Review: Until the Day I Die by Emily Carpenter (audio)

Title: Until the Day I Die

Author: Emily Carpenter

Narrator: Jess Nahikian, Kate Orsini, Patrick Lawlor

Published: March 2019, Brilliance Audio

Length: 10 hours 45 minutes

Source: Publisher

Summary: 

From the bestselling author of Burying the Honeysuckle Girls
comes a riveting novel about a mother and daughter separated by grief,
secrets, and a conspiracy that threatens to destroy their lives.

If there’s a healthy way to grieve, Erin Gaines hasn’t found it.
After her husband’s sudden death, the runaway success of the tech
company they built with their best friends has become overwhelming. Her
nerves are frayed, she’s disengaged, and her frustrated daughter,
Shorie, is pulling away from her. Maybe Erin’s friends and family are
right. Maybe a few weeks at a spa resort in the Caribbean islands is
just what she needs to hit the reset button…

Shorie is not only worried about her mother’s mental state but also
for the future of her parents’ company. Especially when she begins to
suspect that not all of Erin’s colleagues can be trusted. It seems
someone is spinning an intricate web of deception – the foundation for a
conspiracy that is putting everything, and everyone she loves, at risk.
And she may be the only one who can stop it.

Now, thousands of miles away in a remote, and oftentimes menacing,
tropical jungle, Erin is beginning to have similar fears. Things at the
resort aren’t exactly how the brochure described, and unless she’s
losing her mind, Erin’s pretty sure she wasn’t sent there to recover –
she was sent to disappear.

My thoughts:  I have long been a fan of Emily Carpenter’s books, especially on audio, ever since coming across her debut novel, Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, on one of those Audible Daily Deals…what a find that turned out to be. Since then, I’ve listened to every one of Emily’s books and each one just gets better and better – and this latest one might be my favorite one yet, though her debut novel still holds a special spot in my heart!

This book is all kinds of crazy – it’s fast-paced and thrilling and I just could not listen to it fast enough. I loved how it alternated between the mother, Erin, and her daughter, Shorie – this at times really amped up the tension, and believe me that tension was super high where you felt you couldn’t breathe! This book takes a regular place and turns it into a nightmare. You won’t be able to look at a Caribbean Island and resort the same way again after finishing this book and all with good reason.

I think this book is a mix of action thriller and character study in that the beginning is definitely a slow burn where we see just how our main characters, Erin and Shorie are handling the death of Perry, Erin’s husband and Shorie’s father. Once we get past that, then the action picks up and once that starts, it really never lets up. 

What I loved is that as we meet the rest of the cast of characters, I started to feel uneasy about them. I’m not exactly sure why, but I did and maybe there was a reason. That unease never really let up as the book progresses and then strange and dark things start happening. This book is tense and mysterious – there is a mystery and there is deception and I think that is what keeps you captivated. Just what is going on? On top of that, the tech stuff that is involved is just plain intriguing.

I absolutely loved this book. It was fun, thrilling and, while a bit over the top in some parts, really interesting. I didn’t guess who was behind everything and that’s always a good thing because it keeps me totally on my toes trying to put it together and constantly thinking. I can’t wait to see what comes next from Emily…she really has outdone herself this time!

Audio thoughts: This was a great book to listen to and the narrators really did a great job bringing it to life. Kate Orsini was the perfect Erin – she really gave this character the best voice and I can’t think of a better narrator for Erin’s personality than Kate Orsini. Her intonation was perfect, and her pitch and the tension in her voice when needed really made this audio stand out. I love Kate Orsini and she did an outstanding job here. This is only the second time I’ve listened to Jess Nahikian and I thought she did a great job with Shorie’s parts. She has a younger voice, so she was perfect for this role. It was believable and I felt her emotions come across loud and clear, as well as the stress. This really was a fun, thrilling audio to listen to and the casting was perfect!