Ask for Andrea by Noelle W Ihli #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday #CrimeThrillers

Ask for Andres by Noelle W Ihli

#1 Best Seller in Psychic Suspense
Best of #BookTok 

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars 5 stars

Book Blurb:

Meghan, Brecia, and Skye have just one thing in common.

They were all murdered by the same man.

He hunted them online, masquerading as an eligible bachelor. Then he played the perfect gentleman, a thick layer of charm and a thousand-watt smile hiding the fact that his first dates end in shallow graves.

He’s gotten away with murder three times now.

The only thing that might keep him from killing again? The women he murdered.

Meghan, Brecia, and Skye might be dead, but they’re not gone. They’ve found each other. And they won’t rest until they find a way to stop him.

The haunt is on.

The instant classic that has sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide, that will have you holding your breath while turning the pages.

My Review:

Yeeha! A ghostie book, a supernatural bent, and the haunting by three women who shared the same dark experience that culminated in their current state. Wow. I loved it. I gotta give it to the author. I enjoy reading paranormal storylines, but this is a new one for me. I’m not normally a serial killer type of reader. But this one is…different.

And it glued me to the pages. Okay—not pages. This was an audiobook. I wore my earbuds until the battery ran out.

Meghan, Brecia, and Skye are all taken in by the good looking, very normal looking well-adjusted guy on the dating app, Matchstrike, Chris. The hook at the beginning is just the beginning and it’s still shocking to the point of wondering, then where can the book go from here?

Love the way each discovers they are no longer “here” and are wondering why they are left in limbo. Was this it? Forever? It wasn’t finished. The author takes her time, developing each character, explains why or how each responded to him. The discovery of what that means in terms of capabilities is different for each of them. The pain each felt with the realization she would no longer hug or talk to loved ones. She wasn’t ready for that. None of them are. And then, the anger–the anger for everything they’d miss.

So isn’t it important to keep him from doing that to another woman? And what if they could exact vengeance in doing so at the same time?

Ask for Andrea by Noelle W IhliI also loved it when the three discovered each other and banded together on a plan.

The build of tension and suspense is compelling. The author makes the afterlife feel plausible. The storyline is bingeable, and the novel short enough that it’s possible. There is human support for the three: a friend who won’t quit working it and a detective likewise, but they remain in the background.

I read and reviewed Forget You Saw Her last month. It also contains elements of the paranormal, but I found this much more to my liking.  There are slight variations in the timeline; the narrator could have made each voice a bit more distinctive, but on the whole I found myself happy with this narrative and looking for more. Are the three successful in bringing him down? You’ll have to read/listen to it and I recommend you do.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Book Details:

Genre: Crime Thrillers, Domestic Thrillers
Publisher: Simon Maverick
Narrator:  Allison Delaney
Release Date: March 25, 2025

Title Links:  

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Noelle W Ihli - authorThe Author: Noelle W. Ihli is a bestselling author of thrillers, including Ask for Andrea, Grey After Dark, and Run on Red. She lives with her family in Idaho and can be found online at NoelleWIhli.com.

 

 

 

©2026 V Williams

Rosepoint Publishing-audiobooks
Graphic courtesy ChatGPT

The September House by Carissa Orlando #AudiobookReview #GhostHorrorFiction #TBT

The September House by Carissa Orlando

Editors' Pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Readers’ Favorite Horror (2023), Nominee for Readers’ Favorite Debut Novel (2023)

Book Blurb:

A woman is determined to stay in her dream home even after it becomes a haunted nightmare in this compulsively readable, twisty, and layered debut novel.

When Margaret and her husband Hal bought the large Victorian house on Hawthorn Street—for sale at a surprisingly reasonable price—they couldn’t believe they finally had a home of their own. Then they discovered the hauntings. Every September, the walls drip blood. The ghosts of former inhabitants appear, and all of them are terrified of something that lurks in the basement. Most people would flee.

Margaret is not most people.

