Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!
I have read a couple other books by Cole Baxter and have enjoyed them, same for this! The overall storyline was intriguing- a young girl who had lost her father at 18 married to a wealthy and powerful older man. Seems straightforward and like so many other books out there - but no! The twists and turns throughout were amazing! As I read I was surprised to find out just how deceitful and manipulative her husband was! And the final reveal at the end I hadn’t expected at all! This was really good and I read it one sitting!

The story begins on the 5th wedding anniversary of Katherine and Tom Morris. They have just finished eating out at an expensive restaurant 2 hours from home, where Tom, a well-known attorney, spares no expense, purchasing the finest bottle of wine to celebrate.. On their way home, Tom is driving too fast, and has had too much to drink. He doesn’t see the stop sign… Katherine wakes up and sees Tom outside of the car. From the window, he pulls her over to the drivers side, telling her he is helping her out of the car. The pain is so intense, she passes out again. The next time she wakes up, the police and ambulance are there. Another woman was killed in the crash, and Katherine overhears Tom telling them that Katherine was driving. Now she must prove that it was Tom, and not her who was driving.

This is a story of a narcissist and his flying monkeys gaslighting and abusing their power to manipulate the system. Tom furthermore convinces everyone that the crash that resulted in the death of an innocent woman was the fault of Katherine—who was drunk and was the one behind the wheel. The story demonstrates corruption and abuse of power in a small town.

I thought this book was pretty creative. I listened to the audio version narrated by Stephanie Cannon. She did an amazing job. I was thoroughly impressed with her ability to bring so many different characters to life. She and the author, Cole Baxter worked well together, creating an easy, entertaining read that flowed well with a great ending climax. The only thing I didn’t like was that there was a bit of repetition and some of the dialog was a little off. Other than that, I really enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the ARC!

Cole Baxter did it again! OMG I almost had this finished in a day because I didn't want to stop listening. Stephanie Cannon did an amazing job narrating this book. I found her voice to be soothing and kept me interested in the story. There were moments in this book you will want to hit so many people in the head for how dumb these people were acting. The husband was totally delusional and made me so angry. This was an intense psychological thriller. There are a couple of twists, one I saw coming and one I did not. This was entertaining from beginning to end. I cant' recommend this book enough and other Cole Baxter books. I alway have a good time when I read his books.


Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for allowing me to listen to the ARC for my honest opinion.

2.5 ⭐️ When I first began reading The Anniversary, I was completely hooked. It started out strong, with all the makings of being a great suspense/thriller. Unfortunately, as the book progresses, I found myself enjoying it less and less, largely because of how overly-exaggerated everything felt. At points that should have felt suspenseful, I found myself very frustrated (mainly with the characters and the complete lack of communication). The whole plot felt so unrealistic, making it hard to feel connected to the characters or story. That said, it’s definitely a very quick and easy read that I finished over two days.

Thank you to NetGalley, Cole Baxter, and Bookouture for the e-ARC and audio ARC! All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookoture for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I like domestic thrillers and psychological thrillers and this was an enjoyable mix. Catherine and her husband Tom is celebrating their anniversary with some drinks at a restaurant. However the night take a disastrous turn when Tom collides with another car, ending in a life lost and Catherine on the hospital. She’s lucky, she has no major injuries, but why is Tom saying she was the one driving?

In the weeks after the accident Tom is acting more and more restrictive and dominating and Catherine is starting to get scared. He lies to everyone and locks her up in their house. A terror regime has begun and she’s all alone. How can she escape her abusive and dangerous husband when everyone think she’s the crazy one?

First off, this story is illogical. It’s not really believable, but I think that’s why I liked it so much? Admittedly the story got a bit repetitive, but I found it amusing nonetheless. You’d think the abusive husband part would be an overused trope, but the way this story was written where the husband so obviously was the bad guy, was actually refreshing. I think it can be a hit or miss book, but if you enjoyed books like «Behind Closed Doors» By B.A. Paris, I’d say, give it a try.

3,5 ⭐️

Wow! This thriller most certainly was action packed!

