“The Photo" by A J McDine, narrated by Tamsin Kennard, kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.
The story centers around Lara, a former photojournalist whose life is turned upside down when she captures a photo of her presumed-dead brother-in-law, Jason—the man suspected of murdering her sister and nephews a decade ago. As Lara delves into this chilling discovery, her niece Lily's resurfacing memories and social media activities amplify the suspense, leading to a series of dangerous events.
Kennard’s narration vividly brings the characters to life, with Lara’s anxiety and determination particularly well conveyed, The plot’s relentless pace and intricate twists, combined with the family drama and high stakes, made this audiobook incredibly captivating.
The final twists left me breathless, making "The Photo" a must-listen for thriller lovers.

The Photo had me hooked right from the beginning while keeping me intrigued through the whole book. I read this one fast because it was so enjoyable. I appreciated the book not being too predictable with some twists at the end. I listed to the audio version, which I found to be enjoyable. The narrator was easy to listen to and follow,

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the audio ARC.

This book was just ok for me. Not bad, not amazing. I enjoyed parts but overall couldn’t get into the book like I enjoy.

The Photo by A J McDine
Narrated by Tamsin Kennard

It seems as if whenever Tamsin Kennard narrates a book, the characters are in for a wild and crazy ride. Such is the case with this book, too. Hang on for twists and turns worthy of a giant roller coaster!

Ten years ago, Lara, a photojournalist, lost her sister and her twin nephews to a murder. Her niece was attacked, too, but survived and now Lily lives with Lara's mom. After these grisly murders, Lara quit her photojournalist job to take wedding and scenic photos. Now she is so much more aware that behind every crime picture are families whose lives have been destroyed.

The likely murderer of her sister and two nephews was her brother in law, Jason. He's been on the run all these years but during a recent scenic photo shoot, Lara sees Jason in the background of one of her photos. Not only that, disturbing things are happening, things that appear to threaten Lara, Lily, grandmother, and Lara's livelihood..

It doesn't help that at such a stressful time, fifteen year old Lily is drawing attention to herself as she pursues becoming an influencer. Not just a makeup and fashion influencer but she's delving into true crime with her own family's murders as the platform of her social media broadcasts. With all the threats coming their way, Lara, Lily, and grandmother do not need Lily baiting whoever is out there trying to harm them.

I thought I knew exactly who did what although things are more complicated than they seem. Even after what I thought was the final twist there is more. It's as if this story isn't over when it's over. We are still twisting and turning to the very end.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

You'll be surprised by who gets away with murder in this fast-paced thriller. The narrator did a fantastic job! A dedicated and loving father committed a violent act against his family. The one surviving child is now a teenager and her aunt is desperate to keep her niece safe. There is more than one mystery that needs to be resolved in this novel and you can't stop listening until all the secrets are revealed.

This book was very exciting. I loved how the 5 year old girl who survived the attack became a rebellious and curious teenager and set all these things in motion. I loved the grandma character. Also as in many thrillers, there was a twist and it was a good one. A twist after the twist, shall we say. Good thriller! I’d listen to a sequel if there was one.

The Photo's premise is the investigation of a loving father murdering his entire family out of a nowhere and disappearing for 10 years until the sister's of his dead wife notice him in the background of a picture she took. The writing pulls you in right from the start. The narration by the sister shows the urgency of the situation while also being a step removed allowing her investigation to be clouded by her emotions which results in an unreliable narrative style.
The plot twists (and yes there are like 3 in a row) kind of gives you whiplash as pieces fall into place to only be moved again out of nowhere. I'm unsure about the added value of the final plot twist but it does have a good shock value that leaves you wondering for a few minutes after finishing the novel.

I really enjoyed this audiobook, the narrator Tamsin Kennard did an excellent job and the story had me gripped from the start, in fact I binged it which is unusual for me and the twists were certainly unexpected. I will have to look out for more stories from A J McDine.

I listened to the audiobook while gardening and absolutely loved it! The narrator was fabulous and kept me interested. It was a quick, faced paced read that had my jaw dropping at the end! Did not see it coming! Will definitely read and listen to other books from this author!

