The narrators are 5 stars. They did an amazing job with this story.

The story it's self I'm giving 3 stars. I enjoyed the amount of twist and turns in it.

My darling is a dark twisty story which centres on four characters. Emma and her boyfriend Alistair and Jade and her husband Thomas.

The book is very addictive with characters which cannot be trusted, it was hard to guess what was coming next as each new twist surprised me.


The story is told in short chapters from the different characters viewpoint. Once my brain got tuned into the storyline I found this brilliant allowing me to dip in and out of the story and sometimes tempting me to just have one more chapter before sleeping.

Laura Costello and Matt Adis really brought the story to life for me, I’m new to audiobooks but I loved how the narrative added to the already tense storyline.

I definitely recommend this masterful thriller , which kept me listening well past bedtime. Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for my chance listen to this five star audiobook

I have to be honest it took me a while to get into this book. The problem for me is when none of the main characters have no redeeming features. I didn't feel invested in any of them, even Alistair's Mum was a nasty piece of work. When, as a listener, you don't care whether anyone in the book makes it to the end or not, the story loses its appeal. I listened to the entire thing without ever feeling very invested in it. The story is well written and moves at a brisk pace but for me, I didn't connect to any part of it. Laura Costello and Matt Addis both turn in great performances in their roles and I certainly appreciated all their hard work. This is a good book with an interesting concept that's well executed - it just didn't do it for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It has been published in August 2020.

"My Darling" by Amanda Robson tries to be a psychological thriller, but the thrill simply isn't there, and the psychological part is also poorly handled.
The stories of two dysfunctional families are entertwined in this novel: abusive husband and father in the past, paranoid and murderous wife in the present. The problem is, in both stories the reader knows from the very beginning exactly what happened and why, so there's nothing left to find out.
The characters are clichéd and flat, to the point that Jade literally refers to Emma as "The Stereotype"--without realizing she's not much better herself, with regard to lack of originality. No character in the book has the slightest bit of personality, they're nothing but walking and talking caricatures: Crazy Lady, Next-Door Regular Woman, Loving Boyfriend, Violent Husband, Beaten Wife...
As for the writing style, I didn't appreciate how the point of view was handled: the three main characters - Emma, Jade and Alastair - all take turns narrating different chapters, but the chapters themselves are ridiculously short (as short as less than 2 minutes in the audiobook), so the alternation is too fast and ends up making the story feel fragmented, preventing the reader from getting lost in the flow. To furtherly add to the confusion, the first-person narration is all mixed up with an awkward second-person narration which is even more disorientating, as the "you" each narrator is referring to keeps changing.
The whole sorry plot relies heavily upon the good guys' unjustifiably bad choices, an embarrassing level of stupidity on the police's part and the totally implausible, ever-changing motivations of pretty much every character.
The characters themselves are fake and malevolent, contemptuous, judgmental... totally dislikable and unrelatable--and I'm not just talking about the villain, I'm talking about the so-called heroes as well.
Overall, a pretty disappointing read.
This is the first book by Amanda Robson I read, and it's going to be the last.

My Darling by Amanda Robson tells a beautiful story of domestic bliss! Wait..... no, that doesn't sound right. It tells a strange and twisted story of a paranoid woman and the lengths that she will go to to protect her marriage. Jade suspects her Husband, Thomas, of having an affair with their new neighbour, Emma. Thomas has had affairs before and Emma is just his type. However, Emma lives with her boyfriend Alastair and denies having any sort of relationship with Thomas. With more twists and turns than the worlds' largest rollercoaster and 3 totally unreliable narrators I was caught in this story hook, line and sinker! I didn't want to stop listening and I did not see the ending coming at all!
At over 150 chapters the book can sound intimidating but these short snappy chapters that are told from the different characters' perspectives keep readers interested and the pace of the book moving along nicely. I listened to this as an audiobook and I'm really happy that I did as it was very well produced. The narrators voices matched their characters well and were very believable.
I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be checking out more of Amanda Robson's books.

This is compelling domestic suspense that is well suited to the audiobook media. The narration is professional, and it's easy to differentiate the characters. It's helpful to have a male narrator for Alastair as he appears so frequently. Told from Jade, Emma and Alastair's points of view this is a twisted story of abuse, betrayal, relationships, and revenge.

Although the adult characters are hard to empathise, they are believable and fascinating., Jade has mental health issues, and it's her actions that precipitate the events that follow. Emma is also emotionally fragile. Alaster has severe anger issues which make him prone to violence. Thomas is the least well defined of the characters.

Detailed and intricate the plot's many twists make it difficult to visualise the ending. The conclusion is probably as just as it can be, but the last one standing is not necessarily a good person.

