This was the first book I have read by Helen Durrant. The Funeral is about a lady whose name is Alice Anderson who is going by Donna due to circumstances from her past. The invite does not state who the invite is from or who the funeral is for but she goes anyways. At the funeral she peers over the coffin and realizes she is at a funeral for Alice Anderson. This book is the journey she goes on to find out who took her name and why.

First off I am so glad my family is not as dysfunctional as Max, Tara, and Hannah. This book keeps you intrigued throughout the whole story. When I first listed to the Audio version of this the narrator’s voice was putting me to sleep but after a bit I got used to it and it was fitting for Donna/Alice. This book had many twist that make me keep guessing who was behind everything. I am hoping there is a sequel to this book to find out what continues to happen to Alice. I look forwards to reading more books by Helen.

Thank you NetGalley. And Bookouture Audio for the change to listen to this ALC for an honest review.

The narrator was excellent but sadly that’s where it ends.

I found the book to be a real disappointment. Even from the first page I thought the story was totally unbelievable and to be honest ridiculous.
Every plot twist was in my opinion daft and just over exaggerated.

Not a great book but managed to finish it due to the excellent narration.

A well narrated book that was an easy listen. I quite enjoyed it but had to suspend belief a tad. A bunch of truly horrible people!

Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio version of this title in exchange for my review.

Normally, I avoid books that are labeled "unputdownable" both because I find them easy to put down, and that's not a word. However, I decided to try this one based on the summary. Maybe not a page turning thrill ride, but it was a good story.

If you got an invitation to a funeral for someone you didn't know, would you go? What if the invitation had your original name on it, not the alias you had adopted for safety's sake. Well, our main character throws caution to the wind and attends the funeral. And that's where the chaotic rollercoaster starts!

Twisted family dynamics, untrustworthy characters and dark secrets abound in this one.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Audiobook Review: The Funeral (also published as The Other Alice) by Helen H. Durrant
Narrated by Sarah Durham

I received this audiobook from NetGalley, and I truly appreciate the opportunity to discover and read new authors and share my thoughts.

This was my first book by Helen H. Durrant, and while I always enjoy diving into a new mystery, The Funeral just wasn’t quite the right fit for me. That said, I did listen to the entire audiobook and appreciated the effort and structure of the story. The premise—centered around the discovery of a woman’s true identity at her own funeral—was intriguing and had strong potential.

The narrator, Sarah Durham, did a solid job throughout. I enjoyed her accent and thought her delivery was clear and well-paced. She brought the characters to life with distinct inflections and an emotional tone that complemented the darker themes of the story.

The plot follows a woman named Alice, who seemingly lived a quiet, isolated life—until her death raises questions that expose long-buried secrets. As detectives unravel her background, they uncover a tangle of lies, hidden connections, and a past that refuses to stay buried. While the mystery elements were present, the pacing and character development didn’t fully hook me in the way I had hoped.

Still, I know Helen H. Durrant has a strong following in the British crime fiction genre, and I can appreciate the layered storyline and effort that went into building the suspense. Even though this book wasn’t quite my style, I’d be open to trying another title from her in the future.

Thank you again to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook!

I found “The Funeral” to be a solid psychological thriller that drew me in with its intriguing premise. The story opens with Donna receiving an anonymous funeral invitation, only to discover the name on the gravestone, Alice Anderson, is the name she abandoned three years ago.

The mystery kept me engaged as I followed Donna’s unraveling of trust, through the last quarter felt rushed, leaving me going back to check if I missed something, as the pacing seemed off. The characters, like the suspicious Max, Tara, and their unpredictable daughter Hannah, added layers of distrust, and the final twist caught me off guard in a good way. The isolated setting was eerie, but some plot points stretched believability a bit. Sarah Durham’s narration brought a fitting tension to the story, which helped keep me invested.

While I liked the novel, I wasn’t as swept away has I’d hoped – the rushed ending dulled its impact. Still, it’s a decent 3.5 star read for those who enjoy a twisty thriller with a dark edge.

"The Funeral" by Helen H. Durrant delivers a premise ripe with suspense: an anonymous invitation to a funeral for someone with your own name. This intriguing setup certainly held my attention initially, promising a twisty tale of secrets and hidden identities.
However, while the core idea is compelling, the execution ultimately felt somewhat average. The plot progressed at a decent pace, revealing pieces of the puzzle gradually, but it lacked the sharp turns and unexpected revelations that would have elevated it from a merely satisfactory read. Similarly, the characters, including the protagonist grappling with her past, were adequately developed, but didn't possess the depth or complexity to truly resonate. They served the story well enough, but didn't linger in my mind long after turning the final page.
Overall, "The Funeral" offers a passable thriller experience. It's an engaging enough read if you're looking for something to occupy your time, but don't expect anything particularly groundbreaking in terms of plot or character development. A solid three-star effort.

I wanted to love this, but it fell flat for me. I was bored throughout the story. The narrator was great, but the story just didn’t hold my interest, and I had to really focus in order to keep the storyline fresh in my mind.

