I was hopeful this story would be an introduction to a new series to look forward to. Smith did not disappoint.

This is not a curl-up on a rainy day and enjoy a fast read. It takes some time and dedication to go through as some of the details of the trials of the storm almost seem to drag along. But they contribute to the entire story and since it takes place in a flood, flood experiences are to be expected.

Fiona is a good character. She is a good, but young cop with a future in the force. She is well-developed and stays true to form throughout. Her approach to the situation is very “procedural cop story” in the middle of a massive storm and flood. It worked well. Smith conveyed the tensions of the characters well and built appropriate suspense.
I really enjoyed this one.

A great thriller who done it! A killer is amongst them in a small town that has had to come together in the midst of a flood! There’s nowhere to go and no one you can trust! A gripping read that will keep you guessing.

Fiona is a police detective taking a break from work by staying in her childhood home with her aunt. This small village/farm is getting flooded, they all seek safety in one of the neighbors' houses that’s at a safe high level. This is when Fiona finds out along the way another neighbor is murdered. Who did it?

I found this book a bit repetitive and slow, so it was a tough one for me.

The Flood is a great detective audio thar had me huesding right to the end.
Although it took me a few chapters to really get into it, I still enjoyed the story.
Great characters that we get to know really well. A bit of insight into each one that definitely let's us see why they do and say what they do.
The narrator, for me was great and held the story throughout. I would certainly listen to them again. A narrator really can make an audio stand out that little bit more.
An all round good read test us certainly worth a few of your reading/ listening hours.

Loved this audio book would definitely recommend it to my bookish friends. Really enjoyed the plot development

A thrilling murder mystery based in a small rural community during a historic flood. Fiona MacLeish a police officer on leave from her job has found herself in the middle of a murder. Tasked with finding out who did it she brings us into the lives of the people trying to survive the flood.
This story kept me guessing every turn. Even delving into the lives of everyone involved I still had no idea who the murderer was. I thoroughly enjoyed this book it kept my interest and was easy to follow. I can't wait to see what adventures Fiona finds herself in next!

Great detective novel! Kept me guessing the whole time and how everything tied together so nicely was fantastic. The addition of the flood making everything that much more intense made story a great read. Will look for more from detective Fiona! Thanks to net galley for the audio!

Just want to give NetGalley and Bookouture a big thank you for the opportunity to listen to the ARC for this book!

Fiona is a police detective that decided to take some time off and visit her childhood home and stay with her Aunt. Then a big storm named Odin begins to flood this tiny town and her and the aunt pack up as much as they can and drive to safety. Before leaving she goes to check on her neighbors when she makes an awful discovery that puts her back in police mode to find out the culprit of this act.
When Fiona and her Aunt try to leave town, they find out there’s no way and decide to hunker down in a neighbors house that’s above the supposed flood level. But now she’s realizing that the killer could be in that very house with her!
I honestly expected more suspense and all out of this book as I was reading it since it was a nurse rmystery but I felt like it had some repetitive and way too descriptive of certain things that made me lose interest at certain points.
I did, however, enjoy the one point of view that was had by Fiona and the “who done it” of the story as I wasn’t able to guess who actually did it. I will end up reading the next book and giving it a shot though.
Thank you again for the chance to listen to this book, I look forward to the next one!

3.5 ⭐️
The Flood starts out with Scottish police officer, Fiona MacLeish, finding the body of her aunt’s neighbor. It’s the beginning of a devastating storm and she needs to get herself and her aunt to a safer place. This is not an easy task because there is a very dangerous flood covering the entire area. They end up sheltering at a neighbor’s house, along several other town residents. Though they don’t trust each other in the least, they must work together to not only survive the storm, but to figure out who the murderer is.

This book is a very slow burn and a lot of it seemed drawn out & repetitive. The majority of the characters were unlikeable. However, I enjoyed it regardless. I really liked Fiona and can’t wait to see what will happen in the next book. Aunt Mary was also a great character as well. I hope she at least makes some appearances in future books.

I was lucky enough to listen to the great narration in the audiobook. The Scottish accent added so much to the ambience of the story. I would definitely recommend it over reading the book just for that.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for providing me with and advanced copy of this audiobook.

I was very interested in the blurb for this book; A police officer concealing her identity while stranded amongst a group of neighbors and one of them is a murderer.

It was an intriguing read and the beginning of the story held my attention right away. G. N. Smith does a great job of introducing Fiona who is a very capable and like-able character. She is quick thinking and fact oriented. She needs to be in order to outwit the killer and prevent any further murders.

The story was easy to follow until I came to the very detailed descriptions of Fiona’s physical movements. Maybe it was because I was listening to the audio but I just couldn’t understand what was happening. I kept rewinding and trying to picture the sequences in my mind but I just couldn’t grasp them. I was lost after that because the book is quite full of detailed paragraphs of how the water and people moved in the storm. I feel like The Flood would make a great action film though!

The other thing I had a hard time with was that Fiona voices every thought she has and why. There are detailed explanations to why or why not so-and-so was the killer. This happened repeatedly with the same suspects as she wavered back and forth in her suspicions.

The ending was very abrupt. As I was waiting for the next sentence the narrator let me know if I wanted to know more I could find out in the sequel. That was kind of funny.

Something I learned that I didn’t know was what an Aga is. Because of the narrators accent I had to guess the spelling but I found out it’s a traditional Scottish stove. There are plenty Aga images on Google and I found them pretty interesting.

All in all, it was a fun read but I wish I could have understood more of what was happening.

