The Third Girl by S.C. Shannon
published 4 June 2025
PUBLISHER: Joffe Books
FOMAT: Digital
PAGES: 316
Find the book on Amazon, Goodreads and Storygraph
🌟 Review Note:
This review is provided as part of the Virtual Book Tour hosted by Zooloo’s Book Tours which runs 3 – 9 June 2025. Follow along, with the Book Tour Schedule.
Thank you to the author S.C. Shannon, publisher Joffe Books and, of course Zooloo’s Book Tours for including me on this book tour and for providing a copy of the digital edition of this new novel to read and review.
As always, this review reflects my honest thoughts.
About the book
Twenty-five years ago, I escaped. One of us didn’t.
The third girl has been lying ever since.
Three best friends — Penelope, Emily and me. We were at high school in Tranquility Ridge — it’s not the kind of place you expect to find evil, a postcard town — all pine-lined streets, quaint diners, and old storefronts with creaky screen doors.
The day before my seventeenth birthday, Emily invited us to a party.
That’s when we were snatched.
They shackled me to an old, rusty metal frame bed, wrists raw, ankles bruised. The music was always playing — too loud, too cruel. It wasn’t there to comfort. It was there to break me.
I never knew who took me. I didn’t look. I never looked. They trained me not to.
Ever since, I’ve been haunted by the memories of the night I escaped, leaving Penelope behind. Her last scream still echoes in my nightmares.
For twenty-five years, I’ve been trying to move on. Now, a man turns up. He leaves a note from Emily on my doorstep.
Penelope’s still alive — find her!
About the Author
S.C. Shannon grew up in Southern California with a love of reading, travel, and now — wine. With a bachelor’s in criminal justice and a master’s in forensic psychology, Shannon uses her expertise and technical knowledge to breathe life into her thrillers.
Her debut novel, What Lurks in the Shadows, won a BookFest Award in horror and was a semi-finalist for Kindle’s Best of Indie in 2022. Currently, Shannon still resides in the Los Angeles area with her boyfriend and their puppy and is working on her next novel.
S.C’s Social Media
Instagram: @s.c.shannon.author
Website : scshannonauthor.com
My Four Star Review
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.
This review may also appear on my social media and selected book platforms. All links are correct at the time of posting.
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