly recommend for those looking for something atmospheric, creepy, twisty, emotional, and wonderfully unsettling. This was an excellent mystery/thriller that was an easy five stars for me, and one that I highly recommend!!
September 4, 2026
I am gutted. And I mean GUTTED that I didn’t love this one.
I read We Live Here Now by the same author last year and gave it 5 stars, so I went into this fully expecting another gothic thriller that I would devour. Instead, I got a book that somehow took me several days to finish because I was just so bored. Not exactly the reading experience I had envisioned.
There was also a bizarre little twist thrown in at one point that had me wondering, “Wait…why are we doing this?” It felt so random and out of place that I’m still not entirely sure what it was supposed to add to the story.
And then we got to the ending.
The ending was dumb. I’m sorry. There is no elegant way for me to say it. 😂 After spending that much time trying to get through the book, I needed the payoff to be worth it, and it absolutely was not.
The good news is that this author is still firmly on my auto-read list because I know how much I’ve loved her work before. This one just really missed the mark for me, and considering how excited I was for it, that made the disappointment hurt even more.
I read We Live Here Now by the same author last year and gave it 5 stars, so I went into this fully expecting another gothic thriller that I would devour. Instead, I got a book that somehow took me several days to finish because I was just so bored. Not exactly the reading experience I had envisioned.
There was also a bizarre little twist thrown in at one point that had me wondering, “Wait…why are we doing this?” It felt so random and out of place that I’m still not entirely sure what it was supposed to add to the story.
And then we got to the ending.
The ending was dumb. I’m sorry. There is no elegant way for me to say it. 😂 After spending that much time trying to get through the book, I needed the payoff to be worth it, and it absolutely was not.
The good news is that this author is still firmly on my auto-read list because I know how much I’ve loved her work before. This one just really missed the mark for me, and considering how excited I was for it, that made the disappointment hurt even more.
September 11, 2026
2.5 ⭐️
Honestly so sad about this one! Sarah Pinborough usually does a great job with suspense & always throws a crazy plot twist at you, but this was so boring, slow & the reveal actually made my eyes roll. Lots of plot holes & I disliked all the characters. 😬 Unfortunately this was nothing special!
Content warnings: substance abuse & lots of language
Honestly so sad about this one! Sarah Pinborough usually does a great job with suspense & always throws a crazy plot twist at you, but this was so boring, slow & the reveal actually made my eyes roll. Lots of plot holes & I disliked all the characters. 😬 Unfortunately this was nothing special!
Content warnings: substance abuse & lots of language
August 27, 2026
I was absolutely engrossed in this novel, but I got so lost. The flipping between realities, the "bleed through" of different lifetimes- frankly I am still confused. I get that our girl is the 3rd victim because she got nosey, but why can Grandma bend time? We are just supposed to accept that with no reasoning? I couldn't suspend disbelief enough to swallow that without any lead up to it. I do like that the killer had shaky logic and that part of the town was in on it because that was the only way any of that made sense.
Great audio narration- I have listened to this narrator before and she is always awesome.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author Sarah Pinborough, and MacMillan audio for my ARC of this audiobook.
Great audio narration- I have listened to this narrator before and she is always awesome.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author Sarah Pinborough, and MacMillan audio for my ARC of this audiobook.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2026
"They Say a Girl Died Here" has all the hallmarks of a Pinborough novel: a tense, unsettling atmosphere, a wide cast of characters you only tentatively trust, and narrators that you have a sneaking suspicion may just be unreliable. Protagonist Anna moves to a small town to care for her grandmother, whose dementia is worsening. Anna soon finds herself drawn into a string of cold case murders. As the case pulls her in deeper, her grandmother's paranoid episodes start to feel like they might hold clues to what happened decades before. As the reader, you're left wondering: is Anna's unnamed past trauma muddling her perception of things, or is her grandmother's dementia the real source of confusion? Either way, Pinborough is a master at making you question everything that's happening.
I didn't love this one quite the way I loved "Behind Her Eyes," but the same style is unmistakably there. As a slow-burn novel, it asked for more patience than I had to give it at the time — so take my rating with a grain of salt. 3.5 stars that round down.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an advance copy for honest review.
I didn't love this one quite the way I loved "Behind Her Eyes," but the same style is unmistakably there. As a slow-burn novel, it asked for more patience than I had to give it at the time — so take my rating with a grain of salt. 3.5 stars that round down.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an advance copy for honest review.