Margaret is staying. It’s her house. But after four years Hal can’t take it anymore, and he leaves abruptly. Now, he’s not returning calls, and their daughter Katherine—who knows nothing about the hauntings—arrives, intent on looking for her missing father. To make things worse, September has just begun, and with every attempt Margaret and Katherine make at finding Hal, the hauntings grow more harrowing, because there are some secrets the house needs to keep.

My Review:

Ah, gee. It’s a horror story? I just thought haunted house, okay, well, that should be fun.

I guess in several ways, it is meant to be humorous, but I couldn’t find that kind of gore funny. I know you’re wondering then, why I continued reading it. I’m just that stubborn?

Initially, the hook will have many people identifying with the characters. Margaret and hubby find an old Victorian for sale at a ridiculously cheap price. Of course it is. Should have been razed years ago. Failing that, it’ll need a lot of repair work, rehab even. But the location…oh yeah, private, quiet, out in the sticks. What could go wrong?

The September House by Carissa OrlandoThe first September in the house pretty much answers that question. There are all the usual haunting sounds, but thrown in are rivulets of blood cascading down the walls, barely there visible ghosts in all their horrific mutilated countenance along with the usual demons, a lone priest, and suicidal birds.

Some characters are rather benign; some aren’t friendly at all. I think the daughter, Katherine, actually provided the obnoxious antagonist, while it could be the maid who provided the thoughtful sidekick and occasional attempt at providing the satire.

The plot moves along fairly well with increasing tension and suspense that always comes back with “He’s down there.” And he was. There were plot twists and an interesting ending—pretty creative—enough to have kept me reading.

I read this for October; if you haven’t read it and have an interest in horror, you might enjoy this novel with not just an unreliable narrator or crazy MC, but a questionably stomach-turning storyline as well.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Three Stars three stars

Book Details:

Genre: Ghost Horror Fiction, Ghost Fiction, Ghost Thrillers
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Narrator: ‎ Kimberly Farr
Release Date: September 5, 2023

Title Links:  

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Carissa Orlando - author
Author bio and photo courtesy Goodreads

The Author: Carissa Orlando has a doctorate in clinical-community psychology and specializes in work with children and adolescents. In her “day job,” Carissa works to improve the quality of and access to mental health care for children and their families. Prior to her career in psychology, Carissa studied creative writing in college and has written creatively in some form since she was a child. It was only a matter of time before Carissa, an avid horror fan for much of her life, merged her understanding of the human psyche and deep love for storytelling into a piece of fiction. [Goodreads]

©2026 V Williams

Have a great weekend!

The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff #AudiobookReview #FamilyLifeFiction

The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff

Book Blurb:

When April and Leo’s house burns in the middle of the night, they escape with their two young children and the quiet knowledge that the fire is not the only thing threatening their family. They retreat to April’s childhood home in Dallas, where her spirited parents and siblings provide both comfort and complication.

As the family reckons with the aftermath—grief, guilt, logistics, and memories scorched and intact—the fire exposes the cracks already forming in April and Leo’s marriage. The novel unfolds in alternating perspectives: from April, who feels the crushing weight of motherhood, marriage, and self-blame; from Leo, a high school history teacher shaped by a lonely, fractured childhood; from Deb, April’s generous and no-nonsense mother who has to contend with her husband’s recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis; and from flashbacks that trace April and Leo’s relationship from its earliest days of connection to the devastating decisions that led them here.

A family saga suffused with humor, longing, and heartbreak, The Burning Side is about what we inherit and what we choose, about forgiveness and the ache of being known. It is, above all, about the meaning of home and the costs of long love.

My Review:

A new-to-me author delivers a family life portrait and then does a deep dive into family dynamics.

April and Leo have been having marital problems and grown apart, somewhat estranged. He announced to her, during dinner preparation, that he wants a divorce, and as it will sometimes, the food and the fire are forgotten until the flames threaten their entire family.

The Burning Side by Sarah DamoffWith no home, the loss of everything, and nowhere to go, they move to her parents house. Leo has a tight tie with his inlaws who always treated him as their own son. Now Deb has been dealt with a diagnosis of her husband’s Alzheimers and is learning to come to terms with it.

