Review copy was received from NetGalley, Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Dying Place by Charly Cox Narrator: Kate Zane
Series: Detective Alyssa Wyatt #5
Published by Tantor Audio on March 9, 2023 and May 9, 2023
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Pages: 318
Length: 9 hours, 44 minutes
Format: Audiobook, eARC
Source: NetGalley, Publisher
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When the trunk slammed closed, sealing her fate, a deep cold slithered into the center of Kennedy’s bones. All she could do was pray that her attacker would leave enough of her for her family to identify…
Kennedy Farmer, an experienced athlete, never returns after leaving for her usual running route through the dusty, mountains trails of New Mexico.
While the search for Kennedy begins, Detective Alyssa Wyatt and her squad face a terrifying new case when the body of a young woman, Rheagan Pembroke, is discovered in the desert terrain surrounding Albuquerque.
Her wounds horrify even the hardened squad of the Albuquerque P.D. – and the case takes an even darker turn when they discover a polaroid stuffed into the victim’s mouth, showing the body of Gunner Galveston, a murder victim from fourteen years ago. Alyssa was a detective on the case, but the culprit was never caught.
As the team are taunted with gruesome packages and blood-curdling phone calls, it becomes evident that a serial killer – whose blood lust is quickly increasing – has been operating in plain sight.
To catch a killer, Alyssa and the squad need to understand the savage desires driving them … before Kennedy becomes another life taken at the hands of a psychopath.
There is a real edge to the Detective Alyssa Wyatt series. The criminals tend to be serial killers who do horrific things to their victims. The events are gritty and the consequences life and death.
I really have come to love the characters. The team is smart and works really hard to bring the bad guys to justice but even more to get them locked up so they stop hurting people. Alyssa really seemed irritable in The Dying Place but who wouldn’t with a kidnapped victim to find before she is murdered. The team was doing the best possible investigation with the killer taunting them. As they started connecting cases over many years, they were able to eliminate some and also find some suspects.
I felt it was a bit overdone with the killer threatening the families of the team. That seems to happen in most books and I was glad it didn’t happen. I was happy to see those families and Carter and Abigail from a previous book. There was quite a bit about families and relationships and specifically how marriages work, with Alyssa’s daughter Holly getting married.
I love a good police procedural and how as information and evidence is collected, pieces are fit together in the puzzle. I look forward to more of Detective Wyatt and her team.
Narration:
This narrator has handled the entire series which is comfortable. There are individual voices for many characters which I recognize. The male and female voices sounded appropriate with emotional tones. The only thing which was weird was the laughter. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Charly Cox
Born in the South, raised in the Midwest, Charly now resides in the Southwest in the Land of Enchantment where she enjoys eating copious amounts of green chile and other spicy foods. When she’s not reading, writing, or plotting sinister evils with her antagonists, she enjoys doing jigsaw and crossword puzzles, hanging out with her husband and her spoiled Siberian Husky, visiting her son in Arizona, and traveling, preferably to places surrounded by sun, sand, and warm uncrowded beaches.
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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:
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This sounds like a series I need to check out! I do love a good thriller.
This series is life and death with good people trying to find the killers. It can be pretty gruesome though.
Excellent review, Anne💜 I like the sound of this series and will check it out.
Thanks Jonetta. This series is not for the faint of heart. There is violent with serial killers hurting people, often even children.
Great review Anne. I love this series.
Thanks Kimberly. I learned of the series from you and I’m really enjoying it too.
This sounds like a solid series and I like that it has a cast of characters that you’ve grown to love. That’s what keeps me invested in a series.
Thanks Suzanne. Great characters and interesting plot or mystery are all things I enjoy.
I’ve only read the first book so far and I was blown away, so I’m working on getting my hands on all the other books in this series so I can catch up.
I’m glad you enjoyed it Role. They are gritty but great reads.
Super gritty mystery/thrillers make me cringe a bit. I have to skim if it’s too much. I do like when there’s character development and relationships included in a police/crime procedural. I’ll check the series out. Wonderful review, Anne!
Thanks Rachel. It might be too violent for you but certainly you can try the first one and make your own decision. I really like the characters. Women have a rough go in many of them though.
I think I would like Detective Wyatt
I really like her. She is strong and has a great family. I don’t know if I could handle both the horrible deaths she sees or feel the stress of people missing or at risk as she does.