Great narrator, LOVED the multiple POVs, especially getting to hear from the POV of Alex. This book kept my interest the entire way through. Will check out more books from this author.

3.5 and rounding up. Lots of twists and turns. It was definitely one of those books that kept me wondering if I had figured out all the reveals up until the end. If you like a slow burn with multiple POVs, flashbacks, unreliable narrators and family thrillers this is the book for you.

This is the second book narrated by Sarah Durham that I've listened to this year, and she did another excellent job especially with the different POVs.

***Thank you to Bookouture Audio for providing me with the Audiobook for free via NetGalley for an unbiased review.

The Family on Smith Street by Elisabeth Carpenter, an audiobook narrated by Sarah Durham was twisty and intense but I would not say nail-biting psychological thriller.
I am a massive audiobook fan, it's definitely my favorite format but this book for me would be better as a book you read. The narrator was great but was hard to separate who is who, and whose point of view it is so for more than half of the book I literally didn't have a clue what is going on. So instead of concentrating on characters and points of view I started to concentrate purely on the story.
If you are like me and feel that you can't follow the book, believe me, by the end all the things will land in place and you will have a clear understanding of what is going on!
In general, I loved the book, I loved the storyline, and I loved the twists as they were dropped in through the story so you will question many things.
This audiobook would benefit from male and female narrators! Definitely, this would make it much easier to follow the story!
Even so, I loved the story I can't give it 5 stars as the confusion was real! And some things didn't make sense and left you with the questions.
A really short summary would be: Joanna never made it back from her night out and it takes time to realise she has been kidnaped. Joanna's daughter Scarlett and her husband James are ready to do everything to get her back. They never realised that solving this case would mean opening so many secrets that have been hidden for many years!
This book maintains suspense from start to finish, I promise you that!
Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for an advance copy! It definitely raised my interest in this author's books!
#BookoutureAudio #TheFamilyonSmithStreet #NetGalley

This thriller had me hooked from beginning to end. The multiple POVs were really good…although, I dreaded when Scarlett's came up. Her need to be in all the business was too much and I didn’t understand why “college” was repeated so frequently. Plot twists kept me from drifting off, but I was left wanting more once the book was finished. I was lucky enough to snag the audio version of the book and the narrator did a wonderful job.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted ARC (audiobook)…as all opinions are my own.

Wow! More wow! Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this well -narrated book by Elizabeth Carpenter. I was spellbound from the get - go.. Many plot twists continued to suck the reader into this dramatic spell binder. I didn't see the end coming as it did and it was a nail biter!

Well done and I'll be turning this on to my friends as well.

This is first book that I’ve read by this author and it certainly will not be my last. I enjoyed this one so much that I actually listened to it in one sitting. Narrated wonderfully by Sarah Durham. This is a tense and gripping read that once you start reading it you will not be able to put it down. Full of twists and turns right up to the final chapter, I loved it. 4⭐️

This is a good book although the ending is predictable. The characters are well developed. There really aren’t any of the typical twists I enjoy in a thriller but this is an easy and enjoyable book.

I was in love with the drama in the book. I could not have guessed the turns this book took and I loved reading it. I had no idea this author was so established and have now found someone I am craving to read again and again!

"How well do you really know them?"
Wow! I can't get this one out of my head. Listening to the audio I was a little confused with no voice change as a different character spoke, but after I caught on to that it was a suspenseful read. I could not figure it out and felt deprived of my brain cells when I realized the awesome twist. Why didn't I see that happening???
The setting is on Smith Street for what appears as a safe neighborhood, yet a serial killer has run loose for years. The characters were in 3 POV's. From Joanne's perspective, she was caught off guard, sedated and kidnapped to an unknown destination. The room she has been placed in is decorated identical to her own bedroom. Someone must have been watching her or "I must know the person who has taken me."
From James, the husband and father of their daughter Scarlett, he seems unfazed by her disappearance as their daughter searches frantically for her mom.
I can't give anything else away, but just know it is worth the time to analyze this clever thriller. I was so wrapped up in the sociopath side of it and haven't read one like this so I liked the change-up.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #BookoutureMedia for the ARC of #TheFamilyOnSmithStreet by #ElizabethCarpenter. First time author for me and I enjoyed it. Following along in the life of Alex was pretty dark. A lot of deceit, murder and twists.

Rounded up to a 4 - here's my PSA if you are listening on audio. Don't give up. If this wasn't a Netgalley arc I probably would have quit about 30 minutes in. Author Elisabeth Carpenter wrote a story with multiple POVs as well as timelines, but with only one narrator, and not enough variation in the character voices, I initially found this to be difficult. It took a bit for me to get into the groove (think joining a double dutch jump rope game). Once I clicked with characters and voices, I was all in.

A lot going on. Tons of twists throughout and overall a great way to spend a few days. I am unfamiliar with this author, but am now looking to see if she has written other thrillers. That's the highest compliment I can give to a book.

This ending up being quite the rollercoaster!

I enjoyed the twists and the suspense throughout so much. I do think it took around 40% to really get going, but once we were nearing the middle of the book I was so eager to find out what had happened to Joanna and who the culprit was.

I kept finding myself thinking about this book when I wasn’t listening to it - and that’s when I know I’m reading a good one!

The only negatives I can think of would be the slow pace at the beginning and sometimes I found it a little difficult to understand which character’s POV we were in as we went from chapter to chapter at the beginning.

I really love a thriller that is full of secrets that the reader is trying to unravel - and this book gave me that!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ALC.

🎧Audio Book Review🎧

The Family On Smith Street
Elisabeth Carpenter

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Wow!
This is the first book I've read by this author and I am literally obsessed!