Yes, it is true that this storyline is not entirely logical or realistic. I feel that it goes way beyond unrealistic, actually. For me, that is what made this story fun. Normally, I prefer a book to be somewhat believable, however for some reason this story just worked for me. It kept me on the edge of my seat. I was able to complete it in a few days. It definitely goes from 0 to 100 very quickly in terms of pace, which is why I think it's entertaining. There are no long monologues or useless chapters to get to the action.

All in all, it was a fun listen!

Unfortunately this audio book wasn't for me. It did start off really well for the first few chapters but went down hill from there for me. The narrator did a good job going between characters but it didn't hook me and found it a struggle to keep listening but got there in the end! Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this audio arc in exchange for my honest review. I would rate this 2.75 stars.

Initially this story had me hooked. Loving couple having an anniversary dinner, when the evening goes wrong after a car accident-causing death occurs on the way home. What is even more shocking is the husband accuses the wife of driving recklessly causing the wreck when the wife knows for fact she was not. The betrayal and question of why is evident right away.
Apart from the main plot this storyline was really lacking the twist, turns and suspense of a good thriller. Very early on the entire plot is delivered to you right off the get-go. There was no real effort to hide any of the details that would make this story suspenseful.
The story overall is unrealistic and illogical.

I received the ARC Audiobook of this one and overall, the narration was fine. The narrator did not portray huge emotion but was not monotone either.
My 3 stars may be your 5 stars so you may enjoy this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The latest book by Cole Baxter with so many twists and turns in this fast-paced domestic thriller. The suspense level is mind-blowing and will keep you guessing for the entire book. It was a hard one to put down – it was action-packed and exciting.

It was an interesting storyline. Could have gone in a million different directions. Entertained me on a long car drive.

I recently finished The Anniversary written by Cole Baxter and narrated by Stephanie Cannon.

Stephanie Cannon does a great job with narration. I spent several chapters trying to think of who her voiced reminded me of - when she was narrating for the wife - Anna Faris when she played Erica on Friends!!

The story was mediocre. I really liked the beginning of the book but then felt like it started dragging out. In my opinion, after the first couple of chapters, it was not very “thrilling.” Overall, meh.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the advanced audio listen in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.25/5 ✨

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture Audio, and Cole Baxter for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I cannot stress to you how fast-paced this book is. I listened to the 8+ hrs. audiobook in one sitting because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. In the beginning, you may think it is the typical wife and husband at odds trope but there is more. Tom shows us his Ph.D. in gaslighting and corruption while Catherine finds her strength in more ways than one both in herself and through others who you may not expect.

This is my first Cole Baxter title and it WILL NOT be my last.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Anniversary by Cole Baxter, an audiobook narrated by Stephanie Cannon is a completely gripping, nerve-wracking, breathtaking, suspenseful, and addictive psychological thriller packed with manipulation and gaslighting! This thriller will keep you on the edge of your sweet, will trigger your anxiety, will make you wish to through that book in the corner (be careful if you reading on a Kindle device), and sometimes scream from frustration... All possible emotions you need when reading/listening to a good thriller! There is one unexpected twist at the end that made me gasp for air as I would never guess it! All and all, a fantastic book! Some parts really annoyed me at the same time I do understand that they are necessary for the sake of thriller.

I can't believe that Stephanie Cannon was the only narrator! wow! She completed at least 3 people's jobs! And swinging from one to another character by changing the voice and intonation... you just be professional in your job!

Romantic fifth-anniversary dinner turns into a nightmare. Their car is crushed, someone is dead and Tom states loud and clear that Catherine was a driver... There is no more life that Catherine knew before. Finally true light shines on the stage full of manipulation and gaslighting. There is no one to trust! There is no way to prove what is a lie and what is true...

This is a masterpiece of gaslighting, manipulation, selfishness, power, and delusion of God complex!

I was lucky to complete the first part as an e-book and the second part as an audiobook and both were equally amazing! So you can't choose wrong!

Thank you, NetGalley, Bookouture, and Bookouture Audio for spoiling me with both versions of this book!

