Audiobook Review: Three Widows by Patricia Gibney
Three Widows
Series: D.I. Lottie Parker #12
Author: Patricia Gibney
Narrator: Michele Moran
Published: February 10, 2023
Audiobook: 13 hours 45 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: March 9-17, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 2 stars
Book Description:
She kissed her daughter, turned out the light and entered her own room. Too late to run, she stood frozen as a figure stepped out from behind the door and a hand covered her mouth. Fear was a bomb in her chest ready to explode. Her children. They’d already lost their daddy; they couldn’t lose her too.
When young widow Éilis Lawlor disappears in the middle of the night, with her two little children asleep in their beds, it is a chilling case for Detective Lottie Parker. Since her husband’s tragic death, Éilis is all her children have, and when Lottie sees Éilis’s house keys and phone still lying on the kitchen counter, she is terrified for the vulnerable mother’s safety.
Then Éilis’s broken body is found by a nearby lake, wrapped in an unfamiliar yellow dress, her mouth sealed with duct tape – and Lottie’s worst fears are confirmed. Someone wanted this beautiful widow dead.
Desperate to find the person behind this brutal crime, Lottie discovers that Éilis was a member of a support group for widows. And when Jennifer, a close friend of Éilis’s from the group, is found on a rubbish heap, wrapped in a yellow dress, Lottie vows to get justice.
Lottie dives into Jennifer’s past, and learns that she had lived a reclusive life since her husband died. She hadn’t been seen at work for months and had sheltered inside her immaculate home, only emerging for meetings with the group. But when Lottie questions the other women about Jennifer’s isolation, they claim to know nothing.
Lottie is certain that the remaining widows are hiding something. Can she uncover the truth before another innocent life is lost?
Jessica’s Review:
I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook for this one so I took it because it sounded intriguing. I did not realize that it was book 12 in a series, so I think I lost out because of that. I don’t know the detective and her back stories in books 1-11. I was not really invested in the story and was not really pulled in on this one. And it was way too long for me! The closer to the end it got, I got more intrigued but then we got to the motive…. And my thought was “Really?!?!” It just did not work for me.
This one was sadly a letdown for me. Many thanks to the publisher Bookouture for giving me an audio copy to listen to and review in my own time.
Audiobook Review: Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger
Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six
Author: Lisa Unger
Narrator: Vivienne Leheny
Published: November 8, 2022
Audiobook: 12 hours 20 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: November 8, 2022
Jessica’s Rating: 2 stars
Book Description:
Three couples rent a luxury cabin in the woods for a weekend getaway to die for in this chilling locked-room thriller by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger.
What could be more restful, more restorative, than a weekend getaway with family and friends? An isolated luxury cabin in the woods, complete with spectacular views, a hot tub and a personal chef. Hannah’s loving and generous tech-mogul brother found the listing online. The reviews are stellar. It’s his birthday gift to Hannah and includes their spouses and another couple. The six friends need this trip with good food, good company and lots of R & R, far from the chatter and pressures of modern life.
But the dreamy weekend is about to turn into a nightmare. A deadly storm is brewing. The rental host seems just a little too present. The personal chef reveals that their beautiful house has a spine-tingling history. And the friends have their own complicated past, with secrets that run blood deep. How well does Hannah know her brother, her own husband? Can she trust her best friend? And who is the new boyfriend, crashing their party? Meanwhile, someone is determined to ruin the weekend, looking to exact a payback for deeds long buried. Who is the stranger among them?
Jessica’s Review:
Secluded Cabin is yet another thriller that intrigued me from the description, but ended up not working for me. I never know when this is going to happen and this was my first novel by Unger, so I am willing to give her another chance, as I do with novels like this that don’t really end up working for me.
I just love the idea of the secluded cabin setting; in fact my husband and I have stayed at a few cabins and I love being out in the woods. Alone. With hopefully no one close by! I love it so much that I freak myself out! But I LOVE IT! We even have a particular movie we will watch every time we stay in a cabin, and I frighten myself out every time we watch it!
For me, this novel fell victim for me because it was like it was made of two stories in one: the secluded cabin story and then a second story dealing with DNA and family but they do end up coming together. I was not interested in the DNA story, I just wanted a secluded cabin where people were being watched and killed! LOL. There were also too many characters for me to keep straight as I listened to the audiobook. There were also too many povs to go with the large cast of characters.
Maybe the next novel I read by Unger will work for me! I have several of hers on my TBR pile!
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Audiobook Review: The Snow Storm by Triona Walsh
The Snow Storm
Author: Triona Walsh
Narrator: Jacqueline Milne
Published: February 2, 2023
Audiobook: 9 hours 56 minutes
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: February 6-10, 2023
Jessica’s Rating: 2 stars
Book Description:
It’s an icy New Year’s Eve. Snow blankets a windswept Irish island as the wild Atlantic Ocean rages.
Six friends gather. It has been ten years since the tragedy that tore them apart. A lot can change in a decade…
Childhood bonds are now lifelong secrets.
Dear friendships have twisted into deep jealousies.
A happy reunion is shattered by a dead body.
The celebrations have barely begun when one of the guests goes missing. As the snow thickens, the body is found.
Then the storm wreaks havoc on the island. Everyone is trapped – there is no way out. No electricity. No phone signal.
Nobody knows who to trust. No one is who they seem. Because one of them is a killer, and one will be dead next…
Jessica’s Review:
You know how sometimes a reader just doesn’t mesh well with a book that seems right up their interests? That has happened before and sadly it happened with The Snow Storm as well. The premise intrigued me but I just couldn’t get into the novel. It comes off similar to Ruth Ware novels, but it just dragged for me.
I don’t know what it was: Was it the unusual names for this American reader that I would have had no idea how to pronounce if I didn’t listen to the audiobook? Was it the narration? Possibly, with the Irish accent I had issues understanding the narrator. Was it a mix of the above and just not the right type of format for me. Maybe. The Snow Storm just did not keep my interest. Maybe it just came at the wrong time for this listener.
Though this one did not work for me I would give the author another chance, just not an audiobook next time around!
**Many thanks to the publisher Bookouture Audio for granting me an audio copy to listen to and review. I just wish I had enjoyed this one much more.
Purchase Links
Amazon US
Amazon UK