They say events comes in threes…that old rule has happened more than once…and comes into play here. The reader is allowed POA’s of all three, April, Leon, and Deb. My perspective changes with all three, and might have changed more than once throughout the narrative.

The tension ebbs and flows while the reader begins to understand the experience of each, the pressure of a mother of little ones, while Leo exhibits increasing arm distance with little or no communication with his wife. It helps that all characters are likable but there are times when you’d like to yell at both to just talk to each other. Feelings of alienation can’t quite swallow the love each obviously still has for the other.

There are themes of abandonment, trust, loyalty, loss, and family bonds. It’s emotional but didn’t always feel authentic to me. No surprises here; the plot and storyline followed a rather predictable pattern. There is definitely a failure to communicate and that ends only one of two ways—the way you expect.

The novel is engaging, providing enough tension and interesting characters to carry the read to conclusion. If you’re a fan, you’ll no doubt find it well written and satisfying.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars 4 stars

Book Details:

Genre: Family Life Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Narrators: Stacy Gonzalez, Timothy Andrés Pabon, Jackie Sanders
Release Date: May 19, 2026

Title Links:  

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Sarah Damoff - authorThe Author: Sarah Damoff is the author of the debut novel, THE BRIGHT YEARS, published by Simon & Schuster in 2025. It was a national bestseller; a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist; and Southern Literary Review Book of the Year. Her second novel, THE BURNING SIDE, is out now. Sarah’s books are being translated into over twenty languages. Her writing has also appeared in Oprah Daily, Porter House Review, Ruminate Magazine, Texas Highways, and Open Global Rights, among other publications. A Texas native, Sarah lives with her husband and children in Dallas, where she has worked in child welfare. Her third novel, STATE OF CARE, is forthcoming.

©2026 V Williams

#Audiobooks

Malibu Rising: A Novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday #FictionSagas

Malibu Riding by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Editors' Pick Best Books of 2021

Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Readers’ Favorite Historical Fiction (2021)

Book Blurb:

Four famous siblings throw an epic party to celebrate the end of the summer. But over the course of twenty-four hours, the family drama that ensues will change their lives forever.

Malibu: August 1983. It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer Mick Riva.

The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time for him to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth.

Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there.

And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.

By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come rising to the surface.

Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of a family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them . . . and what they will leave behind.

My Review:

Yes, it’s Taylor Jenkins Reid—and it’s 100% character-driven. Not that I don’t like some character-driven inclusions, but 100%?

No plot. Just characters. Now and back then.

I read Daisy Jones and the Six back in 2023 and really enjoyed it. Then I read Atmosphere in 2025 but didn’t find it up to the level of enjoyment as Daisy Jones.

Malibu Rising - US cover
Malibu Riding – US cover

Having listened to this one some time ago, I’m even having a problem remembering it at all, except that just that fact tells me what I felt about it at the time. It’s a deep dive into the character of four siblings who are facing the annual celebrity party.

Yes, they have daddy issues and each have struggled with it according to their own personalities. The Riva family has a tragic history, creating flawed characters all. Each has widely different interests. I was awed by Nina’s sacrifices. The roles in the Riva family flip early, making the kids the mature, responsible members while the parents abdicated being adults and were more about play time.

Malibu Rising - UK cover
Malibu Rising – UK cover

I did like the well-drawn atmosphere of the California 50s. I could almost relate except that Malibu never figured into our moves. And I liked the way the ending settled the father fiasco and Nina’s rewards. Thank you—gave me another half star. Otherwise, if you’re a die-hard Reid fan, you probably enjoyed it. For me, the glow of Daisy has worn very thin.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

 

Rosepoint Publishing: Two point Five Stars 2.5 stars

Book Details:

Genre: Fiction Sagas, Family Saga Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Random House Audio
Narrator: ‎ Julia Whelan
Release Date: June 1, 2021

Title Links:  

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Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins ReidThe Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid is the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, as well as One True Loves, Maybe in Another Life, After I Do, and Forever, Interrupted. Her newest novel, Malibu Rising, is out now. She lives in Los Angeles.

