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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
What Remains by Wendy Walker
Narrated by Gabra Zackman and Peter Ganim
Warning! Grumpy review incoming!
I hate being a grump but as interesting as this story is and knowing I did not want to put it down until the very end, it also made the grump in me rear its ugly head. Although I did like the male narrator, the female narrator bothered me the entire audiobook. Her voice grated on my ears, both the sound and the inflections, so that got me on the wrong foot with the story.
About the story...it's very interesting and I enjoyed the two stories going on throughout the book. There is Detective Elise Sutton, who works on cold cases with her partner Rowan. Elise is married to Mitch, an excellent father, but on shaky ground when it comes to being a husband. When it comes to taking care of their elementary school girls, though, this couple makes a great team.
The male narrator deals with the "kill room" part of the book. He pops up throughout Elise's story and the two stories are connected but you don't really know exactly how until the end of the book. I think I liked that part of the story (and certainly, the narrator) better than Elise's part of the story. But, without Elise, there would be no book.
When Elise has to take action during a department store shooting, the after effects blast huge holes in her life. Wade Austin, the man she saves from being shot, latches onto Elise in a big way. He inserts himself into her life in every way and Elise foolishly lets him until she comes to her senses and...still lets him...oops. Except on her part it's not an oops, she does so many dumb things on purpose that I lost faith in the character at all.
I really don't enjoy characters that think they know it all, they are the only person who can save situations so they make stupid decisions over and over. That's Elise, she thinks she is the only one who is capable of handling the situations she and everyone connected to her are in. She doesn't even give anyone else a chance to know what's going on, she'll determine their fate by withholding information because she thinks all the men in her life are too dumb to make decisions for themselves. She has no respect for the decision making skills of her partner and her husband. She thinks they are so incapable of sane actions that if they knew what was going on they'd run like rabid, slobbering, brainless cave men maniacs into danger and whatever and mess up whatever nutty plan she might have at the moment.
And let me tell you, Elise changes her mind mid sentence, mid word. She can be right about to blurt out something very important, but no, at the last micro second she holds back, no matter how critical that information is for the person she's speaking to. Her bad judgement puts everyone in danger, including her little girls.
Okay, I know I needed to turn my brain off with this story and just go with the flow but I couldn't do it. So here is my grumpy review. Others really liked to book so be sure to read other reviews.
Pub June 13, 2023
Narrated by Gabra Zackman and Peter Ganim
Warning! Grumpy review incoming!
I hate being a grump but as interesting as this story is and knowing I did not want to put it down until the very end, it also made the grump in me rear its ugly head. Although I did like the male narrator, the female narrator bothered me the entire audiobook. Her voice grated on my ears, both the sound and the inflections, so that got me on the wrong foot with the story.
About the story...it's very interesting and I enjoyed the two stories going on throughout the book. There is Detective Elise Sutton, who works on cold cases with her partner Rowan. Elise is married to Mitch, an excellent father, but on shaky ground when it comes to being a husband. When it comes to taking care of their elementary school girls, though, this couple makes a great team.
The male narrator deals with the "kill room" part of the book. He pops up throughout Elise's story and the two stories are connected but you don't really know exactly how until the end of the book. I think I liked that part of the story (and certainly, the narrator) better than Elise's part of the story. But, without Elise, there would be no book.
When Elise has to take action during a department store shooting, the after effects blast huge holes in her life. Wade Austin, the man she saves from being shot, latches onto Elise in a big way. He inserts himself into her life in every way and Elise foolishly lets him until she comes to her senses and...still lets him...oops. Except on her part it's not an oops, she does so many dumb things on purpose that I lost faith in the character at all.
I really don't enjoy characters that think they know it all, they are the only person who can save situations so they make stupid decisions over and over. That's Elise, she thinks she is the only one who is capable of handling the situations she and everyone connected to her are in. She doesn't even give anyone else a chance to know what's going on, she'll determine their fate by withholding information because she thinks all the men in her life are too dumb to make decisions for themselves. She has no respect for the decision making skills of her partner and her husband. She thinks they are so incapable of sane actions that if they knew what was going on they'd run like rabid, slobbering, brainless cave men maniacs into danger and whatever and mess up whatever nutty plan she might have at the moment.
