This series has quickly become a favorite of mine. The narrator is positively smashing! Look for my reviews on book 1-4 in the series to be posted her all month long. Also, be sure to enter the giveaway located at the bottom of this post!
~Lynn
~Lynn
Author: Rachel Amphlett
Narrator: Alison Campbell
Length: 8 hours 27 minutes
Publisher: Saxon Publishing
2017 Genre: Mystery, Police Procedural
Series: Detective Kay Hunter, Book 1
Release date: Oct. 2, 2017
A serial killer murdering for kicks.
A detective seeking revenge.
"If you want to see your daughter alive again, listen carefully."
When the body of a snatched schoolgirl is found in an abandoned biosciences building, the case is first treated as a kidnapping gone wrong.
But Detective Kay Hunter isn't convinced, especially when a man is found dead with the ransom money still in his possession.
When a second schoolgirl is taken, Kay's worst fears are realized.
With her career in jeopardy - desperate to conceal a disturbing secret, Kay's hunt for the killer becomes a race against time before he claims another life.
For the killer, the game has only just begun....
Scared to Death is the first book in a new crime thriller series featuring Kay Hunter - a detective with a hidden past and an uncertain future....
If you like the Kim Stone series by Angela Marsons, Peter Robinson's DCI Banks series and the Erika Foster series by Robert Bryndza, discover Rachel Amphlett's new detective novels today.
A detective seeking revenge.
"If you want to see your daughter alive again, listen carefully."
When the body of a snatched schoolgirl is found in an abandoned biosciences building, the case is first treated as a kidnapping gone wrong.
But Detective Kay Hunter isn't convinced, especially when a man is found dead with the ransom money still in his possession.
When a second schoolgirl is taken, Kay's worst fears are realized.
With her career in jeopardy - desperate to conceal a disturbing secret, Kay's hunt for the killer becomes a race against time before he claims another life.
For the killer, the game has only just begun....
Scared to Death is the first book in a new crime thriller series featuring Kay Hunter - a detective with a hidden past and an uncertain future....
If you like the Kim Stone series by Angela Marsons, Peter Robinson's DCI Banks series and the Erika Foster series by Robert Bryndza, discover Rachel Amphlett's new detective novels today.
Buy Links for Audiobook #1 Buy on RachelAmphlett.com
~~~REVIEW~~~
5/5 from Lynn
Scared to Death is the first book I have read by author Rachel Amphlett and I must say I am impressed. D.S. Kay Hunter is a fantastic MC. The character is well defined and has a detailed backstory that left me wanting to know more. The author includes glimpses to a miscarriage as well as an internal police investigation in to Hunter. All this on top of a current kidnapping/murder investigation. Scared to Death was a white knuckle, thrill ride. Just when you think you know who all the players are the author would throw in a wrench. I am looking forward to delving more into this amazing series!
As the narrator, Alison Campbell, did a phenomenal job! Each character was distinct and well portrayed. Campbell has quickly become a new favorite of mine
Scared to Death is the first book I have read by author Rachel Amphlett and I must say I am impressed. D.S. Kay Hunter is a fantastic MC. The character is well defined and has a detailed backstory that left me wanting to know more. The author includes glimpses to a miscarriage as well as an internal police investigation in to Hunter. All this on top of a current kidnapping/murder investigation. Scared to Death was a white knuckle, thrill ride. Just when you think you know who all the players are the author would throw in a wrench. I am looking forward to delving more into this amazing series!
As the narrator, Alison Campbell, did a phenomenal job! Each character was distinct and well portrayed. Campbell has quickly become a new favorite of mine
~~~AUTHOR INTERVIEW~~~
Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
It wasn’t, but it is something that informs my writing now that I have two series available in audiobook format. I was always a stickler for reading aloud each chapter as I wrote it, because it’s a fantastic way to pick up things that don’t work, but now that I’m responsible for delivering a script to Alison to narrate, it’s given me a new perspective, and I’m finding that I use dialogue more and more to advance the story, because I can really hear the characters’ voices in my head now!
