Sophie Was Here by Kathryn Croft
Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic thriller
Read: 16th August 2025
Published: 3rd July 2025
★★★★ 4.5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
The perfect family. The perfect new home. Until I found out about the missing girl…
When I make my way down to the cellar of my boyfriend Charlie’s family home, a chill slides down my spine. I didn’t expect to see the message, scratched into the walls:
Sophie Was Here
Sophie was Charlie’s ex-girlfriend. She went missing ten years ago when she was only seventeen. Charlie and his family were on holiday when she vanished, and this tragedy has scarred them all in different ways.
But I can’t stop digging. I no longer feel safe in the place I live. And then I discover another hidden message:
Please help me
I know that something terrible happened to Sophie. I must find out what it was. But in an isolated house, with a family I can’t trust, will I be the next victim?
A gripping and totally addictive read from Amazon number 1 bestselling author Kathryn Croft. Fans of Lisa Jewell and The Housemaid will be completely hooked on Sophie Was Here.
MY THOUGHTS:
The perfect family...the perfect new home...until I found out about the missing girl...
I have to say the cover was slightly misleading in that it insinuated a little girl had gone missing, and before reading the synopsis for the book that is just what I assumed. But this tale was a mystery of a whole other ball game. I've read similar tropes, all with similar outcomes, but all just as thrilling all the same.
Emmie and her partner Charlie have ditched the London life for one of an easier pace in the Surrey countryside. His parents have just gifted them the house that Charlie and his siblings grew up in - a sprawling farmhouse in the sleepy village of Peaslake. Emmie has recently lost her mum and been made redundant in a job she loved. There was no better time than now for a fresh start together.
But no sooner had they walked into the damp-filled musty house that has been locked up for over a decade than Charlie's parents and siblings have thrust themselves upon the couple, a chance to welcome Emmie into their family. But not before Emmie found herself in the basement and saw the words etched there...
Please help me.
But when she went back to look at them, they were gone. But how? Only she and Charlie have been in the house. But then Charlie said she had only imagined them and soon she began to wonder had she just conjured them up after all? Until the day she finds herself locked in the basement when the door slams shut and she can't get out. With all her knocking and calling for help, she sees there at the very bottom of the door carved into the wood...
Sophie was here.
So who was Sophie? And what exactly happened to her?
Emmie starts off by asking questions in the village about Sophie - who was she, what she was like, who her friends her - until it becomes clear someone doesn't want her asking questions. And she has to wonder, why not? What do they have to hide? All evidence points her in a direction she doesn't want to go in but what choice does she have? Sophie was here sixteen years ago and then she wasn't. So what happened to her? And why does nobody want to talk about her?
This was a fast paced thrilling read that had me hooked from the very first page. There are so many clues peppered throughout that lead us down paths that may or may not lead us anywhere, but the ride getting there is half the fun! I thoroughly enjoyed this wholly tension-filled read that was there throughout. The story unfolds mostly through Emmie's narrative but peppered throughout we also have Sophie's third person narrative from sixteen years before. And little by little, the pieces slowly fall into place.
I guess in parts it was a bit of a slow burn mystery but the pace was steady throughout that I didn't notice I was enjoying it so much. An addictive read that had both tension and atmosphere. Well worth the read.
I would like to thank #KathrynCroft, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #SophieWasHere in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Kathryn writes full time and is now hard at work on her next book.
After twelve years living in London, she now lives in Guildford, Surrey, the place she grew up, with her husband, two children and two crazy cats.
Social media links:
No comments:
Post a Comment