Thoughts on 3 audiobooks : Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier – A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight – The Swap by Robyn Harding
Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier
Narration : Kirsten Potter
Genre : Thriller
Stand alone
About the Book :
Marin has the perfect life – up until the day her son Sebastian is taken.
A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. She and her husband rarely speak. The only thing keeping her going is the unlikely chance that one day Sebastian reappears. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding him, she discovers that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman, Kenzie.
Discovery of the affair sparks Marin back to life. She’s lost her son; she’s not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix. But as she sets a plan in motion, another revelation surfaces : Derek’s lover might know what happened to their son…
My Thoughts :
I don’t know how to review Little Secrets. I thought the book was a lot of fun – super flawed, but a lot of fun still. It was gripping from beginning to end and I had a hard time putting it down, and I already want to read more from the author.
I think my main problem with Little Secrets is how at times it felt as though it tried to combine two different books into one. There’s the story of the missing child, which is completely heartbreaking, and then there’s the story of the mistress, which reads more as a fun and exciting thriller.
I enjoyed both parts, but I didn’t feel they connected well. I think the author tried to use the first part of the story to justify how the characters acted in the second, but for me it didn’t quite work. Marin doesn’t ask questions about things that should be obvious red flags, and I couldn’t quite buy into some of her decisions. Unfortunately, this frequently pulled me out of the book, which I otherwise enjoyed.
* * *
A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight
Narration : Sarah Zimmerman, Karissa Vacker, George Newbern
Genre : Thriller
Stand alone
About the Book :
Lizzie Kitsakis is working late when she gets the call. Grueling hours are standard at elite law firms like Young & Crane, but they’d be easier to swallow if Lizzie was there voluntarily. Until recently, she’d been a happily underpaid federal prosecutor. That job and her brilliant, devoted husband Sam—she had everything she’d ever wanted. And then, suddenly, it all fell apart.
The last thing Lizzie needs right now is a call from an inmate at Rikers asking for help—even if Zach Grayson is an old friend. But Zach is desperate: his wife, Amanda, has been found dead at the bottom of the stairs in their Brooklyn brownstone. And Zach’s the primary suspect.
As Lizzie is drawn into the dark heart of idyllic Park Slope, she learns that Zach and Amanda weren’t what they seemed—and that their friends, a close-knit group of fellow parents at the exclusive Grace Hall private school, might be protecting troubling secrets of their own.
My Thoughts :
I enjoyed both Reconstructing Amelia and Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight, so I’m not surprised that I also enjoyed A Good Marriage. The book offers interesting characters, an intriguing premise and a well paced story.
One thing I enjoyed about this book is that on top of reading from Lizzie’s perspective, we also get to hear from Amanda before her murder. It was kind of fun to alternate between victim and investigator, past and present, and to try and piece everything together.
The ending wasn’t the most surprising, but it’s not a book that tries to overwhelm you with an abondance of twists. There’s just enough to keep you reading and I thought the ending was fitting.
* * *
The Swap by Robyn Harding
Narration : Amanda Dolan, George Newbern, Joy Osmanski, Pete Simonelli
Genre : Thriller
Stand alone
About the Book :
Low Morrison is not your average teen. Whatever the reason, Low just doesn’t fit in—and neither does Freya, an ethereal beauty and once-famous social media influencer who now owns the local pottery studio.
After signing up for a class, Low quickly falls under Freya’s spell. Finally, both feel a sense of belonging… that is, until Jamie walks through the studio door. Desperate for a baby, she and her husband have moved to the island hoping that the healthy environment will result in a pregnancy. Freya and Jamie become fast friends, as do their husbands, leaving Low alone once again.
Then one night, after a boozy dinner party, Freya suggests swapping partners. It should have been a harmless fling between consenting adults, one night of debauchery that they would put behind them, but instead, it upends their lives. And provides Low the perfect opportunity to unleash her growing resentment.
My Thoughts :
This is my third book by Robyn Harding, and unfortunately the one I enjoyed the least. I thought the premise was super intriguing and the book was, in fact, well paced. If you enjoy a book focussed on intricate relationships and manipulative personalities, this might work for you.
For me, however, I couldn’t quite believe in the story and the characters. They often acted in a way that would serve the story, rather than in a way that felt true to who they were. I don’t mind unlikable characters, so that part I actually liked, but some of their decisions, in the context of this story, just didn’t make sense to me.
I’m also a little uncomfortable with how some aspects of the swap were treated. The author makes it clear that the relationships are super toxic, but the context of the swap isn’t 100% consensual, yet there seem to be little reflexion on that, and that didn’t sit right with me.
All three of these books sound interesting. I’ll have to add them to my TBR. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for stopping by! I enjoyed most of them, so I’d definitely recommend them. Even “The Swap”, it didn’t quite work for me but a lot of people have been enjoying it!