Audiobook Review: Good Samaritans (Detective Sergeant Pace #1) by Will Carver

“One crossed wire
Three dead bodies
Six bottles of bleach”

Published in 2018 and the first book in the Detective Sergeant Pace series, Good Samaritans by Will Carver follows Seth Beauman who can’t sleep. He stays up late, calling strangers from his phonebook, hoping to make a connection, while his wife, Maeve, sleeps upstairs. A crossed wire finds a suicidal Hadley Serf on the phone to Seth, thinking she is talking to The Samaritans.

But a seemingly harmless, late-night hobby turns into something more for Seth and for Hadley, and soon their late-night talks are turning into day-time meet-ups. And then this dysfunctional love story turns into something altogether darker when Seth brings Hadley home…

Audiobook Review: The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose

“Would you defend your husband if he was accused of killing his mistress?”

Published in 2020, The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose follows successful and powerful defence attorney Sarah Morgan who, at 33 years old, is a named partner at her firm and life is going exactly how she planned.

The same cannot be said for her husband, Adam. He is a struggling writer who has had little success in his career. He begins to tire of his and Sarah’s relationship as she is constantly working.

Out in the secluded woods, at Adam and Sarah’s second home, Adam engages in a passionate affair with Kelly Summers. But the next morning, everything changes. Adam is arrested for Kelly’s murder. She had been found stabbed to death in Adam and Sarah’s second home.

Sarah soon finds herself playing the defender for her own husband, a man accused of murdering his mistress. But is Adam guilty or is he innocent?

Audiobook Review: I Will Make You Pay by Teresa Driscoll

“Every Wednesday, like clockwork, the terror returns.”

Published in 2019, I Will Make You Pay by Teresa Driscoll is set on what seems like an ordinary Wednesday, until the phone rings. A mysterious caller with a chilling threat. Journalist Alice Henderson hangs up, ready to dismiss it as a hoax against the newspaper. But the next Wednesday, the stalker makes another move—and it becomes clear that this is all about Alice.

Someone wants her to suffer, but for what? Her articles have made her a popular local champion—could it be her past rather than her work that’s put her life in danger? Alice is determined not to give in to fear, but with the police investigation at a dead end, her boyfriend insists on hiring private investigator Matthew Hill.

With every passing Wednesday, the warnings escalate, until it’s not only Alice but also her family in the stalker’s sights. As her tormentor closes in, can Alice uncover what she’s being punished for before the terrifying threats become an unthinkable reality?

Audiobook Review: The Family Retreat by Bev Thomas

Published in 2022, The Family Retreat by Bev Thomas follows husband Rob who decides the family needs to get away for the summer, Wife Jess is not convinced. Won’t all the things they’re escaping be waiting for them on their return? But the kids are thrilled, and before long their idyllic little cottage, the sea air, and the feel of skin sticky from sun-cream, lollies and sand, begins to work its magic. Jess allows herself to sink into the holiday vibes – the family even make holiday friends.

Audiobook Review: Meet Me In Tahiti (Meet Me #3) by Georgia Toffolo

“Where there’s always a second chance at first love…”

The third book in Georgia Toffolo‘s Meet Me series and published in 2021, Meet Me In Tahiti follows Zoe who has spent her life facing battles: fighting her parents for independence, struggling with her feelings for local bad boy Finn and, after a car accident at eighteen, adjusting to the fact she would not walk again. She remained strong until the day Finn, the person she thought she could trust, broke her heart… Now a successful travel writer, Zoe is excited to review a new luxury hotel in the beautiful South Pacific – until she meets its owner…

Finn was never good enough for Zoe. He knew it. Zoe’s family knew it. The village of Hawkes Cove made sure he knew it. Proven when he let her down in the worst way possible. Now a successful businessman, he thought his past was behind him, until a journalist turns up to review his new resort…

As Finn shows Zoe the exotic wonders of the islands both face the fact their shared past might just be the beginning of a future. But only if Zoe can win the biggest battle of her life…facing up to her heart’s desire.

