A serial killer is there in the town for decades. It also believed that the serial is dead if that is true who else is committing the crimes in a similar way or the serial killer is passing his legacy?
One of the thing which I liked most about the book is its setting at Lune Mental Hospital in Lancaster, which is not functional and felt more like a haunted house. Caught in between
Helen Summerton divorced with a teen daughter, Zoe. Things take a turn when Zoe goes missing. Helen is doing whatever she can to bring her daughter back home safely. The book also discusses details about the dark web which was quite interesting.
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The book has many characters and the story is told from multiple perspectives and while listening audiobook this was a bit of a distraction for me and I had to go back and forth to get a hand on it.
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Overall it is a good story with a lot to offer to people who have an interest in serial killers and dark web as the author has strong command on these areas.

⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for providing me with an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

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Zoe is a typical teenager – loves her mum, obvs, but wants the freedom to dress how she wants and go out with her mates, schoolwork can wait. Helen and Tony are divorced with Zoe living with Helen and going to her dad's some weekends. It's Tony's turn to have Zoe but she's quick to eat her evening meal, fiddle with her phone and run off out saying she'll be back at 10.30pm – only she doesn't come back. Zoe has met up with her boyfriend and gone to a pub to meet her friend Abbie and Abbie's boyfriend, but Abbie is being her usual controlling self and gets Zoe talking to a guy at the bar who plies them with drink.

Helen is shocked, stunned that her daughter is missing and that little seems to be happening with the police to get her back. She doesn't yet realise that she holds a vital clue, but something is niggling her mind, like picking a scab, that someone knows something of Zoe's kidnapping.

The chapters when Zoe tells her story are harrowing yet exciting. We all love the gory bits, and this book is quite graphic and gory in places. (There's no nasty sex or rape scenes if that bothers you). Zoe is a likeable character and I felt sympathy and compassion when reading about her.

There is also an aside story of two young cousins, daring each other into doing scary things and visiting the nearby lunatic asylum which closed several years ago. Both stories run parallel and then intertwine to give a semi-conclusive ending.

Secrets of A Serial Killer is cleverly plotted and very well written. It flows well and we get a good back story to each character so we know their personality and understand their thoughts. I would definitely recommend this book and I look forward to more from Rosie Walker.

Audio – I listened to the audio version of this book and, as I often find, you have to get used to the narrator. There are two for this story, a female (Fiona Boylan) taking the female roles and a male (Nicholas Camm) for the male and children roles. The female narration fitted well with Zoe and Abbie but took a while to settle into Helen, Zoe's mother. The male narrator I was less keen on, hesitated in strange places and characters all had the same forced anger in their voice. I would have liked the McVitie voice to be more sinister and menacing. There was no problem in knowing which character was speaking in the chapters.

I was really excited for this book, the tile is in my bag, it has a map that includes a cemetery. This is probably the only book where I'm likely to have the e-arc and an arc of the audiobook as well because in the future I'll always request the audiobook because of my current reading habits. If you follow my reviews, you know the number of arcs I've had but ended up listening to the audiobook for. I was excited to see the audiobook because I had not managed to read this book before it came out, but I really liked the opening. Sadly, after the first chapter, it just goes downhill quickly.

Maybe it was because I was in pain when they were introduced, but I'm not here for to any of the characters, especially the 24-year-old man dating a seventeen-year-old girl, but nor her parents who are not concerned about their child being groomed. Zoe has no danger awareness. She the first victim and not the final girl. People mess up all the time, but Zoe just walked herself right into that danger. She must have issues that were never explored in this book. Or you know plot said this happens, so it has to happen.

The characters are so weak. We're introduced to lots of characters, several who could be written out and not be missed. I think there's just too many tangents that might be interesting but are weaker together. It would be a completely different novel, because I would get rid of Helen, Zoe's mother as the main character. She just doesn't make much sense as the main character. Other characters could be cut as well. We have this website about local serial killers that's brought in by Zoe's friend and then there's a journalist next door writing about missing girls that the police are ignoring. One or the other should have been cut, one is a lot less significant than the other one.

This has two voice actors. They do an okay job, but the adult man doing the 11-year-old boy is kinda odd and I don't love those parts. I did get used to it after a while. The only thing you're missing out is that there's a map at the start of the book.

This book is told in the third person, a with letters and articles with the comments switched on. This is still pretty clear when done by audiobook.

This takes the path that serial killers are insane. Obviously, they do have mental issues, but I don't believe they would accept a plea of insanity for multiple murders, especially in 1959. If you planned your murders, then it was not a moment of insanity and therefore you can stand trial. Also can't be that "great" of a serial killer if he was caught in the 50s. Most serial killers weren't caught then. The 80s is impressive not to be caught. I get it, an old Asylum makes a cool setting, but the story is really forced into fitting that setting. It usual thing, no secrets. Very basic.

The plot isn't great. You know an ending is bad when it makes you angry. It's clearly meant to be a twist but it's just asinine. Could it happen? sure. Does anyone care if happens to the characters? Well, I certainly don't.

