I enjoyed this one while I was listening, the writing was good and it moved quickly... but the idea of your childhood group or experiences coming back to haunt you is over done and there wasn't anything super unique about this particular story that made it stand out from the others with a similar theme. I would try more from this author because it was well written and kept me listening, but I don't think it'll be the first to come to mind when people ask for recommendations.

This book fell a little flat for me. The plot was intriguing at the start but the overall story seemed a little far fetched and there were too many pieces that needed to be connected to create the mystery. I also felt like the main character “happened” to work with too many characters to make it believable.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for '214 Palmer Street' by Karen McQuestion.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Karen McQuestion, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous

Publication date 6th April 2022.

This is the first book I have read by this author.

I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'An unputdownable suspense thriller from number one bestseller Karen McQuestion, which will make you question what secrets your own neighbors are hiding… For fans of The Girl on the Train, The Woman in the Window and Gone Girl.' I am a huge fan of 'Gone Girl' so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 47 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are medium to long in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in Wisconsin, USA 🇺🇸.

This book is written in a mix of third and first person perspective and the protagonists are Sarah Aden, Kirk Aden, Gavin Kramer and 'Her' . The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything. To have the benefit of both first and third person perspective ensures you don't miss out on anything.

This book is extremely well written with vivid descriptions that set the scene. The title and synopsis suit the storyline perfectly.

The storyline is fast paced and I was completely absorbed throughout. It is filled with suspense, mystery, romance, tension and so much more. I started reading this in the morning and could not put it down. I loved that you go into this book starting with one mystery and then you dive head first into another and another until your completely surrounded in suspense and tension. I was not expecting the turn of events at all and I loved that everything was wrapped up perfectly at the end leaving you knowing what happened to each character. There is nothing worse than getting to the end of a book with loose ends so a huge congratulations Karen.

It is set over/includes multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture.

The characters were all strong, well defined and realistic. I became completely invested in not only Sarah but also 'Her' storyline. I won't say who 'Her' is but all is revealed in the book in good time. I wasn't sure what was going on with Sarah at the start but my heart really went out to her. I can't say too much about any of the characters really as I don't want to give too much away. Phil was another likeable character and I enjoyed meeting and getting to know him. I did start writing my thoughts on another character but decided that I will sadly have to leave it here as I realised it was giving too much away. What I will say before I end this though is that each character whether you love or hate them suited their "role" perfectly and "worked together" to make an absolutely fantastic psychological thriller.

This is the first book I have read by Karen but it certainly won't be my last!!! Congratulations Karen on an addictive book I am now off to Amazon to add the rest of your books to my wishlist. Here is to you next success 🥂

Overall a fast paced psychological thriller that will keep you hooked from the first page to the last.

Genres covered in this book include Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Suspense Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Domestic Thriller and Mystery amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of 'The Girl on the Train', 'The Woman in the Window' and 'Gone Girl'.


277 pages.

This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle via Amazon or free on kindle unlimited (at time of review) which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 4 /5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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The audiobook was great; good narrator. The story was average, at best. I did like parts of it, though. Sarah and Kirk were married. Something bad happened to Jeremy, Kirk’s friend, when they were teens. This is the story of how Sarah came to know and about what happened in the past… mostly. Clarice, Stephanie and Gavin were all part of the story… and I liked Gavin the least. There were things that were put in the story that could have been left out, or could have been tied in better… like Stephanie’s part.

Overall, I enjoyed the audiobook. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy. 3 stars

I really liked how this book started off. A main problem, a few storylines melding together, and multiple POV. I also love an unreliable narrator and this book definitely has one!

Unfortunately, the more I got to know the characters and the problem the more I became disinterested. The story just couldn't hold my attention. It's tricky with thrillers because I know a certain amount of belief needs to be suspended, but there were too many times I felt this story took unrealistic turns and read more like a soap opera with over dramatic characters. It's a good story for someone looking for a quick read with not much depth.

This audiobook was pretty good but I’d say not enough “thrill” and not many surprising twists and turns. There was a mystery to it that I enjoyed. After the climax, the story and epilogue seem to drag. I also don’t think the title of book fits the story much. The narrator was really awesome.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy of the audiobook. #214palmerstreet #netgalley

This is one of those books that I neither loved nor loathed ... I liken it to one of those films that's not brilliant but you have to watch it to see how it ends but you soon forget about it.

In summary, it's a story about lies and secrets and one woman's quest to find out the truth and the consequences of her doing so. It starts off well, drops in the middle and gets going again towards the end. There are twists but I found them quite predictable. The characters are an interesting bunch and not particularly likeable and I have to admit that I wasn't particularly upset when one of them met an untimely end!

The narrator did a good job but I just found this book not particularly memorable or 'thrilling' but many have so give it a go.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

Honestly, I am torn on this book. Ambivalent.

Sarah is suffering from a head injury. She knows she has fuzzy recall, and her judgment is less than trustworthy, yet she trusts a physical therapist she barely knows over her husband whom she knows she has known and loved for some time.