August 26, 2026
✨Thank you @macmillan.audio #MacAudioPartner for the gifted audiobook...this is my honest review.
🎧 9 hrs 20 min | 🗣️ Saskia Maarleveld
Psychological Thriller | Suspense
✌️ VIBE CHECK ✌️
🏘️ Small town mystery
🚜 Farm life
👵 Dementia representation
🧑🧒🧒 Family drama
🗣️ Urban Legend
🫖 THE TEA
A dusty farm town, a creepy old house, and a town secret everyone wants buried. Anna is trying to settle in and care for her grandmother, but local urban legends and strange occurrences start making her question who she can actually trust.
💭 MY THOUGHTS
Right from the beginning, this book sets a moody, eerie tone. Anna has a lot going on, but getting inside her head made me like her immediately. Since she is going through so much, at times you are left guessing what is real and what isn’t.
The family drama is where this book really shines for me. Anna’s bond with her grandmother was one of my favorite parts, especially the way Anna trusts her even when most people have written her off. The dementia representation was done well and felt pretty spot-on to me. Throw in an overworked mom, and a “perfect” baby sister and you have the perfect storm. Add in a moody small town with too many secrets, and you have yourself a thriller.
🎧 WHY THE AUDIO?!
A great narrator can make or break a thriller, and Saskia Maarleveld delivered once again. Her voice work during the grandmother’s episodes gave me actual chills. Creeptastic!
She kept the tension high, making this an easy pick if you love audiobooks.
⭐ FINAL VERDICT | 4🌟
The atmospheric writing and character dynamics really carried this story for me. It manages to be fantastically creepy one minute and surprisingly touching the next. Even though I spotted one of the reveals, I was never sure and there is plenty to unwrap here, definitely enough to stay invested in the story. I liked it, it’s a yes for me.
DeAnn @deannsreadingriot 🖤
🎧 9 hrs 20 min | 🗣️ Saskia Maarleveld
Psychological Thriller | Suspense
✌️ VIBE CHECK ✌️
🏘️ Small town mystery
🚜 Farm life
👵 Dementia representation
🧑🧒🧒 Family drama
🗣️ Urban Legend
🫖 THE TEA
A dusty farm town, a creepy old house, and a town secret everyone wants buried. Anna is trying to settle in and care for her grandmother, but local urban legends and strange occurrences start making her question who she can actually trust.
💭 MY THOUGHTS
Right from the beginning, this book sets a moody, eerie tone. Anna has a lot going on, but getting inside her head made me like her immediately. Since she is going through so much, at times you are left guessing what is real and what isn’t.
The family drama is where this book really shines for me. Anna’s bond with her grandmother was one of my favorite parts, especially the way Anna trusts her even when most people have written her off. The dementia representation was done well and felt pretty spot-on to me. Throw in an overworked mom, and a “perfect” baby sister and you have the perfect storm. Add in a moody small town with too many secrets, and you have yourself a thriller.
🎧 WHY THE AUDIO?!
A great narrator can make or break a thriller, and Saskia Maarleveld delivered once again. Her voice work during the grandmother’s episodes gave me actual chills. Creeptastic!
She kept the tension high, making this an easy pick if you love audiobooks.
⭐ FINAL VERDICT | 4🌟
The atmospheric writing and character dynamics really carried this story for me. It manages to be fantastically creepy one minute and surprisingly touching the next. Even though I spotted one of the reveals, I was never sure and there is plenty to unwrap here, definitely enough to stay invested in the story. I liked it, it’s a yes for me.
DeAnn @deannsreadingriot 🖤
July 28, 2026
They Say a Girl Died Here
(audio) 4.5⭐️
Sarah Pinborough is an absolute talent! I clung to every word and flew through this audiobook. 3 generations of women under one roof, in the town where the eldest grew up. Tensions are high as Anna recovers from a traumatic event, her grandmother battles dementia, her sister has one foot in womanhood and one foot in childhood, and her mom is just trying to hold everything together. Anna finds herself hyper-focused on the murder of 2 girls, 3 years apart. The anniversary of their deaths are coming up and Anna isn’t convinced their actual killer has been found.
