Murder on Line One by Jeremy Vine [Audiobook]

🎙🎙🎙Narrated by Jeremy Vine🎙🎙🎙

Description from Goodreads:

"The first in a brand new murder mystery series now!

There's a killer on the airwaves … and they're calling for you.

Darkness looms over sunny Sidmouth, when an unsolved murder comes to the attention of late-night radio talk show host Edward Temmis.

Recently sacked from his beloved job after a devastating tragedy, Edward is cast adrift – until he meets Stevie, whose grandmother, a devoted listener, died in a suspicious fire last year. Well, nobody hurts his listeners and helping Stevie might just give him the purpose he needs.

Joined by his old fling, Kim, they discover Stevie's grandmother wasn't the only one of his listeners targeted – this is just the tip of the iceberg.

But who is pursuing his ageing audience and why? And can Edward, Stevie and Kim get to the bottom of this mystery before it’s too late?"

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Unfortunately, this was a 'did not finish' book for me. I just couldn't get on with Jeremy Vine's voice as the narrator - I found him stilted and didn't project the characters very well. I don't mind listening to him on the radio but he shouldn't have narrated this book which ruined it for me. As a consequence, I couldn't get into the story or the characters so had to stop listening.

Unless the narrator is changed, I will not be following this series but thank you to the author, HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of this book.

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The Train That Took You Away by Catherine Hokin [Audiobook]

🎙🎙🎙 Narrated by Sarah Durham 🎙🎙🎙

Description from Goodreads:

"Berlin, 1938. I wipe the tears streaming down my darling son’s face, my heart shattering into a million pieces. “I promise I will find you, my love. No matter what…”

Ever since the Nazis came to power, violence has spread through the city Esther Spielmann once called home. Each night she prays her family will be spared. But when her husband and father are murdered alongside fellow Jews during Kristallnacht, she has no choice but to send her beloved son, Sascha, to safety.

Esther’s heart breaks as she watches his thin legs trembling in the cold as he is ushered with the other crying children towards the Kindertransport. As the train leaves in a cloud of smoke, she thinks of the painting of the two of them hanging in their house. In it, they are tightly embracing and laughing, everything just as it should be. She vows that she will hold him like this once again. But has Esther made a promise she can’t possibly keep?"

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This is a heartbreaking but powerful story of the intertwined stories of Esther, a Jewish mother, and Amalie, an art conservator.  

Esther Spielman, loses her family and sends her son away during Nazi occupation; she has to fight for survival in the hope that she will be reunited with her son.   Amalie, driven to protect art from Nazi looters, remains in Berlin, going against her family's pleading to return home to England; her experiences there fuel her continued fight for justice when she is forced back home.

I'm not going to go any further into the story but will say that it had me riveted from the very beginning with the narration of Sarah Durham being second to none and really bringing each of the various characters to life.

Highly recommended for people who enjoy reading books from this time period and many thanks to the author, Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this excellent audiobook.

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Making a Killing (DI Fawley #7) by Cara Hunter

Description from Goodreads:

"When Nick Vincent, producer of true-crime show Infamous, hears about an explosive new angle on a high-profile case—the 2016 murder of an eight-year-old girl in Oxford—he leaps at the chance to send a researcher to verify the claims.

Two months later, a dog walker discovers a woman’s body, bound and buried in a shallow grave in the woods. Forensic evidence links the corpse to the disappearance of that same child.

DCI Adam Fawley, the original investigating officer, is called in to run the enquiry. And he remembers the case well—he arrested the child’s mother for murder. A murder he now knows she didn’t commit.

The investigation raises more questions than answers. What connects the two crimes? Where has the dead girl been all these years? How did she manage to disappear? For Adam Fawley, this is personal..."

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This is a follow-on from Book One of the series, Close to Home, however, you don't have to have read it as the author provides enough of the back story to get you up to speed.  Also, whilst this is the seventh in the series, you don't have to have read any of the others however, I would recommend it as you are missing a treat.

What we have is an enthralling and intriguing read told from the perspective of various characters in the book.  Once again, Cara Hunter uses different media to give the story more relevance however, the articles reproduced did not work well on my Kindle.  This may have been because I received an advance copy but is something to be aware of.

The story is a bit of a slow-ish burn to start with but you become totally engrossed in the story as it's told and it becomes faster paced the more you get into it and totally gripping by the end.

Highly recommended to lovers of police procedurals with twists and turns that keep you guessing ... roll on number 8!  Many thanks to the author, HarperCollinsUK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this enthralling book.

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