How did you select your narrator?
The producers, Audio Factory, made it really easy. I knew I wanted to work with them because they have a lot of broadcast and audiobook experience, and were based in the UK – the same as my detective series. All of their narrators have Soundcloud samples on the Audio Factory website, so I was able to listen to each one and decide who I thought would be the best fit for the books. Alison Campbell has a wealth of experience narrating many books, including crime thrillers, and was a natural choice for the Kay Hunter books. What was very important to me was to find a team who I could work with on a whole series, not just one book. We’ve just completed the fifth book, Call to Arms, and I can’t wait to hear what Alison and Audio Factory come up with for book six later this year!
Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing?
I always have an eye on the news, both local to the area in which the series is set and internationally. You never know where you’ll discover the next story idea – it can be a snippet of overheard conversation, or you could be day-dreaming about something as an offshoot to a news story you’ve read, and suddenly whoosh! Off you go, trying to write down the story idea before it escapes your grasp.
What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
Well, people are entitled to their opinions, of course but I think audiobooks are a great way to manage a toppling “To Be Read” pile if you can’t physically sit down to read – the best thing about audiobooks is that you can catch up on your reading while you’re driving or doing the housework!
What’s next for you?
I’m about halfway through writing book six in the Kay Hunter series, and I expect that to be out in the summer – in audiobook format as well, of course!
It wasn’t, but it is something that informs my writing now that I have two series available in audiobook format. I was always a stickler for reading aloud each chapter as I wrote it, because it’s a fantastic way to pick up things that don’t work, but now that I’m responsible for delivering a script to Alison to narrate, it’s given me a new perspective, and I’m finding that I use dialogue more and more to advance the story, because I can really hear the characters’ voices in my head now!
How did you select your narrator?
The producers, Audio Factory, made it really easy. I knew I wanted to work with them because they have a lot of broadcast and audiobook experience, and were based in the UK – the same as my detective series. All of their narrators have Soundcloud samples on the Audio Factory website, so I was able to listen to each one and decide who I thought would be the best fit for the books. Alison Campbell has a wealth of experience narrating many books, including crime thrillers, and was a natural choice for the Kay Hunter books. What was very important to me was to find a team who I could work with on a whole series, not just one book. We’ve just completed the fifth book, Call to Arms, and I can’t wait to hear what Alison and Audio Factory come up with for book six later this year!
Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing?
I always have an eye on the news, both local to the area in which the series is set and internationally. You never know where you’ll discover the next story idea – it can be a snippet of overheard conversation, or you could be day-dreaming about something as an offshoot to a news story you’ve read, and suddenly whoosh! Off you go, trying to write down the story idea before it escapes your grasp.
What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
Well, people are entitled to their opinions, of course but I think audiobooks are a great way to manage a toppling “To Be Read” pile if you can’t physically sit down to read – the best thing about audiobooks is that you can catch up on your reading while you’re driving or doing the housework!
What’s next for you?
I’m about halfway through writing book six in the Kay Hunter series, and I expect that to be out in the summer – in audiobook format as well, of course!
~~~MEET THE AUTHOR~~~
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.
Praise for Rachel Amphlett
“Thrilling start to a new series. Scared to Death is a stylish, smart and gripping crime thriller” ~ Robert Bryndza, USA Today bestselling author of The Girl in the Ice
"Scared to Death… moves along at breakneck speed with twists and turns" ~ Angela Marsons, bestselling author of the Detective Kim Stone crime thriller series
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.
Praise for Rachel Amphlett
“Thrilling start to a new series. Scared to Death is a stylish, smart and gripping crime thriller” ~ Robert Bryndza, USA Today bestselling author of The Girl in the Ice
"Scared to Death… moves along at breakneck speed with twists and turns" ~ Angela Marsons, bestselling author of the Detective Kim Stone crime thriller series
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~~~MEET THE NARRATOR~~~
Alison Campbell
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