Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
An Eye for an Eye by Carol Wyer Narrator: Henrietta Meire
Series: Detective Kate Young #1
Published by Brilliance Audio on February 1, 2021
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Length: 11 hours, 49 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible
DI Kate Young is on leave. She’s the force’s best detective, but her bosses know she’s under pressure, on medication and overcoming trauma. So after her bad judgement call leads to a narrowly averted public disaster, they’re sure all she needs is a rest.
But when Staffordshire Police summon her back to work on a murder case, it’s a harder, more suspicious Kate Young who returns. With a new ruthlessness, she sets about tracking down a clinical, calculating serial killer who is torturing victims and leaving clues to taunt the police. Spurred on by her reporter husband, Young begins to suspect that the murderer might be closer than she ever imagined.
As she works to uncover the truth, Young unravels a network of secrets and lies, with even those closest to her having something to hide. But with her own competence - and her grip on reality - called into question, can she unmask the killer before they strike again?
I’ve really been preferring to read police procedurals lately but you never know exactly what you will get when you try a new (to me) author. I have had some good luck with this genre in Kindle Unlimited titles. So I read the start of the new Detective Kate Young series. I’ll definitely be reading more and trying the author’s backlist, too.
An Eye for an Eye was layered with all sorts of interesting aspects. Even though it is a murder investigation, there is quite a theme of love, which I noticed because of the upcoming holiday. There is no romance. Kate Young shares in her thoughts the dearest moments of her husband from their meeting, to his love of cereal, and his support of her and her career. Their connection flows throughout the story. But with her own trauma, she is a bit of an unreliable narrator which normally isn’t my favorite thing. Somehow the intrepid Kate makes it appealing.
There is also the uncompromising love of family. The killer is dedicated to revenging wrongs to family. The efforts are enormous and unswerving. The mystery is complex enough to not be figured out quickly. Although I don’t usually try to figure it out and just let the story be told. The politics, personalities and people all seemed believable and were well developed enough to not be cliche.
I enjoyed the progression of Kate through her past trauma and to gather the evidence to solve the case. She perseveres even with those who don’t believe she can do it, or are actively preventing her from getting what she needs to find the killer. I got more than I expected here; it was a fantastic read and I really recommend it. I look forward to the ongoing story arcs as the series continues.
Narration:
This narrator is new to me but Robin has enjoyed her before. I was comfortable with her voices right away, with both male and female voices sounding appropriate. I enjoyed her voice for Kate. There were differentiated voices for other main characters but some of the lesser characters I didn’t hear enough to notice. I listened a little slower than usual at 1.25x speed.
Listen to a clip:
About Carol Wyer
A former teacher and linguist, Carol began writing full-time in 2009 and enjoyed much success with several comedies and humorous non-fiction books, one of which, Grumpy Old Menopause won her the People’s Book Prize Award in 2015.
January 2017, saw her move into police procedurals with Little Girl Lost, the first in the DI Robyn Carter series, that featured in USA Today Top 150 best selling books and became the #2 best-selling book on Amazon. The books, set in Staffordshire where Carol has lived for over 30 years, earned her acclaim as a crime writer and in 2018, a new team lead by DI Natalie Ward was introduced to her readers.
She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy… who is very, very grumpy.
When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.
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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:
- C21-Winter
Hello Anne. Many thanks indeed for this excellent review of the audiobook version of An Eye For An Eye which has brightened this extremely cold day.
I’m thrilled you enjoyed the storyline and took to Kate. I’m also delighted that you’ll be looking at some of my other books.
I hope you’ll join Kate again in June when she’ll be back in A Cut For A Cut.
Thank you so much for visiting my blog. I’ll definitely be reading A Cut for a Cut.
I fear I made a mistake in letting this one get by. Excellent review, Anne
Thank you Jonetta! Well hopefully you’ll be able to fit it in at some point.
I love when a book surprises me, and this sounds like an excellent start to a new series.
YES! That’s part of the reason I try new (to me) authors when it’s the beginning of a series. This was a winner.
Thanks for this review and the intro to this author, I will look for this audio, police procedurals lend themselves to being listened to while running-
Thank you! The audio was just released this month. She has at leas 2 other series in this genre and I’m going to take a look at them also.
i love when i find a new author and binge read their work. great review and i hope they are all just as good as this one
I love that too – finding a new series to binge! An Eye for an Eye is the only one in this series so far but she has 2 other series to read in this genre.
Sounds like a story I’d enjoy. I do gravitate toward police procedurals lately. Sounds like Kate might have a sad story to tell. I just popped over to Amazon and I’m excited to see it’s KU for both the e-copy and audio version. Wonderful review, Anne!
It’s such an interesting mix of aspects put together and I really enjoyed it. I hope you will also.
This sounds good, Anne. I too enjoy this type of police procedural stories.
yes and with the narration is even better.