Audiobook Review: The Quiet Neighbor by J.D. Barker and Adam Roach
The Quiet Neighbor
Authors:
J.D. Barker
Adam Roach
Narrator: Morgan Hallett
Published: January 27, 2026
Audiobook: 9 hours 16 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: January 15-21, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Book Description:
A heart-stopping tale of family secrets, buried trauma, and the lengths a mother will go to save her child, even when that child might not want to be saved.
Cynthia Burrows thought she’d built the perfect life—successful law career, loving husband, beautiful daughter. But when eighteen-year-old Tori vanishes without a trace, Cynthia’s carefully constructed world begins to crumble.
The school says Tori was excused by family. Security footage shows her leaving with an older man. And the boy she was supposed to date? His name sends chills down Cynthia’s spine—Alexander Beaufort.
That’s impossible. Alexander Beaufort is the serial killer who destroyed Cynthia’s childhood, murdered her best friend, and forced her into witness protection twenty years ago. He’s supposed to be locked away forever.
But someone is playing a deadly game, leaving clues that drag Cynthia back to her darkest memories. With only three days to find her daughter, she must confront the monster from her past and the shocking secrets Tori has been hiding.
In this quiet suburban neighborhood, everyone has something to conceal. And some neighbors are more dangerous than others.
Jessica’s Review:
J.D. Barker is an author I follow and when I hear he has a new book coming out, whether solely written or co-written, I will look to see what it is about. The Quiet Neighbor is co-written with Adam Roach, and the description of this one intrigued me.
This book has multiple povs and dual timelines: Cynthia’s past and the present. We also have a journal written by an ‘anonymous author’. It’s a race against time as Cynthia only has a few days to find her daughter, and while searching she is learning more about her daughter. How well or little does she know Tori?
There were twists throughout the novel, but the final ‘doozy’ I called very early on. And even though I called it early I still was in for the journey. I know this is fiction, but parts of the novel were far from realistic. Cynthia has a friend who is investigating the case and she all but let Cynthia basically take over. This happening just caused a high lack of believability as time went on. Other than that issue, I did enjoy the novel!
The narrator Morgan Hallett did a good job with her narration. She was extremely creepy when it came to narrating the journal entries.
Thank you to the publisher for granting me a copy to listen to and review!
ALC Review: My Husband’s Wife by Alice Fenney
My Husband’s Wife
Author: Alice Feeney
Narrators:
Bel Powley
Henry Rowley
Richard Armitage
To Be Published: January 20, 2026
Audiobook: 8 hours 58 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: December 23, 2025- January 5, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Book Description:
Eden Fox, an artist on the brink of her big break, sets off for a run before her first exhibition. When she returns to the home she recently moved into, Spyglass, an enchanting old house in Hope Falls, nothing is as it should be. Her key doesn’t fit. A woman, eerily similar to her, answers the door. And her husband insists that the stranger is his wife.
One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying.
Six months earlier, a reclusive Londoner called Birdy, reeling from a life-changing diagnosis, inherits Spyglass. This unexpected gift from a long-lost grandmother brings her to the pretty seaside village of Hope Falls. But then Birdy stumbles upon a shadowy London clinic that claims to be able to predict a person’s date of death, including her own. Secrets start to unravel, and as the line between truth and lies blurs, Birdy feels compelled to right some old wrongs.
My Husband’s Wife is a tangled web of deception, obsession, and mystery that will keep you guessing until the last page. Prepare yourself for the ultimate mind-bending marriage thriller and step inside Spyglass – if you dare – to experience a story where nothing is as it seems.
Jessica’s Review:
I’ve read a few novels by Alice Feeney, so when I hear she has a book coming out, I look into it. This one has an intriguing premise and I was excited to be granted an advanced copy to listen to and review. And once I started it, I was glad I got this advanced copy.
There are a lot of twists throughout the novel, and it goes in many directions that I was not expecting. And then… Add in a company that claims that it can predict when a person will die… WHAT!?!??!
We have four POVs:
Carter who is a police officer
Eden who is Harrison’s wife and an artist
Birdy who is comes back to Hope Falls and also a police officer.
Harrison who lives in Spyglass and married to Eden
So much happens that it could be hard to keep it all straight. I think the audiobook definitely helped me with this. It is all very implausible and something about the story just did not connect with me. I can’t figure out what it was. Sometimes books are for you and sometimes they just are not. My Husband’s Wife had a lot of promise, but it just ended up not being a book for me.
There are three narrators who did a great job and there are also ‘sound effects’ that enhanced and adds to this story! Nothing too distracting to affect me while I was driving. For example, one effect was when Eden was running you can hear her making those steps. And I just have to say the cover is gorgeous!
Many thanks to the publisher, Macmillan Audio for granting me a copy to listen to and review!
Pre-order Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Book Review: The Accidental Pinup by Danielle Jackson
The Accidental Pinup
Series: Buxom Boudoir #1
Author: Danielle Jackson
Narrator: Jeanette Illidge
Published: July 19, 2022
Audiobook: 10 hours 11 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Listened To: November 10-15, 2025
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Book Description:
Rival photographers are forced to collaborate on a body-positive lingerie campaign, but they might have to readjust their focus when sparks fly.
Photographer Cassie Harris loves her job—her company Buxom Boudoir makes people look beautiful and feel empowered with her modern twist on classic pinup photography. Cassie’s best friend, Dana, is about to launch her own dangerously dreamy lingerie line and wants Cassie to shoot and direct the career-changing national campaign. But company politics and Dana’s complicated pregnancy interfere, and Cassie finds herself—a proud plus size Black woman—not behind the camera but in front of it.
Though she’s never modeled herself, Cassie’s pretty sure she can handle the sheer underwear and caution tape bralettes. She’s not sure she can work so intimately with the chosen photographer, her long-time competitor in the Chicago photography scene, Reid Montgomery. Their chemistry is undeniable on set, however, and feelings can develop faster than film…
Jessica’s Review:
After trying to find a book based on ‘stranger photo sessions’ and only finding a novella series that did not work for me (I gave the first novella 2 stars and DNF’d the second), this was the closest I could find. And that was thanks to my friend Yami.
Here we have photographer Cassie whose best friend Dana is about to launch a lingerie line for plus sized women. Dana wants Cassie to be the photographer and after a series of events Cassie ends up being the model (which Cassie has never modeled…) and the photographer is Reid. Reid has been Cassie’s direct competition and he has taken potential jobs from her. And there is some chemistry going on between model and photographer.
I really loved the body positivity and representation in the novel with Cassie. In addition to being a gorgeous plus sized woman, she is also a person of color. We are getting so much representation in this novel! And being this is a contemporary romance we also have the rivals/ enemies to lovers sub-genre.
It got a little bit much on the spicy side for me, but I was prepared for that knowing my friend Yami likes her books spicy! For the readers who read spice/ like the spice it’s most likely not too spicy. But ya’ll know I don’t need spicy, and prefer my romances sweet and closed door for the most part. It did seem as if the relationship was mainly based off of physical attraction, and I mean, Cassie is wearing just underwear around Reid, so he can’t help but see what she has to offer and like it or not!
Overall, I enjoyed this one. Of course there are secrets involved in the story. But there has to be some kind of angst! I really want a decent ‘stranger photo session’ novel! And guess what: I actually found a photographer who is local to me who does these sessions! And guess what else?!?!? I put in an application for a stranger session! We will see what happens, my guess is that mainly women put in for these sessions, but you also have to have men sign up. And the photographer actually attempts to make couples based on similar interests. Will I get a contact from that photographer about a match??? Only time will tell….
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK