This book isn't one of my top rated for the year. There was nothing particularly bad about the storyline and the audiobook kept me pretty engaged but there was nothing about the story that really stood out to me.
The premise was good in theory but did get a bit unbelievable at some points, for example, the police giving classified information to a 13 year girl because 'she has good insights'.
The story was a little predictable and I guessed the murderer pretty quickly, a red herring would have been good.
It felt a little longer than it needed to be but if you like a slow paced thriller I would recommend.

I’m not sure what I was expecting from this story, given the title, but I didn’t expect it to be quite to graphic in its description of dead children. It’s usually animal death/cruelty that I really struggle with, but in this case I wouldn’t recommend this to any parents of primary aged children. I thought it was too much and unnecessary, to the point that I very nearly stopped listening. I persevered though, but the pay-off wasn’t good enough to merit having to sit through such disturbing imagery. Furthermore, why would a detective tell a young girl so much about a case? Because of that it wasn’t believable either. Not the best, and needs huge trigger warnings.

The narration was very good. The book had me hooked at the beginning; however, it just seemed to drag on until I was just really hoping to finish it. Since it was well written, an intriguing plot and hooked me at the start, I am going to write this off as a book that I listened to at the wrong time for me.

A teenager "detective"... who would had thought this would work? And somehow it does, beautifully!
Loved to listen to this book, thanks to NetGalley, the editor and the author for the opportunity to access this copy.

Very well written. Likeable characters. Keeps you gripped from the first chapter

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to listen to an advanced copy of this audiobook in return for a fair and honest review

FINALLY my first 5 star book of 2024!! So happy I could cry 😭
Listened to the audiobook and I was COMPLETELY taken in and transported to Birmingham in the 80s.
This story is insanely dark and twisted, but oh-so-addictive.
Very much on the lookout for Marie Tierney's next book (and I hear it's still mostly the same characters a little older 👀)

Mickey Grant is just 14 years old and has been missing for the past fortnight. The local police are doing all they can to locate him, that is until a teenage girl stumbles upon his body in the middle of the night.

The storyline captivated me from the outset. I loved seeing the events unfold through Ava's eyes, as we explore a teenage girl's fascination with the study of decomposition and death. Ava is a wonderfully nuanced character, who added another layer of depth to the storyline. This book is a great example of a unique and well-executed police procedural and thriller that kept me coming back for more. I look forward to more books from Marie Tierney.

The narrator did an excellent job of various accents and really kept me engaged with the plot.

Thanks to Bonnier Books UK and Marie Tierney for the audiobook provided via NetGalley; this is my unbiased review.

Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney
Narrated by Marie Tierney, Olivia Dowd
Bonnier Audio UK, 15th February 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:
Thirteen-year-old Ava Bonney possesses an unusual intellect far beyond her years. While her friends play, Ava's fascination lies in the intricate process of animal decomposition, studying roadkill found in the streets around her home.

But, one night, Ava's secret nocturnal routine takes a chilling turn when she stumbles upon the lifeless body of a fellow schoolmate.

As Detective Seth Delahaye takes charge of the perplexing case, Ava refuses to sit idle. Determined and resourceful, she embarks on a daring quest to unveil the truth behind the string of chilling deaths plaguing her community.

Armed with her unique skills and unrivalled local knowledge, Ava becomes an unlikely force in the race to apprehend the elusive killer before more lives are claimed.

Review:
This dark and chilling tale of macabre-obsessed young protagonist Ava is compellingly brought to life by the author and fellow narrator Olivia Dowd. Despite a bit of a slow start, as the story takes shape and Ava joins Detective Delahaye on the hunt for the killer, her quirky character brings humour to the otherwise grim subject matter, and the '80s setting is delightful.

There are a lot of twists and red herrings, but I still managed to deduce who the killer was quite early on! I'd still recommend it, though. It's a murderous tale with a difference, and it would be great to see the characters return in another case.

#DeadlyAnimals #MarieTierney #BonnierBooksUK #NetGalley #BookReview #Bookstagram

An intriguing mystery thriller. Amy becomes an integral part of the investigation when she finds a body. Loved the characters ans the setting plenty of twists. Suspend your belief you will enjoy this novel all the more. The author and Olivia Dowd do an excellent job of narrating the book. Thanks to Bonnier UK and Netgalley for a review audiobook

,thank you to Bonnier uk audio and Netgalley for providing me with a free audio are in exchange for an honest review.

