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The Woman in Carriage 3 (Audiobook) – Alison James

An ordinary journey. A shocking secret. And the perfect murder…

Hattie travels on the 18.53 train home every night. She sits in the same seat, in the same carriage, and sees the same people. The unwritten rule is you don’t talk to your fellow passengers, but Hattie has been watching them all for months now to distract herself from her own troubles.

Then one night a commuter suddenly drops dead. And the terrible accident changes everything.

In the aftershock of the tragic death, the group of strangers huddled around the two tables in carriage 3 strike up a conversation. Boundaries are shattered, connections are made and Hattie becomes tangled up in the lives of her fellow passengers as they travel to and from London every day.

But Hattie has no idea what she’s letting herself in for. The ordinary people on her ordinary journey all have dangerous secrets. When another commuter is killed, Hattie suspects someone in carriage 3 is responsible. Who can she trust? And is the truth closer to home and more dangerous than she could have guessed?

An absolutely addictive psychological thriller that will keep you up late into the night. If you love Behind Closed Doors, Gone Girl and The Perfect Couple, you’ll be gripped.

I recieved a review copy from the publishers through Netgalley

One evening on a busy commuter train a passenger takes ill. The train is forced to stop to allow medical treatment to be delivered and Hattie finds herself unexpectedly in dicussion with some of her fellow commuters. Drinks are bought, names exchanged and half a dozen mis-matched commuters form an unexpected friendship group. Over the following weeks some of them will travel together, they arrange to sit together and become a small part of each others lives. Except the reader is told one of their number is going to die – how can you not keep reading when you know someone’s days are numbered?

Hattie is the focus of the story. After her relationship broke down a year earlier she has been forced to move home to live in the suburbs with her parents. Hattie finds herself engaged in a number of temporary jobs which hold little appeal. She spends time on Tinder matching with potential partners and seems to enjoy many evenings in pubs with her latest date. Her focus on her jobs will wane, hangovers become more frequent and her parents disapproval at the lifestyle choices she is making are wearing her down.

One bonus of the unexpected new friendship group is that Hattie get to know the handsome Casper, movie star good looks and more than a little charming. Even better is that he seems to welcome Hattie’s attentions. A romance could flourish. The two start exchanging more and more messages and Hattie finds her days are increasingly distracted as she waits to hear from Casper.

Unfortunately Hattie drinks far too much for her own good. She doesn’t come across as a particularly likeable character and she is far too easily influenced and prone to making terrible choices. This makes following her story a frustraing experience at times – I found myself frustrated with Hattie and I just wanted her to grasp some of the good opportunities which were clearly within her reach. But she didn’t.

I did have some frustrations with The Woman in Carriage 3 – a total lack of concern around drink driving being the main one. After their initial meeting on the train the travelling companions will often share drinks on their journey home. One of their party will have join in the drinking and then drive home, often offering others a lift home. Maybe its down to Scotland having stricter drink driving regulations than are in place in the South of England but that made me really uncomfortable. When we find out a bit more of each character’s back story the drink driving seems even more unlikely but that’s spoiler territory.

There were points in the story where I thought about stopping the audiobook and moving on to a new story. It took longer than I had anticipated for the threads which the author was sewing into the story to start to come together. Once the pace started to pick up I was curious enough to stick with the book to see how things panned out. There were some unexpected developments and the narrative definately ended up in places I had not anticipated, however, a couple of the big “reveals” were fairly easy to spot well ahead of the revelation and the story felt more pedestrian than express train.

While some of my concerns make it sound like I didn’t enjoy the book that’s not true. I liked it just fine, didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. It felt like the perfect book for a commute, I could pick it up and put it down in short reading bursts (my 30 min train journey to work) and feel it helped pass the journey. Sometimes that is all I need from a book and The Woman in Carriage 3 did keep me reading to the end, just to find out what would happen to Hattie.

The narrator of The Woman in Carriage 3 deserves a special mention. This was the first time I have heard Jan Cramer on audiobook duties but I thought her performance was excellent. Jan Cramer gave this small cast a great voice and I was more than happy – no niggles, no awkward attempts at accents (sadly something that crops up all too often in audiobooks) and a pleasant narrative voice which I felt fitted perfectly to the setting and tone of the book.

