Acquired Audiobook By: I started to listen to audiobooks in [2016] as a way to offset my readings of print books whilst noting there was a rumour about how audiobooks could help curb chronic migraines as you are switching up how your reading rather than allowing only one format to be your bookish choice. As I found colouring and knitting agreeable companions to listening to audiobooks, I have embarked on a new chapter of my reading life where I spend time outside of print editions of the stories I love reading and exchange them for audio versions. Through hosting for the Audiobookworm I’ve expanded my knowledge of authors who are producing audio versions of their stories whilst finding podcasters who are sharing their bookish lives through pods (ie. AudioShelf and Talking Audiobooks; see my sidebar). Meanwhile, I am also curating my own wanderings in audio via my local library who uses Overdrive for their digital audiobook catalogue whilst making purchase requests for audio CDs. It is a wonderful new journey and one I enjoy sharing – I am hoping to expand the percentage of how many audios I listen to per year starting in 2018.

I received a complimentary audiobook copy of “One to Watch” via Audiobookworm Promotions who is working directly with the author Rachel Amphlett in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

What held me in the throes of “Will to Live” and why I was itching for the next novel:

This soon became a rather complex arc where it truly foretold the author’s intricate way of giving us a riveting story in which to feel enthralled. She even gave Kay and Adam more heartache of concern over their personal safety as much as the boundaries between private life and public service. The further we dig into the series itself, the more alarming it is to realise what Kay is facing in her career – how sometimes there are people who working against you even when your simply trying to do right by those your entrusted to protect.

What was really cagey was someone was trying to drive Kay absolutely crazy by how they were ribbing her already vexed angst with confounding disbelief how records were consistently being re-arranged, re-written and edited. The records in question were connected to the case which had placed Larch on her trail – where nothing she did was good enough and everything she did was a new reason to give her grief from Larch. This was a nod towards how electronic records are too easily erased or altered outright without having a hard-copy to back-up the proof of what they contained originally.

As you move through the series itself, you start to observe the cascading effect of everything – how what you know from one installment feeds into the second and I am sure will continue to carry forward until the dramatic conclusion of where Kay Hunter finds herself in opposition with an unknown foe. It is this thrilling element of unknowns which keeps you hitched inside the series itself but you can’t forsake each of the individual cases to pick up on the subtle clues being added to the back-story of why Kay Hunter is being professionally attacked and challenged.

You become invested in her life and the lives of her detectives under her – especially when the new recruits to her team like Gavin and Carris prove they are not just incredibly brave and dedicated to the job but they give her a new hope to hang tight to prove one way or the other, she is not at fault for whatever is coming down in the future against her. In that regard, the last time I was caught up in a conspiracy against a lead character, it was when Beckett couldn’t sort out what was the truth about her mother’s death on Castle. I have more hope for Kay Hunter to have a better ending than Beckett had herself as Castle simply derailed after awhile.

Right now – I feel hungry for more of the series – as I have yet to truly solve one of the cases ahead of Kay and her team! Each time I think I have it sorted, Ms Amphlett happily throws me for a loop, adds another twist or gives me something to chew on whilst I wonder ‘how did I not see that coming?’ – she’s a brilliant plotter when it comes to a Contemporary Thriller – as you can’t help but listen to her stories straight through – not that I had the luxury of this as I had to break it into a few different listening sessions – but she wills you to want to do that! The absences keep the intrigue level at a high height of curiosity and by the time you listen to the ending chapters, your musefully happy for tucking into the Kay Hunter series! Literally, your mind swirls with everything you learn and you can only hope in the end, Kay and her colleagues can walk away like your favourite tv serial characters.

-quoted from my review of Will to Live

Similar to The X-Files, I have the tendency to truly hone in on the sub-plot which to me feels like the entire arc and anchour to a series – in the vein of how the conspiracy surrounding Kay Hunter and the person(s) who are attempting to dishonour her are what are motivating me forward after each installment. I am appreciating the tightly conceived mysteries threading through the series, but there is a moment of curiosity solely keen on finding out who is marking Kay Hunter as one to take-down when by all appearances, she’s a dedicated detective committed to her job and to her husband. She takes the cases seriously and she enjoys the bantering in the office with her fellow colleagues but she could do without the added stress she’s subjected to by Larch (the one character I wouldn’t trust if I were her).

As you move further into the series, you start to see new layers of interest towards this angle of theory surrounding Kay; each piece in of itself is a telling component of the building climax, wherein your unsure if your fully prepared for the ‘ending’ of how it will either come fully out into the surface or if there will be a showdown – as similar to what I voiced before, it does echo the issues Det. Beckett felt crushed under (ie. Castle) whilst it also echoes the trials and adversities of Rizzoli & Isles – these are fiercely strong women in law enforcement stories who are dealing with incredibly difficult issues from a nemesis they never quite understand until they can sort out their identity. Sadly, even then, sometimes the truth leads to more questions than a resolution.

I was contemplating where this was going to take us before I entered One to Watch – as I knew the titles had a duality of purpose – except, in this one regard, I was hoping it might leant itself to drawing us closer to the conspiracy rather than being the bridge clue into the mystery. I have a feeling when I finish my listening of Hell to Pay, I am going to be in withdrawal for Call to Arms!

One to Watch

Sophie Whittaker shared a terrifying secret. Hours later, she was dead.

Detective Kay Hunter and her colleagues are shocked by the vicious murder of a teenage girl at a private party in the Kentish countryside.

A tangled web of dark secrets is exposed as twisted motives point to a history of greed and corruption within the tight-knit community.

Confronted by a growing number of suspects and her own enemies who are waging a vendetta against her, Kay makes a shocking discovery that will make her question her trust in everyone she knows.

Places to find the book:

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ASIN: B075ZY63PY

on 3rd October, 2017

Length: 7 hours, 27 minutes (unabridged)

Published by: Saxon Publishing

Order of the Kay Hunter Detective series:

Scared to Death | Book One (see also Review)

Will to Live | Book Two (see also Review)

One to Watch | Book Three

Hell to Pay | Book Four | Synopsis

Call to Arms | Book Five | Synopsis

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