Name :- The Tapes
Author :- Kerry Wilkinson
Genre :- Psychological Thriller
When Eve discovers a box of cassette tapes while cleaning out her late father’s house, she’s unprepared for what’s waiting inside—especially a tape addressed to her, recorded by her mother, Angela, who vanished more than a decade ago. What starts as a bittersweet moment of connection quickly turns sinister as Angela’s voice warns her that she’s been murdered.

From that moment on, Eve is pulled into a chilling web of lies, betrayal, and hidden pasts. But as each tape unspools more secrets, Eve realizes that her mother had a dark side—and someone out there may be willing to kill again to keep the truth hidden.
Likes and Dislikes :-
Likes:-
1 Unique concept: The use of cassette tapes as a storytelling device adds intimacy and eerie nostalgia.
2 Emotional depth: Eve’s grief, confusion, and determination feel raw and authentic.
3 Steady suspense: The pacing is taut, keeping readers guessing about who can be trusted—and who might be dangerous.
Dislikes:-
1 A few twists feel familiar if you’ve read many domestic thrillers.
2 Some characters could use more complexity, especially secondary figures from Angela’s past.
Overall, Kerry Wilkinson’s The Tapes is a compelling slow-burn mystery packed with emotion, tension, and a powerful mother-daughter dynamic.
My Rating :- 4/5.

I loved the concept of this story, it was certainly gripping and entertaining. The main character finds tapes that her missing Mum has recorded, one of the tapes informs her ‘If you are listening to this, I’ve been murdered’ 😱😱…
There were moments when it felt like a slow read, but that didn’t take away too much for me. I did find it reallllly easy to guess who was behind it (but didn’t guess the other part of the twist 😱😂)

The authors writing style for me is 10/10 😀. So would 100% definitely recommend 💗💗.

We all carry ghosts from the past—memories, regrets, unresolved moments. But what if one of those ghosts came back in the form of your mother’s voice on an old cassette tape found in a shed?

“If they say I’m missing, I’m not. I’ve been killed – and I need you to know that I love you.”

Thirteen years after her mother Angela disappeared, Eve returns to her childhood home to pack up after her father’s death. While sorting through his belongings, she discovers a box of cassette tapes—all labeled in her mother’s handwriting. One stands out: instead of a date, it’s labeled with Eve’s name.

On the tape, Angela claims she’s about to be killed and wants Eve to know she loves her. But she also confesses to serious crimes—stealing a friend’s car, robbing a bank—though not everything adds up. Was her mother telling the truth, or fabricating more lies? Eve’s biggest question becomes: was the love real?

As Eve searches for answers, she also confronts a chilling serial killer case in her town involving “The Earring Killer.” The novel mixes mystery with excerpts from a true-crime book that help fill in the gaps.

I’ve read several of this author’s books, and while this one wasn’t my favorite, it still delivered a solid, twisty plot. Some reveals genuinely surprised me, and I did not see the ending coming. A good pick for crime and psychological thriller fans!

Thank you to Kerry Wilkinson, NetGalley and The Publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kerry Wilkinson’s The Tapes is an unassuming psychological suspense novel that delivers more page turning tension than a host of thrillers by better known, and more highly promoted, authors.

The story revolves around a reasonably simple central premise before spinning off in unexpected directions. Eve is clearing out her father’s house when she finds an old cassette player and a box of tapes. Though grieving, she smiles at the spark of nostalgia. One tape is labelled ‘Eve’ and is written in her mother’s distinctive scrawl. Her mother has been missing for more than ten years, and Eve is keen to hear her voice again. However, when she starts to listen she is shocked to hear her mother’s opening message: ‘If they say I’m missing, I’m not. If you’re listening to this, I’ve been murdered.’

Desperate for answers, Eve works her way through what is left of the tapes. Her mother’s past means that she cannot readily go to the police, and when another murder occurs Eve finds that she has to try and track down the killer herself.

The Tapes is a really enjoyable mystery that quickly draws you in and keeps you interested. It opens at a good pace and the interweaving of Eve’s point of view with extracts from a true crime book about a local serial killer works well, and helps to speed the story along. Eve is an engaging, and very believable character, who has her own problems and quirks but not to the detriment of the book’s pace. The other characters are also nicely sketched, especially Eve’s troublesome daughter.

The central story is intriguing and Kerry introduces enough quirks to the plot to keep it interesting. The storytelling is largely uncluttered and the book builds to a good, surprising revelation. There is perhaps one aspect of the plot that seems unlikely, around a gun, but otherwise I could not fault the story.

