I really enjoyed this book. Getting right inside the head of a sociopath and not quite knowing how they will connect with the main story, with a number of possible outcomes teasing us and drawing us in as the tension builds.

Kidnapped Joanna has no inkling of why she is being held and her daughter, Scarlett, is frustrated at her perceived lack of action from her Dad and from the police. I initially struggled to keep track of who was who. and which timeline was which, and because of this, I started the book from the beginning a couple of times. Once I had a grasp on it all, I was in for the ride!

A couple of the twists had me floored! The intricate plot was so clever and really kept me guessing. Every time it look as though it would be resolved and concluded, there was another twist thrown at us - loved it!

My only criticism is that the blurb is very different to the actual story. I listened to the audiobook and Sarah Durham's narration was excellent.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Elisabeth Carpenter and Bookouture Audio for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Oh my goodness this was one twisty thriller, and I was pretty much hooked after the very first chapter. Definitely recommend

This audiobook was nararrated by Sarah Durham and she is an excellent narrator and I've enjoyed every single audio she has done. She makes the chapters so exciting to listen too, she's amazing!
The main story evolved around a family. However the book involved several characters accross different timelines with several twists. Eventually they all came together, like a jigsaw. A really fast paced thriller which had me engrossed and guessing through out, right until the very end, literally!
This was my first book that I had read of Elizabeth's but if her others are like this I will read more!
Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for an ARC in return for an honest review!

Wow--when I tell you that the twists were jaw dropping and fast and furious, I mean they were intense! I never saw the ending coming. Loved the book and the narrator, every bit of it.

3.5+ stars

A fun, twisty thriller. At times it seemed like the story was a bit all over the place, which kept me focused and interested. I enjoyed it!

I loved the writing style and the plot of this book, I just personally wasn’t a fan of the narrator. It was hard to get into at first. However the story was great and I would recommend to others!

Not my kind of story but I could tell the writing was quality. Also not a fan of the narrator so that might have something to do with it.

Phew, what a ride. So many twists and turns. Didn’t see any of it coming.

I really enjoyed the narration. I’m such a sucker for a British accent.

I loved reading all three MCs perspectives. Especially about James and his life before.

I am a massive Lisa Jewell fan, and have been waiting for her newest release for months. I love thrillers and have not found a good one in months, despite reading one a week, until NOW. I have never heard of this author before but now she is on my radar.

Kept me guessing from beginning until end. I rate a book on how entertained I am, and how intrigued. Very happy to find a new author like Lisa Jewell.

One note: i did do a audiobook, and the narrators were hard to understand at times. And i listen to English authors almost exclusively.

I must say I wasn’t that interested in the beginning, thought I had it all figured out; but no I didn’t. Certainly didn’t see that ending coming. A little back and forth with the years, but I think in the long run it was necessary. The narrator was good but sometimes hard to tell who I was now listening to-I did have to go backwards a little to catch again who was supposed to be talking. Female and males all sounded the same. All in all good book and I enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley.

Great job on the Audio. I enjoyed the different narrations of the voices of all the characters. I enjoy a story with multiple POV and timelines. While some parts of the story were really far-fetched, the story came together nicely. However, it was hard to connect with the characters and have the story really grip you. But I still enjoyed the read!

This book was full of twists and turns! Trust no one. What a dark family with secrets you won’t believe. I highly recommend adding this book to your list asap!

This book was a fun and fast read. I do wish the ending was a bit more of a surprise than it was but it was still good.

Joanna goes out for a night of drinks, and to meet someone for the first time - while returning back home she gets kidnapped.
When she wakes up she is really scared, she is scared that the kidnapper might have her husband and daughter too - but why would anyone want to do this to her family!

Meanwhile, at home Joanna's daughter realizes that her mom is missing but her dad is not taking her concern too seriously. When the investigation begins, and all old secrets starts to spill
we are left with so many twisty possibilities and all we can do is pray that Joanna remains safe.

This book was told from multiple POVs and take a bit of time to get used to all the names. Thank you to NetGalley, Elisabeth Carpenter, and Bookouture Audio for approving the audiobook ARC

There is a killer on Smith Street. He's already kidnapped Joanna. Is her daughter next? In the present time, Joanna's husband and daughter are frantically searching for her after they find out she is missing. In a separate past timeline, an anonymous, troubled kid is developing into a serial killer.

This is a very compelling thriller that is full of twists, turns, and surprises that you won't see coming. Everything you think you know will get thrown out the window more than once. It is well narrated by Sarah Durham, who maintains the suspense throughout.

Fans of thrillers will enjoy this twisty, terrifying tale.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Great read! Didn’t want to stop listening to see what twist would happen next! Kept me guessing!! Captivating read!

I really quite enjoyed listening to this book which was enhanced by the excellent narration of Sarah Durham who really brought the story and the characters to life. I haven't read or listened to anything by Elisabeth Carpenter before but if this is an example of her work, I won't be making that mistake again!

The story definitely kept me guessing and it was difficult to know who to trust; it's told from multiple points of view and from different timelines but once I was into the story, I found it quite easy to keep up.

