Girl, Alone (An Ella Dark FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 1): 01

Written by Blake Pierce

Narrated by Abigail Reno

“A MASTERPIECE OF THRILLER AND MYSTERY. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)

GIRL, ALONE (An Ella Dark FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 1) is the debut novel in a long-anticipated new series by #1 bestseller and USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose bestseller Once Gone (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews.

FBI Agent Ella Dark, 29, is given her big chance to achieve her life’s dream: to join the Behavorial Crimes Unit. Ella has a hidden obsession: she has studied serial killers from the time she could read, devastated by the murder of her own sister. With her photographic memory, she has obtained an encyclopedic knowledge of every serial killer, every victim and every case. Singled out for her brilliant mind, Ella is invited to join the big leagues.

But when a killer strikes in the swamps of Louisiana, Ella soon comes to learn that the real thing is nothing she could expect. Face to face with a real murder, a real killer, and a real ticking clock, Ella realizes she can’t rely on her knowledge. She must learn to trust her instinct, and allow herself to enter the dark canals of a real killer’s mind. If she gets it wrong, her career is at stake.

And so is the next victim’s life.

Will Ella’s talent be an asset? Or the source of her downfall?

A page-turning and harrowing crime thriller featuring a brilliant and tortured FBI agent, the ELLA DARK series is a riveting mystery, packed with suspense, twists and turns, revelations, and driven by a breakneck pace that will keep you flipping pages late into the night.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lukeman Literary Management
• Release date: Dec 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781094317380

Blake Pierce

Blake Pierce is author of the #1 bestselling RILEY PAGE mystery series, which include the mystery suspense thrillers ONCE GONE (book #1), ONCE TAKEN (book #2) and ONCE CRAVED (#3). An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

Reviews for Girl, Alone (An Ella Dark FBI Suspense Thriller—Book 1)

[Mollie parkton · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Had to stop bc the narrator microphone! All I could hear was her breathing! I hate to have to stop it but it was just too aggravating

[Jessica Kopchik · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Read it once and couldn’t remember ANYTHING about it, ended up 4 chapters in a second time before I realized it. I didn’t care for the reader much, she reads too slow. I actually turned the speed up to 1.2x to help. I’ve read other books by him that I liked much better.

[JP · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Too many words! Used too many "filler" words which made the story drag out far too long.

[Lara Pretorius · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The story was good and well written but unfortunately the narrator did not do the characters justice.

[Julie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The editing of this series is atrocious. The story line is amazing! The narrating sounds like she's reading from a car manual.
There are so many things wrong with these books, I can't count. The only reason I keep listening is to see what happens.

[Tracy Flanagan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Story ok but it took me all my will to finish it. The narrator was awful. Same flat tone all through the book with a very loud and off putting inhale of breath between speaking. If i didn't know any better id swear she was taking a drag of a cigarette that's how loud it is. Sorry to say even though if the story is fantastic i wont listen to another by the same narrator

[Kelley Vinton · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Story is okay and I probably would have stuck with it to find out how it turns out, but constantly hearing the narrator breathe through her nose was too much. It was annoying and killed the need to find out what happens.

[Lisa Ridge · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to like this, this story, this series. The premise of an FBI agent who recognizes similarities in the murders by serial killers to previous ones. But I couldn't like it much at all. I almost didn't finish it and started skimming with 2.5 hours left. And I won't recommend this series to my friends who also enjoy FBI crime thrillers with serial killers. Here's why:

1) A self-loathing female FBI agent with an encyclical knowledge of serial killer history, but who is so impulsive and inexperienced that she constantly puts herself (and therefore others) in danger. The overburdened guiltfest at every victim not saved in time. That grows old at lightning speed and I hate it.

2) An FBI BAU that allows a young female agent to investigate leads (and possible suspect locations) totally on her own? NO. This isn't procedural, it's uninteresting and immature fantasy.

3) This story takes place in a small, rural town in Louisiana where the sheriff admits that nothing like this (multiple recent homicides) has ever happened in the town, but the morgue and medical examiner's office use the most modern protocols and equipment like a CSI lab on TV. That's not realistic. Also, too much going on in basements in swampy Louisiana. As in, basements that don't exist.