In all, The Tapes is a clever and engaging psychological suspense thriller that I ended up enjoying far more than I expected to.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I DNF’ed at 25%. The idea was so intriguing but the pacing takes a nosedive after the initial plot is presented. I lost momentum and didn’t see myself wanting to finish the book.

I am extremely grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the privilege of reviewing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

The Tapes is a thought-provoking thriller with some great nostalgia.

Main character, Eve, is faced with the heart rending task of cleaning out her father's home after his recent death. She comes across a box of cassette tapes (and conveniently, a cassette player!) that are labeled with Eve's name in her mother's handwriting. Eve's mother, Angela, disappeared into thin air 13 years prior and her whereabouts are unknown. Hoping for answers, Eve begins to play her mother's recordings but is soon shocked to hear her say, "If they say I'm missing, I'm not. If you're listening to this, I've been murdered."

This book has a fantastic opening hook that will suck you right in. The tapes become a part of the narrative with the author adding little excerpts here and there as the story unfolds. There are really two parts to this book: the mystery of what happened to Eve's mother and what caused her to make the tapes in the first place but also a story of motherhood, grief and the evolution of our relationships with our parents and children.

The middle of the book did lose that initial momentum but it picked back up in the last third. This is not a very fast-paced thriller but I think the slow burn is in keeping with the mental state of our main character as she winds her way through grief, recovery and searching for a killer.

There is a unique aspect in the dual POVs where the second voice is actually told through excerpts from a (fictional) true-crime book. I think there was a big opportunity missed by the author to throw some actual audio clips in via QR Code and make this a truly immersive, mixed media read. I really wanted more from the tapes overall - transcripts or something more than the few pieces that were repeated.

The twist wasn't particularly "twisty" but it was well written. I did appreciate that there weren't a dozen nonsensical things thrown in at the end, which seems to be very au courant with the genre. Atmospheric and filled with emotion, this is a nice beach read for anyone who likes nostalgia, dialogue driven plots and family drama with their thriller. 3.5 stars

Having read the synopsis of the book I was very intrigued and boy… I was not disappointed! The Tape by Kerry Wilkinson had me hooked righteaway. What a great idea to use tapes. „If you’re listening to this – I’ve been murdered“ – this sentence literally catapults the reader into the story and won’t let you go.
I loved Eve. She is not your typical protagonist when it comes to crime stories or thrillers. She could be either one of us. She’s human, has her flaws, demons to fight, emotions to deal with and does all of it while knowing that she could probably do better. It is actually inspiring how she keeps going on. „I need you to know that I love you“ had me in tears. One hast o love an emotional rollercoaster!

I had some ideas on who might be the killer, but I did not see that twist coming. I kept turning pages as fast as I could - what a great read!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is into crime and thriller and maybe a bit of nostalgia too.

A big thank you to Bookouture, Kerry Wilkinson and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book.

Reviews will be published on Amazon and Goodreads.
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An intriguing and enjoyable 3.75⭐️

The premise of this book was really interesting, imagine finding tapes from your mother who disappeared many years before saying that she might have been murdered because she had discovered the identity of a serial killer.

How might that knowledge affect you, how might you start to doubt and suspect those around you?

I enjoyed reading this, the twists and turns were good and the payoff at the end was surprising. I wouldn’t say it was a particularly complex or tense thriller, but it did keep me guessing and I felt it was well-paced and executed.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book.

The Tapes follows Eve as she cleans out her father's house after his recent passing. While cleaning, she finds a box of tapes that her mother (who has been missing for 13 years) recorded years ago. One tape in particular has Eve's name on it. When she plays the tape, she hears her mother claim to know the identity of a local serial killer who has never been caught. She goes on to say that if she goes missing, she's not really missing but has been killed. As much as Eve wants to believe her mother, her mother was a self proclaimed kleptomaniac and compulsive liar. Eve then goes on a journey to discover just how much of what her mother said could be true.

The main thing I liked about this book was Eve's reconnecting with her mother via the tapes. I think there's a point that every person reaches where you realize that your parents are people too. They have flaws, they're not perfect, and they also have a whole life apart from just being "mom" or "dad." When I was born, my dad kept a journal that he wrote in every month until I turned 18, and then he gifted me the journal. It was such a precious gift being able to know my dad on a deeper level as well as being able to view my own life from his perspective. I will treasure that gift always, and I know Eve treasured those tapes from her mother.

