My first book by this author.. Enjoyable and well narrated. I especially liked the podcast element which added an intriguing extra dimension. Personally I found several of the characters' actions were not particularly believable, and it would have been nice to see them fleshed out more.. But worth a listen and I will be keeping an eye out for more from this author.

This was quite an enjoyable book to listen to. Now, the narrator was great apart from when she kept trying to do accents!!! I live in Devon and it was very irritating to listen to her attempting the accent, we don't all sound like Farmer Giles! I liked the interaction with the people who did the podcast, it gave a great dimension to the story. I liked the characters and even felt sorry for Zach. Overall a good audiobook.

This is not what I thought my outcome would result in reading this book as I’ve enjoyed previous books by Sam Carrington.
Alas, this didn’t live up to my initial expectations.

The main bit I loved was the podcast used scenario as that took on another layer which is not common in a lot of books. I have come across a few but limited so I did find this refreshing.

The characters weren’t fleshed out enough for me I just couldn’t relate to either of them.

Isla had been mugged and things happening within the book just made me roll my eyes, can someone be that dim? I mean, it was a very brutal mugging, I’d be left scared. Oh well…..

It was OK, not memorable a part from the ….oh that book.

The narrator did a good job though.

This is my first Sam Carrington book - I hadn’t actually heard of the author before this - and it won’t be my last! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this; the narrators were very good. Not the fastest paced book, but it did keep me hooked and I very much enjoyed listening to it. There were some elements that I predicted and others that I didn’t. Overall, a great read and I will be looking to check out more books by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the audioARC of this book.

I really liked the style of how this book was done, under the theme of a ‘podcast’.

I found the book exciting and enjoyable and really enjoyed the characters.

I listened on audiobook thanks to Netgalley UK and I loved the different narrators and the way the book was written.

Only my second foray into the world of audiobooks and, once again, I have not been disappointed.

From the off, you are drawn into a situation being told via a live Podcast from Christie's Crime Addicts; something awful has happened on Maple Drive but the "what" isn't clear. The story then presents the "whens" and "whys" leading up to the "situation" interspersed with more Podcasts. This does sound like it's going to be a tad confusing but let me reassure you, it most certainly isn't; it flows really well and makes perfect sense.

The characters are an interesting bunch but not so many that you become confused. Isla is, I admit, a little annoying and naïve; you want to shout and shake her and soothe and swaddle her in equal measure but considering what she has been through and what transpires, she can be forgiven and with friends like Nikki, you don't need enemies!

The story moves on at a good pace gradually ramping up the tension as it goes until the slightly unexpected ending; I say slightly as I had already guessed one of the twists but this was then turned on it's head when another came along ... I love it when that happens!

As this was an audiobook, I must mention the narrators which, I think, were excellent with the main narrator really drawing you in with her voice. I also enjoyed the Podcasts being narrated by different voices of the Christie's Crime Addicts team, I don't think they would have had such an impact on the story if they had been by the same narrator so a stroke of genius there I feel.

Overall, The Couple on Maple Drive is an intriguing story that I thoroughly enjoyed and certainly made my car journeys much more enjoyable so much so that I didn't want to stop the book when I come to the end of my travels and there were a few times when I sat there, parked up with the engine off for just one more chapter!

Thank you to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.

What a great story, kept me on the edge of the seat, Mystery from start to end. Loved it. Great narration as well as great story. Makes you think about trust. Thank you for my copy of this book. Will recommend it to all my reader friends.

The narrator makes or breaks a book and in this story, here, the lead narrator does an excellent job. She exactly catches the point of view of the story and the setting. She’s helped by other narrators who bring in the podcast sessions that moves the story on, from another point of view.

The lead character is badly injured after being attacked and for much of the book she can’t remember what happened, until parts come back to her. Whether she’s capable of returning to work is debatable, but it’s a target you can see she must achieve to move onwards.

Having received a free copy of this enlightening story on audio, it worked well for me and saved me reading a book while I needed to declutter a room or two. If I’d have opened a book on my kindle, the room would still be in a mess.

The mixture of secrets and deceit may shock you, the levels at which some people go to cover the truth, but it’s not going to be exactly as you guess it might turn out. The podcasts are not an addition to the story, but an integral part.

Not having read or listened to this author before, I’ll see what else Sam Carrington has written and add them to my wish-list. I hope it’s the same narrator and I can get the rest of my home decluttered

A great listen,loved the main narrator.
A womans quest to find the perperators of the crime against her and the subsequent aftermath.
A truly gripping listen,it runs along at a breakneck pace and I would definately listen at another book by this narrator.

This is a thriller set in Devon. Isla is recovering from a brutal mugging and her relatively new boyfriend, Zach, has moved in to support her. As Isla slowly regains her memory of the night of the attack, she isn’t so sure if she can trust Zach after all.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book. The narration is mostly good, and I liked that a different narrator is used for each character.
The attempts at a Scottish accent were terrible and the narrator shouldn’t have bothered.

The chapters alternate between the points of view of the main characters, and are interspersed with episodes of a true crime podcast.
This format was a bit different to the usual and I quite liked it.

