Girl, 11
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
"Propulsive... Not only is the book difficult to put down, it’s also an adroit exploration of the ethical quandaries of true-crime storytelling, particularly in podcasts."
—The New York Times Book Review
Elle Castillo once trained as a social worker, supporting young victims of violent crime. Now she hosts a popular true crime podcast that focuses on cold cases of missing and abducted children.
After four seasons of successfully solving these cases in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, Elle decides to tackle her white whale: The Countdown Killer. Twenty years ago, TCK was terrorizing the community, kidnapping and ritualistically murdering three girls over seven days, each a year younger than the last. Then, after he took his eleven-year-old victim, the pattern—and the murders—abruptly stopped. No one has ever known why.
When Elle follows up on a listener tip only to discover the man’s dead body, she feels at fault. Then, within days, a child is abducted—a young girl who seems to fit suspiciously into the TCK sequence halted decades before. While media and law enforcement long ago concluded that TCK had suicided, Elle has never believed TCK was dead. She had hoped her investigation would lay that suspicion to rest, but her podcast seems instead to be inciting new victims.
“A masterful, heart-pounding suspense that ushers in an astonishing new voice in crime fiction."
—Samantha M. Bailey, internationally bestselling author of Woman on the Edge
“A tale of obsession, dark histories, and one woman’s quest to bring a terrifying killer to justice, GIRL, 11 is delivered with poise, style, and cunning - making it impossible to put down.”
—Alex Segura, acclaimed author of Miami Midnight and Blackout
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Clarke's solid debut, former social worker Elle Castillo investigates unsolved crimes against children and shares her findings on the true crime podcast she produces from her home in the Twin Cities. Her current podcast focuses on the Countdown Killer (aka TCK), whose first known victim was a 20-year-old Minnesota woman. TCK is a meticulous planner. Each victim is one year younger than the last, poisoned with ricin, and her body is discovered exactly seven days after her abduction. TCK's crimes stopped after an 11-year-old victim escaped, but Elle's focus on the case seems to end his hiatus, as a 10-year-old girl is abducted soon after Elle goes to interview a man who emailed a tip to her program and finds him murdered. As Elle embeds with the police, the case reawakens memories of her own childhood trauma. Her stress turns to panic when another 10-year-old girl, a neighbor's daughter, disappears after Elle forgets to pick her up from piano lessons. Despite some implausibilities, such as the police allowing Elle to consult on the case, Clarke's nuanced narrative will keep readers hooked. Fans of Lisa Jewell should take note.