The thriller aspect of this book was competently done- I've never read anything by this author before, but he's a good writer, and he knows what he's doing. However, there was nothing super shocking about the big reveal, and the ending felt a little rushed/tied up too neatly. I also didn't love the formatting where the main story was interspersed with excerpts from a fictional book about the serial killer. It did provide some additional information about the killer and their victims, but it slowed the rest of the plot down for me. Overall, this was a good book, but I don't think it will stick with me for a long time or keep me up at night.

I greatly enjoyed this book. It had me enthralled and in suspense throughout. I really liked Wilkinson’s writing style which I thought was chatty and deceptively simple but clear with no word wasted. Although I’m pretty sick of seeing and hearing stories about violence against women, fictional or otherwise, I felt that this was written in a way that was non sensational nor was it voyeuristic.

Eve’s dad has died and in the process of clearing his house she comes across a box of old fashioned tapes which her mother, Angela, has recorded. Her mother disappeared some thirteen years previously when Eve was nine. She has used the tapes as a daily diary and Eve hears herself as a two year old with her mum learning to count. I found that very touching. Then Eve finds a tape with her name written in her mother’s handwriting. “If they say I’m missing, I’m not. I’ve been killed - and I need you to know I love you.” Devastating. But Angela was or is a complicated woman. She admits she is a kleptomaniac and a liar, with poor impulse control who steals things.
She also says on the tape she knows who the killer is but where is the name of this killer? She says she has a jewellery box with the single earrings, which she stole from the killer. So should Eve believe what she hears?

The town in which she lives has been stalked for years by “The Earring Killer”, a mass murderer who takes an earring from his victims. It’s possible Angela is telling the truth and so Eve embarks on a difficult, emotional and dangerous journey to find out the truth about her mother’s disappearance. Her persistence and bravery may well put her own daughter in danger but on she goes.

The only problem I had with this book was I didn’t quite believe the psychology of the killer but that in no way detracted from my enjoyment.

This is a good read for lovers of well developed characters, of suspenseful crime stories…with a twist…of course.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for giving me a copy to review. This is my honest opinion after a full and complete reading.

I really enjoyed this book. The twist and turns. And I didn't see the twist at the end coming. I feel like we could have dived a little deeper into Eve and her past, and the ending just fell kinda flat for me.

This is a clever idea for a thriller. An old cassette tape found in her dead Dad's belongings. Her mum saying if you hear this Eve I'll be dead. What ensues is a chase to find the "Earring killer" who had haunted the community for decades. There's plenty happening. Lots of red herrings thrown in. Could it be her boss Mark, Dad, Weird brother Peter or a retired cop? Being honest I figured out what was happening pretty quickly. It was quite formulaic near the end. Enjoyable but a little predictable. Thank you to the author and publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in return for an honest review. Denise x

I really was hooked by the idea of the cassette tapes and the mother’s own voice saying she was murdered. It felt like it could be a great, twisty mystery.

But once I got into it, the pacing seemed to slow just didn’t work for me. The beginning felt like it kicked off with that mystery but the.n midway I had a hard time staying interested and it didn’t really pull me back in the way I hoped.

Some readers might enjoy the slow unraveling and the nostalgic angle of the mom’s voice, but it wasn’t a standout for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The Tapes is a twisty, gripping and obsessive novel that follows Eve in her quest to find out what happened to her mother, Angela, more than a decade ago when she suddenly disappeared. At a time when a prolific serial killer was running rampant through her town of Sedingham, Angela's disappearance wasn't connected, but is Eve about to find out that this was anything but true?

With the task of clearing out her father's home after his death, Eve finds cassette tapes her mother had used to record her every thought. But when of those tapes is addressed to her, she listens, coming "face to face" with the sound of her mother's voice for the first time in 13 years. What she hears sends her on a crash course to find out the truth.

Kerry Wilkinson takes readers on a true roller coaster ride of emotions. Eve, in my opinion, is a terrible narrator to the story. As an alcoholic, is she truly reliable in her retelling of events, or with her sober status, is she able to portray to us the truth as she sees it? Will Eve find the Earring Killer more than a decade after his or her last killing, or is this going to remain a mystery throughout? You won't be able to put this novel down in order to get to the hard truth of the matter, and with many shady characters along the way, you won't see it coming.