Frankly. this plot would work better if was written by YA writer, I think the timeline would be stronger that way, the characters would be more concise. I'm just suggesting major re-writes now which is not helpful to already published novel. What I mean is that the kids are the main part of the book and their voice is so weak. They do feel written for adults, not written as people.

Overall, I gave this book 2 stars for Ballet Slippers. I had thought about giving it 3 stars, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised how little I enjoyed this book. You might like this book better if you don't read Young Adult books. This is Walker's debut, so I might pick a future book by her if the concept was good.
This book did include a trigger warning at the start which is good. I still listed more complete ones below.

The Secrets of a Serial Killer by Rosie Walker - debut novel

This audible book is eight hours long and is narrated by Fiona Boyland and Nicholas Camm. This is a reasonable length of listening time. Chapters are defined by character's name. On commencement of the audible book, I found the narration and accents difficult to get accustomed to and had to rewind frequently to keep up with the storyline. I was unable to define some characters names, i.e. Dane or Zane narrated by Fiona. The children's voices, narrated by Nicholas was also unclear at times. This was tiresome and was about to give up, but continued, wondering if I would prefer the book version. At halfway stage, the story was dark, creepy, atmospheric, twisty and annoying but interesting to find out the ending.

This audible book will be loved by readers.

I would give this audible book a 3 star rating due to my difficultly with narration.

I WISH TO THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS AUDIBLE BOOK.

So much promise, it started so well. A serial killer/urban myth, a creepy derelict insane asylum as the main setting for the action and a missing 17 year old girl. All the right ingredients, but with so many perspectives and sub plots at the halfway point I found myself losing track, if I had a paper copy I would’ve have had to go back and check who was doing/saying what. The two children were adorable. Overall, I wanted more. I will try this author again at some point in the future.
Thank you to #netgalley for gifting me this audiobook #secretsofaserialkiller in return for an honest review.

Written by Rosie Walker, narrated by Fiona Boylan and Nicholas Camm.
I LOVED this! The narrators did a first rate job of bringing to life a host of very different characters, as the story unravels and their lives intertwine. "Secrets of a Serial Killer" is a book which is current whilst playing on our age old fears and morbid fascinations. I particularly enjoyed the characters of the kids. The audiobook is a brilliant listen!

I'm really divided about this audio book. I don't know whether it was the story or the narration. It failed to hold my attention as it seemed to take a long time for anything to happen and then there was a lacklustre ending, overall it was a shame as the synopsis was promising but i wish this was one i had read rather than listened too.

Secrets of a Serial Killer is Rosie Walkers debut thriller and I was hooked straight from the start! The scene was set perfectly, characters relatable and pace was fast enough to keep me hooked with lots of drama and suspense thrown in.

Yes, there were a few unbelievable parts - especially police procedural - but these were easy enough to overlook and didn't impede my enjoyment of the book at all.

I get the feeling there will be a follow up to this book and I would definitely read it!

Thanks to Netgalley and One More Chapter for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve been blown away by an audio book! I never thought I’d say that because audio I do find hard to follow and focus on the story.

This audio book though, was absolutely astounding! I’m not sure if I’d have had the same experience if I’d read the book because the narrators in this were brilliant. Fiona Boylan was a great narrator, her calming voice really brought the fear to life through her words as the story unfolded was fantastic. Nicholas Camm, if I’m honest I wasn’t too struck with during the first quarter but oh my word! The ‘Him’ chapters were bloody creepy! I’m very rarely affected by a book but he really did bring the killer to life in my earphones.

Fantastic book! I’d definitely recommend this however you decide to read or listen.

3 3/4. A very gripping tale. I loved the flow and the narration. The book is a real pageturner, in my cause I couldn't pause the book. It grabbed my whole attention , and narration feels like you are traveling through the sequences. You feel the fear , tension in the atmosphere.

You will praying along with victim's for their safety . You will be wishing with all your might that the perpetrator would be punished. When a book grips you so much you end up loving it.

I recommend this book all those who like Thrillers.


Thanks NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me this copy.

I enjoyed the narrators for this audiobook. Overall, I enjoyed the plot, even the use of different narrators although I wish elements had been 'fleshed out' a bit more and was a bit disappointed with the ending.

3.5 stars

Can't give this more than 3.5, but I did enjoy it and well, to be fair, I've listened to worse!

The narration was good and easily played at 1.5/1.75 (after hundreds of audios, I listen fast!)

I'll definitely listen to more by this author - bags of potential to nail a really gritty book.

Thanks for the copy NetGalley.

**listened via audiobook**

This book started so well. I was completely involved from the start. I loved the idea of the stories on the 'dark web' - 'urban dark reporter' and I love the slow build. However the more the book went on, the more I lost interest.
When it started it felt really original, and like nothing I had read before, but by the end it was just like any other generic thriller/mystery. Missing person - struggling to track them down - at the same time, missing person tries to escape. I wish it had focussed more on the urban dark reporter idea, and went down that plot path.
There were some other random subplots too - these just confused me, and I didn't feel like they had any real relevance to the main plot line.