And let me tell you, Elise changes her mind mid sentence, mid word. She can be right about to blurt out something very important, but no, at the last micro second she holds back, no matter how critical that information is for the person she's speaking to. Her bad judgement puts everyone in danger, including her little girls.
Okay, I know I needed to turn my brain off with this story and just go with the flow but I couldn't do it. So here is my grumpy review. Others really liked to book so be sure to read other reviews.
Pub June 13, 2023
Spoilers…..
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Yeah I couldn’t even finish this one. I skilled ahead just to see if she got the guy and yup she did and that’s all I needed to know. The beginning was fast paced and I wanted to know more and then it was like a stand still and so boring and the kill room chapters were such a drastic change of writing and style it threw me off so much.
Just too boring for me…
.
.
.
.
Yeah I couldn’t even finish this one. I skilled ahead just to see if she got the guy and yup she did and that’s all I needed to know. The beginning was fast paced and I wanted to know more and then it was like a stand still and so boring and the kill room chapters were such a drastic change of writing and style it threw me off so much.
Just too boring for me…
I really enjoyed this book! It is well written and kept me interested and wondering how it was gonna end. The mystery was really unique and well written. 10/10 highly reccomend!
Special Thank You to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for giving me a free copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review.
Special Thank You to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for giving me a free copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review.
Wendy Walker's thriller focuses on a detective, her stalker, and the lengths both will go to to try to get what they want. This is a character-driven mystery with a twist.
When Detective Elise Sutton stumbles into a crime--a gunman is wandering a big-box store, shooting--she draws her gun for the first time in her career and takes down the shooter, saving at least one bystander's life.
But when guilt and self-doubt lead her to track down the almost-victim, Wade Austin, he assures her that her actions saved him. But then he insinuates himself into Elise's life in odd and alarming ways.
It becomes clear that he has been learning from the online notes of a class Elise once taught on getting away with murder so that he may attract attention yet evade detection--and, most importantly, make sure Elise knows he's in control of her destiny.
In order to keep her husband, young daughters, and partner safe, Elise may have to keep some crucial secrets and take unimaginable risks in an attempt to outsmart her stalker.
The story is told with alternating chapters focused on a chilling crime that feels connected to the Elise-Wade situation, and this second storyline doesn't bode well for Elise's future.
This is a character-driven mystery with an interesting twist.
I received an audiobook edition of this title, narrated by Gabra Zackman and Peter Ganim, courtesy of Libro.fm and Blackstone Publishing.
To see my full review on The Bossy Bookworm, or to find out about Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see What Remains.
Find hundreds of reviews and lots of roundups of my favorite books on the blog: Bossy Bookworm
Follow me on Instagram! @bossybookwormblog
Or Facebook! The Bossy Bookworm
When Detective Elise Sutton stumbles into a crime--a gunman is wandering a big-box store, shooting--she draws her gun for the first time in her career and takes down the shooter, saving at least one bystander's life.
But when guilt and self-doubt lead her to track down the almost-victim, Wade Austin, he assures her that her actions saved him. But then he insinuates himself into Elise's life in odd and alarming ways.
It becomes clear that he has been learning from the online notes of a class Elise once taught on getting away with murder so that he may attract attention yet evade detection--and, most importantly, make sure Elise knows he's in control of her destiny.
In order to keep her husband, young daughters, and partner safe, Elise may have to keep some crucial secrets and take unimaginable risks in an attempt to outsmart her stalker.
We all go to our graves covered in the scars from the things that we’ve done and the things done to us.
The story is told with alternating chapters focused on a chilling crime that feels connected to the Elise-Wade situation, and this second storyline doesn't bode well for Elise's future.
This is a character-driven mystery with an interesting twist.
I received an audiobook edition of this title, narrated by Gabra Zackman and Peter Ganim, courtesy of Libro.fm and Blackstone Publishing.
To see my full review on The Bossy Bookworm, or to find out about Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see What Remains.