This is a scary thriller. Some you think, that could never happen. This one, it actually could. The anniversary couple, Kathryn and Tom, is celebrating 5 years of marriage at a swanky restaurant. As her husband is buying a bottle of the most expensive champagne, she begins to notice something is off. They leave the restaurant, Tom driving, and an accident ensues. Kathryn wakes up in the hospital and finds out that her husband told the police that she was driving!!!

This was such a good audiobook. I was in a trance the entire time. Bravo to Stephanie Cannon. Amazing job with the narration.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture Audio for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The devastating and life-changing fallout of marrying a man with a messiah complex, in a place that's less small town and more small cult.
Absolutely Bonkers (but good).

2.5 stars

Five years of marriage seem to be built on five years of lies. What was meant to be a nice dinner out for their anniversary turns into a car crash and betrayal, as the truth begins to unfold.

The concept is quite preposterous: framing someone for a car accident when injuries and the state of the car could easily prove otherwise? And I’m afraid it got even more far fetched from there…

The story progressed at a decent pace but it was quite repetitive and it took a while to see any of Tom’s motives, although you certainly see a string of terrible things he did and is continuing to do. It did not feel like a mystery to solve: more like a soapie drama and descriptive tale of Catherine’s abuse and gaslighting at Tom’s hand. At the 70% mark I was just begging it to land.

The narration was fantastic and the performance was so good you could forget you were listening to a production, and just get lost in the story. With all sincerity, I would have given up if it hadn’t been for the performance. The different voices for the characters were superb. I would definitely listen to another audiobook with Stephanie Cannon as the narrator.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for this audiobook ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I'm not sure where to begin with this one...

I'm not an avid thriller/mystery reader, so I do ask a lot if the genre if I do read/listen to them. I did want to find out what happened in this book and so it was easy to keep listening, but in the end I did want a bit more. If you are a thriller/mystery lover, then you will definitely enjoy this.

There are a lot of plot holes/unrealistic plot points in this book which were sometimes frustrating. I also think the beginning wasn't very strong (for me it did get better as it went on).

I would read this author again, but I'm afraid I can only give this a 2 star as it was a very standard (and fairly unrealistic) book as a whole.

The Anniversary, an audio arc from Netgalley, was ok. The "ok" reviews are the hardest to write. When a book is stellar and knocks it out of the park, it is easy to rave and fawn and want to tell how much it impacted you as a reader. A one star rating is equally easy because those negative emotions also, frequently, need to be shared. But, a middle of the road, ok book is ...... ok.

The publisher described this domestic thriller as one fans of Freida McFadden, Daniel Hurst and K.L. Slater. That is true. Each of those authors also writes ok domestic thrillers, so if they are your vibe, Cole Baxter will be a welcome addition to your bookshelf.

In summary, the plot involves a couple celebrating their anniversary at a restaurant, alcohol, an accident, gaslighting, inept police work, over involved neighbors......a lot of stuff, none of which was fully developed, believable or compelling. Baxter leaves so many plot holes, and expects the reader to switch off their brain (hello, bruises showing the passenger side bruises? Maybe test blood alcohol levels? Maybe remove the wife from the clutches of her husband officer who says he knows who was driving????).......when reading, I know not everything is real, but, as a reader, please don't ask me to suspend every single basis in reality.

I'm sorry for the harsh criticism, and I've read Baxter before, and will read him again, but this one was a miss for me.

This was the most ridiculous book I have ever listened to; yet I couldn't stop listening to it. The hospital would immediately know she wasn't driving. And what's with the lady trying to kill her and then just stopping and running away. There is no way this would happen....the whole neighborhood trying to beat her to death?! Just ridiculous plot.

I take absolutely no pleasure in leaving a bad review, I really didn’t enjoy the writing the plot or the narration unfortunately so I’m going to just say it clearly wasn’t for me. I found the story too easy to pick apart, the charges against our protagonist were far too easily debunked. Take it from me, I’ve had a terrible car accident. I obviously was not the driver, but injuries proved that immediately at hospital. Not for me. Sorry, I hope others love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.