Many thanks to Bookouture Audio and G. N. Smith for the arc via NetGalley.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley and author G. N. Smith and narrator Helen McAlpine for the pleasure of listening to audio advance copy The Flood. This is book one in the Fiona MacLeish series and I am so looking forward to the next two books. When Fiona is at her aunt’s home a terrible storm hits and the floodwaters rise cutting off their neighbors and them from the outside world. This would not have been a disaster except Fiona has just found a dead body and the man’s wife is missing. So now she and her Aunt Mary are stuck at a neighbors home with friends but one of them is a murderer. Highly recommend this book and I am eagerly looking forward to reading the next one.

I just can’t go on. His story line didn’t catch me at all. I’m sorry I can’t continue to listen. I’m not sure if it’s me and it’s just not my thing. But I stopped not even half way through.
I wish all the best.

The Flood. A whodunit with a small cast of characters trapped in a house together during a mad flood. It got a solid 3 stars from me. I stuck with it til the end but still wasn't invested in anyone. I was left feeling like I didn't know enough about anyone and the Killer was revealed based on info unveiled right at the end. There was almost a twist but it seemed to just fizzle out into nothing! I did not even develop any interest in the protagonist!
I listened to the audiobook and found the narrator slightly off-putting with a gaspy delivery and audible breaths after sentences.
SPOILER
The story was a bit naff, and people kept referring to how one of the men must have done it, like women keep an eye on the 3 men. I was like, yeah come on then throw us a curveball and make Aunty or Esme or Susie the killer. But no, it was indeed one of the men. Very meh, won't bother with the rest of the series.

The Flood is a great detective thriller from a new author and a great start to what I believe will be many other books and stories.

Fiona is a police officer on leave, and is supposed to be relaxing with her Aunt. Instead a wild storm has come through their small farming community with lives and homes at stake.

The beginning grabbed me - a heroine trying to save neighbors only to discover a death, and then trying to escape the rapidly rising waters.
However there is a lot in the middle of this story that could have been left out. A lot of repetitive descriptions or flashes to the past - without these the story would have been just as enticing and probably more fast paced.

With a small group of neighbors harboring in one farmhouse, the question is - who is the killer, and how many people will be lost along the way?

I really enjoyed the main character and her aunt. Looking forward to the next book!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Pub date: 22 September 2023

Lovely narration of this gripping thriller. Such a painful book. Nice people die. Sad people left behind and a murderer who becomes so through their own pain. Definitely worth a read and I will be looking forward to the next in the series

For anyone that understands the reference, this very much gives ‘Sweet Home’ vibes with the almost locked room mystery and with the group of neighbours getting a bit distressed because of the storm and looking for a plan and someone to follow.

I found the setting and writing nice, but I didn’t really care for any characters that weren’t the Fiona, and her aunt. I felt like the circle of neighbours were underdeveloped so I didn’t care if they caught the killer or not, the thrilling part was Fiona against the clock which you would expect for the setting of a threading storm, but I didn’t feel the thrill of a murder on the loose. Perhaps having everyone made aware of the first murder would have built more tension as everyone would be suspicious of everyone and even start forming alliances à la Walking Dead.

I really wanted to like this book, but it just never grabbed me. The narrator's accent was so strong. I wonder if that made a difference in my connection to the characters and the story.

A new detective series ahead!

Fiona is amidst a God's act, but needs to solve a murder AND escape the flood. The book got excited at times, though some of the issues were wrapped up unnecessarily quick and others were described unnecessarily long. Like, we were reading about a voting for an entire chapter and a half, but then the murder itself was solved in an almost the same length!

I got confused reading about the characters sometimes - I feel that the villagers were not detailed enough. They all sounded the same to me at times.

The entire book gave no clues on the mystery - everything was explained at the end of the book, so do not try to solve it yourselves.

There were repetitive sections in the book, they were so distinctive that could not but bother me - why Fiona decided to become a detective, how one of the villagers spoke less so it was worth listening to him, etc.

The saving the calf and cleaning the fallen tree branch operations were interesting and so well described, they gave me goose bumps.

Now, I guess we will have the continuance of the series, hoping to find out what exactly happened to Fiona's family.

Good luck!

I'm always intrigued by a new crime thriller series, and this one sounded right up my street - a remote and atmospheric setting, a weather hazard causing in a locked-room-type situation. Give me all the tension!

And The Flood certainly lives up to its promise. The atmosphere is great, the flood helps build the mystery up at a steady pace, and the characters are easy to engage with. Fiona is a strong lead, too, so it was great to get to know her and see how she would unravel this investigation.

It's more of a cosy mystery than an intense thriller with too many twists and turns, but there was still a lot that I was interested to find out and a few surprises thrown in along the way, too, so I enjoyed it all the same.

And although I did find the story a little repetitive at times, I think this is the case for many debut authors who soon learn to condense their ideas, so I definitely look forward to moving on to book two!

The audiobook version of this book was also really good. The narration held my interest throughout, and Helen McAlpine does a fantastic job!

Fantastic! Fiona has her own family heartbreak and the scene was set perfectly for more of her backstory as the series unfolds.

In this gripping plot, Fiona is on leave when she is trapped with the other villagers, as a flood sweeps through. I really enjoyed how Fiona used her policing skills to carefully and subtly observe everything and everyone around her as bodies are discovered and she pieces together motives and evidence, knowing the killer is right there with them.

G. N. Smith’s detailed descriptions of the crime and procedural elements of the story were brilliantly executed. Characters were well developed, particularly Fiona and Aunt Mary and I had rest liked them both.

Fast paced and super tense, this story is punchy from start to finish and I look forward to more of this series.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, G. N. Smith and Bookouture for an ARC in return for an honest review.