This is an addictive book to listen to, even though the characters are few and the settings domestic, the sometimes shocking plot twists and suspenseful ethos make this a story that you have to finish.

I received an audiobook copy of this book from Harper Collins Audio - Avon in return for an honest review.

In this book, there is an insult that Alistair and Emma call Jade - a clusterf**k. I think that this is an excellent way of summing up the book.
There are over 160 chapters. Some are only two sentences long and are from the view of a different character. In a slightly odd technique, the characters seem to be telling the story to themselves. It's also repetitive, boring and all telling. For example how Jade talks through how she doses Emma with Rohypnol. There is no suspense at all.
There are about 6 different stories going on. Jade's mental health, Emma's parents and their relationship, Emma and Colin, Emma and Alistair, Jade and Emma. Never mind the investigation into Thomas's death.
There are needless lists throughout the book that add nothing to the plot. It's not enough to mention Thomas has designer clothes, 5 designers are listed. Alistair orders a takeaway, and we learn in precise detail exactly what was ordered. Anytime flowers are mentioned there is a list of them. There's a list of songs on a playlist, and birds spotted on a walk.
The descriptions are incredibly overwrought; people don't just snarl but snarl with their lips and eyes. Flames are as hot as flamenco dancers. Cats purr like rattlesnakes. The sun sparkles on the water like moissanite. Frowns coil around a character from tip to toe. Everything seems to fragment; bodies, smiles, minds, letters. Quite often the mind of a character will turn in on itself. Honestly, I was in hysterics for a lot of the story.
The story just never ends! It lurches from one implausible situation to another and just goes on and on.
On the other hand, the narrators are very good, they differentiate between the various characters and bring emotion to the story.

My thanks go to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

What a nasty bunch of characters all more than happy to either murder someone or cover up for someone else to get away with murder. I do think the short punchy sentences would make it an easy to read holiday read ( or listen) but it was a big turn off for me. The male narrator was good but the @ccents the female narrator attempted were painful.

A good, twisted mystery that has some really deranged characters.
I had read this author before and disliked that book immensely but here I found the style interesting and the plot fairly innovative. However, it dragged a tad for my taste. It would have been a much better experience for me if it were much shorter.

The narrators did a great job bringing the story to life.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely read this if you enjoy:

- Short, rapid-fire chapters
- Multiple POVs
- Books that veer off from what you think they are and then veer off a few more times for good measure

My Darling is a fast-paced read that can hit a lot of beach-read sweet spots, given that you don't need to think too much and the book tries its hardest to be entertaining.

All of the above can definitely work for me, if done right. Sadly, that's not the case with My Darling.

This is a book that puts thrills ahead of all else - and to its detriment. The first-person perspective, while appropriate to the book's overall format, hinders rather than helps, alienating the reader from the main characters through constantly repeated and insufferable inner monologues. This is just made worse by the audiobook format, unfortunately - reading this as a physical copy would have been less excruciating, as I'd have been able to skim read the very brief chapters and keep pace with the fast momentum they create, perhaps even enjoying the kooky plot rather than constantly rolling my eyes at it.

I’ve become a big fan of mysteries and thrillers since the beginning of the pandemic. My Darling is my latest read in this genre and certainly proved to be the perfect read for escapism.

The book revolves around four central characters - Emma and her boyfriend Alastair, and Emma’s new neighbours Jade and Thomas. When the two couples gets together for drinks, Jade discloses to Emma in private that Thomas has a penchant for other women and has already had several affairs. Emma is quite surprised by the woman’s candour - after all, they’ve just met. By the end of the visit, both Emma and Thomas consider Jade to have some mental health issues evidenced by some bizarre conversation. Soon after this visit, it is disclosed that Jade believes Thomas and Emma are having an affair. What the reader soon finds out is that Jade is not the only one who could be considered unstable.

This is a gripping story of deception, full of twists and turns. Through a series of “memories” Emma’s personal history is revealed and cleverly intertwined with the present. Without giving too much away, the professions of the main characters play a significant part of the storyline. The character development is very well done and the reader is therefore engaged from the beginning to the end of the book. It should be noted, however, that there are triggers of physical and emotional abuse within relationships in this book which may not be suitable for all readers. These moments are short and are completely relevant to the storyline. In fact, my only criticism of this book is that it just felt a little over the top - too many things happened to so many unhealthy characters to make this book believable.

I listened to the audiobook edition of the book which was narrated by Laura Costello and Matt Addis. These characters are very well cast and their performances are exceptional. I especially appreciated the cadence provided by Ms Costello - the matter of fact thought processes which were particularly well articulated. I would definitely choose the audiobook edition of the book as the narration enhanced an already great story.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Audio UK for the ARC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.

