Wealthy and privileged, Alex has an easy path to success in the Parisian elite. But he and his domineering father have never seen eye to eye. Desperate to escape his life, Alex seeks freedom on the streets of Paris with his new friend Sami. His rebellion takes a sinister turn when Alex's father is found dead, and both boys are imprisoned for murder. Seven years later Alex is released from prison with a single purpose: to discover who really killed his father.

I ended up enjoying this more than I’d expected! Initially anticipating a popcorn thriller, this came with an extra level of depth about parent-child relationship against the backdrop of political turmoils in Paris.

The alternating chapters between Alex’s past and present offered interesting contrasts. The ‘past’ Alex was whiney, spoilt and didn’t appreciate his life as much as he should’ve. Of course, he didn’t realise how fortunate he was until he lost it all. Not gonna lie, I didn’t like the ‘past’ Alex at all.

The ‘present’ Alex, on the other hand, knew better. He was more sceptical of life in general. My heart broke for him as I followed his journey to find the truth.

This was a great psychological mystery suspense that was delivered even better as an audiobook!

This book took me a bit of time to get into it. I enjoyed the premise of the book (a young boy who has been wrongfully imprisoned for his father's murder), and it gave Sophie McKenzie vibes. Towards the end I began to feel more invested in the characters and the story. The audiobook was very well narrated and helped my enjoyment of the story.

Thank you Netgalley, Megan Davis and Bonnier Audio for the audio Arc of The Messanger.

Narrated by Adam Sims

I really enjoyed this slow burn psychological Thriller based in noir Paris. Even though the narrative is slow burn, it does have some very tense places within the storyline which keeps you gripped and at the edge of the seat. It did take a little time for me to get into the book, but once I did, I finished it very quickly. Adam Sims did a great job narrating this book. His voice has a great vocal pace which suits this book.

3,5 stars

I think this one was too slow paced for me, I just couldn't really get into the story and found it hard to finish if I'm honest.
Thanks to NetGalley, the editor and the author for the opportunity to access this copy.

It took me a long time to get into this novel and many attempts before I was able to finish it. It's marketed as as noir but it's more like grimey upper middle class Paris outcasts.

I enjoyed this book once I got into it.

I was a bit distracted by the narration to begin with. The book is set in Paris and the narrator did a good job of giving different voices to the cast of characters. However, they did use some UK regional accents, which caused me some confusion and pulled me out of the flow of the narrative.

I found the premise of the story quite interesting, and the book is quite well paced. There are some interesting societal questions raised in the story.

Thank you SO much to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I finished this but it was hard going, as a bit too spy filled for moi!

My full review is to follow in a few days.....

I really liked the voice of the narrator, and that was the main thing that kept me listening. I liked the content, and the 'questionable' narrator. The main fault was the length of the book and the lack of momentum. It started off well but then just struggled to keep my attention. It just felt very flat.

This book has way too much happening for me to give a decent review but what I will say is Eric was being raised by his father Eddie who had a bully holier than thou type attitude so when Eddie and his friend Sam decide to rob his dad Sam goes upstairs to rob him and the next thing they know Eric and Sam are being arrested for his murder. After Eric serves time he wants to know who really killed his dad in the rest of the book is him searching for these answers and also a retrospect of his life with his dad, butt where this book went I was not prepared and OMG this really was a good book can a murder mystery feel like a Gothic read because this one certainly did. Set in Paris, with a pulse pounding atmosphere the author really knows how to ramp up the tension with just every day Life stressors the mystery reaches international places and I really enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed the narration Buy Adam Sims this really was an original read in one any mystery fan would love. If you like family drama mixed with international dealings you’ll definitely love the Messenger by Megan Davis. Throughout the book I kept thinking it had such a Gothic feel for a current day novel I DK but if you read it you may understand it was a great book and one I definitely recommend. I want to thank Xapher, bonaire UK audio and NetGalley for my free arc audio copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Set in Paris, with beautiful scenes the story is set in 2 timelines. I found the characters intense and the story was heavy going and not in a good way! Even with such lovely scenery the story did improve after about half way but was slow and not for me.

I think this is going to be a marmite title; you’ll love it or hate it. I’m somewhere in between and I think that’s down to the narrator. I found the nasal monotone delivery a real struggle and quite offputting and it made me wonder if I’d have enjoyed a written edition more. That said, the story and subject matter is very downbeat and whilst I like real life grit, I didn’t enjoy much of the relentless misery in this tale.

It’s ambitious in scope; maybe that’s part of the problem. The author is trying too hard to be clever and cover numerous social issues as well as the murder story aspect, There is a dark underbelly to Paris and this is explored through drug abuse, the immigrant cris and more but it doesn’t make fir pleasurable reading. I wished there were moments to lighten the misery and excruciating detail of Alex’s father’s habits and Alex’s difficulties. I’m torn; 4 stars as it’s well written, but two overall for narration and because I really struggled to engage and finish.