The Woman in Carriage 3 is published by Bookouture and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BXM14TYY/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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April 4

Shattered Bones (Audiobook) – Kate Bendelow

SOCO Maya Barton is called to a canal where a heavily decomposed male body has been discovered. A bank card belonging to Trevor Dawlish is found in the cadaver’s pocket, and the name matches that of a missing person. All seems straightforward – until Trevor’s wife phones the police to say that Trevor has returned home, leaving Maya and the team wondering who the unknown male is.

When it’s revealed that the male was dead before he entered the water, Maya finds herself with a murder on her hands. But when another body is discovered, the case becomes further complicated. The hope is that facial reconstruction of the first victim will help solve the mystery – but it may lead Maya and her team down an even darker path.

I received a copy of the audiobook from ISIS Audio which allowed me to take part in this audiobook blog tour. My thanks to @DanielleLouis_ for the opportunity to join the Shattered Bones tour.

A body hauled out of the water which is too decomposed to get a clear identification. Who is poor unfortunate? That’s the first challenge which will face SOCO Maya Barton and her colleagues. Once they know who he is they will then have the unenviable task of working out who killed him.

There can be no doubt that the man in the water was murdered then dumped, post-mortem investigation shows he was strangled before entering the water. But cause of death seems to be all Maya and colleagues do know, their mystery man isn’t giving up many clues to his identity.

It could have been so much more simple. The body had a bank card in a pocket of his sodden clothes. Unfortunately the card belonged to Trevor Dawlish and Trevor has gone missing. His wife has seen him just once in the past fortnight when he briefly popped home but the body has been in the water for most, if not all of that two week period so the potential victim becomes a prime suspect. But Trevor is keeping well off the radar, much to the dispair of his wife.

For Maya the complexity of this challenging case is only one of the problems she is facing. Her estranged father is due to be released from prison. He has contacted Maya’s mother to assure her he is a new man and that he poses no threat to Maya or her mother but Maya isn’t convinced. As the story progresses and her father released Maya becomes increasingly concerned her father is lurking and plotting to come after her – is she right?

Shattered Bones was my introduction to Maya Barton but the second story in the series. It works well as a standalone story though and I didn’t feel I wasn’t following any of the plot threads in Shattered Bones because I had missed earlier events. Maya is a fascinating lead character and definitely one I would revisit – the fact she is a SOCO was a welcome change to the usual police procedural too.

I listened to Shattered Bones through an audiobook and, as I have come to expect from ISIS Audio, it was a quality production. The narrator did a fabulous job making Maya and colleagues relatable and engaging. I am a fan of shorter chapters in audiobooks too as it makes it easier to jump in and out of the story and fit in some listening around the school runs and dog walks, Shattered Bones very much ticked this box too.

The story did feel it took a little time to pick up the pace while the characters were introduced and slotted into their respective places. But in terms of a slow burn there came a point when events suddenly ignited and it all kicked off. I was blindsided by where events eventually ended up and was very pleasantly surprised as to how easily I had missed clues. Great fun.

Shattered Bones is available as an audiobook and also in digital and paperback format. You can order a copy here: Shattered Bones (Audio Download): Kate Bendelow, Annabelle Indge, Isis Publishing Ltd: Amazon.co.uk: Audible Books & Originals

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July 21

Mimic (Audiobook) – Daniel Cole

1989: DS Benjamin Chambers and DC Adam Winter are on the trail of a twisted serial killer with a passion for recreating the world’s greatest works of art through the bodies of his victims. But after Chambers almost loses his life, the case goes cold – their killer lying dormant, his collection unfinished.

1996: Jordan Marshall has excelled within the Metropolitan Police Service, fuelled by a loss that defined her teenage years. Obsessed, she manages to obtain new evidence, convincing both Chambers and Winter to revisit the case. However, their resurrected investigation brings about a fresh reign of terror, the team treading a fine line between police officers and vigilantes in their pursuit of a monster far more dangerous and intelligent than any of them had anticipated….

My thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for the opportunity to join this audiobook blog tour. I received a review copy of Mimic from the publishers through Netgalley.

Mimic is one of the dark ones. A serial killer story with an intense and relentless murderer who is replicating classic sculptures using the bodies of his victims. It was also a fab audiobook listen!

The story begins in 1989 as DS Chambers and a young Winters find a body mounted high on a statue in a London Park. The body had been left in plain sight for anyone to find but due to the off-path location and the inclement weather it actually takes some time for the body to be discovered. It’s a confusing and complicated crime scene which initially looks like an obscure suicide but Chambers has suspicions.

