Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I found this story really intriguing and I was hooked by the end of the first chapter. An interesting mystery thriller that had a few unexpected twists throughout. The mix of characters was really interesting and I found the story to be fast paced and entertaining. I would recommend this book.

The Tapes opens with a strong and intriguing premise—one that feels eerily plausible and immediately pulls you in. Kerry Wilkinson has a way of building tension through the ordinary, making the initial setup both familiar and unsettling. But as the story unfolds, that simmering suspense begins to lose its heat.

At the heart of the novel is Eve, whose characterization is easily the book’s biggest strength. She’s messy, flawed, and deeply human, which makes her journey all the more believable. Her struggles as a single mother, particularly in trying to connect with her daughter Faith, add emotional weight that grounds the more mysterious aspects of the plot. I appreciated how she wasn’t polished or infallible—just someone doing her best while carrying the weight of the past.

The pacing, however, becomes a challenge. After a strong start, the middle begins to meander. Transitions between events felt abrupt at times, and I occasionally had to flip back a few pages to make sure I hadn’t missed a connection. It’s not that the plot is overly complex—it’s that it occasionally stumbles in the telling. There’s an expectation of a twist or a moment of revelation that keeps building, but the payoff doesn’t quite hit the mark.

That said, the final third picks up, with a few late-in-the-game developments that pull the threads together. While not earth-shattering, the closing chapters offer a decent sense of resolution and a few satisfying turns—though you may wish they arrived sooner.

For readers who like:
-Character-driven mystery
-Domestic suspense
-A slow-burn narrative

Final Verdict
The Tapes is a story that starts with promise and a relatable lead but falters in momentum before rallying slightly at the end. While the mystery may not fully deliver on its initial tension, Eve’s character arc and the emotional depth in her relationships give the novel some staying power. A solid read if you’re drawn to introspective suspense over high-stakes drama.

Grateful to NetGalley, Bookouture and Kerry Wilkinson for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Kerry Wilkinson, Bookouture, and Netgalley for the e-arc of The Tapes for an honest review! A nostalgic twisty thriller read with short chapters! This book pulls you in from the start! Love the unique premise of cassette tapes from Eves missing mother! Will the tapes help Eve find out the identity of the serial killer?! This book publishes on 08/11/2025!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily.

★★★☆☆ 3,5 rounded up (we really need half stars).

Hold on to your earrings for this one!

The premise of the story sounded intriguing and as a kid of the 90s making my own mixtapes and recording me and my sisters this felt like a novel packed with those nostalgic moments. It was a good paced story, hooking me from the get go and making me eager to connect all the pieces. I found myself racing through it. There are good twists and turns and I enjoy the snippets in between that tie this story together. For anyone who enjoys a thriller with some nostalgic vibes this one is for you.

“The Tapes” essentially begs the question - what millennials parents had access to social media? Eve likely wonders this to herself when she discovers a box of cassette tapes recorded by her mother narrating the events of daily life… and also expressing concern that she’s about to be murdered because she discovered the identity of a serial killer. The fact that Eve’s mother has been missing 13 years seems to prove that she may, in fact, have been correct.
Told from Eve’s perspective alongside excepts from a book about the serial killer, the story moves at a decent clip, exploring Eve’s relationship with her own grown daughter and the mistakes of her past.
In my opinion, the premise of the book is very interesting. The characters were engaging for the most part but I have to say that the identity of the killer was fairly obvious, at least to me. All in all though it’s a decent read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I’d like to thank Kerry Wilkinson, Bookouture, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an e-ARC of The Tapes.

The story is mostly told from the POV of the main character Eve Falconer. The narration also includes chapters from the book The Earring Killer by Vivian Mallory.
Eve is a recovering alcoholic and divorced mom of her teenage daughter Faith. Her father recently died and Eve is working on cleaning out his house. It’s a big job, because he hardly got rid of anything.

In the process of sifting through his belongings. Eve discovers a box of about 30 cassette tapes recorded by her mother Angela. One of the tapes is labeled ‘Eve’. Angela habitually recorded tapes of day to day happenings dated with the month and year, but this one was different.

