The Webs You Weave by Shade Owens [Audiobook]

🎙🎙🎙 Narrated by Kaden Catalina and Jay Parker 🎙🎙🎙

Description from Goodreads:

"MEGHAN

My husband is a cheating bastard.

If it weren't for my daughter, I'd have gotten rid of him years ago. But I don't want my sweet Hazel growing up the way I did. So I've continued putting up with Cole's indiscretions. But this time around, Cole crosses a line that he can't come back from. And I'm going to teach him a lesson he'll never forget.

COLE

I love my wife dearly, but she needs some serious help.

Ever since her traumatic brain injury, she hasn't been the same. She's constantly accusing me of cheating on her. Yes, I've made mistakes, but that's in the past, and I've apologized for those. Now, I think she might even be following me to work. She's taking things too far. I don't know how much more of this I can handle. The only problem is, I'm afraid that if I try to leave her, she'll kill me."

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Ooooo ... the title of this book is absolutely perfect ... so many webs are woven in this gripping audiobook.

I have read one of Shade Owen's previous books, Death Row Games, and really enjoyed it so didn't want to miss the chance to grab another and I wasn't disappointed.

This audiobook is intriguing in that you have no idea which of the main characters you can trust - Meghan who is recovering after a brain injury or her husband Cole, you also have their daughter, Hazel, and a mystery 'diary entry' person.  This does sound a little confusing and whilst it could be if you were reading a physical book, this was not the case with the audiobook with the excellent narrators who brought the characters to life.

A great book that's full of tension, misdirection and red herrings and one that I am happy to recommend.  Many thanks to the author, Red Raven Publishing and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of this book.

 

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In the Footsteps of the Holocaust by Ainslie Hepburn

 

Description from the Publisher: 

"This is a story of 'ordinary' people – ordinary people who were caught up in the cataclysm of events in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. A discovery of letters that had been carefully kept for decades since that time led to the uncovering of a family story that took the author on a journey in the footsteps of her husband's grandparents through Germany, Belgium, and France.

Hermann Hartog (1887–1942) was a Jewish teacher in the north-west of Germany at a time of increasing anti-Semitism. He and his wife, Henny (1897–1942) recognised that Germany was becoming an unsafe place for Jews and sent their daughters to England for safety. As a leader of his community, Hermann stayed for as long as he could.

After 'Kristallnacht' in November 1938, Hermann was arrested with other Jewish men and sent to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen. He was later released on condition that he would leave the country. Hermann and Henny fled Germany for Brussels, but when Belgium was invaded in 1940 they were sent to Paris, and then found refuge in a village in the south-west of France. Here, 'ordinary' people gave them shelter, work and friendship – and shared their lives during the dark days of 1941 and 1942.

When French police – acting on the orders of the Vichy government and the Nazi occupiers of France – arrested Hermann and Henny, it was part of a round-up of Jews to deport them for extermination. After a long journey, they were murdered in Auschwitz in September 1942.

An active memory of the Hartog family lives on. In France and Germany, 'ordinary' people remember their names, commemorate their legacy, and work to build communities where tolerance, acceptance, and friendship can thrive."

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This is clearly a well researched book that sheds light on an area of this horrendous period in our history that I was not fully aware of.  

We follow the story of the Hartog family which has been pieced together following the discovery of letters and postcards sent during that time.  Henny and Hermann had to make the difficult decision to send their daughters to England and then try and survive all that was happening around them whilst trying to make arrangements to leave.  I admit to struggling to understand why other countries wouldn't accept people trying to flee especially when they had an inkling of what was going on!  I don't know how they could live with themselves knowing that they could have saved so many people once the full horror or what happened came to light.  However, what came through strongly was that there were many people who were kind and went out of their way to support the Jewish refugees despite having very little themselves and at great risk and whilst it didn't save Henny and Hermann, it did make a huge difference to them.

This is a book that needs to be read by everyone if only so that we don't repeat what happened and that we continue to remember the names of those who didn't survive.

Thanks to the author, Pen & Sword and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts on this powerful book.

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The Secret Room (Maeve Kerrigan #12) by Jane Casey

 

Description from Publisher:

"A closed door.

An impossible murder.

2:32 p.m. Wealthy, privileged Ilaria Cavendish checks into a luxury London hotel and orders a bottle of champagne. Within the hour, her lover discovers her submerged in a bath of scalding water, dead.

