I had to go away and come back to this listen a few times before I finally got into the rhythm of the story, but it turned out to be an ultimately satisfying read. Stick with it.

Smoke by Michael Brissenden and narrated by Casey Withoos follows Det. Alex Markov as she returns to her hometown of Jasper after being pushed out of the LAPD after speaking out about corruption and cliques within the organisation. However, she finds that even in her hometown, the corruption runs as deep as in the LAPD. Will she let history repeat itself or will she clear out the rot that has become ingrained in her hometown

Casey Withoos is a fantastic narrator, adding an extra ambience to a well written, descriptive plot.

The narrative is strong, the story gripping and Michael Brissenden is an author to to my tbr!

THank you to Netgalley, Wavesound from W.F. Howes Ltd, the author Michael Brissenden and narrator Casey Withoos for this intriguing ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Detective Alex Markova is a strong female lead. She’s single minded and honest and has exposed corruption. Following the death of a friend in a fire, she begins to dig into this so called accident and things turn ugly. The dirt starts piling up with corrupt politicians, police officers and her investigations are threatening. This should have all the elements of a strong police thriller, but it doesn’t quite hit the spot.

I found the first part slow, almost to the point of being dreary. It does pick up and the narrator does an excellent job and helped to keep my attention. The author has a good eye for detail and the characters are a bit mixed. A couple feel a little cliched and one dimensional, but Alex manages to hold the thread of the plot as her enquiries and difficulties escalate. Iverall I was a little disappointed but others may warm to this more.

This is my first listen by this author. I love a good police procedural read and this sounded right up my street. The storyline had great potential especially in terms of the police corruption angle but it just didn’t get there for me. It starts off at a very slow pace but it’s picks up halfway through. I found the narration engaging and it’s what held my attention when I found my mind wondering. It felt like there was something missing as it just didn’t draw me in from the many characters to get to grips with to the believably of the police procedural side of things. I did love most of the characters especially Detective Alex Markov. I love a strong female character that speaks her mind. I’d be interested in reading some more of this authors reads.

Thanks to Netgalley and W.F. Howes LTD for the opportunity to listen to and review #Smoke

A well written book filled with a very realistic tale of a detective who due to speaking up on corruption in LA that she had seen and even been partially part of had to move away from takes herself back to her home town of Jasper, California.

When fires break out and death of a family friend is initially put out as accidental that Andy was stuck in the shed and simply couldn't get out Alex just knows this doesnt feel right and therefore she dives deeper seeing more than what is being shown. So much smoke and mirrors in this novel of corrupt politicians, police officers, all who began groups of covering for each other in various forms, looking the other way from things rhst should not be happening simply to make sure they cover their own previous misdemeanours all from young ages.

This book shows how 1 woman's courage of standing for what she believed in eventually gets her to where she needs to be sadly not without alot of tragedy, grief and of course being set up chased by misogynistic men believing they could take her down and silence her as she is only 1 woman.

She blew the whistle on them, much to their dismay they are the standard typical what we know of these types of groups all too real. I commend the author for delivery of alot of detail in one story, various revelations which we live and see daily and the fact that Alex continues to push on with courage determination and intuition is a beautiful message in today's world.

This was well narrated, and I personally enjoyed listening to this audiobook.

With many thanks and gratitude to Netgalley & Wavesound from W.F. Howes for the opportunity to have an advance copy in return for an open & honest review.