Almost immediately the pair are at a second crime scene in a house where a mother and her son are found posed in the style of a classic sculpture. Although both men are convinced both events are connected their boss is less confident and tells them to treat each death as an isolated incident. There is NO connection and Chambers and Winters are over-reaching to make something from random events.

The good news for readers (listeners) is that Chambers is adamant he is correct and continues to follow his instincts and look for connections between the two deaths. Winters and Chambers identify two potential suspects but lacking official authority they find their investigations cannot proceed unless they are prepared to act beyond their authority.

The pair decide they owe it to the victims to take on both their suspects and try to find the evidence they need to bring a murderer to justice. It doesn’t go well and both men face life changing consequences.

The aftermath of their actions is picked up seven years later. There have been mo more murders but Jordan Marshall has been looking into the cold case which Chambers and Winters had initially worked. The sculpture murderer was never caught and Marshall believes she can help move things forward. She seeks out Chambers and Winters and the three begin to dig deeper. It alerts their target who resumes his murderous mission.

Mimic is a brilliantly plotted and pacy thriller. If serial killer stories are your thing then you absolutely need to read this. The killer feels they have a purpose and a goal they need to fulfill and the police are chasing but cannot get the breaks they need to stop the carnage. It’s the kind of book I love to read and I couldn’t get enough of this one.

As advertised above, this was an audiobook listen for me. Narration duties for this audiobook sit with Jude Owusu and he was a new voice to add to my audio experiences. The most important factor is can the narrator hold my attention – yes, absolutely. Does he give characters distinctive voice? And then some! Listeners get to excperience a terrific range of voices and accents for what was quite a large cast. It gave the extra depth I hope for when I listen to a book and, crucially, Owusu is very listenable.

Mimic is a tension packed listen packed with twists, shocks and red herrings which kept me guessing right to the end of the story. Daniel Cole knows how to spin a captivating tale, this was a highly enjoyable treat.

Mimic is published by Trapeze and is available in digital and audiobook format at present – the Hardback is due to release on August 19th. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mimic/dp/B0916D7WXD/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=Daniel+Cole&qid=1626817991&s=audible&sr=1-4

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May 30

Strange Tricks (Audiobook) – Syd Moore

Secretly Rosie Strange has always thought herself a little bit more interesting than most people – the legacy her family has bequeathed her is definitely so, she’s long believed. But then life takes a peculiar turn when the Strange legacy turns out not just to be the Essex Witch Museum, but perhaps some otherworldly gifts that Rosie finds difficult to fathom.

Meanwhile Sam Stone, Rosie’s curator, is oddly distracted as breadcrumb clues into what happened to his missing younger brother and other abducted boys from the past are poised to lead him and Rosie deep into a dark wood where there lurks something far scarier than Hansel and Gretel’s witch….

My thanks to Danielle at the The Reading Closet for the invitiation to join the Audiobook Blog Tour. Thank you also to Isis Audio for the review copy of Strange Tricks.

Strange Tricks was an interesting audiobook listen over the last couple of weeks. I have been meaning to start reading Syd Moore’s Essex Witch Museum series for a couple of years. The concept had sounded right up my street and then on my sole (brief) visit to the Harrogate book festival in 2019, the lovely Derek Farrell told me that I really must be reading these books. So when I was offered the chance to join the audiobook tour for Strange Tricks I decided this was not an opportunity I wanted to miss out on.

The verdict? I will absolutely be picking up the earlier books and I will be back to the Essex Witch Museum, there was a lot in here I loved. However, not having read the first five novels there was a lot of background character information I did not know and which left me slightly floundering as the story unfolded. No reflection on Strange Tricks – if you jump into a series at book 6 you are going to have missed things. Returning readers will get a lot more from this story and if I enjoyed it without initially appreciating lots of the nuances then the fans of Rosie and Sam will get a real kick from where this story goes.

Syd Moore (and the wonderful narrator, Julia Barrie) lulled me into a false perception of how the story may play out. Initially events felt light, whimiscal and the lead character, Rosie Strange, fluctuated between ditzy and horny. This was fun to listen to, particularly as Julia Barrie nailed tone of the inner dialogue within Rosie’s head – suppressed outrage, mentally slapping down her own coy flirting and second-guessing herself as she chatted to a dish called Dorcus. But the whimsy was left behind and by the end of the book I had a deeper respect for Rosie and I had mentally moved Strange Tricks from “light and entertaining” to “dark and intriguing.”

