Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
In the Deep by Loreth Anne White Narrator: Sarah Zimmerman
Published by Brilliance Audio on October 27, 2020
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Length: 11 hours, 35 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible
Real-estate mogul Martin Cresswell-Smith is the best thing that has ever happened to Ellie. After her daughter’s devastating death, a divorce, and an emotional breakdown, he’s helped her move as far as possible from the grief, the rage, and the monsters of her past. Ellie imagines her new home with Martin in an Australian coastal town will be like living a fairy tale. But behind closed doors is another story—one that ends in Martin’s brutal murder. And Ellie seems almost relieved…
Naturally, everyone thinks Mrs. Cresswell-Smith is guilty.
Senior Constable Lozza Bianchi has reasonable doubt. She sees evidence of a twisted psychological battle and a couple who seemed to bring out the worst in each other—adultery, abuse, betrayal, and revenge. If anything Ellie says can be believed, that is. As the case takes twist after spiraling twist, Lozza can’t shake the gut instinct that she’s being manipulated. That Ellie is hiding something. That there are secrets yet to surface. Lozza has no idea.
In the Deep is a story told mostly by women. There is not much dialogue; we get mostly the stream of thoughts of the women. Primarily, Mrs. Martin Cresswell-Smith and a senior constable, Lozza Bianchi tell us the story. The Mrs. does not always seem to be a reliable narrator, either.
The blurb tells us about the young heiress who marries in a whirlwind and then joins him as a partner contributing to his development project. Her emotional swings and use of drugs and alcohol means her view of the facts is sometimes lacking. I do feel sorry for her, as like anyone, she wants to be loved and accepted, which is something one expects from their partner in life. She has a murky view of what he is doing with the project and with the finances. He doesn’t seem very considerate of her when she has been traveling and would naturally be tired.
She grows more suspicious of him with his travels and the way interacts with other women. She comes to believe he is cheating on her. She becomes friends with another local women who does counseling and helps her with weaning herself off medications and hiring an investigator to follow Martin to find out if he is cheating. She also looks into the project.
I won’t give any more information to prevent spoiling but this plot is very tricky and twisty. If you can listen to all the flashback story of how things get to the point of Martin being dead, the ending is powerful and fascinating.
Narration:
This was my first experience with this narrator. Her voice was comfortable and understandable. A great deal of the story was female characters’ point of view in stream of thought rather than dialogue. The distinction between a couple female characters was somewhat limited, so it was a bit hard to distinguish whose thoughts they were. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed .
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Loreth Anne White
Loreth Anne White is an award-winning, bestselling author of romantic suspense, thrillers, and mysteries.
A three-time RITA finalist, she has also won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Romantic Crown for Best Romantic Suspense and Best Book Overall, in addition to being a Booksellers’ Best finalist, a multiple Daphne Du Maurier Award finalist, and a multiple CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award winner.
A former journalist and newspaper editor who has worked in both South Africa and Canada, she now resides in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest with her family. When she’s not writing, you will find her skiing, biking, or hiking the trails with her Black Dog.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- COYER-20
Oh, a tricky twisty plot…love that! Excellent review, Anne? Going to have to move this one up.
Yes the twist hit me unaware completely The story is not easy as I feel bad for Ellie who thinks she is finally finding a partner and is getting mistreated.
This does sound twisty! I’m intrigued, thanks for putting it on my radar?
The twist is a shock. It’s not the easiest book to read with Ellie’s treatment.
I struggled whether I could cram in one more review audio and this was it. I knew it would be good. 🙂
I keep trying to cram in one more! I did enjoy this but the start wasn’t the easiest listen in trying to figure out what was really happening and then it got even more tricky.
I’ve had this on my radar and tried to request it through Netgalley but it was one of those “Wish for It” titles for me. I still don’t get that. I’ve never had one of my “wishes” granted when I click on that button so I’m not sure why they even offer it up. All of Montlake’s titles are that way for me now. Oh well, most, if not all are available on Kindle Unlimited and I just checked this one will be available through it both in e-book and audio version in a couple of weeks. I look forward to the story. Glad to see you enjoyed the story. 🙂
That is so strange! This wasn’t what I expected but I don’t always read the blurb when it’s a favorite author. It was twisty. I never get wish for its either. In fact, if you wish you can’t request it when they open for requests later so I never wish anymore. I hope you enjoy it!