Member Reviews
The Narrator by K.L. Slater is a quick and twisty read that will delight the author's most devoted fans.
Eve is a single mother to Scarlet and is working as an audiobook narrator for famed author Philippa Roberts, who has gone missing after finishing the latest installment of her popular Tower series. As Eve begins to read, she cannot help but feel that Philippa is trying to communicate something to her by way of a coded message within the novel. Could deciphering the clues help to unravel the mystery of the author's disappearance, or has Eve unwittingly opened a Pandora's box that will leave herself and her daughter completely vulnerable to an unknown danger?
This is a fresh, clever, and perfectly executed narrative that will have you racing to the end in delicious anticipation. 4.5 stars
Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC.
Mystery and intrigue…secrets…red herrings…books…authors…family and friends…this is a cannot put down novel with characters who come alive on the pages..The story does move slowly but comes to a surprising ending. This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review..
Wow! KL Slater delivers again. Hits this one out of the park. I just love her writing style as well as every twist and turn. Such great reveals with a magic touch. Perfectly developed characters that kept me flipping pages into the night.
Highly recommend!!
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book
The Narrator previously released as an audiobook exclusive on Audible. Now, the Narrator will be published on January 6th 2023 as an E-book as well as on paperback.
A huge thank you for K. L. Slater as well as Bookouture for allowing me to read, review and rate the book.
As an avid Slater-fan, I have read all of her books (well, except one!), I naturally had listened to the Audible exclusive audiobook of this book. So one could say I re-read (or: revisisted) the Narrator in bookform for this review.
The Narrator is a very Slater-esque book - fast-paced with psychological twists, turns and suspense. In short: a prime example of the mastery of psychological thrillers.
The core idea and plot of the book is simple - and thankfully so, as it works so brilliantly. It does not get lost in the pages, it is present as the story unfolds. The book will keep the reader on their toes from the beginning to the very end.
I absolutely loathe when books are marketed as 'a page turner', but, that what this book was - a page turner! This is a strong recommendation - especially if you're new to K. L. Slater's books.
This was an unusual thriller with two great main characters - author Phillipa and her audiobook narrator Eve. Phillipa has been hugely successful with her detective book series however she mysteriously disappeared ten months ago. Eve had a difficult time when Phillipa disappeared as it came in amongst her dad dying tragically and her marriage disintegrating which badly affected her mental health and stopped her working for Philippa’s publisher. When a hidden manuscript of Phillipa’s is found it gives Eve the opportunity to start moving forward however when she is accidentally sent the original unedited manuscript it compels her to look into Phillipa’s disappearance but it soon becomes clear someone doesn’t want her to. This had some fantastic characters within the publishers as well as a creepy super fan, Eve’s brittle mum and Eve’s domineering ex husband. This had a twist I genuinely did not see coming leading to an unexpected conclusion, 9/10
As always with this author a creepy tale which will keep the reader on the edge of there seat.
Red herrings galore and i read long into the night.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher.
This is a thriller in the true sense of the word.
The story is a good psychological thriller about a audiobook narrator who becomes entangled in an authors disappearance, the disappearance is way more complex than originally seems and we discover more and more layers to the story as it continues, as always with this author there are lots of twists, turns and red herrings and a reveal that I hadn’t guessed, story wise I really enjoyed it
As always with this author a intriguing and really well written read
A twisty road of deception that starts with a bang and ends with an explosion!
An author, an assistant, a narrator, and an obsessive book club fan collide in this thrills-by-the-minute twisty psychological suspense thriller—THE NARRATOR by the "queen" of thrills, K. L. Slater.
Eve, the narrator, and her daughter, Scarlet, are caught in the cross-fires keeping you guessing to the final jaw-dropping conclusion. The narrator's ex-husband and his new girlfriend Saskia are also players in this web of deceit and lies.
How far would you go to produce another book in a series?
10 months earlier. The latest installment of the best-selling Tower series is set to receive the smoking gun award for the crime fiction award of the year. Years of hard work and the ultimate payoff.