This story truly had me in a chokehold, from the very first word until the very last. I wanted to know what happened to Angela, who the Earring Killer was, just as badly, if not more so than Eve herself. I had my own thoughts on who the culprit might be including if it could even more our MFC herself, considering her shady past and run-ins with the law when she was in active alcohol addiction. I love a good thriller/mystery, and The Tapes was a perfect addition to my books read for the year 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kerry Wilkinson and Bookouture for an ARC of The Tapes. The opinions mentioned are that of my own.

Kerry Wilkinson books are firmly among my favourites now as this was my 3rd book in about a year. I found this book really engaging and fast paced and I really enjoy his writing. The premise was really intriguing with the messages from Eve's mum recorded on cassette tapes. I didn't trust anyone in the story and really enjoyed the ending. The dual perspective between Eve and the author of the Earrings Killer book was great and the short chapters kept me up late to just read one more!

Eve discovers tapes that leads her to believe her mother didn’t willingly disappear but instead was murdered by a local serial killer. Eve begins to hunt down the truth of what happened to her mother but has conflicted thoughts due to her mother not being an honest person and admitting to being a kleptomaniac on the tapes.

The concept of the Eve finding the tapes and what they revealed was so interesting. The author was very respectful of the character victims by having friends / family of the victims share what the victims were like and their final moments before disappearing in the form of Vivian’s book. It was easy to guess who was responsible for the murders but the person that was helping them took me by complete surprise. It was repetitive at times.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to netgalley, the author and bookouture for approving my request to read this book.

Whilst clearing out her late father's house Eve comes across a mysterious cassette tape with her name on it. Upon listening to it she discovers a recording from her mother who has been missing for years claiming that if Eve is listening to it she has been killed.

I really liked how this story unravelled and loved the nostalgic feel. This book is well written and definitely left me wanting to read more and I enjoyed the big reveal very much.

Looking forward to reading more from this author.

The Tapes by Kerry Wilkinson is a psychological thriller dealing with family, grief, and long-buried secrets. The novel opens very strongly but unfortunately failed to hold my attention throughout and felt repetitive and drawn out. Still a decent read but not one of Kerry Wilkinson’s better novels.

When Eve begins sorting through her late father’s home, she expects a few dusty memories and forgotten belongings but finds a message from beyond the grave. Among a stack of old cassette tapes, she finds one labelled with her name, recorded by her mother, Angela, who disappeared over a decade ago. The opening lines seem tender, almost nostalgic. But then comes the shocking revelation:

“If they say I’m missing, I’m not. If you’re listening to this, I’ve been murdered.”

Eve is determined to investigate her mothers disappearance with the fear that whoever was responsible might still be close by. The tapes reveal a side of her mother she didn’t know, filled with paranoia, warnings, and cryptic messages. Didn’t quite make sense to me that Eve had all these tapes left by her mother yet listens to them with no real urgency which obviously draws out the novel. Feel sure if I found a box of old tapes I would sit and go through them as soon as possible.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Bookouture for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was so addicting! I kept staying up and grabbing snippets of time to keep reading this one. I liked the crime, the mother daughter relationship, and the plot. I did guess part of the ending, but not all!
thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Final rating = 4.5/5 stars, would recommend to my thriller besties ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Thank you to NetGalley for yet another amazing summer ARC! With this one I thought I had it figured out, I really did. I had everythinggg sorted and thought I had it on the money - until a twist I *truly* didn’t see coming - and that’s probably the highest praise you can give a thriller.

I really appreciated Kerry’s dedication to using the fake victim’s names throughout and driving home the narrative that victims aren’t numbers. It’s so easy when we’re reading thrillers, watching Criminal Minds, etc. to lose that perspective, and I think Kerry was able to weave that into the storytelling quite effortlessly throughout.

The mixed media storytelling between book excerpts, cassette recordings and first person narration, in combo with the short chapters, made for a compelling read that didn’t get stale and kept up a strong pace as well.

Lastly, and probably most crucially - it was evident Kerry clearly interviewed or tested his language choices and female POV from the main character Eve, through a panel of women or women in his life because our FMC didn’t feel like she was written by a man *trying* to write a woman. It really felt like he did the work to see the female perspective as I was reading and that was not only appreciated but kept me from getting agitated or distracted when reading. I am a mostly female-author engaged reader and reviewer and am skeptical of fictional stories written by men from the female perspective for the reason that in the past that lack of understanding or perspective has been felt - but I didn’t feel that way with Kerry, and really appreciated the clear effort to dimensionalize his female characters.

Gripping and entertaining from start to finish, when it comes out be sure to add The Tapes to your TBR. 📼