Audiobook Review: Unnatural Causes by Richard Shepherd

“I am no stranger to joy. I know that joy can be truly experienced only by those who have known adversity. And adversity is an inevitability.”

Published in 2018, Unnatural Causes: The Life and Many Deaths of Britain’s Top Forensic Pathologist by Richard Shepherd is a non-fiction book which follows Dr Richard Shepherd’s life spent uncovering the secrets of the dead. When death is sudden or unexplained, it falls to Shepherd to establish the cause. Each post-mortem is a detective story in its own right – and Shepherd has performed over 23,000 of them. Through his skill, dedication and insight, Dr Shepherd solves the puzzle to answer our most pressing question: how did this person die?

From serial killer to natural disaster, ‘perfect murder’ to freak accident, Shepherd takes nothing for granted in pursuit of truth. And while he’s been involved in some of the most high-profile cases of recent times, it’s often the less well-known encounters that prove the most perplexing, intriguing and even bizarre. In or out of the public eye, his evidence has put killers behind bars, freed the innocent and turned open-and-shut cases on their heads.

But a life in death, bearing witness to some of humanity’s darkest corners, exacts a price and Shepherd doesn’t flinch from counting the cost to him and his family.

Audiobook Review: Meet Me In Hawaii (Meet Me #2) by Georgia Toffolo

“Where an ocean of love awaits.”

The second book in Georgia Toffolo‘s Meet Me series and published in 2021, Meet Me In Hawaii follows Malie Pukui who doesn’t believe in happy ever after. After a tragedy caused her to flee her family and friends in Devon, she found a fresh start in Hawaii. Here, working at a surf school, she can give back to those in need and try to overcome the greatest loss in her life.

Moved around foster homes throughout his childhood, Todd Masters has worked hard to be able to offer a brighter future to young disadvantaged children. Now he has his own charitable foundation working with a surf school in Hawaii, a job he loves, but he still can’t put his past behind him.

When Malie rescues Todd from the sea, a spark ignites between them, and the two wounded souls find a common ground. But amidst the surf, sunsets and sizzling kisses, can Malie let go of her past and risk something she’d locked away forever… her heart.

Audiobook Review: The Mystery Of Four by Sam Blake

“Murder is easy… when it doesn’t look like murder.”

Released on 5th January, The Mystery Of Four by Sam Blake follows Tess Morgan who has finally made her dream of restoring beautiful Kilfenora House and Gardens into a reality. But during rehearsals for the play that forms the opening weekend’s flagship event, her dream turns into a nightmare when a devastating accident looks set to ruin her carefully laid plans.

There are rumours that Kilfenora House is cursed, but this feels personal, and becomes increasingly terrifying when more than one body is discovered. Could someone be closing in on Tess herself? larissa Westmacott, ex star of stage and screen, certainly believes so, particularly when she learns that purple-flowered aconite has been picked from the Poison Garden. And Clarissa will stop at nothing to protect the friend she has come to see as a daughter…

Audiobook Review: Beyond the Wand – The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton

“Prepare to meet a real-life wizard.”

Published earlier this year, Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton tells his story from Borrower to wizard. Tom’s adolescence was anything but ordinary. His early rise to fame saw him catapulted into the limelight aged just twelve when he landed the iconic role of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films.

From growing up on screen in the wizarding world and making his big break, to what filming was really like and the lasting friendships he made during ten years as part of the franchise, as well as the highs and lows of fame and the reality of navigating adult life after filming finished.

Book Review: One For Sorrow (D.I. Callanach #7) by Helen Fields

“One for sorrow, two for joy
Three for a girl, four for a boy
Five for silver, six for gold
Seven for a secret never to be told…”

The seventh book in Helen Fields‘ D.I. Callanach series, One For Sorrow sees Edinburgh gripped by the greatest terror it has ever known. A lone bomber is targeting victims across the city and no one is safe.

DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach face death every day – and not just the deaths of the people being taken hostage by the killer. When it becomes clear that with every tip-off they are walking into a trap designed to kill them too, Ava and Luc know that finding the truth could mean paying the ultimate price. But with the threat – and body count – rising daily, and no clue as to who’s behind it, neither Ava nor Luc know whether they will live long enough to tell the tale…

Audiobook Review: Sweetpea (Sweetpea #1) by C.J. Skuse

“The last person who called me Sweetpea ended up dead…”

Published in 2017 and the first book in a trilogy, Sweetpea by C.J. Skuse follows Rhiannon, your average girl next door, settled with her boyfriend and little dog. But she’s got a killer secret.

Although her childhood was haunted by a famous crime, Rhiannon’s life is normal now that her celebrity has dwindled. By day, her job as an editorial assistant is demeaning and unsatisfying. By evening, she dutifully listens to her friends’ plans for marriage and babies while secretly making a list. A kill list.

From the man at the grocery checkout who always mishandles her apples, to the driver who cuts her off on her way to work, to the people who have it coming, Rhiannon is ready to get her revenge. Because the girl everyone overlooks might be able to get away with murder.

Audiobook Review: The Couple In The Cabin by Daniel Hurst

“They’ll do anything to get out. She’ll do anything to keep them in.”

Published earlier this month, The Couple In The Cabin by Daniel Hurst follows happily married Grace who comes home early one night and catches her husband, Dominic, with another woman in the cabin at the bottom of their garden. She is shocked, angry, and most of all, hell-bent on revenge. That’s why she acts quickly, locking the pair in the cabin while she decides what she wants to do to them.

While Dominic and his mistress desperately try to get free, Grace makes a plan on the outside, but it’s a plan that is formed based on her previous experiences. That’s because this might not be the first time Grace has done something like this…

Who is the real villain? The cheating husband? Or the vengeful wife?

Audiobook Review: The Corset by Laura Purcell

“Mad or a murderer? Victim or villain?”

Published in 2018, The Corset by Laura Purcell follows Dorothea and Ruth. Prison visitor and prisoner. Powerful and powerless. Dorothea Truelove is young, wealthy and beautiful. Ruth Butterham is young, poor and awaiting trial for murder.

When Dorothea’s charitable work leads her to Oakgate Prison, she is delighted with the chance to explore her fascination with phrenology and test her hypothesis that the shape of a person’s skull can cast a light on their darkest crimes. But when she meets teenage seamstress Ruth, she is faced with another theory: that it is possible to kill with a needle and thread. For Ruth attributes her crimes to a supernatural power inherent in her stitches.

Can Ruth be trusted? Is she mad, or a murderer?

Audiobook Review: All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers

“A DECADES-OLD CRIME CASE
A DANGEROUS OBSESSION
A TOWN FULL OF SECRETS”

Published in 2022, All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers follows aspiring investigative journalist Margot Davies who is stuck at a small-time newspaper, until she stumbles upon a new development in an unsolved case that took place in her hometown: the infamous murder of six-year-old January Jacobs.

Margot quickly becomes obsessed with solving the case and returns to the town she left at eight years old, hoping to bring justice to January, who was discovered dead in a ditch only hours after her family awoke to find her gone, along with a horrifying message spray-painted on their kitchen walls.

As Margot digs deeper into the case, she begins to suspect that not everything is as it seems. There is something more sinister than she ever could have imagined lurking in the town: a twisted secret that threatens to endanger the lives of everyone involved, including Margot.

Book Review: Perfect Kill (D.I. Callanach #6) by Helen Fields

“He had never heard himself scream before. It was terrifying.”

The sixth book in Helen Fields‘ D.I. Callanach series, Perfect Kill sees DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach working on separate cases that soon collide, as it becomes clear that men and women are being shipped to France and traded for women trafficked into Scotland. With so many lives at stake, they face an impossible task – but there’s no option of failure when so many others will soon be dead…

Book Review: Perfect Crime (D.I. Callanach #5) by Helen Fields

“Your darkest moment is your most vulnerable…”

Published in 2019 and the fifth book in Helen Fields‘s D.I. Callanach series, Perfect Crime follows DI Luc Callanach and DCI Ava Turner as they are drafted in to investigate the death of a man who has now been found at the bottom of a cliff, after a suicide prevention counsellor stopped him from jumping off a bridge only weeks before. Now, Luc and Ava must determine whether he jumped or whether he was pushed.