I loved the meld of reality and psychological confusion as Anna tried to piece everything together. Anna’s trauma is referred to as “the thing”, allowing enough information to not be frustratingly mysterious, but also allowing Anna to protect her experience, even to the reader. That choice of who knew the details in the book was taken from her, so I appreciated her being able to choose when to divulge her truth. The characters were well developed, the tension was thick, the emotions raw, and the family bonds were complex. I only wanted the best for Anna and I grew suspicious of the town and the men along side her.
Thank you NetGalley Macmillan Audio for this ALC. This review will be shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.
Pub Date Aug 25 2026
(audio) 4.5⭐️
Sarah Pinborough is an absolute talent! I clung to every word and flew through this audiobook. 3 generations of women under one roof, in the town where the eldest grew up. Tensions are high as Anna recovers from a traumatic event, her grandmother battles dementia, her sister has one foot in womanhood and one foot in childhood, and her mom is just trying to hold everything together. Anna finds herself hyper-focused on the murder of 2 girls, 3 years apart. The anniversary of their deaths are coming up and Anna isn’t convinced their actual killer has been found.
I loved the meld of reality and psychological confusion as Anna tried to piece everything together. Anna’s trauma is referred to as “the thing”, allowing enough information to not be frustratingly mysterious, but also allowing Anna to protect her experience, even to the reader. That choice of who knew the details in the book was taken from her, so I appreciated her being able to choose when to divulge her truth. The characters were well developed, the tension was thick, the emotions raw, and the family bonds were complex. I only wanted the best for Anna and I grew suspicious of the town and the men along side her.
Thank you NetGalley Macmillan Audio for this ALC. This review will be shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.
Pub Date Aug 25 2026
July 12, 2026
Thank you so much to Netgalley for giving me this free advance copy, and I’m writing this review honestly and without bias.
Another interesting read from Sarah Pinborough, although some parts of the story revolving around Anna did leave me puzzled. The writing however is on point and the author draws you into the story which is full of mystery and has a wonderful haunting atmosphere. It's a slow burn that materialises into a twisty layers with the pace elevating towards the end. I loved the small town vibe with the people and the weather really coming through the pages. There is no doubt Sarah Pinborough is a master story teller, but the ambiguity surrounding Anna and the ending stopped me giving it five stars. However this is still a very good and solid read.
September 24, 2017
"They say a girl died here once... I woke up with it like a knife in my head. Just that one sentence."
When you are trying to heal your traumatized family don't do it by moving to a dying farm town with a serial killer.
This was a beautiful written story: a painful family drama, a murder mystery, a ghost story.
Sarah Pinborough is one to watch.
Special thanks to Earthling Press for making a lovely book. The smyth sewn silken pages added to the reading experience.
September 1, 2026
The genre bending was just too far out for me.
It was more like this book didn’t know what it wanted to be — a suspense thriller, eerie and supernatural, or psychological drama.
A very traumatized college dropout, Anna Maybourne, moves to the drought-stricken farming town of Harper’s Creek, Nebraska. In a big old sorta spooky type house purchased by her grandmother, Evelyn (who is apparently suffering from extreme dementia), Anna is also joined by her mother and younger sister. The town is haunted by the unresolved “Farmhand” killings, where two local young women were murdered three years apart before the prime suspect was shot dead by police. As the next 3 year anniversary approaches, Anna grows convinced that the real killer remains free and is still right there. At the same time, her grandmother begins speaking weirdly and doing increasingly odd things. Anna decides to challenge the police findings and uncover the real killer.
Anna, who is 22 years old, is the type of character I can’t tolerate. She speaks and acts without any impulse control and behaves abominably to everyone. Of course, everything she does is blamed on “the thing” that happened to her while she was at university. The actual events were not revealed until the very end of the book, but it was quite obvious because of the ever present misandry. I have come to really dislike when a trope of man hating and bashing is so present in a book because of something that happened to the character where all are blamed for the actions of a few. Maybe it’s because I have a lot of lovely men and boys in my life and I get so sick of this on social platforms with sweeping generalizations of anti male rhetoric. In any event, it was a pervasive theme that men can’t be trusted and of course, that bore out with the climax and revelations in this story. This was way too slow a build up and nothing but Anna being a wild card until all of a sudden she pulls out all the stops, solves the crime, and is almost back to whoever she supposedly was before. When, I thought, what she needed from the beginning was some really intense psychotherapy. It was unbelievable and I didn’t buy into the whole Anna is so clever to figure this all out on her own in a minute. It was not suspenseful, the whole intent of trying to create a supernatural element was uneven and I didn’t buy into it, and Anna, as a main character was totally unlikeable.