The families in this psychological thriller are so messed up that it’s ALMOST unbelievable and I found myself shaking my head and saying “as if” at numerous points throughout the audiobook. However the narrator of the audio book, Sarah Durham is so engaging and connected to the tale that she successfully brings listeners along for a wild albeit somewhat predictable ride. I found the characters a bit hard to swallow and not overly realistic, and pretty unlikeable but Helen Durrant somehow manages to craft a story that I needed to stick to until the end. Big thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to listen to an advance audio version in exchange for a review.
3.5 stars!

The Funeral by Helen H. Durrant, an audiobook narrated by Sarah Durham, is an absolute loony bin family thriller where everyone is on the top of the mad scale! WOW! This is the next level of messed-up family!
Let's talk about the narrator. There are two types of good narrators: one who reads the story and delivers it to your satisfaction, and another who connects with the story, and you can feel - narrator lives in the story! This one is the second one! Sarah Durham literally left her soul there! It was so yummy!
Talking about the book - oh, well... everyone is mad in this book! You can't decide who to love and who to hate because all of them are from the funny farm.
I can't say the twists left me speechless, I had my suspicions, but the ending took me by surprise, that's for sure!

Alice received an e-mail invitation to the funeral. No one said who's... She attends a funeral and sees that her name is on the deceased. If you think this is mad, she accepted the dead woman’s job and an abode in a house as well... In the house where everything seemed all wrong... And every day becomes more challenging than the previous one. And one day all falls apart...

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture Audio, for this copy!

Maybe I have read too many thrillers, or maybe I’ve been reading the wrong ones, because so often I find myself two or three chapters in and already having a very clear idea of where the story is going and who the villain is. The Funeral is a refreshing change from all of that.

The premise is compelling: who wouldn’t be curious if they’re were invited to their own funeral? What follows is creepy, strange and disturbing, and our heroine, Donna, is right to be wary of all around her.

One particular strength of the book, for me, was that Donna’s first person perspective was not granted the kind of omniscience that too often detracts from the plot. There are clear holes in her knowledge, gaps in the plot in which she has found herself, and there is no rush from the author to fill them or round them neatly off.

It would be fair to say that there are some deeply unpleasant characters in the book, who seem unlikely to have a redemption arc in subsequent novels in the series teased by the book’s ending. I was on the edge of my seat for most of this audiobook, and am genuinely looking forward to the sequel so I can find out what Donna/Alice uncovers.

The narration was excellent, with different characters expressed clearly. If I had to criticise anything, it would be the comparative absence of the Mancunian accent our protagonist is supposed to have. And while I don’t expect a caricature as accent, it was almost imperceptible. This didn’t detract from the overall experience - I still finished the book in 3 days - but if Donna’s Manchester upbringing is to become more important in subsequent books, I’d expect this to be addressed.

Overall, 4 stars from me, but excited to have been introduced to a new author. I’ll be watching out for future books with interest, and checking out her back catalogue while I wait.

I found this to be a very original, and listenable audiobook in the psychological fiction genre.

The plot starts in a quite remarkable way - Donna, a young woman who lives her life undercover in an attempt to evade a loan shark, is mysteriously lured to the funeral of an unknown acquaintance with the promise of a gift from the estate of the deceased. Donna is both horrified and intrigued to discover the name on the gravestone is her own birth name!

In what is quite possibly the strangest day ever!, Donna leaves the funeral having accepted a job from a family she meets at the funeral who have links to the deceased.

What follows is a lot of amateur sleuthing on the part of Donna, who discovers she had connections to this family in ways she couldn’t possibly have imagined.

I found the narration good, being easy to follow and pleasant to listen to.

Overall a very decent listen!

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

This high quality audio was a binge feast. I was hooked from the beginning, full of mysteries and no trust worthy characters this had me so invested . There were omg moments and could this really happen or is ott. Gripping and full of action from the first word. It constantly asked me questions how did she get the email invite, who is playing who and why? I loved hearing the story through the eyes of Alice, some of the reveals about her past were way out there and hard to comprehend . Skillful narration meant the emotion of all the characters shown through, i loved not knowing who to trust and who was really the villan there were plenty of red herrings and misdirection. I was shocked at the final review and the last chapter made me believe there is potentially a sequel or spin off possible. I found it hard to believe you could vanish for 3 years and use another name and get by and still someone contact you by email this was the part that was not explained in enough detail for me but this could be overlooked. The dynamics of husband and wife at the office was well executed . This is a highly recommended 5 star listen, which is a quick action fueled 5 star listen. Thank you netgallery, publisher, narrator and author.

I really enjoyed this one. It's a gripping mystery that pulled me in from the very first chapter, and I was fully invested the entire way through.

The story follows Donna, who receives a mysterious email inviting her to a funeral, with no idea who has died. When she arrives, she is shocked to see her own name on the coffin: Alice Anderson, a name she has not used in three years. That moment sets the tone for the rest of the book. What follows is a twisty and fast paced mystery as Donna meets the dead woman’s wealthy and very strange employers, who end up offering her a job. She accepts, determined to find out who the woman really was, why she was using Donna’s name, and who sent the email in the first place.