Her husband, Kirk is a whiny, clingy, smothering, needy wuss. Every time he was in the story I wanted to scream at him to grow a pair.

The jumps in time do not develop the story or move it forward. It comes across more like a literary contrivance employed simply because it is currently “the done thing.”

McQuestion uses descriptive language well, developing the settings and supporting the storyline. But the storyline doesn’t really deserve the support. It is not engaging or absorbing, the plot is pretty predictable. The characters are THERE, but I would never invite any of them over for dinner.

This book was absolutely great! It had multiple points of view, but it was done in such a way that it was not confusing at all, which I appreciated. It's a thriller novel, so it has some twists and they were great. The narrator's voice and pitch was perfect for the story. I plan to read/listen to more Karen McQuestion books!

From the very beginning this book took off. It caught my attention from the word go. The "who done it" lasted throughout the entire story as each layer was peeled back. Even after you find out a lot of what really went on, there's more. Such a realistic story line and the way it was written makes you feel like it was from your own town or even your own street.

Narrator 3 stars
This narrator was ok.

Story 3 stars
This book was interesting. I didn't particularly love it, but also didn't particularly dislike it. This was slightly predictable, however what I like the best was that Sara wasn't a weak push over female character

Karen McQuestion is a new author for me and, after finishing this audiobook in 2 days because I couldn't put it down, I will definitely be reading more. This is the story about four high school friends, present day, grown and living their lives. Gavin is now the police chief in town, Clarice is still wild and single, Kirk is now happily married to Sarah, and Jeremy has not been heard from. After Sarah is assaulted at her own home, she gets obsessed with finding out why and what secrets Kirk is hiding from her. All is definitely not as it seems. I would just change the chapters narrated by 'her' to the name of the character, 'her' is easily identified and it doesn't add to the story but just adds unnecessary confusion. #Netgalley Apr 2022 Pub Date

Thank you netgalley for the audio book!

While I enjoyed this book - I disliked many of the characters. I did enjoy the twists of the book but I saw the final twist coming for the most part. It wasn’t very exciting, overall!

I'll begin by noting that I am reviewing the Audiobook for 214 Palmer Street, and first and foremost, I thought the narrator did an excellent job.
In fact, I loved everything about this book. It kept me interested from the start, and the premise was different than most mystery/thriller novels, making each twist and turn more surprising and engaging. I thought Karen McQuestion did a great job of pacing and character development, as you could see each character's choices clearly aligning with their background, even if it seemed to be out of the ordinary behavior.
In short, I would love to read more of McQuestion's novels, if they are anywhere near as fascinating as this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture audio for the early listen. Wow what a great mystery/thriller. The author and narrator held my attention to the very end.. Narrator did a wonderful job telling the story giving each character a voice.
Highly recommend!

This book was very hard to get into. So many different characters that I could never really get into. And the gaslighting was annoying to me. I just felt like the story fell flat and failed to grab my attention.

Thanks for Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an enjoyable and engaging story right from the off. The author's approach of jumping between characters and timelines, and even referring to one character simply as "her" so we don't know who she is until close the end, was very well thought out and executed. The story was such that you didn't really know until the end what characters were good/bad, with each of them having flaws of one sort or another, and had several twists to keep you guessing on the way to its conclusion.

The narrator Stacey Glemboski also did a great job voicing both the male and female characters.

Overall a fun read, recommended!

This was an enjoyable and entertaining read. It was fast paced with some twists although a little predictable at times. I liked the dynamics of the group, the long buried secrets and the way Sarah pieced the clues together. I found the motives for the crime and Sarah's reason for investigating to the lengths she did a little weak/far fetched. There were some unexpected emotional moments that tugged at the heart strings. As there were elements I liked and some not so much it was a 3.5* for me.

This book really takes you on a journey. In the beginning, it leads you to believe that this book is going to be one thing, one mystery that you get to solve along with the main character. Getting new information and clues from the different points of view. By the middle it slows down a little bit, it was kind of like digging through sludge but with the promise that underneath it was something you were going to really enjoy. While its going slow, it changes course completely without you even realizing it. You get a new mystery, an even bigger one. We get more information from different people. By the end, it was a whirlwind. You feel like your head is turning every which way to make sure you didn't miss anything. I couldn't stop listening.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for gifting me an audio ARC of this mystery novel by Karen McQuestion, skillfully narrated by Stacey Glemboski. 3.5 stars rounded up!

Someone hit Sarah in the back of the head with a rock in the home she shares with her husband, Kirk, causing a massive head injury. At home recovering, Sarah keeps discovering things that she doesn't quite remember. Does her husband know something she doesn't?

I think it's best going into this book with as little knowledge as possible. That being said, I was a bit confused listening to this book trying to figure out who was who in the beginning, because there is a "her" narrator and a "now and then" timeline. But that could be just me. This is a mystery in two timelines, focused on Sarah, Kirk, Clarice (Sarah's coworker), and Gavin (Kirk's childhood friend).

Narrator did an admirable job voicing both male and female voices.