At first glance it looks like an accident. No one went in with her. No one came out. But all the signs point to murder.

For DS Maeve Kerrigan, the case is a welcome distraction. But when shock news hits close to home, affecting her partner, DI Josh Derwent, she faces the toughest challenge of her career. And if she fails her world will never be the same again…"

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Yet another cracker from Jane Casey in her excellent Maeve Kerrigan series that never gets stale and I absolutely devoured it.  I find myself sounding like a broken record in that I haven't got enough different words to describe how much I enjoyed it and despite it being the 12th in the series, it continues to feel fresh with the partnership of Maeve and Josh being a particular highlight of mine and one which I absolutely adore.  

I definitely recommend you read at least a few of the previous books before getting into this one, you won't be disappointed, but I think it's essential to get the character development and the important relationships in this series.

This is yet another gripping read and kept my grubby little eyes reading as fast as they possibly could.  At the end of the book, Jane asks to keep from mentioning any spoilers so I will keep schtum and say nothing about the plot or anything else but I will highly recommend this and the whole of the series ... believe me you will become as hooked as me! 

Thank you to the author, HarperCollinsUK, HarperFiction and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this excellent addition to a brilliant series ... roll on the next one.

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The Rest is Death (DCI Tony McLean #14) by James Oswald

Description from Goodreads:

" A macabre ancient artefact. An innovative biotech company connected to the highest levels of government. And the trail of bloodshed in its wake.

Detective Chief Inspector Tony McLean is called to investigate a break-in at Drake BioTech, a trendsetting Edinburgh start-up. It's well below McLean's pay grade, but given the extensive political connections of its eccentric owner Nathaniel Drake, he doesn't have a choice. Even if nothing appears to have been stolen.

A missing person case turns complicated for DI Janie Harrison when a body is found half-buried in woods outside the city. The missing man shows no signs of trauma, the cause of his death a mystery. But when another man - linked to the break-in - is discovered dead in similarly mysterious circumstances, the police suspect there may be some connection between the two.

McLean is convinced the answer lies with the strange ancient artefact clutched in the second dead man's hands. But when the two bodies are stolen from the mortuary, and the artefact goes missing from evidence, the race is on to prevent yet more death."

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This is the 14th instalment in the DCI McLean series and I have read quite a number of them but it can be successfully read as a standalone although I would recommend you delve into previous books to get the backstories of the main characters and an understanding of the nuances of their individual stories.

Once again, this book has the usual brilliant characters, great plot with all the twists and turns you would expect and with a touch of the supernatural thrown in to make this more than the usual police procedural that all blends together seamlessly to give an engaging read.  I admit that it didn't grab me as much as his previous books and it took me a bit longer to read than it normally would because of this, but I enjoyed it nevertheless and would recommend.

Thank you to the author, Headline, Wildfire and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this book and I look forward to the next instalment.

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Judy Tudor is Not a Psychopath by Jennifer Holdich [Audiobook]

 🎙🎙🎙 Narrated by Clare Corbett 🎙🎙🎙

Description from Goodreads:

"Julie Tudor is Not a Psychopath.

Julie Tudor is 49 and has it a fantastic job (well-maintained spreadsheets are the lynchpin of an efficient office), a beautiful house (some may wonder how she got the money for it, but nothing has been proved) and the man of her dreams.

Julie Tudor is Not a Stalker.

Sean is 25 and the love of Julie's life. The only problem is, he thinks he's in love with someone else.

And Julie Tudor is definitely, definitely not a serial killer.

But Julie has found herself in a similar situation before. And if there's one thing Julie knows, it's how to get rid of the competition...

After all, what's a little murder in the name of true love?"

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Judy Tudor is most definitely a psychopath!!

Well that was a really fun but dark book to listen to.  The entire book is told from Judy's point of view which gave a disturbing insight into her warped and unhinged mind and completely at odds with the majority of the population.   

Judy is a great character made all the better by the fantastic narration by Clare Corbett; she was perfect and really brought her to life and, to be honest, I don't think I would have enjoyed it quite as much if I had read the physical book.

What a fantastic debut this is and definitely recommended to those of you who enjoy dark stories that make you laugh out loud, cringe and gasp.  This audiobook isn't released until 05-June-2025; I would definitely recommend you pre-order it.

Thanks to the author, Hodder & Stoughton Audio and NetGalley for enable me to listen to and share my thoughts of this excellent book.

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