Although Rosie is our lead character I did feel her colleague, Sam, got his story moved into the spotlight. I will not be sharing plot spoilers but it felt we were getting some background on a formerly unknown part of Sam’s history. It changes the dynamic of the relationship between Rosie and Sam and Rosie seemed put out that her own family history (which is complex and extremely important for her to understand better) was getting pushed out of thought by Sam.

There are plot threads set up in Strange Tricks (or possibly continued through Strange Tricks) which were not addressed in full by the end of the story, more to come on that front. There also also opportunities for Rosie to read back about her late mother through the pages of a journal – those flash-back chapters give some background assistance tied to current events and I felt Rosie’s family background will continue to distract her for time to come too.

The characters seem wonderfully deep and complex. The Essex Witch Museum was not featured as much as I may have liked; Syd Moore made it sound a wonderfully eerie and unexpected building which was hiding more than its fair share of dark secrets. But Strange Tricks was a road trip up North so the museum will need further expoloration when I undertake my catch-up reading.

As mentioned above, narration is wonderfully handled by Julia Barrie. Rosie is an Essex Girl and has a strong Essex accent, some events in the book are set in Northern England so the conversations change and another regional accents dominates your listening. Growing up near Glasgow means I too have a *bit* of an accent so it is always refereshing to listen to an audiobook where regional representation is wonderfully delivered. If you want an old-school classic BBC annunciated accent then this is not the audiobook for you as Strange Tricks gives you locals, comfortable in their corners of England.

In brief: A top production from ISIS Audio, an unsettling story from Syd Moore and a great performance from Julia Barrie. If you know the series I highly recommend listening. If, like me, you are new to the stories there will be spoilers on earlier books and some conversations in Strange Tricks may not fully make sense initially – but by the end of the book you will be more than glad you stayed onboard for the ride. A new series for me to follow – that’s the best outcome.

Strange Tricks releases on 3 June 2021 and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can get your copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08LDWCLN7/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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October 10

The Point Of No Return (Audiobook) – Neil Broadfoot

How far would you go to find the truth?

After more than a decade of being in prison for the brutal murder of two Stirling University students, Colin Sanderson has been released after his conviction was found to be unsafe.

Returning home to a small village not far from Stirling, Sanderson refuses police protection, even in the face of a death threat. But the PR firm that has scooped him up to sell his story does know of a protection expert in Stirling. They want Connor Fraser.

Connor reluctantly takes the assignment, partly as a favour to DCI Malcolm Ford, who is none too keen to have Sanderson on the loose, particularly as he was involved in the original investigation that saw him imprisoned.

When a body is found, mutilated in the same way as Sanderson’s victims were, all eyes fall on the released man. But how can he be the killer when Connor’s own security detail gives him an alibi?

As Connor races to uncover the truth, he is forced to confront not only Sanderson’s past, but his own, and a secret that could change his life forever.

I am an Audible member and I bought the Point Of No Return audiobook on release.

Some housekeeping first and an apology to Neil Broadfoot. This is the third Connor Fraser book but the first I have reviewed. Earlier this year I read the second book, No Place to Die, which I thoroughly enjoyed. However, this was one of the books I was reading when we first went into the March 2020 Covid Lockdown. A quick glance at my blog archive will show very little reviews were prepared over the first few months of the year as I found it incredibly difficult to keep focus on anything at that time. I stuggled and reviews which should have been written were not. My apologies to Neil for missing the paperback publication window of No Place to Die with a review I did so want to write.

The earlier Connor Fraser titles are readily available in paperback and digital format. Connor’s story builds with each book (though each title can be read as a stand alone). If you haven’t already read the previous books No Mans Land and No Place To Die then I would encourage you to pick them up and immerse yourself in these terrific stories.

The Point Of No Return opens with a miscarriage of justice being corrected. Some 14 years ago Colin Sanderson was convicted of the brutal murders of two students. The reader is left in no doubt that Sanderson is a nasty piece of work and there are interested parties, other than the police, unhappy to see his conviction overturned after his lawyer found an irregularity in the evidence used to secure the original Guilty verdict. Sanderson is free and is not looking to slip quietly into the background. A PR firm have ensured he will be given a platform to air his grievances (he has many) and there is talk of a book deal to allow him to tell his story. Enter Donna Blake, reporter for Sky News who is handed exclusive interview rights and the lure of the chance to ghost-write Sanderson’s book. Donna is a friend of Connor’s and their paths have previously crossed in devastating ways.