The characters were ok but I found them a bit boring and two dimensional.
It irritated me how Isla referred to her mum as “mam” one minute then used her first name.

The plot was alright and there were a couple of twists.
At times I thought it dragged a little and there could have been more tension.

Overall the book was fine but nothing special.

2.5 stars rounded to 3.

Thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio and NetGalley for a copy to review.

I really enjoyed this book, second guessing everyone that could’ve been involved and there was so much happening, I didn’t get bored at all. It kept me on the edge of my seat, I wanted to find out what had happened and when things finally started tying together I was so shocked by the ending! I definitely didn’t see that coming!

A great fast-pace, unexpected thriller that I definitely recommend to thriller fans!

Interesting style, the story line is straightforward, girl gets attacked and robbed then tries to find her assailant and opens a can of worms. Girl is also a fan of true crime podcasts and commentary of the crime on maple drive unfolds at same time. All reaches a conclusion and girl tells the tale. Good read, great concept and excellent narration. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

Love it. Gripping story, loved the podcast element to the audiobook and the multiple narrators simply added to the book

I received this audiobook from HarperCollins audio via Netgalley for a review

This story is unusual in style. There are different narrative points and it’s interspersed with podcasts from an unfolding crime scene. Isla was brutally assaulted and is afraid to go out and her boyfriend moves in to help her recover. She’s a true crime enthusiast and is determined to find out what happened to her. But things don’t go as planned and she starts to wonder who may be trusted. It’s a complex plot and in the audio version, I was lost a couple of times and had to rewind to pick up the thread. On reflection, I think that’s largely due to a central character narrator whose voice was a rather dull monotone. I struggled to remain engaged.

However, as for the actual tale, it turned out to be quite an unusual mix in style and plotting. It was tense, fairly well paced and I felt frustrated for Isla, so there was emotional engagement. I haven’t come across this author before, but I’d certainly look for more based on this.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

this was my first time listening to an audio book and despite the narration being absolutely awful and it taking me ages to actually be able to listen to more than one chapter at a time, the story was brilliant and I really enjoyed

This book had me hooked from the beginning. I loved the writing style. I loved the podcast aspect of it. I really didn't expect that. This is my first book by this author and I will be reading more.

This was my first experience of Sam Carrington’s books, and I loved this one. I listened to The Couple on Maple Drive as an audiobook and simply sped through it.

Is there such a thing as an easygoing thriller? If there was, then this was it! Set in Torbay, on the Devon coast, there were lots of laid-back moments when Isla was attempting to discover the truth about what had happened to her, but equally, lots and lots of edge-of-the-seat moments when I just needed to find out what was going to happen next, and to who.

Isla’s fascination with ‘real crime’ podcasts sets the scene for ‘The Couple on Maple Drive’ and why she asks for the help of the podcasters of Christie’s Crime Addicts. Are the people who are close to her really who they seem, and who exactly can she trust?

Carrington hasn’t made many of the characters loveable. Some are just downright evil, but each brings their own story and reasons as to what has made them become the people they are.

As an Audiobook, we get an additional podcast episode, especially for listeners, and, not wanting to give anything away to you, this could be the beginning of another book, featuring the same characters. Just saying, Sam...😉

I absolutely loved the ending of each podcast episode, as Doug, in his dulcet tone, says, “Christie’s Crime Addicts wish you a safe day, in the bay”.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK Audio, and Avon for the opportunity to listen to and review an ARC of The Couple on Maple Drive by Sam Carrington.

Isla gets brutally mugged after a work party to celebrate her promotion. She is left concussed and with no memory of the attack.
Her boyfriend of few months Zach moves in with her to look after her.

As Isla is suffering from ptsd she finds it hard to leave the house, so she spends most of her time listening to crime podcasts by Christie’s Crime Addicts. Slowly her memory starts coming back in snippets and she starts making a list of possible suspects and then enlists the help of the Crime Addicts.

Things then happen very quickly as the culprit in revealed in a nail biting scene!!

The story is told from Isla’s point of view and it’s interspersed with Christie’s Crime Addicts podcasts about ‘The Couple on Maple Drive’ and what happened at the end.

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook, thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for letting me review it.

i found this book abit slow and it failed to grib me, the narrator was good but the storyline was weak and the characters lacked depth. i didnt really enjoy this book ait was too slow and i found my mind wondering and not caring how it ended

A gripping, on the edge of your seat sort of book helped by the fantastic narration of Georgia Maquire. Russell Bentley, Beth Chalmers,John Hopkins and Elliott Fitzpatrick. brought the characters to life and made it all the more engrossing. These people are sometimes overlooked in book reviews but I think they did a fantastic job and want to highlight them as doing these voices aren't always really straight forward.
It all centres on Isla McKenzie who is brutally mugged one night after a works do. Her boyfriend Zack moves into her flat to help her recover from the traumatic event but... something else happens and she suddenly realises that things aren't adding up and her life could be in danger. She starts to investigate and this is where it gets more and more tense for the listener as the clues lead to scary situations!.
Many thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC book for an honest review.
#harpercollins, #samcarrington, #bethchalmers, #russellbentley71,