I have read a few thrillers over the last several weeks, and thought Thriller Thursday would be a great day to finally share my reviews. These are all very different with a Mystery Thriller, a Psychological Thriller and a Crime Thriller. I listened to all of them on audio and was very pleased with all the narrators and the presentation of the story.

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney, Stephanie Racine (Narrator)

Published August 30th 2022 by Flatiron Books (Macmillan), Macmillan Audio

4.5 Stars:

I have come to love Alice Feeney’s thrillers. She always keeps me guessing and her twists are wonderful. In Daisy Darker, Beatrice Darker, nana, has called the family to her island estate of Seaglass to celebrate her 80th birthday. Years ago, a palm reader told her she wouldn’t live beyond the age of 80, so this was a celebration. Her son Frank, his ex-wife Nancy, their three daughters: Rose, Lily, and Daisy, and Lily’s daughter Trixie, along with old family friend Conor are in attendance. By midnight, Nana is dead, with a message left on the chalkboard. Who is responsible? Every member of the Darker family is hiding secrets, some more sinister than others. With it’s nods to Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie, this locked door mystery keeps those murder coming.

The story is told from Daisy’s point of view. Daisy is the youngest grandchild and had a difficult childhood. She had health issues and her Nana wrote a children’s book about her, that was a best seller. She works at a nursing home and is estranged from her family. As the story progresses, we learn about each member of the family from her point of view, which gives us clues about the messages. All of the characters were flawed and I was pretty sure unreliable narrators, but Alice Feeney kept me guessing. Conor was an interesting addition to this family group, and I was intrigued with his story. I had no idea who was doing the killing and I kept listening, sometimes between the lines to sort things out. The atmosphere of the isolated island and house added much to the tense, chilly feel of this story. As the ending came into view, there was a secret revealed, a twist that left my jaw hanging. Once again, Ms. Feeney both surprised and entertained me with Daisy Darker. This was more a mystery than a thriller, but there was sure a lot of suspense. The narration of the audiobook excellent. I enjoyed the emotion, expression and tone she added to this story. If you get a chance to listen to this one, I definitely recommend that format.

The Prisoner by B.A. Paris, Georgia Maguire (Narrator)

Published November 1st 2022 by St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio

3.5 Stars:

The Prisoner is a psychological thriller that kept me guessing. Amelie Lamont has always been a survivor. When her parents died, her grandfather took her in and raised her. Unfortunately, he died when she was only 16, so she moved to London to get a job and save money for school. Living from pay cheque to pay cheque she is close to being on the street, when she meets Carolyn Blakely. Carolyn sees something in the young woman and hires her to be a live-in companion, someone to cook, clean and keep her home organized. Amelie blossoms and with 2 other women in their building, they form a small, close knit group. Through these friends who are all in their 30’s and work at the exclusive magazine, Exclusives, she gets a job there and meets owner and millionaire, Ned Hawthorpe. Ned is not who he appears and when he needs to get married, he offers Amelie a marriage proposal that Amelie can’t turn down. Now married and shut off from her friends, Amelie wants out, but before she can do that, she finds herself locked in a dark room, kidnapped along with her husband.

B.A. Paris has a knack for writing descriptive details that had me visualizing that room, every creak, voice and taste of tasteless food. I could feel the tension and fear that Amelie was feeling. I felt terrible for her to have been caught up in Ned’s issues. She is a sympathetic character, young and a bit foolish and as the story progresses, determined to learn the truth. Ned is a creep. He is a rich guy, who thinks he can buy his way out of everything, but he lies and cheats, and even resorts to murder (not him, but he hires someone). Ned’s father doesn’t think much of him, so when he refuses to pay a ransom, things get a bit dicey and both Ned and Amelie are threatened. As the story unravels, I was invested until about 80% in. I would have been happy if it had ended there, but it didn’t and the final part of the story didn’t do anything for me. I did like the final twist, but the ending left me scratching my head. All in all, I enjoyed most of the book, but it was not one of Paris’ best in my opinion. The narration by Georgia Maguire was well done and probably is what kept me listening after I had lost interest.

Voice of Fear (Krewe of Hunters #38) by Heather Graham, Roger Wayne (Reading)

Published October 11th 2022 by MIRA, Harlequin Audio

4 Stars:⭐⭐⭐⭐

Voice of Fear is the 38th book in the Krewe of Hunters series, but I have only read a handful of them. Each one is a self-contained story, where the crime is dealt with and there is some kind of romantic suspense. Apparently this is the third book that deals with the case of the “Embracer” that involves trafficking, but I still enjoyed this story without reading Sound of Darkness And Aura of Night. FBI agent Jordan Wallace is close to cracking the human trafficking case she’s been working uncover. Unfortunately, her cover is blown and she had put herself and the case in danger. The mission is partially salvaged and Jordan is saved by Patrick Law, a criminal psychologist who is also pretty good with a weapon. Several of the workers are killed and/or captured as well as women saved, but what they find out is terrifying. Many of the foot soldiers in the organization are only working for them because their spouses and children are being held and the threat is there that they will be killed if they mess up. Can the Krewe find and rescue the hostages, as well as find the king pin and shut down the operation for good?

After the botched situation, Jordan is partnered with Patrick. She is not impressed that she is working with a psychologist, especially one that has seen her mess up. She is not used to depending on a partner, but looking after herself. Patrick seems to be able to read minds, as he is so good at figuring out what the criminals are thinking. There is a spirit of a deceased agent, Archie, that is in these stories and helps out by alerting them to danger etc. There is a lot of danger, adventure and suspense in this story. Being in these situations, the sparks fly and the chemistry boils to the top. I enjoyed the romance, it was not in your face, but seemed realistic. While fiction, a story like this sheds light on the issue of human trafficking and how easy it is to get caught up as a victim or working for the traffickers. I will probably go back and read the previous two books, so I get the whole story. The narration was performed by Roger Wayne. I have listened to him before and while he doesn’t use a lot of expression, the seriousness of the story shines through.