When Eve plays the tape, it begins with a mother daughter conversation between Angela and Eve, then switches to something unexpected. Angela has taped over part of it. She states that if she disappears, she didn’t leave, she’s been murdered by the Earring Killer. The story races forward from there.

Eve feels compelled to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother and discover the identity of the serial killer. She’s basically on her own with her investigation, because she has a police record and lacks credibility because of her past. Angela also has a vivid imagination.
The investigation leads in some credible directions. Despite obvious danger to herself, Eve pushes forward. When the killer is revealed, there’s a major twist.

The action takes place in the small community of Sedingham. It seems to be an average river town that feels familiar because there are many places like it. The locale makes the action in the story even more disconcerting, because it seems like it's all happening some place you know.

The plot was interesting and well paced. During the story, Eve repeatedly had her credibility questioned. It’s easy to imagine her frustration. She’s a good mom prone to making mistakes like all parents. Eve relies on her wits and courage throughout the book. She makes a good protagonist and amateur sleuth for this engrossing story.

If you like thrillers, I would definitely recommend The Tapes by Kerry Wilkinson

I really enjoyed this book
This is my first from this author and while it got off to a bit of a slow start for me it kept me on my toes
I loved the throwback to the cassette tapes and I truly didn’t see the ending coming but I thoroughly enjoyed it

The product of her father's second marriage, Eve is not close to her only sibling, the older brother who is the son of her father's first wife. So, when she is clearing out their father's house and comes across a box of audio cassettes recorded by her mother - who disappeared over a decade ago - she has no one to discuss her discovery with.

And it really is some discovery! Because, on one cassette, Eve's mother Angela makes the startling claim that if she were to disappear it would be because she had been murdered. And Eve cannot help wondering how her mother's disappearance may be related to the activities of a serial killer believed to have been operating in their area at the time...

I really enjoy Kerry Wilkinson's books but this time he's really knocked it out of the park. Suspenseful, clever and unpredictable, this story demonstrates just how twisted the impact of family secrets can be on individuals and communities.

4.25 //
The cover and synopsis captured my attention and made me request this ARC from a new-to-me author. The book started off with a bang — Eve finds her mother’s audio diaries in cassette form while clearing out her late-father’s home — and my interest was piqued by the excerpts from a book set in this world. You are expecting that part of the story will obviously be about the killings, because this IS a thriller/mystery, but I, personally, wasn’t expecting the part of it that was about a mother and her struggles throughout her life, how losing her mother influenced her, how being a woman of a certain age in a certain time-period influenced her, how addiction influenced her, and in turn, influenced her daughter. I wasn’t expecting this book to fully encompass how everyone's lives can be connected and how sometimes, the people who you think have it all together really don't. Or even how the people who you think are screw-ups may be the ones that save your life or uncover the person who ruined your life. I wasn’t expecting a story of a daughterless mother and a motherless daughter coming together in the end and proving that sometimes you can find what you need just by standing in solidarity with someone who's experienced the same thing. And, you know, in the book, we have characters who unknowingly put themselves into something, just doing their part to be good human, to be a kind person who end up having terrible crimes committed against them. And then we have people who are just evil and petty and vile. And all of these people coexist. Maybe parents can be evil, and their children be fine. Maybe parents can be evil and their children inherit that evil. Maybe evil has no rhyme or reason. Maybe there's not always resolution, like there is in this book (although I would’ve liked to have known the motivation of the Earring Killer), but it really makes you think, “what the heck is going on in the minds and lives of those you pass on the street?” I was expecting the thriller element, I wasn’t expecting the gut-punch I sometimes felt while reading tender moments that seem small at the time but could be remembered as huge and desired long after they’ve happened. I wasn’t expecting the two to work so well together. 4.25 well-earned stars. I will definitely be telling my friends and book club about this one!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture, Kerry Wilkinson for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Eve is clearing out her father’s garage when she comes across an old tape of her mother’s with some disturbing words. Delving deeper into her mother’s disappearance, she finds herself tangled in a serial killer web. Is her mother still alive? Or was she murdered?

