I really enjoyed this book! I look forward to reading other books by this author. There were so many twists in this book I didn’t see coming. But then again I rarely can figure books out. I would definitely recommend this book

Gaslit by R.R. Haywood is a slow burner of a novel but I definitely recommend the audio version as Gethin Anthony is a brilliant narrator, I probably looked a complete loon at times walking the dog and laughing out loud at the way he depicted the characters within and yes I was surprised by the twist ending.

Many thanks to W F Howes and NetGalley for a free audio ARC of this audiobook.

A gripping plot and an ending you won’t see coming

OVERALL: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PERFORMANCE: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
STORY: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


First of all, the noisy narration let down this otherwise enjoyable and entertaining listen. With so many episodes of clicks, swallows, deep breathing, pauses, and etc., the soundtrack needs cleaning up to remove, or at least, drastically reduce the extraneous noise.

Now, to the story itself:

To say the plot focuses mostly on one guy in a mansion on his own with only a few characters here and there—more come in with greater frequency towards the end—this audiobook is gripping, entertaining, perplexing, and laugh-out-loud funny from start to finish with only a few parts that drag on.

As ever with this author, you get plenty of banter and sarcasm as well as brilliant one-liners. It’s a while since I’ve enjoyed an audiobook this much … also by R R Haywood as it happens, with his Extracted trilogy.

Excellent storyline with a twist you won’t see coming. It’s rare I get taken by such surprise! An enthralling listen with a good mystery and plenty of entertaining content. Gaslit gets a solid four stars from me, and I highly recommend this in either book or audio format.

***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.


5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.

4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.

3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.

2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.

1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

When Mike Humber takes up a position as a live in security guard in an empty property, he definitely gets more than he bargained for! As well as the house, there are some strange characters and goings on in the village.

It was pretty hard going as the pace was slow and there was too much repetition, but the narrator, Gethin Anthony, did a great job of making it as interesting as possible. I did almost give up a few times, but I am so glad I didn't because THAT TWIST! OMG!

3 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, R. R. Haywood and W. F. Howes for an ARC in return for an honest review.

You see that big massive giveaway in the title here? A twist you won’t see coming? You’d think as someone who always guesses the twist that would’ve done it for me. I didn’t guess the twist!!!!!! That’s huge for me.

Now for some light criticism I listened to the audio version so I’m obviously unsure how it reads in text, but it felt often like the story was being over explained, almost like the author was checking back to make sure I was keeping up. The same things are repeated often, and I genuinely thought if I heard Danny boy one more time I’d give up.

However, the story does gather pace and come together around the mid way point and it is worth sticking with and as I’ve already said, I didn’t guess the twist!

Eerie, disturbing and often really funny.

Gethin Anthony narrates the title really well, even if he crawled right under my nerves with Danny Boy 😂

My gratitude to W.F. Howes Ltd and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ELC

This one didn't work for me.
Whilst the mystery if it was a ghost or a person was interesting enough, I was constantly distracted by the teenage romance type shenanigans of the main character.
It was hard to imagine them as a former police officer.
I gave up at about 80%

I requested this title as the blurb sounds really interesting. It’s not very often that I don’t finish a title, but I’ve struggled to get into this story because I find the narration awful. I don’t like the tone of voice or delivery and he sounds much younger than the central character. In addition to that, I don’t think it’s well written. There are some really clunky sentences that sound as if the author is trying too hard. For these reasons, I’ve abandoned the book and won’t be posting feedback on the title.

I really didn't like the narrator and found the story too clichéd to continue. Such a shame, I really liked the premise, but DNF because of this.

When a disgraced former Police officer takes on a security house- sit at an old remote country home all is not what it seems!
Mike, the main protagonist, is joined by a host of very interesting characters in this dark, yet at times, very witty thriller.
The tension builds steadily throughout with a killer twist at the end which does not disappoint.
I am grateful to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced listener copy of this enjoyable and very well narrated audiobook.

When I picked this up the cover was not yet available and I’m really intrigued to see what the cover art will be. This was a great thriller and came just at the right time for me, I like to alternate between literary fiction and good thrillers. I enjoyed the premise, plot and character development throughout and will look for more from this author. Great choice of narrator