Hall Ways Blog: Bridge to Burn ~ Audio Book Blog Tour, Review, & Giveaway!

BRIDGE TO BURN

***Detective Kay Hunter*, Book 7

BY RACHEL AMPHLETT

NARRATED BY ALISON CAMPBELL

Publisher: Saxon Publishing

Genre: Mystery, Police Procedural

Released: February 8, 2019

Duration: 6 hours, 39 minutes**

When a mummified body is found in a renovated building, the gruesome discovery leads Detective Kay Hunter and her team into a complex murder investigation.

The subsequent police inquiry exposes corruption, lies, and organized crime within the tight-knit community - and Kay’s determination to seek justice for the young murder victim could ruin the reputations of men who will do anything to protect their business interests.

But as Kay closes in on the killer, tragedy strikes closer to home in an event that will send a shock wave through her personal life and make her question everything she values. Can Kay keep her private and professional life under control while she tries to unravel one of the strangest murder cases of her career?

The Detective Kay Hunter crime thriller series by USA Today bestselling author Rachel Amphlett: pause-resisting British police procedurals for listeners who love Peter James, Ann Cleeves, and Peter Robinson!

Buy on RachelAmphlett.com

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HALL WAYS REVIEW: Audio book review. Bridge to Burn is the seventh book in the Detective Kay Hunter series, and I honestly don’t think I will ever get tired of reading these books with my ears.

Only because I’ve read the six previous books, I began to feel dread about 6 minutes in to listening. I wasn’t about to be lulled-in to thinking all was well in this innocuous scene – just a man doing his job – and narrator Alison Campbell is smooth as silk in describing it. Nothing to see here, folks, until… WHAM! In Bridge to Burn, there are indeed the expected twists and turns readers have come to enjoy in the series, but there is a subtle difference that made the big reveal (and the other big reveal…and the other one) more surprising. It’s a real change of pace that Kay isn’t ever in any physical danger. No one is trying to hurt her – except the shadows of traumatic memories of those who have in the past. And as Forrest Gump said, “That’s all I have to say about that.”

Kay’s team of detectives are all back together and more cohesive than ever. And, there’s a new addition, Amanda, a young and whip-smart finance expert, who totally appeals to the numbers nerd in me. The camaraderie and supportive culture within this group gives warmth to what could easily be a cold environment. Kay’s leadership has the team working as a well-oiled machine, but it’s also clear that Kay misses the relationships before she was promoted.

“Give her a hardened criminal any day -- anyone other than the woman who sat in a hospital corridor over a hundred miles away who hated every ounce of Kay’s chosen career.”

Readers will be pleased that in Bridge to Burn, they get to get personal with Kay again, as Kay’s extended family comes back into the picture with all the related tension and drama built by some of the prior books. Amphlett continues to reveal only small doses of Kay’s complicated family, but they are high-interest and add a layer of realism to the story that allows readers to be able to better relate to Kay. Happily, Kay’s faithful husband Adam (along with the latest pet he’s brought home from the clinic) is a steady presence in the story. I just want to hug him for all the things he does right in their marriage.

ABOUT THE NARRATION: No surprise here. Alison Campbell NAILS the British-ness of it all, whether voicing male or female, young or old. Somehow, even the most macabre of details are palatable when delivered by Alison Campbell’s delightful accents. I will admit that I *gasp* listened to this one at regular speed and drank in every syllable. With the audio coming in at just over six and a half hours, it is a luxury that readers can afford. (This series hits my audio book length sweet spot.) In addition to the British, Campbell provides yet another delightful accent and attitude in voicing the new character, Amanda. (I don’t know my accents well-enough to be sure, but I think that might be an Irish lilt? It’s lovely.) Side note: this book was provided through the Authors Direct platform. Pro: it allows listeners to control the speed in 15 second increments versus Audible’s 30; Con: laptop listening isn’t an option – it works only on the app installed to a phone or tablet.

Thank you to Audiobookworm Promotions and the author for providing me a digital download in exchange for my honest opinion – the only kind I give. As always, I anxiously await the next book in the series, and seriously, I can envision author Rachel Amphlett continuing to write them right through Kay being a middle-aged woman, at the top of the career ladder. Now wouldn’t that be a twist?

I received this audio book as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Rachel Amphlett. The gifting of this audio book did not affect my opinion of it.

Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.

Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Robert Crais, Stuart MacBride, and many more.

She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore's TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.