If you are a fan of Freida McFadden, you will really like The Funeral by Helen H. Durant. Alice Anderson mysteriously gets invited to a funeral for,,, herself?? Then she discovers a world of gaslighting and mystery as she tries to discover several truths as the story unfolds. Who borrowed the name she gave up three years ago? Who is the family that the mysterious new Alice was working for? What are the secrets in Alice’s past waiting to be exposed?

This book has the twists you love that keep you up all night, and the narration by Sarah Durham was superb.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the advance copy of this audiobook.

#NetGalley #TheFuneral #Bookoutureaudio

This was a great psychological thriller! Loved this audiobook. I think the author did a phenomenal job narrating the book as well. This one had me hooked from the very beginning. Great listen!

The Funeral by Helen H. Durrant and narrated by Sarah Durham was a excellent psychological thriller and so addictive, full of twists and turns throughout. I love the way the author Helen writes, she always draws you in with great characters and a great storyline. The Funeral was no different! Excellent audiobook/book!

An email arrives in a woman's email account and its anonymous. She doesn't use her email much only goes on her account just to check her emails especially as she has been living under the radar for the three years. She has even changed her name to Donna. The e mail asks her to attend a funeral, in the email it tell her the date and time. . . . . But no name of the person's funeral she has to attend! Donna goes but, is not sure who's the funeral she's attending is, whether she knows them or not!
Donna attend the funeral and feels so out of place and she know no one there! Surrounded by strangers Donna walks to where the coffin has been laid and looks at the white coffin and see's a name. . . .. . . . . Alice Anderson!

Who is Alice Anderson?

That was Donna's name before she changed it.

Why has she been invited to Alice Anderson funeral and how did she die?

Why is she here?

Is she safe?

Donna starts to talk to a couple at the funeral Max and Tara, individually and she finds out they were Alice's employers. Whilst at the wake, they ask Donna if she would like to work for them, as she was a friend of Alice. They did not know much about Alice, especially as she did not talk about her past to anyone. Her life was a secret.

Does Donna say Yes to their job offer?

WoW. . . . . . Donna has to be very careful and she must keep her secrets close to her, someone has asked her to go to this funeral and they want to find her! But what do they want from her?

The narrator Sarah Durham was excellent.

4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨


Helen H. Durant’s The Funeral is a masterclass in quiet tension and emotional unraveling. Set against the somber backdrop of a family gathering for a funeral, this novel peels back layers of long-held secrets, guilt, and unspoken grief with remarkable subtlety.

What I Loved:
The atmosphere is stunning—heavy, claustrophobic, and yet strangely intimate. Durant does an incredible job capturing the awkwardness, the suppressed emotions, and the strange moments of honesty that often surface when people come together to mourn. The dialogue feels authentic, filled with subtext and emotional undercurrents.

Character work is another highlight. Every family member brings their own baggage, and Durant makes you feel it. No one is purely likable or detestable; they’re complicated and fully realized. The slow reveal of past events is paced just right, keeping you engaged without ever feeling rushed.

Also, the writing itself is beautiful—restrained yet powerful, and packed with emotional resonance. Durant’s ability to say so much with so little is impressive.

What I Didn’t Love:
While the emotional depth is a strength, it can also make the novel feel a bit too internal at times. Readers looking for action or plot-driven momentum might find it slow in parts. Some side characters also felt underused—introduced with promise but not given enough space to develop.

Final Thoughts:
The Funeral is an emotionally intelligent novel about memory, silence, and the complicated ways we grieve. It’s not flashy or fast-paced, but it lingers in your mind with the weight of real emotion and truth. If you appreciate literary fiction that’s introspective and quietly devastating, this book is well worth your time.

Highly recommended for readers who enjoy family dramas, emotional nuance, and beautifully crafted prose.


❤️shaye.readss

Thank you Netgalley, Bookouture Audio and Helen H Durrant for the audio Arc of The Funeral.
Narrated by Sarah Durham

Donna, who has been in hiding for 3 yrs and gets an anonymous email inviting her to a funeral. Upon arriving, finds out that the person who has been buried has the same name as her. Her old name, Alice Anderson. Feeling uncomfortable and out of place, she gets talking to a Max Marsden and finds herself working in his household. But, all is not as it seems as it feels she is filling the shoes of the deceased.

