Last to Know by Elizabeth Adler
My Rating:  3 of 5 Stars

Title:  Last To Know
Author:  Elizabeth Adler
Narrator:  Joe Barrett & Amy Rubinate
Series:  Stand Alone
Length:  Unabridged; 7 hours, 46 minutes (Audio)
Publisher:  Blackstone Audio (Audio);
Published:  July 22, 2014
Source: Publisher via Audiobook Jukebox
Format:  Audiobook; MP3 Download
Genres:  Fiction; Mystery
Subjects:  Detective/Mystery; Families; Murder/Investigation

A killer targets a peaceful lakeside community, and one family is changed forever by secrets and lies. Evening Lake is idyllic, peaceful, with a close-knit community of families who have been coming to this western Massachusetts getaway for decades. Then newcomer Lacey Havnel and her daughter, Bea, move in. They are nothing like the well-heeled families who populate Evening Lake. Mysterious and rough around the edges, they keep to themselves. Detective Harry Jordan sees his lake home as a respite from solving crimes on the streets of Boston. The Osborne family views their cottage as a way to avoid the distractions of life - especially for Wally Osborne, a famous horror writer who seems to need the peace and quiet more than anyone. One night, Harry is walking alongside the lake when the night is rocked by an explosion: the Havnel house is engulfed in a conflagration, and young Bea is seen fleeing, hair on fire, and plunging into the lake. She survives, but her mother does not, and Harry is pulled into the investigation. Unbeknownst to the rest of the community, Diz Osborne, the youngest Osborne son, carries a weighty secret about who else he saw rowing on the lake that night. When it's discovered that Lacey died not from the explosion but from a knife wound, it's soon clear that a murderer is on the loose. And this murderer is poised to strike again and again. Told with Elizabeth Adler's inimitable style, illuminating descriptions, and intricate family dynamics, Last to Know is the definition of a pause-resister.                                                                        ©2014 Elizabeth Adler (P)2014 Blackstone Audiobooks

Amazon | Audible | Author | Barnes & Noble | Books•A•Million | Google Play | Kobo | Publisher

Disclaimer:  This book was provided to me by the Publisher, Blackstone Audio, via Audiobook Jukebox,  in return for an honest and unbiased review.

Please Don't Tell by Elizabeth Adler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Title: Please Don't Tell
Author: Elizabeth Adler
Narrator: Bernadette Dunne
Length: Unabridged; 8 hours 48 minutes
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Published: July 9, 2013
Genres: Fiction; Mystery; Suspense

Visit my review/blog HERE!

My Rating: ✮✮✮✮

Synopsis:
Fen Dexter’s quiet life on the idyllic California coast is interrupted one stormy night when a blood-covered man shows up on her doorstep, claiming to have had a car accident. He tells her that he is on his way to San Francisco to help the police solve the murder of his fiancé. Unable to make it to the hospital because of the storm, he stays the night at Fen’s, and the attraction between them is obvious. The next morning he heads to the hospital where Fen’s niece, Vivi, is an ER doctor. Vivi is treating the most recent target of a serial killer whose signature move is to leave a note saying “Please Don’t Tell” taped across his victims’ mouths. When Fen’s mysterious stranger comes to Vivi to have his wounds stitched she agrees to set him up to talk with the police about his fiancé. Who is this man, really? What does he want with Fen and her family? And will they live long enough to uncover the truth? Told with Elizabeth Adler’s knack for terrific female characters and breathtaking twists, Please Don't Tell will keep you guessing, right up to the end.

My Review:
I listened to the audio version of this book and I really felt like it started out with a bang and held my interest instantly. I was just browsing the online library and the cover intrigued me, so I borrowed it and started it instantly, and loved it from the very beginning.

The narrator did a wonderful job of reading this story and being able to keep me interested throughout the entire novel. She was great at distinguishing herself for each character and made it easy to follow along with who the story was about. She captured emotion and the story with great gusto! I wouldn't hesitate to search out more books read by this narrator just because she did such a wonderful job!

This was my first novel by Elizabeth Adler, and I was very pleased in totality with this book, so I would not hesitate to pick up another Adler book in the future. The Title and the Cover were enough to pull anyone in, and I felt that she did a great job with character and story development. She also did a great job of not letting the romance overwhelm the mystery and suspense, which any mystery/suspense fan will love!

There were a great diverse set of characters, some that I couldn't help but love from our first meeting, and others that I couldn't stand from the first meeting, to a few that I had to learn to tolerate and grew to love by the end! You have Fin with all of her infinite wisdom, Vivi, the charismatic doctor, JC, the ever-so-dependent little sister, Alex, the intriguing intruder, Dr. Ralph, the older psychiatrist and colleague to Vivi, and Brad Merlin, the big, strapping detective.

The only thing that bugged me about the story, was the predictability of it. I had guessed very early on who the killer was, and knew with certainty, who the guilty party was a little over halfway through the book, with my predictions being right. However, even though I was able to predict WHO the killer was, I was surprised at the actions of the killer, as well as the reactions of the remainder of the characters. I do feel that this was a well written story, full of suspense, mystery and intrigue.

That being said, I did enjoy listening to this story, thoroughly enjoyed the narration of the story, and will at some point seek out another Elizabeth Adler novel and most definitely will seek out other works read by Bernadette Dunne!

View all my reviews