4) If this is one of your favorite genres, as it is mine, this is simplistic and almost demeaning writing of female law enforcement characters. One dimensional. THERE ARE BETTER BOOKS AND SO LITTLE TIME TO READ.

5) I mostly listen to audiobooks, and while I don't dislike the narrator of this book as much as other reviewers, I note there is a different narrator for many future books in the series and based on audio samples, she has a prominent vocal fry throughout and that is a dealbreaker for me.

6) This plotline could have been really good, with a better writer, which is why I'm giving it 2 stars instead of 1. A waste of precious reading time at the end of the year. Or any other time of the year. The author should focus on writing better stories instead of how many are written.

[Cilica · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The inaccuracies where over exposed with an author writing for those that love the D rated actions films. A rookie FBI agent is never going to be left alone to come face to face with a serial killer. A dumb, poorly written storyline that could have been great.

[Teesha Fogelsanger · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I did not enjoy this book. Wasn’t into the supposed super smart detective lady. So unbelievable.

[Amanda Streetman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great story with a few plot holes and misaligned details.

[iliana ibanez · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book. It just was missing a little something.

[Danniele S. · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved it!! Very suspenseful!! Can’t wait for Scribd to get the rest in the series!!

[jenny · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book! Loved it! Reading second one tomorrow! Highly recommend

[hannah · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

the only reason i didnt finish it in one day was because i needed to go the sleep. to hear the point of views from victims, murderer, and investigator made the visions come more to life. amazing writing and narrating. i was completely transformed into each terrifying scene.

[Judy Berkheiser · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Story was great. Narrator's voice was pleasant but too much inflection in it. Would be better suited in a romantic novel or bedtime story. Too soothing. Sounded like a sing song. For that reason I almost did not finish reading it, but ended up reading it anyway.

[raquelgarza1990 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First suspense/thriller book and i am hooked! On to the next one in the series!

[Sarah Gates Hester · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not that thrilling, pretty predictable but I kept listening just to see the outcome ?

[Nneamaka M. Payne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

FBI Agent Ella Dark has been called into the swamps of Louisiana to help investigate a series of murders with star agent Mia Ripley. Ella immediately hits on the striking similarities at the most current crime scene to a murder attributed to serial killer Ed Gein. Reviewing the previous files she realizes that each appears to be a copycat of other serial killers. With the help of Ripley, Ella fine-tunes her skills and follows her instincts, eventually leading her to the killer after one potential victim escapes their grasp.

I listened to the audio over the course of a couple of days while running errands. It was entertaining enough but it’s nothing groundbreaking. An FBI agent with a tragedy in her past is caught up in a game of cat and mouse with a copycat serial killer. It’s been done before - and it’s been done better. I didn’t feel like I really got to know Ella or Ripley, I didn’t feel invested in the case because it was an all-too-familiar plot without any complexity and the climax lacked the suspense I was hoping for.
With that said, it’s still a perfectly entertaining read when you need a brief distraction and I could see myself borrowing the next in the series from the library the next time I need one.

[Lynn G · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A bit boring. Not much exciting action to keep you listening.

[Pat Walter · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Riveting. Couldn’t put this down. Looking forward to hearing more

[NNEAMAKA PAYNE · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book and the characters are very much expected but in some ways not really noticeable when they are playing their different parts. As the writer went on to tell things became a bit more clear.

[Ju GG · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely brilliant I’m hooked
I can’t wait for book 2 xx

[Penguinmoonstudios · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story was adequate, but the constant name-dropping of famous serial killers got a little old for me. Main character annoying, but since she's a newbie on the job, I expect she's supposed to be. Narrator wasn't very good.

[chuck brady · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Lots of twists and turns great suspense highly recommended can’t wait for next book in the series

[karen williams · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It amazed me that a trainee FBI agent found herself along and fighting the bad guy when all the trained agents were off chasing shadows really let the book down otherwise had the bases of a good book

[sandra eike · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book that shows amazing research into the psych of serial killers and the training of fbi agents tracking them. My first Blake Pierce book, definitely not my last

[Yousuf Rafi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the most amazing serial-killer books. I loved the aura and the descriptions and the details. Excellent read for thriller fans.

[Lisa Moriah Chenthitta · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Best book of his I’ve read yet. More measured, less sensational language. Well done.