Thank you Berkley Books, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of Talking to Strangers in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the audiobook for my own collection.
Publisher: Berkley Books / Penguin Audio
Published: August 27, 2024
Summary:
Detective Elise King’s investigation into a woman’s murder is getting derailed by a reporter who insists on doing her own investigation in this nail-biting mystery from the author of Local Gone Missing.
When Karen Simmons is murdered on Valentine’s Day, Detective Elise King wonders if she was killed by a man she met online. Karen was all over the dating apps, leading some townspeople to blame her for her own death, while others band together to protest society’s violence against women. Into the divide comes Kiki Nunn, whose aggressive newsgathering once again antagonizes Elise.
A single mother of a young daughter, Kiki is struggling to make a living in the diminished news landscape. Getting a scoop in the Simmons murder would do a lot for her career, and she’s willing to go up against not just Elise but the killer himself to do it.
My thoughts:
I have been a fan of Fiona Barton since discovering her debut novel, The Widow, which was part of her Kate Waters series. I read that entire series and while I have been hoping to see more books in that series, I was just as excited to see that she has created another series featuring Detective Elise King.
I read Local Gone Missing when it came out a couple years ago and am thrilled to see that Detective Elise King is back. While these books can be read as stand-alones as they contain self-contained cases, it does help to read the books in order so you can get more of Elise’s backstory – she really is quite an interesting lead character and I’m so glad she’s back!
Once again, we have a slow-burning mystery with lots of moving parts. That seems to be the MO of this series and I totally here for it! This time around, though, there is a journalist with a keen interest in helping out – not only does she know the victim, but she’s looking for her next big story. And it turns out, a little boy was also killed in the same woods…could these deaths possibly be related?
Told from multiple POVs, this book takes quite a few interesting twists and turns. There were some parts I did end up guessing, but that in no way ended up detracting from my enjoyment and I was still surprised by some turn of events. I do hope there is another book in the works as we are left with a few threads that aren’t quite tied up!
Audio thoughts:
I decided to listen to this book and what a treat I was in for! Having three narrators – Steve West, Jayne Entwistle, and Gabrielle Glaister – made for such a dynamic listening experience.
Books in this series:
- Local Gone Missing
- Talking to Strangers
Purchasing from the link below supports independent bookstores and my blog!