What an incredibly good book from the very first few words to the very last few. A book I couldn’t stop and needed to know more. The intense start to the drawdropping finish. I couldn’t get enough! Hands down a 5 star read. Who is this author? I must have more!

OMG that ending!! 😱 Absolutely no one saw that coming. Thank You Netgalley, Bookouture Audio, and A.J. McDine for the digital and audio copy narrated by Tamsin Kennard. My favorite way to read a book is with audio and the book. It's like someone is reading to you but looking at the words makes it 10 times better. Tamsin has a slight accent, but it was quite lovely. The more I think of that ending the more the stars lean to 5 stars. It's just hard to rate a thriller 5 stars as usually that means I will re-read and when you know the ending, it's hard to think you'll ever re-read unless it becomes a series. Which it could possibly. The concept and story line were great and although I wasn't necessarily scared, this was no doubt a thriller. Lots of fun, an ending no one would ever guess, and can't wait to read more from A.J. McDine.

If you are looking for a fast paced, quick read with a decent twist, then look no further! The Photo is the right book for you. I thought I had guessed it all, but in the end I was wrong!

Lara is a wedding photographer who is raising her niece, Lily, who is the sole survivor of her families tragic massacre. Lily's father, in a fit of rage, murdered her mother and her twin brothers and then fled the scene leaving Lily for dead. They believed he killed himself after running away. However, when Lara is editing her photos from a wedding she shot, she notices someone in the background who she believed to be dead and her stomach sinks. Staring back at her is her terrifying brother-in-law. This can only mean one thing; he's back and ready to finish what he started.

In true Gen-Z fashion, Lily takes to TiK-Tok when she starts having flashbacks to the night she lost her family. As her followers start climbing, so does her bad luck when weird and scary things begin to happen. As her aunt is trying to protect her from the knowledge her father has returned she continues to put herself and what family she has left in danger.

Will Lara be able to uncover the truth before it's too late?

Pub. date: July 11, 2024
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for my early copy!

I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of "The Photo" by AJ McDine, and I must say, it was an exceptional read. I highly recommend it for its engaging storyline and clever plot twists. Lilly, a survivor of a harrowing event that occurred a decade ago, quickly became one of my favorite characters. Her resilience and depth added significantly to the narrative.

The author's meticulous attention to detail was evident throughout the book, culminating in a satisfying conclusion that neatly tied up the story. The way the main characters actively participated in unraveling the mystery added a dynamic layer to the plot, keeping me on the edge of my seat. The climax was particularly surprising, taking me on an unexpected journey. McDine skillfully dropped hints throughout, allowing the suspense to build and leading readers on a wild chase of theories about past and present events. This book is a must-read for anyone who loves a good mystery filled with suspense and well-crafted characters.

Great narration paired with a highly suspenseful book full of twisty twists that will get you in your feels for the narrator and her niece. Loved it!

I didn’t expect to like this book so much! I was quickly hooked and entertained throughout.

This was my second A.J. McDine novel and it did not disappoint. Fast-paced, intriguing and full of twists. The final reveal is absolutely shocking! A great binge read! Definitely recommend if you’re a fan of the genre and looking for a summer thriller.

Excited to read more from this author!

𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥. 𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦....

Ten years ago, Lara's sister and two nephews were murdered in their home, her five year old niece Lily survived the horrific attack. Lara's brother-in-law Jason has always been the main suspect as he has been missing and pressumed dead since the attack on his family.
Now, while editing some scenic photos she took at a local harbour, her blood runs cold when she sees Jason in the background of her photo.
Lily has also just started her own true crime vlog about what she remembers the night her family was attacked. Fearing Jason has come back to silence Lily, she must try keep her remaining family safe while trying to track down her brother-in-law.
A brilliant mystery thriller that will keep you guessing till the last page. Tamsin Kennard does an excellent job with narrating this twisty thriller.
Thanks to netgalley,bookouture and A.J McDine for this audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This psychological thriller will keep you guessing & will leave you completely shocked at the conclusion. It’s a delightfully twisted mess that kept me hooked until the last page. The story revolves around the death of the FMC’s sister and twins. The husband has been suspected of the brutal crime for years, but he was never found. The FMC is a photographer & noticed her missing brother-in-law in a photo after she returns home & is going through her photos. The police start investigating & searching for him again. Meanwhile, the surviving child of the brutal murders is now a teenager & starts a video crime blog. These two things set in motion a flurry of events to keep evidence buried & the people talking quiet. I highly recommend this fast paced thriller!