I liked Donna as a main character. She was strong, determined, and not afraid to stand up for herself, even when the people around her were awful. That said, there were definitely moments when her decisions made me want to shake her.

One of my favorite things about this book was the constant sense of unease. You truly cannot trust a single person. I was suspicious of every character, always second guessing who was lying and who was actually telling the truth. I loved that.

Some parts were a little unrealistic, but honestly, I didn't mind as I was having such a great time. This was a fun and fast paced mystery full of twists and turns, perfect for anyone looking for an easy and entertaining read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the early access.

Arc review 🍀
The funeral by Helen H Durrant (4⭐)

This book immediately pulls you in with its intriguing premise: a woman receives a mysterious funeral invitation with no clue as to who has died. Out of fear that a long buried secret may come to light, she attends only to discover that the deceased is listed as Alice Anderson, her former identity from three years ago. Now known as Donna, she finds herself surrounded by strangers mourning a version of her she thought she had left behind. As the story unfolds, she must keep her secrets safe while unraveling who knows the truth and what they want from her.

The pace of the book was excellent ,it was very fast paced and immersive . While the plot twist wasn’t a massive shock, it was well-executed, made sense within the story, and ultimately felt satisfying to me .
I was really annoyed with Tara and Max throughout the whole book and when things where revealed it didn't make sense to me how they suddenly became normal and kind to Alice or should I say Donna anyways so that bothered me a little but I was definitely making my judgements early because the last part of the book was really satisfying and fulfilling and it tied everything together beautifully.🌸
Thank you to Bookouture Audio and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this ALC 🩷🫶

Enjoyed this audio book and it had a reality good narrator.

This was a fast paced thriller with surprises in almost every chapter. You don’t know who to trust and you don’t know who the villain is until the very end.

I enjoyed the surprise event in the book and the story ended with the main character solving one mystery and getting ready to start to solve another. So there is potential for a sequel here.


I received a complimentary copy of this title and all opinions expressed are strictly my own.

I was all in for a thriller with some good twists and what I read was not thrilling and honestly not very well written either. The characters where all extremely bland and lacked common sense and any real backstory that I could understand the motivations and choices they made. Our main character The real Alice was very niave in the sense she never believed anything anyone said and assumed ahe knew more about these people she had just met. Also the twists and turns didn't make any sense and the The dynamics between characters where number one laughable and number two I felt I was apart of a soap opera with the dialoge and the constant switches in tone. Also Hannah was written. As a 23 years old but she read far more to a 15 year old with a big mouth and very little brain cells. Everyone fears this man so much and yet no one walks away or leaves and we never truly understand the motivations for the evilness we are told about and rarely see. The story as a whole was trying to hard to be a thriller with high stakes but I felt far more that it was very low stakes and for the main character until towards the end there was never any real reason she should be staying. So much of the twists and writing was to add so much tension to what we find out is more then less not as intense as first assumed ( except the murder part that made sense for the tension). I didn't connect with the writing or any of the characters snd felt they all read very young and honestly all lacking in the common sense department. Also the dialogue was very infuriating and grating and ended up more then once coming across petulant and over the top. This wasn't for me sadly and I can't recommend.

While the narration is perfect, and the premise is interesting, I just did not connect with this book. I did not develop a "relationship" or any compassion for any of the characters, least of all the protagonist.
I did love the weird stuff though. I loved the scene were Tara is tearing up Alice/Donna's desk and yelling at her and Alice is like "um I just started 5 minutes ago." Granted she was late so maybe she should have been on time, but still. It was so weird and it made me laugh a little.
I do love my weirdos and this book is all about weirdos.

Suspense like I haven't read before. A constant creeping dread. First reads by this author and won't be my last!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars (Good)
Setting: Small English setting
Genre: Psychological Thriller

The Funeral by Helen H. Durrant has a premise that grabbed me right from the start: an anonymous funeral invitation, a mysterious grave marked with the protagonist’s old name, and the chilling realization that someone knows her deepest secret. It’s an intriguing setup that promises tension, suspense, and plenty of dark twists — and in many ways, the book delivers.

The opening chapters are strong, pulling you into Alice’s world of paranoia and secrets. Durrant does a great job creating an ominous atmosphere, with the funeral scene especially vivid and unsettling. The mystery of who sent the invitation and why kept me turning pages, and there are definitely some clever reveals along the way.

However, while the plot was gripping, I found the pacing uneven. The middle of the book dragged in places, with repetitive internal monologues and some predictable moments. A few characters felt underdeveloped, and I wish their motivations had been explored more deeply. By the time the big twists arrived, they were satisfying — but they didn’t completely make up for the slower sections.

Overall, The Funeral is a solid psychological thriller with an attention-grabbing premise and moments of real tension. While it didn’t completely blow me away, it kept me entertained, and fans of twisty domestic suspense will likely enjoy the ride. #netgalley #thefuneral #booked_this_weekend