I love a murder mystery but this is more more murder than mystery. With more psychopaths than the combined population of Emmerdale & Midsomer this book was a real page turner that held me in it's thrall until the very end.

A unique storytelling style where the book's three main protagonists take it in turns to narrate in first person their thoughts in 160+ very short chapters. I was not sure of the style at the very beginning but soon got to love the quick changes of character and the audio narrators do a great job of conveying the emotion from the characters in each chapter.

With plenty of plot twists and turns and an insight into forensic investigation this is one of the better books I've read recently and is the first one by Amanda Robson that I've tried

On the downside some of the situations are a tad contrived and in places stretch the laws of coincidence but it's a novel not an autobiography

Well worth it's 5 stars as it did exactly what I would expect from a novel - it entertained and kept me listening into the small hours to it's well crafted conclusion

My Darling was narrated by two voices, Laura Costello and Matt Addis. Both were enjoyable to listen too.
It took me a few chapters to get used to the structure of the story on audio, I think the short chapters would be easier to read, although this did not detract from the brilliance of the story: I found I was half way through without realising it!

Amanda Robson created four fascinating characters- all manipulative, deceitful and destructive with multi dimensional personalities. I don't have a favourite as they were all so deliciously creepy and disturbed!!
The story is told from all four points of view with flashes into the past so we discover more about their backgrounds.
My Darling was so cleverly written and showed the authors immense skill!
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this intense and masterful psychological thriller. I'll be adding Amanda Robson to my to-be-read authors!

This is a suspense/thriller or Psychological Thriller. I have to say I found this book very different, and I am still trying to wrap my mind around everything that happen in this book. The characters we follow in this book is all a little crazy, and I have never read a thriller with so many crazy characters. This book is way more then trying to find out who did the murder, but it is more about who is going to be killed next. I did really enjoy this book. I did not guess all the twist and turns in this book. I listen to the audiobook of this book, and I felt the narrator was very good. I was able to follow that different characters without any problems. I was kindly provided an e-audiobook of this book by the publisher (Avon) or author (Amanda Robson) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that. This book is schedule to be released on November 3-2020.

When a new couple moves in next door, it creates the opportunity for new friendships and alliances. Or maybe it creates tension, mistrust and violence. There’s nothing scarier than new neighbors, as Robson tells it, and both Costello and Addis provide excellent narration and voice to some folks I’m glad I don’t have to live next to

**Listened to audiobook**

the first thing I need to mention is the pacing of this book. I found it very strange. I felt like the big climax happened about 30% of the way through, then I was flummoxed as to what would happen next, as this major event had already happened. You could say that this is an original way to write a thriller as it doesn't fit the usual tropes, but I personally found it a little unsettling. Because of this it wasn't so much as a 'whodunnit' but a 'whydunnit'

The book plays on the idea of the 'unreliable narrator' - you don't know who to believe, and who to trust. It also makes you question if any character is 'safe?' - as I feel there is a lot of murder. (I felt that murder was an easy option to propel the plot - I appreciate its a crime/thriller and that's kind of the name of the game, but I just found the murders a little too 'easy' for the characters)

I enjoyed the narrator, and she does some brilliant accents that really helped to tell the story, particularly when there are so many different characters and different character perspectives.

Thriller/crime/mystery are my favourite genres - so you could say I'm maybe more critical as I read more of this style of book. This book is definitely not one of my favourites.

I really don't know what to say about this book, it was twisted and full of drama which I love, but at the same time it went way over the top and really lost me. Amanda Robson has been a hit or miss author for me, the last one a hit so I was excited for this one. I enjoyed it but I didn't love it. I have seen so many great reviews so I feel that I am in the minority here.

2 couples, 4 messed up and crazy people. From the very beginning these characters were unlikeable and that did not change throughout the whole book. Murder, betrayal, revenge, jealously - it is all here.

The narration was great

Thanks to Harper Collins Audio UK for my advanced copy of this book to read.

My Darling is an excellent domestic thriller. A couple, Jade and Thomas, move in across the street from Emma. Alastair is Emma’s boyfriend. Jade is convinced Thomas is having an affair with Emma. Jade plans to solve this on her own. The amount of drama between these two couples is crazy and so interesting. Once you start reading, you won’t want to put down My Darling.

My Darling is dark and twisted. None of the characters can be trusted. I loved My Darling but didn’t actually like any of the characters.

Laura Costello and Matt Adis did a great job narrating. Their voices really matched with the characters. I’m really glad I listened to the audiobook. In the beginning of My Darling, all of the characters are introduced fast and it switches between their different viewpoints, which was confusing at first. Once I got a little bit into the book I knew who all the characters were and I really enjoyed the different viewpoints.

This was my first Amanda Robson book, but definitely will not be my last. I recommend My Darling to domestic thriller fans.

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