Just a few days after his release Sanderson manages to shake off the observation team working for Connor’s security firm. During the period where he is not being watched another murder takes place on the Stirling University campus. There are stiking similarities between the new murder and the deaths of the two students Sanderson was accused of committing. Have the courts freed a murderer on a technicality?

There is a constant sense of peril surrounding both Connor and Donna in The Point Of No Return. Neil Broadfoot managed make me believe both characters were just one step away from falling foul of a dangerous killer. I love when a story grips me in the way Point Of No Return did.

It should be noted there are also some emotive scenes away from the murders where Connor is starting to understand his own family history a bit better. His relationship with his father is strained but he dotes on his grandmother,who is in ailing health. Connor’s relationship with his gran and his father come into close scrutiny and he will not always like what he discovers when he starts asking questions about their past. Families have their secrets and Connor is going to have to face some unpleasant realisations before this book reaches its climax.

The Point Of No Return delivers a cracking murder story and anyone that enjoys a great thriller cannot go wrong with this one.

Huge shout to the team behind the audiobook too. Narration duties were handled by Angus King and he was excellent. There is a fair sized cast in this story and King gave each their own voice and brought the characters to life. Audiobooks can really let down a great book if the vocal performances are jarring or the voices chosen are unsuited to the material presented. In the case of The Point Of No Return there were no concerns – this is a polished and quality production and the source material shines.

Great book and a cracking addition to the Connor Fraser series. Don’t miss out on these stories – they are too good to let them slip by.

The Point Of No Return is published in Hardcover, digital and audiobook format and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B085PV4NHV/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3

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September 6

The Thursday Murder Club (Audiobook) – Richard Osman

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.

But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it’s too late?

My thanks to Chloe at Penguin Random House for the opportunity to listen to The Thursday Murder Club audiobook ahead of the publication date.

After a summer of COVID related publication delays this week saw a tsunami of new titles heading our way. Many debut authors will get lost in the flurry but as one of the most familiar faces on our telly boxes I doubt that will apply to Richard Osman. Indeed a quick glance at the Amazon charts shows that The Thursday Murder Club is sitting in the top ten Mystery titles. But here’s the thing – this is a good book and irrespective of how well known the author may be a good story shines through and The Thursday Murder Club definately shines.

I was invited to join the blog tour for the audiobook of The Thursday Murder Club so the past two weeks I have spent my time in the company of Joyce, Elizabeth, Ibrahim and Ron; four residents of a retirement village in once of the nicer areas in Southern England. Much of the story is seen through the eyes of Joyce (as relayed to her diary) however narrative does change viewpoints and we get a good opportunity to view many different events and discussions as the story unfolds. This is extremely helpful as there is a lot going on down in Coopers Chase village where our amatur sleuths reside.

For clarity, the Thursday Murder Club are not a gang of aged killers biding their time to pick off the next victim. Elizabeth is good friends with a former police inspector who now finds herself hospitalized and seemingly receiving end of life care. The police officer and Elizabeth (along with Ron and Ibrahim) would review old case files and try to find clues which the investigating teams may have missed many years before. Their endeavours are keeping their minds active and deep down Elizabeth knows there is little hope of actually catching a killer. At the start of the story we see Joyce (former nurse) being consulted by Elizabeth on the liklihood of a stabbing victim dying within a certain timeframe. Having considered the extent of the wounds – Elizabeth has crime scene photographs for reference – Joyce is able to surmise there was time between stabbing and death for the victim to have received medical assistance which would surely have saved her life. Elizabeth concurred and Joyce appears to have passed the “entry exam” and is invited to join the Thursday Murder Club. Thus Joyce and the reader become members of Elizabeth’s core circle.

Archive files are all well and good but when an actual (brutal) murder takes place and the members of the Thursday Murder Club knew the victim, the old cases are promptly forgotten as there is a killer to be found. Using their combined skills Elizabeth, Ron, Joyce and Ibrahim manage to befriend the local community police officer, get her brought into the team investigating the murder and then work their charms on her boss to facilitate an exhange of information to ensure they are kept up to date on the progress of the police investigation.

If that sounds whimiscal and unlikely then you may well be right but it is fun and that’s what’s really important here. Richard Osman has crafted a light hearted, funny and engaging story. It is cozy crime but with an unexpectedly large death count by the end of the story and there are so many charming, tender and emotive moments in the book that you can find yourself laughing one paragraph only to have a casual throwaway line in the next bringing a tear-prick to your eyes. Joyce’s Jersey Boys story nearly did for me.