I was disappointed because I’ve read and really liked several other of this author’s novels, but this was just frustrating and the stylistic choices made this a frustrating read.
I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Saskia Maarleveld, was wonderful, but even her skills and dramatic talents were not enough to overcome the shortcomings of the plot and characters.
It was more like this book didn’t know what it wanted to be — a suspense thriller, eerie and supernatural, or psychological drama.
A very traumatized college dropout, Anna Maybourne, moves to the drought-stricken farming town of Harper’s Creek, Nebraska. In a big old sorta spooky type house purchased by her grandmother, Evelyn (who is apparently suffering from extreme dementia), Anna is also joined by her mother and younger sister. The town is haunted by the unresolved “Farmhand” killings, where two local young women were murdered three years apart before the prime suspect was shot dead by police. As the next 3 year anniversary approaches, Anna grows convinced that the real killer remains free and is still right there. At the same time, her grandmother begins speaking weirdly and doing increasingly odd things. Anna decides to challenge the police findings and uncover the real killer.
Anna, who is 22 years old, is the type of character I can’t tolerate. She speaks and acts without any impulse control and behaves abominably to everyone. Of course, everything she does is blamed on “the thing” that happened to her while she was at university. The actual events were not revealed until the very end of the book, but it was quite obvious because of the ever present misandry. I have come to really dislike when a trope of man hating and bashing is so present in a book because of something that happened to the character where all are blamed for the actions of a few. Maybe it’s because I have a lot of lovely men and boys in my life and I get so sick of this on social platforms with sweeping generalizations of anti male rhetoric. In any event, it was a pervasive theme that men can’t be trusted and of course, that bore out with the climax and revelations in this story. This was way too slow a build up and nothing but Anna being a wild card until all of a sudden she pulls out all the stops, solves the crime, and is almost back to whoever she supposedly was before. When, I thought, what she needed from the beginning was some really intense psychotherapy. It was unbelievable and I didn’t buy into the whole Anna is so clever to figure this all out on her own in a minute. It was not suspenseful, the whole intent of trying to create a supernatural element was uneven and I didn’t buy into it, and Anna, as a main character was totally unlikeable.
I was disappointed because I’ve read and really liked several other of this author’s novels, but this was just frustrating and the stylistic choices made this a frustrating read.
I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Saskia Maarleveld, was wonderful, but even her skills and dramatic talents were not enough to overcome the shortcomings of the plot and characters.
September 16, 2026
Moving to Harper’s Creek, a nowhere town full of dusty farmland plagued by drought, is supposed to be a new start for Anna Maybourne and her mother, her grandmother and her young sister. Along with outspoken loner Melissa Laverne and handsome deputy Todd Greenbough, Anna fills her hours looking into the murders of two young girls three years apart. Even though the prime suspect is long dead, the murders begin to feel too close for comfort as the 3-year anniversary nears.
First of all I need to comment on the narration of this audiobook by Saskia Maarleveld. She did a truly amazing job and gave me chills every time grandma said "They Say a Girl Died Here". I'm not sure I would've rated the book as highly if I was reading it rather than listening to it because there is a lot of repetition of certain phrases (see previous sentence!) and references to "the thing" that happened to Anna in college.
The story is slow to unfold and there are many characters to be suspicious of. I was engrossed in the story right to the end and almost figured it out. I'm not normally a fan of supernatural elements in my fiction but this one didn't lean too far into that genre so I was able to ignore my misgivings. Thanks to GR friend MarilynW whose review put this audiobook on my radar.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio, via Netgalley, for approving my request to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: August 25, 2026 (Originally published in 2016)
First of all I need to comment on the narration of this audiobook by Saskia Maarleveld. She did a truly amazing job and gave me chills every time grandma said "They Say a Girl Died Here". I'm not sure I would've rated the book as highly if I was reading it rather than listening to it because there is a lot of repetition of certain phrases (see previous sentence!) and references to "the thing" that happened to Anna in college.
The story is slow to unfold and there are many characters to be suspicious of. I was engrossed in the story right to the end and almost figured it out. I'm not normally a fan of supernatural elements in my fiction but this one didn't lean too far into that genre so I was able to ignore my misgivings. Thanks to GR friend MarilynW whose review put this audiobook on my radar.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio, via Netgalley, for approving my request to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: August 25, 2026 (Originally published in 2016)
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