This is the first of Helen's books and have seen her name around in books for a long while. I found the general premise intriguing and its well paced and written. I did lose some attention as the pacing dropped off to character develop more once " Alice " was working. The twists and the gradual unravelling of the plot was engaging and suspenseful as was the final.

This book was narrated by Sarah Durham which I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her voice, very well suited to this sort of psychological thriller.

4 stars

Donna Slade has started a new life, she moved, changed her name and is living a quiet life as a new person. Then she receives an email invitation to a funeral, it is addressed to her past self. What follows is a twisty turvy roller coaster of a thriller. Nothing is quite as it seems. This sucks you in and keeps you guessing until the very end.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the advanced listener copy. I highly recommend this unputdownable thriller.

Having no money, only 1 friend and been hiding for 3yrs, Alice has been sent an invite from anonymous email address to a funeral. I can’t imagine going to a funeral and not knowing the deceased

Alice arrives at the funeral, only to find the gravestone has her name, Alice Anderson

What is she hiding? Who knows her secrets? I couldn’t put this audio down, was hooked from the start with the crazy twists with the family. Definitely recommend it

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookoutre

First off thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this before publication date.
Narration wasn't to my liking and maybe if I would have read the book itself maybe I would have rated a bit higher.

The funeral
Helen H Durrent
Good Narration by Sarah Durham
Thanks to NetGalley for this advance copy
Having read and enjoyed a couple of this author’s police procedurals I was looking forward to this psychological thriller the synopsis was good the cover inviting however sadly I was very disappointed
This was one of the most implausible books I have read , I can suspend belief and buy into fantasy realms , I can understand improbable coincidences to move along a story , but a woman who had been in hiding under an assumed name suddenly goes to work for a family she has just met at a funeral because they instantly offer her the dead persons job , is just ridiculous !
All the characters are awful , obnoxious , unpredictable and not in a way that understandable or relatable and have absolutely no depth .
This was a book I very nearly NDF
I can see from other reviews that plenty of other readers enjoyed the book so I am obviously not in the majority , however there was nothing I enjoyed

Helen H. Durrant’s The Funeral is a gripping psychological thriller that delves into themes of identity, secrets, and the haunting nature of past choices. The novel opens with an anonymous funeral invitation received by the protagonist, who is living under an assumed name to escape a troubled past. Upon attending the funeral, she is shocked to discover that the name on the coffin is her own, plunging her into a suspenseful quest to uncover who is behind this eerie message and what they want from her.

Durrant masterfully crafts a narrative filled with twists and turns, keeping readers on edge as the protagonist navigates a web of deceit and danger. The plot is intricately woven, with each revelation adding depth to the mystery and compelling the reader to question the motives of every character introduced.

The author’s prose is sharp and engaging, effectively conveying the protagonist’s paranoia and desperation. Durrant’s skillful pacing ensures that the tension remains high throughout the novel, culminating in a climax that is both surprising and satisfying.

The Funeral is a testament to Durrant’s prowess in the psychological thriller genre, offering a story that is as thought-provoking as it is thrilling. It’s a must-read for fans of suspenseful narratives that explore the complexities of identity and the lengths one will go to protect their secrets.

We start off not knowing our main character’s name got invited to a funeral via email. She is hiding she owes money. She’s broke and it sounds like she has changed her identity against her better judgment. She goes to the funeral, even though she doesn’t know who the funeral is for there was no information I won’t give it away, but she is in for a shock when she gets there!
Two chapters in and I am hooked
This funeral has changed “Donna’s” life, and multiple times she ignored her gut instinct telling her to leave, but instead she accepts the dead girls job and moves in.
Everyone in this book has a story and says bad things about everyone else. It’s impossible to tell who is lying and who is telling the truth. Who is good and who is bad. No one is nice to Donna and they always threaten her, but she stands up for herself.
The mysteries continue to pile up so many of them wrapped up in one book.

