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The Thorn Girl  By  cover art

The Thorn Girl

By: Laura Elliot
Narrated by: Michele Moran
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Publisher's summary

A swallow flutters its wings into a dimly lit attic as Adele Foyle stumbles across the secret diary of the mother she has never met and a shocking account of a crime committed over 25 years ago.

Adele Foyle has returned to Reedstown, the last place her mother, Marianne, was seen alive. With her mother’s words etched in her mind and in the pages tucked into her jacket pocket, Adele has one purpose: to find those responsible for the devastating attack on Marianne and see them brought to justice.

Born into a mother-and-baby home run by The Thorns, a self-proclaimed religious group led by Gloria Thornton, Adele needs to first unlock the disturbing chain of events that led to her own birth, if she is to understand what happened to her mother. But news of Adele’s arrival and the diary spread like wildfire among the small, close-knit community of Reedstown. Old memories are stirring up fresh wounds.

No one wants the truth to be told. The diary is just a story, they say. Yet, as Adele begins to unravel the layers of deceit, the tissue paper lies begin to fragment. Her mother was telling the truth. Adele just has to prove it.

A heart-stopping, intense and emotionally engrossing listen. If you listen to one audiobook this year, make it The Thorn Girl.

This book was previously published as In My Mother’s Name.

©2019 Laura Elliot (P)2019 Bookouture

What listeners say about The Thorn Girl

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Amazing!!!

The characters are compelling and well fleshed out. The plot was gripping, and the ending was surprising and very satisfying! Best book in a long time!

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amazing

couldn't put it down! finished in record time! loved all the characters! great narration! intriguing and suspenseful! must read. you wont be disappointed

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Sometimes confusing

Good writing and pleasant narrator’s voice, for me it was just a little too drawn out, too many characters I couldn’t keep straight. Couldn’t tell if the character speaking was a woman or man which made some conversations difficult to follow. Good story if these are not things that typically bother you.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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The Thorn Girl

Excellent read, couldn’t stop listening.So
many twists and turns. Kept me engrossed until the end.

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Great story. Nice twists.

Laura always has great stories and wounderful characters. She knows how to keep us wanting more.

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Gripping

I couldn't stop listening. I wanted justice for Mary Anne and Adele to have a mother.

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Wonderful!

A great listen. The narrator is wonderful. I would listen to anything that she narrates.

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Too many characters

I wish there were about 10 less characters, and the effort had been been spent on further development of less characters. Who is Julie? The characters were spread out so much that it was hard to relate them.
The talent was there, but IMO, needed more editing and organizing and whittling down.
Narrator was great but took a point off bec in many instances it was hard to distinguish the man from the woman. But toward the end, she got the hang of it and then the male/female voices became more defined.

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Fully satisfying story

This book is filled woth rich complex characters and a story that is filled with sadness and triumph. Fans of Laura Elliot will not be disappointed. Great narration as well. I was pulled in from the first chapter and could not stop listening. Highly recommend this

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Wonderful Listen!

I am so grateful for "discovering" Laura Elliot! This is the third book of hers I've listened to, and I can't wait for the next one! Her technique of allowing many different characters to "speak" makes them all the more real and distinct, The story development creates a building sense of anticipation and frequent surprise. It was gratifying to experience the unveiling of the fate of these complex and mostly likeable characters ."The Thorn Girl" wove an intricate web which came together with a very satisfying cohesion. Laura Elliot paints such vivid pictures of the various locales in which the novel takes place that I almost feel I've actually been there. Elliot is a master of her craft!

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