I enjoyed the mystery and intrigue running throughout the book and the unravelling of secrets and lies until the very satisfying ending.

Overall, a really enjoyable audiobook and one I would recommend to lovers of domestic and/or psychological thrillers and my thanks goes to the Author, Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of The Family on Smith Street.

This is an absolute page-turner and had me hooked and sitting at the edge of my seat. This book is very well written and narrated and had me engrossed from the beginning to end. The descriptions were so in depth and vivid that the I had goosebumps all ove while listening to the audiobook and my heart was pounding throughout. I love the title and cover of the book and the narrators did a great job in the audiobook!
I would definitely recommend

BLOG TOUR REVIEW


Review for 'The Family On Smith Street' by Elisabeth Carpenter.



Read and reviewed via NetGalley Shelf and NetGalley for Elisabeth Carpenter, Bookouture publishers, Bookouture Audio, Bookouture anonymous and Hachette UK.



Publication date 14th August 2023.


This is the first book I have read by this author but I'm definitely looking forward to reading more!!


This novel consists of 44 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

'The Family On Smith Street' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Elisabeth discusses animal abuse, bullying and child abuse.


This book is very well written and narrated and had me hook, line and sinker from beginning to end. The descriptions were so in depth and vivid that the hair on my arms was standing on the ends and my heart was pounding throughout. The synopsis, title and cover were perfect for the storyline.

I will admit that this book was a bit of a slow burn to start as the story starts to build up but I would definitely liken it to a rollercoaster ride. You open the page and then you start going up the ride to the peak and then all of a sudden you are thrown over the top with twists and turns with the speed building up and up until it comes to a fantastic ending. The book is written with both multiple protagonists as well as a dual timeline and Elisabeth weaves the different characters and the different timelines together perfectly building up the larger picture for the readers to see what happened in the past to lead to what was going on in the present. The 'present' protagonists are Joanne who is on her way home one night when she gets abducted and Joanne's daughter Scarlett. The past timeline protagonist is Alexander who is a young boy who lives with his grandparents after an event between is alcoholic mother and abusive father. I wont go into more details about the storyline as I don't want to spoil it for future readers. The storyline is ram packed with tension, drama, twists, lies, mystery, friendship, secrets, red herrings and much more! It is a captivating book that once I started listening to it I just couldn't stop and I was playing it through my earphones while doing jobs in the house, in the car when out and even through Alexa until I had devoured it in several hours!! There were several twists throughout the book. Although the book was slow to begin with it did pick up speed quite quickly and I enjoyed the unexpected twists and even the ones that were not a huge surprise. The ending was definitely unexpected and did leave me mind blown and considering how many crime books I have read that is definitely a huge bonus as it is getting harder and harder to surprise me. I am looking forward to seeing what Elisabeth comes up with next!


It is set over 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


This is one of the few books that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. If I listen to a book on audiobook I usually also read the physical book between but I listened to the whole book and I was impressed! I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Sarah Durham who did a great job bringing this story to life. I would listen to it in the car and while walking at any opportunity and Sarah did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices!!! I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Elisabeth but also to listening to more books narrated by Sarah! I have previously listened to several books that Sarah has narrated and she really does do an absolutely amazing job ensuring the story comes to life for the reader. The books I have listened/read that Sarah has narrated and I would highly recommend are The Doctors Wife by Daniel Hurst, The Doctors Widow by Daniel Hurst and The Nurse's Secret by Liz Lawler.

The characters were all realistic and Elisabeth evocative writing skills and Sarah's fantastic narration brought each of them to life leaving you feel that you are standing next to each of them as they are telling you their stories. They each had their own unique personalities that I enjoyed getting to know as the story was being told. My heart went out to Scarlett who is just 17 years old when her mum goes missing. With her mum missing and her fathers strange behaviour she doesn't know what is going on and who is telling the truth. I also felt sorry for Alexander whose past made my heart break. Alexander's mum was an alcoholic and his dad abusive and that is no way for a child to live. I wont say anymore about them. I read Elisabeth's letter at the back of the book (not included in the audiobook version so I always look at all books I listen to via audible to read any letters and notes that the authors have included) and she states that she enjoys 'exploring reasons that make people act the way they do, and the lengths they'd go to, to protect the people they love'. I am exactly the same as Elisabeth in this regards and I think she has definitely included this aspect of her personality in her book perfectly. This is a book filled with lies, twists and one where you have no idea which characters are telling the truth or who are hiding secrets. regardless of whether you love or hate the characters they all work together perfectly to create a tension packed psychological drama that will keep you hooked throughout!


Congratulations Elisabeth on an absolutely gripping true page turner! I am looking forward to reading more of your books!!


Overall a captivating and tension packed intriguing psychological thriller!!!



281 pages. 8 hours 10 minutes via Audible.


This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited, £7.99 in paperback, £16 for the Audiobook and £7.99 for the Audiobook with Audible (at time of review) via Amazon 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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This was an interesting book with some twists and turns through out the story. I was not expecting the ending to be as it is but it made the book better in my opinion.