The invitation was anonymous, but whoever sent it knows my secrets. I don't know who's funeral I am to attend and I do not want to go, but I have no choice. As I look around the gathered group, no one looks familiar. Then I see the headstone and there is something very familiar there: my name! Alice Anderson. I haven't used that name in years, but someone must know who I really am. Now I have to find out who and what they want.

The plot of this one grabbed my attention on NetGalley, but the audio on this one felt very flat and I had a hard time wanting to keep listening. I think this one would have rated higher for me if I had read it rather than listened to it. The narration had no variation between different speakers, so it makes it hard to follow conversations. The story jumps right in, and I was into it, it was just hard to listen to such a flat reading of the story. It is worth reading but skip the audio version.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the audiobook for review.

Thank you netgalley for this ALC.

What a twisty audiobook this was! From the get go, it sets the scene of stolen identities, to attending a funeral no one would ever think is possible.

This family was twisted. Actually cracked. Some things that were done left you questioning why? The reverse phycology and gaslighting was heavy in this book and it fit the narrative in such a spiderweb of a way.

I enjoyed how the characters were all flawed in their own way, and it really built the story up. You could never guess who was the real victim until the last 20% of the book when it all came crashing down. The little mysteries had me playing detective alongside the fmc. It was a fun and enjoyable listen!

This was a dnf for me. It was difficult to "buy in" that she would get hired to work for people that she just met at a funeral. The characters were all very unlikeable and just not my cup of tea. A bit too whiney and repetitive inner monologue. Sorry, I did like the premise.

This one started off strong and had me engaged for the first few chapters but after the first 1/4 of the listen the pace slowed somewhat. I found the storyline got a little bizarre but not in a good way. For me it felt like the storyline and characters needed further development as it felt like the it jumped around a bit and like you were missing something and further clarify was needed in places. For me how it came together was underwhelming and left me with some unanswered questions. It had potential but lost its way a little.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen and review #TheFuneral

Unfortunately for this book, both the NetGalley and The GoodReads both categorize it as a 'psychological thriller'. In reality, it is just cozy 'housewife mystery'. And be warned (a mild spoiler) the mystery from the beginning does not get solved but serves as a set up for a sequel.

This books has such a great hook but it all goes south super fast.
There is only so much disbelief I am willing to suspend especially if the author herself is making absolutely zero effort to be convincing.
A bunch of individuals acting like lunatics for no apparent reason gives an effect like I've been dropped into the middle of Season2 of a family drama. Red flags and warning signs everywhere, but they are so rich and the husband is so handsome, and the clothes so beautiful ... we don't know why Alice/Donna excels at reading people but at the same time has absolutely zero sense of self preservation.

The writing feels stilted, the plot so feeble you will miss it if you blink but the narrator is quite good. This books will likely appeal to the fans of the author but I don't know if it will gain her new followers.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Whilst I did enjoy the narrator in the audiobook. I found the characters in this book really annoying! There were some good twists and kept you wanting to see what was going to happen. I just found the characters Tara and Hannah really irritating.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the chance to listen to this book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Funeral by Helen H. Durrant

I had the chance to listen to the audiobook version of The Funeral by Helen H. Durrant, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a gripping thriller/mystery that will definitely appeal to fans of Freida McFadden.

The story begins with a simple email and invitation to a funeral. What follows is a tense investigation full of secrets and lies.

I thought I had it all figured it out, especially when I started suspecting Nico, but i couldn’t have been more wrong! The final twist took me completely by surprise and let me wondering if a second book might be on a horizon. 👀 I need to know more about Max and his, not so legal, business.

The narrator, Sarah Durham, did a brilliant job.

I enjoyed this one, the narration was well done. I did find it a bit repetitive at times but the storyline was interesting and with some good twists along the way. This is perfect for someone who loves physiological thrillers and mystery's. Looking forward to see what the author writes next. Thanks to netgalley & the publisher for this audio arc.

Definitely does not disappoint. Psychological thriller for sure. I finished it in one day! I really enjoyed this! I was able to be an early reader for the audiobook version. The narrator is great!