The hook in this story is not the murder or even the investigation. It is very much the characters – the four Club members, Donna and Chris the two police officers investigating the murder, the gangsters who knew the victim (he was one of them) and the dozens of supporting characters that come and go as life goes on around the Coopers Chase retirment village. If you enjoy larger than life characters wonderfully realised on page then Richard Osman is your current go-to book of choice…he nails it.

I do need to point out that it took me a while to embrace this story. The narrative style is very conversational and that took me some time to get my head around. Characters have conversations with lots of tangents, drifting off point to discuss the daughter of the person they met and oh she had a new car and her husband is not the nicest chap in town. It is a frighteningly realistic portrayal of group discussions in a retirement home and adds so much more insight into how the characters are thinking but when I was reading I was initially horrified about having to listen to all the ramblings. But the ramblings are sometimes important, they are often emotive or funny and they can lead to some unexpected outcomes. I am more accustomed to dark and edgy crime thrillers so the mental shift to cosy, chatty was needed. I think I was around 90 mins into the audiobook (over 10 hours in length) before I embraced it fully. And I am glad I did.

The all important information you need to know about the audiobook is how does the narration sound? Leading us through this story is Lesley Manville – she was a great choice and made Joyce, Elizabeth and the others really come to life for me. She has, what I consider to be, a posh English accent which I associate with tea with the vicar, the chair of the local WI branch and someone who uses the word “frightful” in every day conversation. Not much like the voices I hear in my neighbourhood on the edge of Glasgow! But it works perfectly for The Thursday Murder Club and that’s the key.

Not my usual listen as I tend not to enjoy the cosy crime stories but The Thursday Murder Club had so much going on and was written with buckets of charm and clever, clever red herrings I could not help but love it. Not too shabby at all – good job Mr Osman!

The Thursday Murder Club is available in hardback, digital and (obviously) audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07S5D5TH7/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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June 1

Fair Warning – Michael Connelly

HOW DO YOU FIND A KILLER WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU?

Jack McEvoy is a reporter with a track record in finding killers. But he’s never been accused of being one himself.

Jack went on one date with Tina Portrero. The next thing he knows, the police are at his house telling Jack he’s a suspect in her murder.

Maybe it’s because he doesn’t like being accused of a crime he didn’t commit. Or maybe it’s because the method of her murder is so chilling that he can’t get it out of his head.

But as he uses his journalistic skills to open doors closed to the police, Jack walks a thin line between suspect and detective – between investigation and obsession – on the trail of a killer who knows his victims better than they know themselves…

My thanks to Alex at Orion for the opportunity to join the Fair Warning Audiobook Blog Tour. I received a copy of the audiobook from the publisher.

Michael Connelly brings back one of my favourite characters: reporter Jack McEvoy. His previous outings both saw him cross paths with killers and Fair Warning is no different.

McEvoy is working for consumer protection website Fair Warning. A close knit team who feed important stories to big newspapers but Fair Warning is in constant need of funding so they can’t be complacent. Stories need to be written.

McEvoy is about to publish a story about a school for training con men when the police arrive at his house. They have linked McEvoy to a murder victim, Tina Portrero. The police think McEvoy is a likely suspect and the chief investigator and McEvoy immediately clash. Jack knows the suspicions around his conduct are ludicrous but suspects the police have little to go on so are blustering.

Tina’s murder unsettled Jack, he remembers enjoying her company on a one night stand over a year ago but she didn’t want to see him again. Jack discovered there were unusual circumstances surrounding Tina’s death and after doing some digging determined there were other women who had died in a similar manner in different states.

Further digging determined that all the deceased women had submitted a DNA sample to a firm that helped them trace their lineage. But if the process was anonymous how was the killer able to identify a single type of potential victim?

McEvoy begins an investigation into the science and regulation of DNA labs and discovers there are no enforced checks or controls. Someone is using confidential information to target vulnerable women – McEvoy knows there is a story and a public safety issue he needs to investigate. Unfortunately he is a prime suspect in Tina’s murder and his boss does not believe Fair Warning can get involved. Jack has many challenges to face and now a killer knows Jack is on his tail.

I had the pleasure of listening to the Fair Warning audiobook. Audio narration sits almost entirely with Peter Giles who takes us through Fair Warning as Mcevoy. The only exceptions are the chapters where the narrative is with The Shrike and for these short sections Zach Villa takes the microphone. Both deliver very good performances. Giles sounds like I had imagined McEvoy would sound – an older, smokey or gravelled voice but also strong, confident and articulate. A seasoned reporter who is good at what he does but has been doing it for years.