I liked the narrators, and having different narrators really helped with the different character perspectives - which could have got very confusing if not for the different narrators.

Overall, I didn't hate this book, but I just wish the premise had been better executed.

Secrets of a Serial Killer is a suspenseful thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what will happen next. This is a fictional book about a serial killer that goes unnoticed for years until a teenage girl goes missing and her friends and family find articles about the suspected serial killer. The story is from four character's perspectives, one is the serial killer and one is the last girl he kidnapped.

I really enjoyed how the story started out as four different stories and merged to one story during the course of the book. It is unusual to get to hear the perspective of the serial killer which I found interesting. All of the characters had very different stories. Secrets of a Serial Killer keeps you at the edge of your seat. Many chapters end with a small cliffhanger, so it is impossible to only read one chapter.

Fiona Boylan and Nicholas Camm did a great job narrating. Both of their voices matched the characters and set the tone for the book. I read the book and listened to the audiobook and enjoyed both without a preference between them.

I recommend this book to anyone that likes creepy thrillers from different characters perspectives. It is also character focused which is something I enjoy in books.

Thank you Net Galley and Harper Collins Audio UK for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am sorry but I couldn't get into this story at all. I tried reading and listening but it just didn't grab me.

I loved this audiobook!
Narration was great, the book worked well from the two perspectives. I did struggle initially with figuring out where Maggie and Thomas fitted into the story, but it was tied up brilliantly.
The plot was fast paced, with excellent character development.
The app made it difficult to listen to, but I persevered because I was so engaged in the story.

Helen is an architect working on the redevelopment of a psychiatric hospital into modern accommodation. The derelict hospital has some buried secrets, one of which being a previous patient who was a notorious serial killer. Rumour has it that he passed on his deadly skills to an apprentice. Helen’s teenage daughter Zoe is in love with her new boyfriend and has plans to meet up with him and some friends when she goes to stay with her Dad and her step mum. Things don’t go to plan and Zoe’s night out ends up on a catastrophic collision course with a deadly stranger.

I listened to the audiobook, there were two narrators helping to bring the Male and female characters to life. There were multiple stories and characters which required some attention at first in order to place their relevance to the plot, which also travelled backwards and forwards in time. The narration was exceptional in its ability to bring the characters to life and I enjoyed the involvement of some of the younger characters which was very humorous at times. The plot had all the elements of a traditional serial killer crime thriller, however the added interest of updates from true crime forums brought it up to date. I would recommend this audiobook for fans of The Whisper Man.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook

There’s a serial killer at large. Theres a journalist on the case. There’s a clueless police force. There’s a young boy and his cousin on the hunt for a mystery. There’s a missing seventeen year old girl. And there’s a very creepy, abandoned asylum. All the ingredients for a grizzly story and a premise that hinted at being a potential new favourite. However it didn’t quite deliver on its promise.

Multiple POVs and quick pace made this book a largely enjoyable read, but I was left wanting more from the story. A friend who also read this one said that she felt that it would have been better split into two stories and I totally agree. The serial killer POV could have been a book all to itself and I would have read it hungrily. The other aspects just felt like any other forgettable thriller unfortunately.

That said, I read it quickly and kept turning the page- my attention kept all the way through. The characters were interesting but I would have liked to spend more time with them; flitting so quickly between perspectives meant that we didn’t get to know the characters all that well. I would particularly have loved to get more insight on Abby, Zoe’s best friend. I think she could have been a really interesting character. Maybe there will be a sequel? I’d probably pick it up, as I enjoyed Walker’s writing style, her ability to build suspense and her quick pacing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins One More Chapter for both the advance ebook and the audiobook of this one in exchange for an honest review. I did struggle to get into the print version and so was glad to the audio. Brilliantly performed by the narrators, this is one I’d suggest to get on audio if you do plan to pick it up.

Story - 3⭐️
Audio performances - 5⭐️

My thanks to HarperCollins Audio U.K. One More Chapter for an audiobook edition via NetGalley of ‘Secrets of a Serial Killer’ by Rosie Walker in exchange for an honest review.

I had also received its eARC from HarperCollins One Chapter, which allowed for an immersive reading experience. It also allowed me to look back and clarify a few points along the way.

The audiobook was narrated by Fiona Boylan and Nicholas Camm and had a running time of 8 hours, 44 minutes at 1x.

I have shared my thoughts on the story as a whole in the feedback for the ebook and combined these for my Amazon U.K. and Goodreads reviews.

I felt that both narrators did well in voicing its range of characters that included various ages and backgrounds. It proved an enjoyable read/listen, even if I wasn’t dazzled, it held my attention and increased the sense of peril for its characters.

Serial killers have a shelf life, most don’t operate for more than a few years. Lancaster has a serial killer that’s been active for decades, or is it possible that a killer has passed on his trade to others who have been acting on his behalf? Now a local woman’s daughter is missing, taken by the killer that has menaced the city for years. Can a mother determined to save her child do what the police could not? Boylan and Camm give voice to the characters in this character driven thriller