You can follow her on Instagram @tjenkinsreid.

©2026 V Williams

audiobook reader
Graphic image courtesy ChatGPT

He Started It by Samantha Downing #AudiobookReview #TuesdayBookBlog #DarkHumor

He Started It by Samantha Downing

Editors' Pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Book Blurb:

From the twisted mind behind mega hit My Lovely Wife comes the story of a family—not unlike your own—just with a few more violent tendencies thrown in….

Beth, Portia, and Eddie Morgan haven’t all been together in years. And for very good reasons—we’ll get to those later. But when their wealthy grandfather dies and leaves a cryptic final message in his wake, the siblings and their respective partners must come together for a cross-country road trip to fulfill his final wish and—more importantly—secure their inheritance.

But time with your family can be tough. It is for everyone.

It’s even harder when you’re all keeping secrets and trying to forget a memory, a missing person, an act of revenge, the man in the black truck who won’t stop following your car—and especially when at least one of you is a killer and there’s a body in the trunk. Just to name a few reasons.

But money is a powerful motivator. It is for everyone.

My Review:

Without realizing it, I borrowed two audiobooks by the same author within a month. I previously read and reviewed Too Old For This and greatly enjoyed it, perhaps because it involved a female senior main character. Major dark satire. This book is also dark. Very dark and also quite original.

This one, however, doesn’t include the satire; no sense of humor. At first I thought the bickering between siblings was meant to establish a sense of familial connectedness. Boy, was I wrong. Grandpa died and the inheritance comes after a road trip.

He Started It by Samantha Downing
He Started It – US cover

Beth, Portia, and Eddie Morgan all have widely different personalities and they all remember their grandfather differently. For that matter, they remember their parents differently as well.

Not the first book I’ve read recently with totally unlikeable characters, truly dysfunctional. They all have secrets and are disturbed to varying degrees. You can’t believe what happens on this cross-country trip they are forced to recapture of the one with their grandpa when they were all little—some twenty years ago. There are caveats, of course, but they must all do the trip just like they did before, including the dumps they stayed in and the greasy spoons where they ate. Beth, the middle child, is both the narrator and a liar.

He Started It by Samatha Downing
He Started It – UK cover

This trip is a little more complicated, given that now there is a marriage involved along with another significant partner. Beth was given the edict to find their missing sister by their mother—now in prison. But guess how that goes.

Yes, it’s a mind-blowing, skull-numbing read, with twists and whip-fast, shocking turns. Once I got my eyes back and focused, I’d reread that passage. No, that’s what I read. Who writes this stuff?!

Okay, so the deal was that the siblings had to complete the trip, report back and get their inheritance—no small change.  So, how in hell did this ending solve that one? Hated the ending. So much drama, never-ending bickering, one extra little zinger after another. (Who is following them? Why did grandpa whisk the kids away from their parents and what’s with the calls? What’s the deal with Eddie?) It’s clever, keeps you hooked, entertained until the end. And did we find out what happened with the missing sister?

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

 

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars 4 stars

Book Details:

Genre: Dark Humor Literature & Fiction, Dark Humor, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Narrator: ‎ Karissa Vacker
Release Date: July 21, 2020

Title Links:  

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Samantha Downing - authorThe Author: Samantha Downing is an internationally bestselling thriller author. Her novels include My Lovely Wife, He Started It, For Your Own Good, and A Twisted Love Story. Her debut novel, My Lovely Wife, was nominated for Edgar, ITW, and Macavity awards in the US, the CWA award in the UK, and was the winner of the Prix des Lectrices award in France.

Her latest thriller, Too Old For This, was released in August 2025.

©2026 V Williams

#ThrowbackThursday

The Girl on the Train: A Novel by Paula Hawkins #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday #psychologicalthriller

The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins

Editors' Pick Best Books of the Year 2015

Book Blurb:

The #1 New York Times bestseller, USA Today Book of the Year and now a major motion picture starring Emily Blunt.

Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple having breakfast on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

My Review:

Sorry, not sorry, that I did not find Rachel sympathetic.