Having a main character so young should be rather disconcerting for a reader, given the nature of the book yet Ava's POV comes across rather genuine and intriguing with a childlike voice narrating a story far older than her years. Her knowledge is, at times, a little too far fetched and takes the reader out of some fairly serious and gritty moments due to the sheer ridiculousness of a council-estate teenager without many resources outsmarting policemen and at times, even doctors.

The plot itself is fun and dark in equal measures and the twists and turns are endless, with many red-herrings laid out throughout. The narrator did a fantastic job of bringing each character to life and gave each are a distinctive voice as well as their own, defining characteristics, lilts and intonations.

The book was an enjoyable listen for any mystery fan however it does appear far longer than necessary and occasionally gives the impression that Tierney has thrown one too many curveballs and lost their way in their own story.

Nevertheless, a strong addition to the mystery genre.

I really enjoyed this read/listen - I did a mix of both and the narrator was so canny nd relaxing, even tho it was a thriller. The story was super easy to follow and it reminded me a bit of Thursday Murder Club in that respect, nd a bit of a pallet cleanser

In terms of characters, the young lass doing the detecting was the perfect shout, and a loved her no nonsense quirky personality, the not having to fit in nd enjoying her hobbies regardless of what others thought. The plot was interesting enough to stand out from run of the mill thrillers that are churned out

The book was a little long for what it was but I suppose that would make it a great holiday read. A whodunnit where ya can have genuine stabs at the murderer all Scooby Doo - a cozy warm thriller if there is such a thing, that kept me interest right through

Aye ad recommend it, also a loved the cover nd spine of the book

Have ya read it?

#cosythriller #deadlyanimals

I feel a bit like the odd one out - everyone is raving and saying it's the best crime novel of the year and yet I've DNF'd 15% in. I just can't suspend disbelief - a 13 year old calling the police and fooling them that it's an old lady calling? Her then calling again later because she's deduced something? This is where I just gave up.
I wasn't engaged and honestly I couldn't tell you more than what I just did about what happens and unfortunately I'm being harsh these days with not pushing on with books that aren't gripping me.

Ava is fascinted with death, she regularly checks on her 'body farm' of animals and learns everything she can about the subject. What she doesnt expect, though is to find an actual body.
I really enjoyed this dark crime / detective novel, Ava was a fabulous character and I loved her working relationship with the detective. Especially as she was treated as a credible witness rather than dismissed.
I wonder if there will be more books with the same characters?
The setting of the early 80s did keep throwing me a bit as I needed to adjust timelines in my head, but overall I thought this was a great read.

Deadly Animals
By Marie Tierney

THE INCREDIBLE DEBUT BRITISH CRIME NOVEL OF 2024!

Ava Bonney is 13, and she is on the trail of a serial killer…

Ava is different to her friends, she has several ‘road kill body farms’ dotted around the area where she lives in Birmingham. They are carefully hidden from prying eyes and she visits them at night, noting her findings in her red book with her blue pen.

Her interests include pathology, serial killers and animal biology.

When she discovers the body of a missing teenager, she becomes an integral part of the police investigation.

Ava is the teenage incarnation of Temperance Brennan and Kay Scarpetta.

The interactions between the children are so authentic and a total joy to read. I loved that the kids are so much more clued up and clever than the adults.

The book is set in the 1980’s and each reference to those times transported me right back to my fondest memories of growing up. Police 5 and Shaw Taylor, red phone boxes, Audi Quattro,

It reminded me of some of my favourite childhood books and authors; Harriet the spy (Louise Fitzhugh), The undertaker has gone bananas (Paul
Zindel), Nancy Drew and anything by Nicholas Fisk, Roald Dahl and Judy Blume.

I just know you will enjoy reading or listening to this gift of a book as much as I did. You need Ava in your life.

This is my new favourite book ❤️.

And this book led me to the beautiful music of Isao Tomita ❤️

Quote from the author on her lead character…..

“Ava wasn’t hard to write. The only difficulty was going back to that time, in that place, behind that face, because so much of it was unhappy, frightening and almost overwhelmingly enchanting.

She is not a ‘creation’ – she was the seed of the woman she would grow to become… me.

And Ava’s interest in dead things was rooted in the same pragmatic conclusion I had come to at the same age: dead things can’t hurt you.

It’s the living you’ve got to watch.”

And the author interview at the end of the audiobook is so so good! The narrator is superb! Thank you so much!