This was a quick and easy read. A thriller/mystery that keeps you guessing who the killer is, and ultimately, turning the pages.

Unfortunately, I didn’t really warm to any of the characters and I felt like it didn’t really build up to enough of a crescendo for my liking.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for my advanced copy.

Eve is preparing for her fathers funeral and stumbles across a box of old cassette tapes. She pops one in and immediately hears her missing mom's voice. It's a refreshing feeling to hear your missing moms voice until that voice says if I'm missing ... I am not ... I have died... and I know who the Earring Killer is. Shocked and grief-stricken, Eve doesn't know what to think of it. Is her mom missing or did someone Kill her because of what she knew?

This book is a thriller /mystery that I thought I instantly knew who the Killer was. Halfway through I realized I was wrong. The ending wasn't a shocker as you realize who the Killer is. But the added twist was nice that I didn't see coming. The way the author connected the characters was smooth to the point I was like, " Oh! That's how they know each other." The extracts about each woman that was killed was an added bonus. It gave us background on the victims and helped form who we would think was the Killer. I would have liked a bit more action. It had 2 scenes were the action stood out. Overall, it was a great read and I would read more from this author.

Eve is packing her deceased father's garage and comes across a box of old cassettes recorded by her mother with one addressed to her. She is quickly drawn into the mystery of her mother's disappearance thirteen years prior, and her connection to a local serial killer.

I found the story to be quite compelling and I was drawn into the mystery right away, eager and yet hopeful to find out what happened to her mother as well as the identity of the killer. The reveal was a bit disappointing for me because I found some aspects of it quite unrealistic. Overall, I really enjoyed it and stayed up late to finish it!

3.5 stars for The Tapes!

When a woman finds tapes in her dad’s garage after he passes away, she starts listening. She finds her mother’s voice and the message “if you’re listening to this, I’m dead. I’m not missing, I’ve been murdered.” But Eve doesn’t know what to believe- her mother, chronically mentally ill, notorious for lying, and a self proclaimed kleptomaniac, sometimes just can’t be believed. Eve feels like something is off and the more she listens, the more she believes her mother has been murdered, and when she starts digging she starts to see those closest to her in a different light. One of them is the infamous earring killer and she’s going to find out who.

Twisty and captivating, The Tapes ropes you in and keeps you turning the pages until the very end.

There were some pieces that I would have liked better explained, some red herrings I would have had a deeper dive into for a better diversion, but all in all, the book was great- great twist and definitely not what I thought it would be.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this ARC in exchange for an honest review

A great thriller about a mother called Eve who is clearing her dad’s house out after his death and finds a box of old recordings on cassette that her mother made. Her mother went missing years ago. To hear her mother’s voice again brings back so many memories but one of the tapes the words her mother says chill her to the bone. If you are listening to this I have been killed. As she tries to find out the truth when everyone around her thinks she’s going mad or worse drinking again is she in more danger than she thought possible and did the truth get her mother killed all those years ago. A great read not to be missed!

This book had a phenomenal premise and so much potential, but unfortunately, it just didn’t deliver for me.

Eve is grieving the loss of her father when she stumbles upon a box of cassette tapes while cleaning out his home—tapes recorded by her mother, who mysteriously vanished 13 years ago. Naturally, Eve begins listening and uncovers some startling revelations...

Despite the intriguing setup, the story never really gained momentum. The pacing felt flat, and while the reveal was unexpected, it lacked the impact to make it truly memorable.

As always, thank you for the opportunity.

Sadly have to DNF this one for now.

I got about 25% of the way in and there was just nothing grabbing my attention. I was honestly having a hard time keeping all of the characters straight and the book wasn't giving me that shock factor I was hoping for. This might be because I've read about 5 thrillers in a row and my brain may need a break + I might have some unrealistic expectations. Who knows! I will be revisiting this in the future but for right now it's just not for me.

As always, huge thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback!

This book sounded phenomenal and had a ton of potential but just fell flat to me.

