Recent Reads: Killer by Nature by Jan Smith

Killer by Nature by Jan Smith
Publisher:  Audible Studio
Publication Date:  November 30, 2017

 

Format: Audiobook
Source: Freebie with Audible account

Rating:








Goodreads Synopsis: 

Dramatic and dark, with an immersive—and dare we say killer SFX soundscape that will have you checking the windows and bolting the doors at night—Killer by Nature is a gripping psychological thriller that puts you on the trail of a psychopath. Katherine Kelly (Mr Selfridge) and Rob James-Collier (Downton Abbey) head an all-star cast from the UK that includes Thomas Turgoose (This Is England ‘90), Angela Griffin (Cutting It), and Will Mellor (No Offence). 

In this Audible Original production by Jan Smith, Kelly is utterly convincing and riveting as Dr. Diane Buckley, the forensic psychologist sent to interview Alfred Dinklage, The Playground Killer. She is well-matched by the unnerving performance of James-Collier as a serial killer—the man can make nursery rhymes sound sinister and creepy. 

It’s up to Buckley to figure out if she is dealing with a serial killer who can seemingly walk through prison walls or a copycat determined to carry out Dinklage’s violent legacy. Not only must Buckley navigate the crime scenes, and correctly read the clues concealed there, but to learn the truth she also must enter the twisted and terrifying mind of Dinklage, and wonder if serial killers are born or made. 

Please note this contains violence and adult content and language.

Review: 
I was able to get this Audible Original from Audible with my subscription as a freebie in February and they only offer 6 every month so I choose this one along with a young adult read - free books yay! The synopsis sounded interesting and I like books about psychology related things, but it fell short and I was not a fan.

The audiobook is broken up into episodes and there is a full cast of readers, which is kind of fun. Each character is a different voice to listen to. The book is about a serial killer and a forensic psychologist and a copy-cat killer, so it is a murder-mystery coupled with a drama. 

While the main story was interesting and I liked the murder-mystery pieces, because of the sub-plots I found it hard to get into. The pacing was a bit weird and that might have been because there were so many characters to keep track of and with all the voices it was an added layer of difficulty. The sub-plots about Buckley and her family were weird additions and I found her to be a horrible mother - so it was not surprising that she is having issues with her teen daughter. The there is the inspector who I think had a thing with Buckley at one time but I can't be sure because all the voices sounded the same as I got more into it.. and I felt like they should have started to distinguish themselves.

Part from the sub-plot issues, I had a few other dislikes with this one: First, the story is broken up into episodes, which is fine, but when it breaks before each one there is louder music and the title again - every time I felt like the book was coming to a close rather than diving in deeper.  Secondly, all the sound effects; on top of a cast of readers there were sound effects - some made sense (doors closing) and some were just background noise and obnoxious. I think that this made it feel too real and with a book I want to zone out and into the story and because I was checking my surroundings when these sounds happened I couldn't focus.

So, this was not for me, but it was free so I gave it a chance and now I know.