As they dig deeper, more would-be suicides roll in: a woman found dead in a bath; a man violently electrocuted. But these are carefully curated deaths – nothing like the impulsive suicide attempts they’ve been made out to be. Little do Callanach and Turner know how close their perpetrator is as, across Edinburgh, a violent and psychopathic killer gains more confidence with every life he takes…

Audiobook Review: Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay

“They found the bodies on a Tuesday.”

Published in 2021, Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay follows NYU student Matt Pine who returns to his dorm room to devastating news: nearly his entire family — his mum, his dad, his little brother and sister — have been found dead from an apparent gas leak while vacationing in Mexico. The local police claim it was an accident, but the FBI and State Department seem far less certain, and they won’t tell Matt why.

The tragedy makes headlines everywhere because this isn’t the first time the Pine family has been thrust into the media spotlight. Matt’s older brother, Danny is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his teenage girlfriend Charlotte and was the subject of a viral true crime documentary suggesting that Danny was wrongfully convicted. Though the country has rallied behind Danny, Matt holds a secret about his brother that he’s never told anyone: the night Charlotte was killed, Matt saw something that makes him believe his brother is guilty of the crime.

When Matt returns to his small hometown to bury his family, he’s faced with a hostile community that was villainized by the documentary, a frenzied media, and memories he’d hoped to leave behind forever. Now, as the deaths in Mexico appear increasingly suspicious and connected to Danny’s case, Matt must unearth the truth behind the crime that sent his brother to prison, forcing him to confront his every last fear.

Audiobook Review: The Last Mrs Parrish by Liv Constantine

“All she wants… is everything you have!”

Published in 2017, The Last Mrs Parrish by Liv Constantine follows Amber Patterson who is tired of being a nobody: a plain, invisible woman who melts into the background. She deserves more. She deserves a life of wealth, luxury and leisure.

Daphne Parrish is golden girl of the exclusive town of Bishops Harbor, Connecticut. With her modelesque looks, her picture-perfect mansion and her millionaire husband, Jackson, she has everything Amber has ever wanted.

Amber’s envy could eat her alive—if she didn’t have a plan. Gradually, Amber insinuates herself into the Parrish family’s life. Before long, she has become Daphne’s closest confidante, and is catching the eye of Jackson. But a skeleton from her past could undermine everything Amber has worked for, and if discovered, her well-laid plan may end in disaster…

Audiobook Review: Perfect Death (D.I. Callanach #3) by Helen Fields

“There’s no easy way to die…”

Published in 2018 and the third book in Helen Fields‘s D.I. Callanach series, Perfect Death follows DI Luc Callanach and the newly promoted DCI Ava Turner as, unbeknownst to them, a serial killer has Edinburgh firmly in his grip. The killer is taking his victims in the coldest, most calculating way possible – engineering slow and painful deaths by poison, with his victims entirely unaware of the drugs flooding their bloodstream until it’s too late.

But how do you catch a killer who hides in the shadows? A killer whose pleasure comes from watching pain from afar? Faced with their most difficult case yet, Callanach and Turner soon realise they face a seemingly impossible task…

Audiobook Review: The Invitation by Lucy Foley

“That spring was the start of everything, for me. Before then, I might have been half-asleep, drifting through life.”

The Invitation by Lucy Foley is set in Rome, 1953, when Hal and Stella meet by chance, two outcasts in a city far from home. It’s a bright awakening for Hal. He believes he’s found the love of his life – his Stella, his star. To his dismay, the mysterious girl disappears as quickly as she swept in, and Hal’s life as a journalist falls back into its familiar routine. But when he’s asked by an Italian Contessa to assist on a trip of a lifetime – acting as the reporter on a tremendous yacht, skimming its way along the Italian Riviera towards Cannes film festival, Hal can’t believe his good fortune. Especially when a familiar beauty becomes a passenger.