Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Narrator: Kate Zane
Series: Detective Alyssa Wyatt #3
Published by Tantor Audio on August 3, 2021
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Length: 12 hours, 1 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm




It was a scene from a horror movie; Gabriel Kensington and his wife Lydia found, brutally slain in their luxurious home in New Mexico. The frantic, whispered phone call from their teenage daughter Addis, spending the evening with best friend Emerson, quickly alerts the authorities to the killings – and worse, that the killer is still inside the house.
But when detective Alyssa Wyatt and the squad appear at the house, the unthinkable has happened – the girls are nowhere to be found.
Waking up in a dilapidated cabin, nestled high in the woods north of Albuquerque, the girls find themselves at the mercy of a brutal stranger who could take their life at any moment. While they fight for survival, it’s up to Alyssa Wyatt and her partner Cord to discover just why the Kensingtons have been targeted – and fast.
Because for Addis and Emerson, solving this mystery might just mean the difference between survival – or an unthinkable death...
I love this Detective Alyssa Wyatt series.  Alyssa is a head of a major crime team. She cares about family and her team is part of her “family.”  They are a bunch of good people who see the absolute worst. We see bits of personal lives as well as the cases. As usual there are murders, and teen girls go missing.
I don’t know how they manage to pull together all the pieces of evidence and find all the odd things to solve cases. Sometimes, I don’t know how they don’t know things. Other times, they know things but have to prove it.  There are always a few people who don’t want to tell the truth and some of them end up in real trouble. At least they seem competent, care about people and work very hard.
The killer here was ruthless and totally cold. We sort of knew who the killer was from early in the story but there is a big twist in the end. It’s also suspenseful because while the teen girls are trying to escape, they aren’t trained or very skilled. They are also starved and traumatized. I was so proud of how the girls didn’t give up and neither did the team.
I am always happy to read another book in the series with its world-building and well developed characters as a backdrop to the cases with the mystery. It’s realistic enough that not every one lives and some people get hurt. But I like the ending with a solution. And I love the cover on Alone in the Woods.
Narration:
This narrator was new to me with this series. I’ve enjoyed listening and there are some really distinct voices.  I’m very comfortable with the narration whether male or female. I was able to listen at my normal 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
Rating Breakdown | |
---|---|
Plot | |
Writing | |
Characters | |
Narration (Audio) | |
Overall: | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
- 🎧 Cold as Hell by Kelley Armstrong @KelleyArmstrong @kelleyarmstrong.bsky.social #TheresePlummer @macmillanaudio.bsky.social @MinotaurBooks @stmartinspress.bsky.social @MacmillanAudio#LoveAudiobooks - February 18, 2025
- Sunday Post – 16 February 2025 @caffeinatedreviewer.com @kimbacaffeinate @readingreality - February 16, 2025
- 🎧 Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis @stephanieburgis @stephanieburgis.bsky.social #AmandaLeighCobb@torbooks @torbooks.bsky.social @BrambleRomance @MacmillanAudio @macmillanaudio.bsky.social #LoveAudiobooks - February 15, 2025
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- C21-Summer
This sounds like such a well written series, adding to my “someday” list?
I love it. It’s exactly the kind of thing I like for a police procedural. The only thing better is with British accents. LOL
Another potential series to add to my crazy list. Excellent review, Anne, and I’m glad you’re loving it?
Thank you! I am really enjoying this series and think you would also.
I read and commented on your GR review, but I’ll say again that I think I’d really enjoy this series. 🙂
I think you would because it is great!
That sounds really good. I really like these kinds of stories at times.
It’s just really well written and I enjoyed it a lot.
This series sounds like a good option for the next time I’m in the mood for a thriller-ish read. That’s usually around the fall. And you’re right–that cover is very atmospheric.
I really love this series. I hope you get a chance to enjoy it.
Glad the narration worked. I love this series.
Yes you turned me on to this series. The audio comes out later than the books, at least this time so I was able to get on board to the series.