Zach Villa sadly has very little air time as the killer isn’t given the opportunity to be subjected to any real scrutiny by the reader/listener. The Shrike casts his shadow over the whole book yet he is very much out of sight for most of the story.

The difference between the sound of Giles and Villas voice is quite noticeable and that worked well in audio. Using Villa rather than Giles for the killer allowed his character to remain apart from the investigation.

So to bring both elements together. The story was terrific, everything a good thriller should be and I can say with certainty it is one of the best books I have read for some time. The audio was really well delivered the casting is strong and with such fabulous material to deliver it makes the Fair Warning audiobook an essential addition to your audio library.

Fair Warning is available as an audiobook and in hardback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fair-Warning/dp/B082975V1M/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Michael+Connelly&qid=1590990022&s=books&sr=1-2https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fair-Warning/dp/B082975V1M/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Michael+Connelly&qid=1590990022&s=books&sr=1-2

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December 17

Cast A Deadly Shadow (audiobook) – Roger Granelli

With Cast a Deadly Shadow Roger Granelli has followed his exciting series of Palermo Stories with a full-length novel that is a fast-moving tale of murder, betrayal and lust.

Continuing their never-ending fight against the Mafia, detectives Carpanini and Bracchi have captured their longtime target, the gangster Bardolini, setting off a dramatic chain of events in which dangerous men of the Sicilian underworld get involved – each one with his own agenda.

Carpanini’s marriage is on the rocks, and Bracchi has a heart-rending choice of devotion over duty, and the redoubtable duo are in their tightest spot ever – threatened by three different Mafia entities, all trying to gain the upper hand, as the story twists and turns towards an explosive final climax.

My thanks to Anna at Midas PR for the opportunity to join the blog tour and for providing a review copy of the story.

Cast A Deadly Shadow is only available as an audiobook and I listened through the Audible App. I did receive a review copy for the purpose of the tour but when the book released last week I also picked up a copy through the Audible Store (I like to nudge up the narration speed through the app).

Although I read a lot of crime stories I seldom get to enjoy a tale about the Mafia families so I took to Cast A Deadly Shadow with huge anticipation and I splurged on the book. Running time is over 8 hours, I got through it over two days. To put that into perspective, at present I normally only listen to an audiobook for around 30 to 45 mins per day. I got a bit caught up in this one!

Italy is the setting and we are in the company of detectives Carpanini and Bracchi. They have secured the arrest of one of the Mafia’s biggest thugs who had turned his fists on his girlfriend only to have her call the police and reveal his location. Carpanini and Bracchi are escorting their prisoner back to Palermo when the Mafia henchmen catch-up with the cops on the train. A shoot-out ensues and the fallout has repercussions for the rest of the book.

After the incident on the train one of the shooters targets the police to get revenge for the twarted plan. Carpanini and Bracchi have to deal with the emotional fallout and we see how high tension events (a staple of crime thrillers) should and does have ramifications for those involved and hos it impacts upon those they are close to.

But organised crime doesn’t stay quiet for long and soon the police are dealing with a robbery – protagonists heavily armed and casualties high. A kidnapping, which made for quite uncomfortable listening as we follow the kidnapper narrowing in on his target and there needs to be a rescue attempt to have us racing towards the end of the story.

I found Cast A Deadly Shadow to be well paced and nicely told. It held plenty of twists and thrills but the quieter moments were well covered too and the author made the characters engaging and well defined for a new reader/listener.

As ever an audiobook is reliant upon the narrator. Cast A Deadly Shadow has Andrew Wincott taking us through the tale. No complaints over his skills to deliver a well told and dramatic story – as I indicated I got caught up in this story and listened for hours in a single sitting. One thing which did strike me as odd was the fact all the Italian gangsters had a broad (thick?) London accents. It slightly distracted from the fact events were taking place in a totally different country; when locations were mentioned it brought the anomaly back to my attention. Minor quibble and, as I previously stated, the narrator is very good.

All in – good fun was had. Enough action to hold me, not too many characters and events to make it confused and over the top. Definitely a thumbs up – enjoyed my time with this listen.

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October 28

Impostor – L J Ross (Audiobook Blog Tour)

I am thrilled to have something rather special to share today. I am hosting the 5th leg of the audiobook blog tour for Impostor – the first book in the new Dr Alexander Gregory series from author LJ Ross.