This is a novel I sucked into because it was a book of the year. Not the first time I’ve wondered if I read the same book alluded to in the raves. It wasn’t until I actually started this review that I discovered it also became a successful movie starring Emily Blunt. Well…Emily Blunt. Now I’ll have to go and look for the flick, but it won’t be involved in my review of the novel.

The Girl on the Train - US cover
The Girl on the Train – US cover

There are actually three main characters but Rachel Watson has the predominant POV. Also included in short chapter bursts are Anna and Megan. They all share the storytelling, but it’s Rachel who is the most dominant and unreliable narrator. Excuse me, but did they all have to be so nasty? There’s no one here to invest in.

It’s Megan who goes missing. It’s Anna who is the sweetie who stole Rachel’s hubby (the rat) and became pregnant just to spite Rachel. Anna obviously knew Rachel couldn’t conceive, thank heaven, as with the amount of booze Rachel consumed, the poor thing would come out in the shape of a bottle.

Never mind all that. Rachel manages the money to continue to commute to the city every morning where she was fired for drinking and being totally obnoxious on the job. One morning on the way in though, she believes she witnesses what has to be a crime and she attempts to report it.

HA! No one takes her seriously. Would you? So she decides to find out what happened herself. Does this sound familiar at all?

The Girl on the Train - UK cover
The Girl on the Train – UK cover

The narrative manages a timeline shift as well as POV shifts, some stretching disbelief, some little more than a repeat, but therein lies a heavy philosophical study in the mind of three disparate women. There are twists galore, because…who do you trust to tell this tale?

The denouement, when it comes, may not be one of the answers you’d thought of, but is rather a let down anyway and my summation: meh.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

 

Rosepoint Publishing: Three Stars three stars

Book Details:

Genre: Psychological Thrillers, Women’s Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Narrators: Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey, India Fisher
Release Date: January 13, 2015

Title Links:  

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Paula Hawkins - author

 

The Author: PAULA HAWKINS worked as a journalist for fifteen years before writing her first novel. Born and brought up in Zimbabwe, Paula moved to London in 1989. Her first thriller, The Girl on the Train, has sold more than 23 million copies worldwide. Published in over fifty languages, it has been a Number 1 bestseller around the world and was a box office hit film starring Emily Blunt.

Paula’s thrillers, Into the Water and A Slow Fire Burning, were also instant Number 1 bestsellers.

©2026 V Williams

Audiobooks with headphones
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Too Old for This by Samantha Downing #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday #crimethrillers

Too Old for This by Samantha Downing

Editors' Pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Book Blurb:

Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her.

Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends.

When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can’t have that.

But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her…

My Review:

The first time the hammer came down, I was shocked out of my wits. She did what? I reread it. No, I was right. OMG!

Here I was, innocently enjoying a new surge in the books with senior main characters. It never dawned on me that what looked like on the surface as a sweet old lady, might instead harbor a serial killer. Well, of course, there is that book cover…

This is definitely not your average serial killer.

Too Old for This - US coverLottie is living the dream. Self-sustaining, she is independent, capable, and wicked smart. She’d have to be to get away with her horrific background all these years, never having been caught.

So when a journalist arrives that wants to interview her, get her story, something has to give. If I had false teeth, I’d have dropped them. This is definitely a hook that will get you listening beyond preparing dinner.

Lottie is never going to win any contest for being an agreeable senior, easy to manipulate. That fiendish sense of propriety, humor and wit, there is very little that gets past her. And there is no way anything about her past could come out. That would just destroy the sweet and comfortable set up with her senior lady friends, circle of church acquaintances, and compelling and relaxed atmosphere she has created for herself in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

How does a writer give you a reprehensible character and make her charismatic enough to actually root for her? Do you? Maybe not. But watching her maneuver the sticky situations that ensue while listening to her new aches and pains attributable to her physical age or complaining about forgetting something important can be, admittedly, hilarious.

Too Old for This - UK coverWhere did she come up with her moral code, the justification? The book is addictive. The septuagenarian can hold her own with any street smart teen, meet them with their language, and best them in clever strategizing.

