Fab spooky thriller. but casting spoiled it for me

I love Lexie Elliot's books and devoured "The French Girl" and "How to Kill your Best Friend" and simply cannot wait for "Bright and Deadly Things", set in the French Alps due out November 2022.

I was listening to this back to back after finishing" The French Girl" and began with great expectations however I was very thrown by the casting and just could not relax and enjoy it to the full as I had done with the previous two books.

In fairness to Cathleen McCarron, I found her voicing of the characters to be excellent and the Scottish accent sounded convincing and authentic to me - as someone with very limited knowledge and she put real drama into the performance even mastering the complicated hybrid accent of Ben.

But it was her narration of the protagonist which was my personal problem. Ailsa is meant to be a go-getting journalist in her thirties, living with her famous partner in London but in reality travelling the globe jetting from story to story and as such a dynamic free spirit.

The read however made her sound as if she was much older and very settled, prim, proper uptight and a real goody-goody. I have no idea why the protagonist was made to sound so dull and meek as Cathleen McCarron clearly is a very versatile and talented narrator but she came off sounding a lot like Clare Corbett to me.

It was such a huge gulf between this exciting character as written and the fusty, suburban, staid, slightly neurotic prude she was made to come across as. I just had to stop listening and decided to get the book instead and then I could read her more in my head like Lara Croft from Tomb Raider rather than Hyacinth Bucket's younger less pretentious sister.

For those people lucky enough not to take issue with the casting, a real treat awaits you.

I loved the special opening to each chapter devoted to the missing Dad, the atmospheric creaking spookiness of it and as with all of Lexie Elliot's work it was beautifully written, intriguing, unique and mysterious.

Lovely and Gothic without gore or anything upsetting just chills and thrills and a cracking good plot.

I am returning and heading to the library for the hard copy version, which is such a shame as I just adore audiobooks as can do so much while listening!

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