I found this quite slow, but Interesting. It took a long time for the mystery to unfold, but I guess it was worth it.
I listened to the audiobook version, the narrator was fine and I liked that it was set in Paris. Made a change.

I’m sure the style of the narrator was deliberate and probably arty but it wasn’t for me and I just couldn’t listen past about a quarter.

Every now and again a great thriller comes along, this is one of them. The narrator was perfectly suited to the premise and plot. Really enjoyed the characters that stood out despite the market being flooded with thrillers at the minute. Great book and audio

“Rosamund Lupton meets Lupin”: This is the strap-line that drew me to this novel, as I like both the novelist’s work and Lupin on TV. There is indeed a touch of the former but this story does not deliver on the latter – wry humour, which is so characteristic of the TV series, simply isn’t present. Lupin was probably referenced because of the series’ setting, although the backdrop for the show depicts a very different, and more polished Paris/France in contrast to the downbeat and sordid city depicted in this book.

This is a coming-of-age novel very much set in a dark and dismal Paris. Tourists generally understand that the city has a darker heart than is at first sight apparent, one that feels desolate and dangerous on so many levels.

Teenager Alex is living with his father in Paris, his mother is in New York. The relationship he has with each parent is dysfunctional; his father drinks, tends to walk around the flat in the nude, undermines his son and is generally unpleasant; he also thinks nothing of bedding the mothers of Alex’s fellow classmates. Alex’s experiences of life at home, therefore, result in deep self-loathing, and the stress of his friendless situation at school heightens bouts of eczema all over his body. He finds himself associating with Sami, a homeless young man and together they are eventually accused of the murder of Alex’s father. A jail sentence ensues and the storyline switches between the periods before and after incarceration, having each been found guilty of murder. Alex is adamant that the two young men were not responsible for the killing and once released, he comes to understand that his father, in his role of journalist, was investigating something and that it is no coincidence that a second journalist has been murdered. Alex is driven to try and understand what has been happening, so that he can perhaps exonerate himself, and he finds himself descending into a morass of intrigue and danger.

Having set the early scene, the storyline spins off into a world of drugs, as Alex is egged on by two classmates to supply certain commodities, which inevitably does not hold him in good stead at his trial.

At the heart of the narrative is a good premise but there are just so many themes causing the storyline to get bogged down, lose its focus, and, at times, it just didn’t seem to know where it was going. The author is an acute observer of people and their proclivities but it felt all so astutely pejorative and grimly real that it evoked a mild sense of disgust in me. The migrant crisis, local responses and camps form another backdrop, as Alex finds himself confronted by the undercurrents within the milieu.

I listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by actor Adam Sims, who assumes a monotone and nasal American voice à la Stanley Tucci and then moves to different accents to distinguish the different characters. The slightly downbeat tenor of the narration, without a lot of undulation, added to the gloom and although it didn’t put me off, I found it hard to engage. The style somehow also mirrored the 1950/60s Cold War vibe of the bookcover, which doesn’t really represent the main body of the storyline.

The seamier side of Paris is certainly well depicted in this novel.

This has promise but i didn’t finish listening as I couldn’t engage with the narrators voice. I found myself having to really concentrate on paying attention. I’d be interested to read a physical copy as I was really looking forward to it but based solely on the audio version, I can’t recommend.

I may have managed to get to the end, if the narrator hadn't had such a monotonous, disinterested style of reading. I listened to 40%, saw there was still 7 hours to go and decided I really didn't care what happened.
I found the characters totally unlikeable and had no interest in finding out why things had taken place.
If you want to find out how to buy drugs on the streets of Paris, then this is the book for you. If you want a good story with interesting characters and a couple of plot twists, then look elsewhere.

This book had so much promise. I loved the plot, and the audio narration was fantastic! But the ending was anticlimactic.

Alex and Sami were imprisoned for the murder of Alex's dad. Alex is out of prison now and is determined to uncover the mystery surrounding his father's death and find out who the killer was.

I was engrossed in the story and enjoyed it until the last two chapters. The reveal felt too easy...I guess I expected more.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier UK Audio for the free audio copy of the book.

Engaging book that will stay with me long after I turn the final page. Narrator does a great job with the material

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of those onion novels, where you have to keep peeling back the layers to discover the mystery.

As we follow Alex's timeline both leading up to his father's murder seven years previously and his search for answers after his release from prison for committing that murder, conspiracy, upon conspiracy, upon conspiracy pile up for a riveting read.

Oh, and be prepared to disappear down an internet rabbit hole, of you read/listen to the authors note at the end.