Eve lost her father and in cleaning out his house she discovered a box of tapes recorded by her mother. The kicker? Her mother disappeared 13 years ago. So of course Eve dives into listening to the tapes and learns quite a bit...

The story just never really built up and just seemed very bland. "Whodunit" was surprising but the wow factor just didn't work.

A 3.5 would be a more accurate rating. But we need to add lots of context for the rating in this case so let’s do that.
I’ve read many great books this year. My top 3 of favourites are all mystery/thrillers. So there is a lot of competition. Many might think it’s unfair to think about other books while rating each one individually but I can’t help if my brain works that way. I keep thinking that if I rated one specific book 4 stars and another one is good but doesn’t reach the same levels I look at when it comes to quality and entertainment, I can’t also rate it 4 stars. So that’s the situation here. I would totally understand other people rating this book higher having enjoyed it as much as I did.

The structure of the book was definitely interesting. Getting those extracts from the book Vivian wrote about the victims added a lot of context but also worked very well when it came to creating some red herrings. We’ll get back to the red herrings later because I have thoughts. At first, I thought we would concentrate just on the mystery of Eve’s mum and what happened with her. So seeing that we also got to learn about other victims and their stories gave a humanity to the book I really enjoyed. Because we saw them though the eyes of their loved ones and Vivian took a lot of care writing the book, making sure that they were more than “a number”. Once we learn more about Vivian, it makes so much sense and I thought that was a great addition to the story. It made it more nuanced. And it adds a bit of social commentary, which is something I always love.

A few subplots felt a bit random at times. Like we were adding them for the sake of adding more to the story. But I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that everything was an important piece to work out the whole story. I adore seeing either the twist or the reveal, or both, and then thinking back to all those small details and trying to see if it all makes sense. As I always say, I don’t mind authors taking some liberties so they can make a storyline more exciting. But I want it to make some sense too and for it to be more grounded, unless there are supernatural elements, which isn’t the case here.
The aspect I was not as sure about was using Eve’s past problems to make her feel like maybe she couldn’t be a reliable narrator. I feel the small hints about that we got sort of went nowhere. I’ve seen that done better but also, it’s not my favourite type of trope, if it can be called that.

Now, as for the red herrings, I have mixed feelings. I think one of them was done very well. It really made me think we had our guy but then when it was explained why it wasn’t, it was like “ok, makes sense”. The other one…it felt very random at times. And it could have been a great distraction from the real clues to get our reveal. Also, the reveal was well done but it didn’t give me that feeling I usually get when we get a big reveal. It felt a big flat for me. And those are smaller details that a lot of people won’t care about but, for me, they can bring down the rating a little bit.

Again, the rating is very influenced by how amazing some of the reads from this genre have been recently. So it’s not as straightforward as usual. But this is a very easy to read thriller, with an additive plot that I would definitely recommend to people.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC of The Tapes!

Overall I would give this 3.5 ⭐️I was really intrigued by the premise of this story and I always love a good griping psychological thriller, which is what this book promised and delivered. This was my first Kerry Wilkinson novel and I enjoyed her writing style and the structure of this novel.

What I particularly liked about this thriller was how the narration was woven together with snippets of the casset tapes as well as the excepts from the novel about the killer, these added a dimension and depth to the story and how all the pieces of the mystery came together. I also found Eve’s narration to be questionable at times, in a good way. I love a good potentially unreliable narrator, especially in this genre. Is she going crazy? Are these things actually happening?

For me, where this struggled a pit was pacing. I felt immediately thrown into the story without a lot of context, and while I know this is a particular writing strategy, it didn’t work for me here. I felt like I was missing pieces. I also thought the ending was a bit abrupt. Although I did not guess the killer and the trait was good, the conclusion felt too fast, and again not a ton of context.

This is definitely a title I would add to my classroom library and recommend to readers who love a good thriller/mystery!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book.
I liked this thriller. I thought the pacing was nice as the story takes place over less than a week. The excerpt of the book which talk about the previous victims was a nice way to learn about what happened in the past.
The ending was nice. I couldn’t guess who was the killer!