A bit of a slow starter for me, which soon warmed up. As the narration encouraged me as a listener, so too did the storyline start to resonate with me.

An interesting premise, whereby a school girl was able to identify leads that experienced police officers could not see may seem improbable, but Ms Tierney overcame that with her skilful storytelling.

I think that the audio version of the book may actually be better than the written one.

Really enjoyable.

This was truly a unique murder mystery to read! It was hard-hitting, dark, and gritty - and yet somehow, at the heart of it all, is a thirteen-year-old child who is far too smart for her own good. It was an enjoyable book, full of horrifying grotesque murders and well-developed characters. The only complaint that I have is that the murderer became very obvious very early on in the story. I kept waiting for that plot twist that revealed I was wrong all along - except, unfortunately, it never came, and the killer I figured out at approximately 30% through the audiobook ended up being the actual killer in the end.

This debut novel brings something really fresh in the world of mystery, crime thrillers. Tierney has been influenced by her fascination with true crime, and it shows – this is spattered with references to real life murder and murderers, as well as nuggets of details about how crimes where investigated in the early 1980s, and the developments that were being made in the world of forensic investigations. 

Ava’s character is a step-up from the usual child detective, and this is certainly no children’s novel. Smart, curious and with lots of empathy, Ava is a likeable character from the start. Her approach to investigation is thorough to say the least – how many thirteen year olds have set up their own body farm? – and her attention to detail is well above that of the average teenage sleuth. I don’t know if Tierney plans to follow Ava through her inevitable career into policing or forensics, but there’s enough scope in her character for a whole series of follow-up crime mysteries.

I also really liked the character of Detective Seth Delahaye. My assumption was that he’d soon get tired of ‘those pesky kids’ sticking their noses in where they aren’t wanted, but Ava and Seth’s suppheortive collaboration is refreshing to see. Ava is clearly the star of this show, and Seth doesn’t aim to steal her limelight.

I listened to the audiobook of the novel. Experienced narrator, Olivia Dowd, is a great choice. Her voice is engaging, and expressive in all the right places.

Overall, this macabre new novel is great for anyone who loves a layman’s view of forensics with a twist of the supernatural. I’d certainly read more by Marie Tierney, and look forward to her future novels.

"Deadly Animals" by Marie Tierney is a captivating and dark novel that follows thirteen-year-old Ava Bonney as she delves into the chilling mystery of a series of deaths in her community. Ava's unique intellect and fascination with animal decomposition make her an intriguing protagonist who defies traditional gender stereotypes. The relationships between Ava and the other characters are well-developed and add depth to the story.
The plot is well-paced, with just enough suspense and detail to keep the reader engaged. While I could guess the villain's identity early on, it did not diminish my enjoyment of the story.
Overall, "Deadly Animals" is a must-read for crime thrillers and dark stories fans. I hope this book becomes a series, as there is much more to explore with Ava's character. I highly recommend this book for its strong female lead and unique storyline. The audiobook narration was a delightful addition to the experience. Olivia Dowd's narration was engaging and brought the characters to life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook production of Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney. The quirky and unorthodox 13 year old protagonist, Ava, made this book for me; along with the 1980s setting. An excellent read - I can’t wait to read book number 2!

Gorgeous, GORGEOUS narration is the standout element of this debut, which I received from Bonnier UK Audio for review.

Olivia Dowd is a prolific and impressive vocal talent (I loved her contribution to 'The Guest List' by Lucy Foley), her performance characterised by clarity and terrific self-assurance in an assortment of accents and dialects.

It might seem a trivial thing, but Dowd's narration exhibits a marked absence of missayings and mispronunciations, the importance of which to my enjoyment of an audiobook can't be overstated.

Although the serial-killer plot isn't itself thrilling, I'd recommend 'Deadly Animals' simply on the basis of Marie Tierney's characterisation of her protagonist, Ava Bonney, the dazzling light of this British Crime Thriller.

Ava is a character of conviction: forceful, organic in her transformative arc from introspective at thirteen to the affable and brave fourteen-year-old at the novel's close. Ava is as absorbing a character as any Bildungsroman star - a self-possessed juvenile of Fox Network's Dr Temperance Brennan.

I felt like I was re-reading Deirdre Sullivan's 'Perfectly Preventable Deaths' throughout, with notes of 'Follow Me to Ground' by Sue Rainsford.

Aside from comparisons, though, this is a robust debut. My thanks go to author and publisher for a pre-release digital copy.