However, the famous novelist, Philippa Roberts does NOT make it to the award ceremony.
She has disappeared. Was she kidnapped? Where is the author? Her readers are distraught. Why leave on this night?
Global bestselling author Philippa is married to Flo and appears a manuscript has suddenly reappeared. A secret book? Where did it come from? The 10th in the series will be published even though the author is MIA. She wrote her first book in the series at age 41 and is now a vast success nine books later.
Eve, a highly successful voice-over actor (crime fiction) and the narrator, is now out of work to no fault of her own. The author has disappeared.
Two years earlier, she was living her perfect life with Hugo and 5 yr old daughter Scarlett. All has changed.
On top of this, more bad news. Her dad disappeared, and they found him at a bottom of a river. Her successful husband, Hugo, was having an affair with Sasyik (her colleague and friend) and is now pregnant and living in a beautiful countryside estate.
Now divorced and out of work, she is forced to move back with her daughter Scarlet to live with her mum while looking for work and working part-time in a bar.
Fate steps in and asks her to narrate a new book by disappeared novelist Philippa Roberts. She is delighted, but at age 36, she must return to London, leaving her daughter with her mum, and come home on the weekends.
However, her nasty ex-husband Hugo uses this time to try and convince her daughter to stay with him in his new Cottage estate and newfound wealth with his new wife, Saskia, who is pregnant. He is manipulative and controlling.
When Eve starts reading the script for the audio, she notices something weird. She knows this author's work because she narrated all the series' books. This book does not seem like the writing of Philippa Roberts. Is she trying to send a hidden message? No readers will accept this.
Chad, a weirdo obsessive fan of the author's book club, knows more than anything about the author and the books. What does he have to do with the missing author?
Even though the investigation is going cold, Eve starts sleuthing and asking questions; however, someone knows she is getting too close, and she starts receiving threats. The book fan club is also after her.
Her dream job has turned into a nightmare, and now she and her daughter are in danger. Someone does not want secrets uncovered. Something is off with Hugo, and Saskia has uncovered some evidence that has to do with her dad and more.
Is Philippa still alive, and if so, did she write the final manuscript or someone else? How do all the pieces fit together in this riveting mystery?
A magnificent, intricately plotted thriller that will have you questioning everyone’s motives until the stunning ending. Distinctive, well-developed characters complement the skillfully paced plot. A nail-biter and cracker of a read. Book readers and authors will devour this one.
A multi-layered, gripping, propulsive page-turner packed with never-saw-that-coming shocks and surprises. A master class in psychological suspense.
A special thank you to #Bookouture and #NetGalley for an e-ARC to read, review, and enjoy! I also purchased the audible book when it came out and enjoyed it, too.
AUDIOBOOK: The ultimate listening experience. Audiobook fans will enjoy this one from Audible Originals My Review. Eve was a strong, relatable, and tenacious protagonist, and enjoyed her character. THE NARRATOR is one of my favorite books by Slater. Narrated by Clare Corbett and Kristin Atherton delivering an outstanding performance and top audiobooks of 2022.
Blog Review Posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars ✨✨✨✨✨
Pub Date: Jan 6, 2022
Top Books of 2023
I love KL Slater so this book went straight to the top of my "next to be read" pile and I was hooked from the start! The story keeps up a good pace throughout and the author does such a good job of not giving a thing away until they're ready to! There are so many twists and turns, right up until the very end and you absolutely do not see them coming. The characters are so well written and relatable and it's written in such a way that you can picture it all as clearly as if you were watching it on TV. There's nothing rushed or forced, no lose ends or plot holes, there aren't clichés or the same old, same old that we've all read a million times before. It's a fresh and new concept which I itsself is so impressive. I've read a lot of authors who's books all have the same feel to them and the characters start to blend into characters from previous books but this isn't the case for KL Slater and The Narrator. I flew through this in a day and loved every second, it absolutely gets under your skin and you just can't put it down until you've found out just what on earth is going on and how it all ties together! Such a masterpiece. This is the kind of book that other thrillers aspire to be! I'd 100% recommend to any thriller fan