A quick palate cleanser.

3.5 stars.

Almost ten years ago, Laura‘s family suffered a horrible tragedy when her sister Isabelle and Isabelle‘s two young sons were brutally murdered, and Isabelle‘s five-year-old daughter Lily barely survived the attack. The prime suspect: Isabelle‘s husband James, who has not been seen since and is presumed dead.

That is, until Laura, a photojournalist turned wedding photographer, notices a man who looks exactly like her brother-in-law in the background of one of her recent photos. Could James still be alive? And if he is, has he come back to finish what he started?

This book drew me in with its unusual premise and its strong, gripping start, but then lost a lot of steam in the middle (among other things, Laura‘s wedding photography drama took up far too much room for my liking, and the story didn‘t move along much). While the pace picked up again towards the end, I found the actual confrontation to be a bit of a let-down, both because it was entirely predictable and because Laura doesn’t actually figure anything out herself, she just stumbles into something and is then told what happened. Also, Laura made some seriously stupid decisions in that house (why on earth was she the only one climbing through that window?! Why not take [***spoiler***] with her - and the knife, for that matter?). It irks me when supposed heroines do not use their brains.

The final twist, however, was more „breathtaking“, as the promotional blurb puts it, so I added half a star for that.

All in all, while this was not quite the page-turner I was hoping for, it was still a decent thriller and, as such, a perfect, quick palate cleanser.

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator did a great job with the material.

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

„The Photo“ is slated to be released on July 11, 2024.

A wedding photographer is reviewing the memory card from a recent job and sees a familiar face in one of the images: her long-missing brother-in-law who disappeared at the same time his wife and twin sons were murdered and their 5 year-old daughter left for dead. The daughter, now a saucy 15 year-old, tells her followers on social media that she is starting to remember events from that fateful day. What follows is a twisted path to find him and to bring the killer to justice. 4.5 rounded up for pure entertainment value and its unexpected (for me) ending. Good writing and well-narrated audiobook.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley for providing an advance copy of the audiobook for review purposes.

On THE PHOTO we follow a professional wedding photographer named Laura, whose sister and 2 nephews were bruttaly murdered at their own house 10 years ago. Laura's niece, Lilly, was the sole survivor of that tragic night, and Laura's brother-in-law has been considered guilty of the murders and for 10 years he has been missing. During one of Laura's weddding events she is taking photos of the guests and realises that one man, who looks exactly like her brother-in-law, is captured by one of her photos. She now goes on a mission to figure out who that man really is and if her brother-in-law is alive and back, she fears that she and Lilly might be in danger.

This book is really fast-paced. A true thriller. And let's be honest...we, thriller readers, know that a lof of books are marketed as 'thrillers' but most of them are anything but that. Not the case here. Not this book. THE PHOTO is a true thriller. And this audiobook is 8 hours long and it goes very fast and easy to listen to.
In my opinion, Laura is an easy character to empathise with and care for. So is Lily.
The mystery around the man in the photo and his true identity is engaging and intriguing, and there is also other mysterious things happening to Laura concerning her job that adds another layer to the complexity of this case.
As for the conclusion, personally, I didn't predict that ending. But I also didn't find it very surprising, either. However, it is twisty. I'm sure there will be readers who will be thrilled about it.

This was my first time reading (or listening to) a book by this author and I'll definitely keep my eye on them in the future.
I do recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers. Period. Because as I said before, this is a true thriller.

I wanna thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for allowing me to listen to a free advanced audiobook copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.