I think reading this book could be fun, but for even more fun, I’d recommend the audiobook narrated beautifully by Elizabeth Wiley. She hits all the nuances, the inflections, and manifests the dark humor. It’s compelling, engaging, entertaining. Suspend a little disbelief and enjoy the twists; the intellect is delicious.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

 

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars 4.5 stars

Book Details:

Genre: Crime Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers, Suspense
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Narrator:  Elizabeth Wiley
Release Date: August 12, 2025

Title Links:  

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Samantha Downing - author

Please accept my sincere apologies for accidentally posting the incorrect picture of this author. This is the pic that should have appeared.

The Author:

Samantha Downing is an internationally bestselling thriller author. Her novels include My Lovely Wife, He Started It, For Your Own Good, and A Twisted Love Story. Her debut novel, My Lovely Wife, was nominated for Edgar, ITW, and Macavity awards in the US, the CWA award in the UK, and was the winner of the Prix des Lectrices award in France.

Her latest thriller, Too Old For This, was released in August 2025.

©2026 V Williams

Woman cooking dinner while listening to an audiobook.
AI generated by Gemini.Google.com

Forget You Saw Her: A Thriller by Noelle W Ihli #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Forget You Saw Her by Noelle W Ihli

Book Blurb:

Seventeen years ago, Sabina made the most difficult decision of her life: giving her newborn daughter, Andrea, up for adoption. She’s lived with the guilt ever since, clinging to the hope that Andrea was safe, happy, and loved.

Then the letter from the police arrives.

Andrea Beaumont is a missing person.

Desperate for answers, Sabina dives headlong into a frantic search for the daughter she never knew. But the deeper she digs, the more certain she becomes that Andrea isn’t coming home.

And yet…as Sabina follows the disturbing trail of evidence, she swears she can feel her daughter reaching through her dreams, warning her—and guiding her toward the truth.

But someone else is watching—and keeping close tabs on Sabina’s search. And they’ll do whatever it takes to make sure the truth stays buried.

Inspired by true events, Forget You Saw Her is a standalone prequel to the blockbuster international bestseller Ask for Andrea, sure to keep readers gasping for air long into the night.

My Review:

Seems like I’ve been bumping into a number of books lately with the same common theme of adoption. It doesn’t sound like being female and adopted is a fun childhood and many of these books would have you kissing the feet of your own parents—if you have both.

I see by the posted reviews that this was a highly successful book, based on a true experience. Perhaps that makes it even more tragic, as this book contains a number of trigger warnings, not the least of which is abuse. With readers disclosing the level of emotion the narrative wrought, it was expected to be very poignant. And to some extent, it was.

Confession here—I have not read Ask for Andrea and, therefore, had no expectation other than the description in the blurb. You’d think then that the long, possible redundancy regarding some of the characters as they are fully fleshed would be familiar enough by those who had to become tedious. It was for me and slowed the pace to the point where there were small portions I might have tuned out.

Forget You Saw Her by Noelle W IhliOnce again, noted it contained some elements of paranormal piqued my interest and, indeed, they were a point of re-engagement for me.

Somehow, I always look for the rainbow, good triumphs over evil, everything will turn out okay. In this novel, it is heart-breakingly unattainable. I never really attained a solid connection, still, a tragic event is emotional. The storyline is told through multiple POVs and is well plotted. The writing style is beautiful.

Not what the reader might expect.  I didn’t get my happy ever after, maybe that’s my problem. You may very well find this a delicious, can’t put it down thriller. Go for it.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

 

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Psychological Thrillers, Suspense thrillers, Domestic Thrillers
Publisher: Simon Maverick
Narrators: Andi Arndt, Carlotta Brentan, Brittany Pressley
Release Date: November 4, 2025

Title Links:  

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Noelle W Ihli - authorThe Author: USA Today bestselling author Noelle W. Ihli lives in Idaho with her husband, two sons, and three cats. When she’s not plotting her next thriller, she’s scaring herself with true-crime documentaries or going for a trail ride (with her trusty pepper spray).

 

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