Find hundreds of reviews and lots of roundups of my favorite books on the blog: Bossy Bookworm
Follow me on Instagram! @bossybookwormblog
Or Facebook! The Bossy Bookworm
Elise and her partner Rowan solve cold cases, and Elise uses them in the courses she teaches at a local community college. One morning, Elise is in a store buying new towels for her two girls when a young man starts shooting. Elise tracks down the man and shoots him, saving the life of more than one of the other shoppers, but especially of one tall man. Elise becomes obessed with finding this man, who seems to disappear into thin air. She finds him...and starts off a series of unsettling events and Elise realizes that this man isn't who he says he is...
I liked this book. It wasn't my favorite of Wendy Walker's book, but it's good. It does feel a bit slow at times--especially in the beginning of the book as we're figuring out who all of the characters are. There's also a few chapters near the end of the book that are told with Rowan in first person, which is a bit confusing since the rest of the book is told from Elise's POV or from a flashback to the hunting shelter Kill Room. Wendy Walker does a really good job at keeping you guessing, trying to follow all of her twists and turns. I rated this one 3 stars because it does feel a little too copaganda-y, especially since the main character is involved in a shooting.
*I recieved a copy of What Remains through NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review
I liked this book. It wasn't my favorite of Wendy Walker's book, but it's good. It does feel a bit slow at times--especially in the beginning of the book as we're figuring out who all of the characters are. There's also a few chapters near the end of the book that are told with Rowan in first person, which is a bit confusing since the rest of the book is told from Elise's POV or from a flashback to the hunting shelter Kill Room. Wendy Walker does a really good job at keeping you guessing, trying to follow all of her twists and turns. I rated this one 3 stars because it does feel a little too copaganda-y, especially since the main character is involved in a shooting.
*I recieved a copy of What Remains through NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review
I don't know if it was intentional or if it's just a product of too many mystery books, but it was pretty obvious early on whose body it was that was found in the kill room. It was one of the reasons I wasn't really hooked after the shooting. One of my major irks was that the main character pursued her stalker alone. While I understand Elise's decision to keep secrets while on the investigation, it didn't prevent me from being very frustrated and just being done with it all.
To be honest, reading this was also a little tedious. I think I can't really connect with any of the characters, and that's why.
I think it's time to accept that Wendy Walker's books are not for me anymore.
To be honest, reading this was also a little tedious. I think I can't really connect with any of the characters, and that's why.
I think it's time to accept that Wendy Walker's books are not for me anymore.
Thank you kindly to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for this digital ARC!
What an explosive opening chapter! Hook the reader with a big bang in chapter one? Check!
This was another enjoyable read from Ms. Walker. I liked the dual timelines and intricacies of the plot, along with how it all came together in the end.
What an explosive opening chapter! Hook the reader with a big bang in chapter one? Check!
This was another enjoyable read from Ms. Walker. I liked the dual timelines and intricacies of the plot, along with how it all came together in the end.
After killing someone during a department store shooting, Detective Elise Sutton withdraws from her life. When she runs into the man she saved, her life takes a dark turn. This was a great psychological suspense thriller by a great author of psychological suspense. I found myself racing through this book because I couldn't put it down. Although I really enjoyed it, I gave it just 3 stars because the ending left me a little wanting.
Thoughts~
This may be the biggest cat and mouse book I have read this year. You can feel that there is more going on than meets the eye after Elise takes out the shooter inside the store. Something didn’t quite feel right. After that the pace really picks up, and Elise doesn’t make the smartest decisions, but that's what made this book so suspenseful. The chapters start to alternate between Elise and the kill shed. I had no idea how the kill shed chapters were going to fit in, but when it was revealed it blew me away.
This may be the biggest cat and mouse book I have read this year. You can feel that there is more going on than meets the eye after Elise takes out the shooter inside the store. Something didn’t quite feel right. After that the pace really picks up, and Elise doesn’t make the smartest decisions, but that's what made this book so suspenseful. The chapters start to alternate between Elise and the kill shed. I had no idea how the kill shed chapters were going to fit in, but when it was revealed it blew me away.