Making it as a lawyer has always been a cutthroat business.
A killer is targeting former students of The Bloomsbury Academy of Law. The victims – all female – are gruesomely butchered according to a pattern corresponding with the legal syllabus. Even more disconcerting are riddles sent by the killer to investigating officer, Chief Inspector Jake Carver, offering clues as to who is next and where they will die.
Up-and-coming lawyer Madeline Kramer, a former classmate of a number of the slain, soon finds her life turned upside down by the savagery. And when she decides to help Carver track down the killer, she places herself in mortal danger. Can Maddy and Carver unscramble the complex riddles and save the lives of those destined to die?
I am so thrilled to be reviewing the audiobook of The Scribe by AA Chaudhuri, narrated by Dave Thorpe and published TODAY by ISIS Audio. Happy audio publication day all, especially to Alex who works so hard, writes with such passion and has provided slices of dark escapism (my favourite) over the last few years. Thankyou for inviting me to review your first audiobook, as well as to Aimee at ISIS Audio, for providing me with a free copy of the audio in exchange of an honest review.
If you love audiobooks, or even if you fancy giving them a go may I suggest using your first audio credit of the year to listen to The Scribe, you will not be disappointed – you can order here!
You, dear reader may be fully aware by now how much I love the Carver and Kramer series, written by lawyer turned full time author AA Chaudhuri. If you had no clue, I originally read The Scribe as part of the 2018 blog tour and fell in love with the tension filled crime thriller novel that unravelled, it quickly became the first series I recommend to everyone who enjoys thrill mixed with sinister elements that wrap a chilling tale, one that puts my favourite crime fighting duo, up against an unknown evil antagonist.
As murders begin to occur at a prestigious law school, Maddie Kramer, law student, finds herself sucked into the woven web of death and suspicion. With her fellow peers becoming victims of a harrowing killer who scribes them with their calling card, Maddie teams up with case detective Carver. While Maddie is strong, with a layering of naivity, Carver is somewhat rough-edged with a wounded heart that exists beneath the crumble of his personal life. We become immediately aware of these characters complimentary personalities, how they click and that is due to AA Chaudhuri’s brilliant writing, the way she quickly creates foundations for both Carver and Kramer, while also creating alternating chapter view points where each individual has their own prominent voices. Amongst the literary cast list are individuals who will make your skin crawl, ones that will flood you with suspect and others that you can’t help but enjoy the company of, such as out protagonists.
The Scribe ties together suspense and a heart racing cat and mouse chase between the protagonists and antagonist, where they miss one another by the skin of the teeth. The killer taunting has you edging on the edge of your seat, clinging to every carefully crafted chapter. Be prepared to buckle your reader’s seatbelt because this novel is anything but a walk in the park. What always impresses me, although obviously thriller writers research, is the extent to which they do – A.A Chaudhuri has clearly immersed herself into the workings of not only police procedures and law around crimes, such as murder, but it is also clear that she has been mindful to include a great deal of forensic elements. In this case I would describe it as a legal crime thriller and that is one of the main reasons that I was so bloody engrossed!
We are here, really, to chat about the
audiobook version of The Scribe and all I have spoken about is the writing, criminal intent of characters and the execution of one of the best crime thriller novels I’ve read. The narrator of the audiobook is Dave Thorpe, he’s taken on the voice of our characters, the happenings and sequence of events, adding an extra dimension of excellence to a novel I thought couldn’t get any better. Paired together, AA Chaudhuri’s writing and Dave’s voiced ability to bring a story to life, I was entranced further, I found myself nestling further onto the layers of the novel while also connecting with the characters on a personal level – the voice of characters, the mannerisms and the pronunciations fitted into what I imagined them to be. Like Carver and Kramer, Dave and Alex partnership is the perfect one, I couldn’t imagine anyone else reading the books of this series. I am not a big audiobook listener, I struggle to fully connect with someone’s voice reading, but I would happily sit and listen to Dave Thorpe reading books, as well as happily read Alex’s books!
The Reading Closet 