When Joanna doesn't come home from a night out, James and Scarlet begin to worry about where she is. As the story progresses, and secrets are hinted at, we realise that things are much worse than they originally feared...and the nightmares begin.

Right from the first page, I was completely hooked! The writing style was gripping, chilling and totally immersive. I was on the edge of my seat and so, so confused by what was happening and why.

The story is told over a couple of pov's and timelines and each part was as exciting as the last.
We are fed little snippets of information that seemingly have no relation but then you start to piece together and theory and run with that for a while.
As the storylines progress and more details are revealed I was totally convinced my theory was right, then suddenly, it ll gets ripped away as new developments get twisted into play!

I loved how each of the many threads of this story weaved around each other. Each one working perfectly and never giving too much away. I literally had no clue for at least half the book. Through the next quarter I was constantly making theories ...and changing them. Then the last section just completely blew everything apart before piecing every last link together beautifully.
Even in the epilogue there were new twists coming fast.

The characters were brilliant! Well presented at the start and then developed gradually. There were plenty of "wow" moments and the way they all linked was genius. Especially as there were no clues before each reveal.

An absolute winner for me - the perfect psychological thriller which combines mystery and intrigue with those uncomfortable and shock moments.
Definitely will be looking out for more by this author in the future!



💕Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy - this is my honest review 💕

3-3.5 stars

Solid thriller with lots of twists, some predictable, some not.

The story is told through multiple POVs and timelines. In the present, we hear from Joanna and her daughter Scarlett, after Joanna has been kidnapped. In the 80s and 90s we hear from Alex, who is a serial killer in the making.

I liked how everything came together, especially in the epilogue. Some parts seemed a little far-fetched.

I thought the narrator did a great job. She had to do lots of different voices (elderly man, sick teenager, toddler) and she nailed them all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love a book with a good twist & The Family on Smith Street provides just that. I hadn’t heard of Elisabeth Carpenter previously but I can definitely say for sure that I will be on the lookout for more of her books.

Joanna and her husband, James live on Smith Street with their daughter, Scarlett. They always felt safe in their neighbor right up until the night Joanna was abducted.

This story has multiple POV’s and timelines. In the present day, it’s told mostly by Scarlett, and also by Joanna. The third starts in the 90’s and is told by a disturbed kid, with a troubled home life, that develops into a serial killer. His story leads up to the present day as everything starts to mesh together.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story that I listened to on audiobook. I thought the narration by Sarah Durham was great, including the voices of all the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for providing me with an advanced copy of this audiobook.

Title: The Family on Smith Street
Author: Elizabeth Carpenter
Narrator: Sarah Durham
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Genre: Domestic Thriller
Pub Date: August 14, 2023
My Rating: 3 Stars
Pages: 281

The blurb states~
’An utterly gripping and nail-biting psychological thriller’

I am a big psychological thriller fan so I knew this statement could not be trusted.

However the following did get my attention ~
There’s a killer on our street, and I’m his next victim.
I love living on Smith Street, with its neat houses and friendly neighbors. It’ is a safe place for my daughter
Scarlett to play outside.
My husband James says with his slow smile, nothing bad could ever happen. But he’s wrong.
There has been a killer hiding here for years,
One night when I turn the corner by my home a hand is over my mouth and a needle in my side
– it seems I am the next victim.

Story is told in two timelines from the POV of Joanna -the kidnapped mother, Scarlet – the daughter; and the kidnapper –told in present day. Then there is the POV of Alex in the late 80’s and 90s.

Story starts when Joanna does not return home after a ‘Girls night out”,
Scarlet the daughter, as well as James the dad are lost as to what might have happened.

Next part of the story is Alex Buchanan who is troubled, creepy and the nastiest of all the unlikeable foul-mouth characters. I am sure he has something to do with the present day kidnapping.

Story was a struggle for me. I immediately found the foul-mouth characters unlikeable.
I have a low tolerance for excessive profanity and these characters definitely lack any filler – I am sure that is the way they talk to one another. However, I was having a hard time finding a redeeming quality to stick with this story. I was sure it just wasn’t for me.

I rechecked reviews and saw most were great ~one reader described it as a ‘fun great read’.
I thought okay I am missing something here so stuck with it.

I was curious and did find the twist interesting.
In fact, that final twist was a surprise so I rounded up.

BTW: Sarah Durham the narrator did a great job performing these characters!

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for this early audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 14, 2023.

Just finished listening to this serial killer thriller with dual timelines and multiple POVs. It explores how well we really know our neighbors, friends, and even family members! The story begins with a mom who goes missing in a regular suburban neighborhood. It was a fast paced read with many twists and an ending that is completely shocking!

Thank you @bookouture and @netgalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was a wild ride of a listen. Several points of view, that were hard to put together at first and then made sense. Narrators did a great job. I listened to this one in one day once I started it.

Told from the pov of different characters over different timelines this slow burner throws big punches as the story is drip fed along with twists and turns. Some of it is very far fetched but its gripping. The narrator does a good job of being different characters. I liked the interwoven history. Especially the interactions and insights the narrator makes you want to hear tge action.
I enjoyed the story and woukd recommend this as a quick solid 4 star. Thanks to net gallery and publisher for my digital arc. The audio quality was top motch

The Family on Smith Street was a fantastic read/listen. Endearing characters, a smooth and steady story, an easy read as the author paints a picture that is clear to follow despite the story being told in a split timeline from multiple pov’s and numerous twists and turns along the way which can often be quite hard to grasp, but this was done perfectly. No complaints at all. An ideal domestic thriller, narrated perfectly. #Jorecommends


Thank you to NetGalley and Bookature Audio fir the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.