As it is the audiobook blog tour I have an extract from Impostor for you to listen to…keep reading it is a little further down the page. Narration duties are in the extremely capable hands of Hugh Dancy, British actor and star of the critically acclaimed NBC series Hannibal.

Before I get to the audio clip it would be helpful to know what Impostor is about:

There’s a killer inside all of us…

After an elite criminal profiling unit is shut down amidst a storm of scandal and mismanagement, only one person emerges unscathed. Forensic psychologist Doctor Alexander Gregory has a reputation for being able to step inside the darkest minds to uncover whatever secrets lie hidden there and, soon enough, he finds himself drawn into the murky world of murder investigation.

In the beautiful hills of County Mayo, Ireland, a killer is on the loose. Panic has a stranglehold on its rural community and the Garda are running out of time. Gregory has sworn to follow a quiet life but, when the call comes, can he refuse to help their desperate search for justice?

Murder and mystery are peppered with dark humour in this fast-paced thriller set amidst the spectacular Irish landscape.

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Sounds terrific and you can also get to hear how good it sounds. Once you have listened to the extract below, I have also got a chance for one lucky reader to win a copy of Impostor on audiobook on release day – 31 October 2019. All you have to do to enter the competition is like and comment on my review tweet over on Twitter. I shall pin the review at @grabthisbook to make it easy to find.

Now to the story.

Love it! If you want to hear more of the story then follow the blog tour from start to finish:

Impostor is published on 31 October and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XYFLBVD/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

Category: From The Bookshelf | Comments Off

April 23

Have You Seen Her – Lisa Hall (Audiobook)

Bonfire Night. A missing girl.

Anna only takes her eyes off Laurel for a second. She thought Laurel was following her mum through the crowds. But in a heartbeat, Laurel is gone.

Laurel’s parents are frantic. As is Anna, their nanny. But as the hours pass, and Laurel isn’t found, suspicion grows.

Someone knows what happened to Laurel. And they’re not telling.

My thanks to Joe Thomas at Harper Collins for the chance to join an audiobook blog tour.

I love to juggle my reading material, paperbacks, hardback books, Kindle reads, books on my phone through the Kindle or Kobo apps – even the odd Word document for very early review copies. However, over the last year or two I have become hooked on audiobooks and is a thrill to share today’s review as this is my first chance to participate in an Audiobook Blog Tour.

The most important question which any audiobook review needs to address is “Does the audio experience work for this story?”

Yes! It really, really does.

But what do I mean by “the audio experience”? Simply put – some books are not enjoyable when they transfer to audio. The narrator(s) may not be to the listener’s liking, particularly if there is a need to cover a number of regional accents. Footnotes and annotations are lost. Overly wordy and complex explanations need to be endured and cannot be skipped (although maybe that is only something I do).

Have You Seen Her plays out wonderfully in audio. This is entirely down to the slick storytelling of Lisa Hall and the excellent work of narrator Kristen Atherton. This was the first time I have heard Kristen read and I would very much like to listen to more of her work as she brought this book to life.

The book opens with a sickening premise. At a community bonfire evening young Laurel disappears into the crowd to catch up with her mother. Laurel’s nanny (Anna) watches her go but this is the last time anyone sees Laurel. She never caught up with her mother and when Anna becomes aware Laurel is unsupervised in the park it is too late – the little girl is nowhere to be found.

Thus begins a tense and unpredictable domestic drama. Events are told from Anna’s viewpoint. It is clear she and Laurel’s parents are not close…Anna is made very aware she is not Laurel’s mother and she is kept firmly in her place as an employee – not a friend.

Laurel’s parents are not likeable characters. Despite the distress they are enduring, the strain of their daughter disappearing, they come across as two unpleasant people. It was hard to empathise with their situation, particularly as Anna seems to care more about what has happened to Laurel than her parents do.

In this cracking domestic thriller you can be assured that secrets are being kept. The fun in Have You Seen Her is trying to figure out who to trust and identify which characters are lying. On this front I failed miserably and thoroughly enjoyed my failure. I don’t think I could describe an audiobook as a page-turner but what I did get was a story I didn’t want to stop listening to.

Have You Seen Her is published by Harper Collins and you can order a copy here: https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/9780008215019/have-you-seen-her/

Category: Audiobook, Blog Tours, From The Bookshelf | Comments Off