This story seemed to go on and on about the same thing, so much violence done to the women in the story. We get it, the psycho was violent and horrific. Some of the characters seemed like fillers and didn't really matter. The star female detective deserved so much better than what she got from her superiors, I often wonder if situations like this actually do happen to female detectives who just want to know the truth at hand!

The narration was great for this audiobook as well! I give it 3.5 stars.

I received this audiobook from NetGalley as an advanced listening copy (ALC). Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Margaret Murphy for allowing me to listen in exchange for my honest review.

I plan to review this audiobook with soft spoilers, so read at your own risk. My review style for audiobooks is to rate the book and the narration separately with the average being the final rating (i.e. a 3 star book with a 5 star narration= 4 star overall rating).

Narration:
By far the best narration I have heard via NetGalley. Bianca Amato is Imogen Church level (Church voice acts all the Ruth Ware audiobooks; a favorite of mine). Her accents, her changes in flexion and cadence, all of it really sets the tone. She had me sucked into the story within the first minute. She flows between characters effortlessly and has a distinct voice for each. It’s wonderful.

Narration: 5/5 stars

Story Structure:
Within in the first 30 minutes you meet a lot of characters in a lot of settings. It’s a little overwhelming.
The fast paced chapters and writing really help move this book along while keeping the entertainment high, even during the more mundane, setting/plot setting scenes.
I feel like you can tell the author had inspiration from actual infamous serial killers. For instance, one victim helped the perpetrator carry books because he had a broken leg (Ted Bundy) and even when his car wouldn’t work she remained in it even when her instinct said run because he was so “nice” and well spoken (Ed Kemper).
Often times I found myself asking, “How much more could be left?!” It seemed like every time there was a spot where the story could end it kept going. It’s not like I necessarily wanted it to hurry up and wrap up, but there’s a natural conclusion you feel when reading a book and this one has many chances of ending. This happened even as early as 50% of the way through.


Story: 4/5 stars

Overall:
If you are a fan of Karen Slaughter you’ll love this book. I am a huge Slaughter fan so I liked it a lot. This is the first in a series and I predict to listen to subsequent books. I say listen versus read because I LOVED Bianca Amado. She’s now added to my list of all time favorite voice actors. ✨✨✨✨✨💖15 star and a love heart for Bianca Amado lol.


Overall rating: 4.5/5 stars

I try so hard to not DNF a book but as hard as I try I just can't get into this audiobook. From the very beginning I didn't feel the connection I wanted and I found myself not wanting to push "play". I'm also not fond of the narrator's reading of the book.

** Warning violent sexual assaults in this book**
Just an okay mystery. Not worth the violence. 2.5 stars

If you like British police procedural dramas/thrillers, you'll enjoy this book. It takes place on the streets of Liverpool, and has a dark, sinister feel to it. It features a strong female detective coming up against a Jack the Ripper type villain while constantly being undermined by her misogynistic colleagues. Gritty and suspenseful, with lots of twists and turns, The narrator of the audio version did an excellent job.

Well I just found a new author I love!

Positives:
Terrific Storyline
Strong Female Main Character
Great whodunit
Female driven without throwing in romance just bc it’s a female.
Loved the narrator

Negative:
There were a lot of characters, with one narrator it was slightly hard to follow.

Best part:
I didn’t figure it out. I thought I had it but I didn’t.

Big thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook. I'll bump up the rating to 3.5. I will definitely keep my eye out for the next book in the series.

I enjoyed the dual POVs of the two main characters. I did find some of the writing a bit unbelievable.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first Margaret Murphy book and I enjoyed it well enough but it wasn't a favorite. It reminded me of Alice Feeney books, in particular her fan favorite His & Hers.

Before He Kills Again was gritty and intense. Detective Cassie Rowan fights crime on the streets of Liverpool, and sexism and incompetence of other officers in her own workplace. She is undercover trying to find a monster who is hunting sex workers. Her life has the additional element of being the guardian of her younger brother.

The plot really interested me but I didn't really connect with or root for any characters which made it harder to keep my attention. Cassie was clearly bright and talented at her job but some of her actions were frustrating and her motives were hard to understand. It felt long at times. I think having a lot less characters would have helped with this. I had trouble remembering who was who, especially the other police officers.

The narration was excellent. Bianca Amata did an amazing job - engaging performance and distinct characters.

I always enjoy a good thriller/ murder mystery. I will tell you that I did get a little confused by the multiple names used for characters. It also took a couple of chapters for me to get into it, but once I did I was committed.

Cassie is on the hunt for a serial killer and is constantly told my other officers that her thought process cannot be right. She goes into situations that she really should be waiting for back up and the stakes are raised higher when a loved one is put in harms way.

I think this will be a fantastic series to continue with the character development!

Thank you NetGalley for the free listen to give my feedback!

I enjoyed this UK thriller of a brave female officer in search of a brutal rapist and killer. Rowan’s determination is inspiring and at times I found myself so frustrated that she wasn’t believed for her intuition - yet I could see how it served the overall purpose of the story for us to believe in her til the end.

Since I listened to the audiobook version l, I did find a few of the characters easily confused for a time. I think a part of this is likely due to lack of attention at the time but be aware to keep an eye out for that.

All in all, a solid cop mystery with suspenseful moments that keep you wanting to see it justice done.

My rating: 4.2*

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for this audiobook edition of Before He Kills again by Margaret Murphy.

Oh man, this was a brutal cop drama, featuring Cassie Rowan, an assertive young policewowan. Her main role is going undercover as a sex worker to find who has been killing these women. But not only is this serial killer hard to find, but her own co-workers are working against her.

This is tough, gritty, and rich in plot and character development. It will keep you guessing. I really enjoyed it! Please approach with caution as it does contain violence and sexual assault.

This was an engaging book that I eagerly returned to as I tried to figure out the mystery. There is some excellent writing here, particularly in the more graphic assault scenes. There was a level of detail that is not always included in books like this and it certainly brought the painful scenes to light. Definitely advise a content warning for victims of violence and sexual assault.

I believe the story could have been made a little less complicated with fewer characters. Also, the levels of insubordination to which Rowan ascribed, without consequence, were not credible. But, her passion for protecting the public was a clear motivator.

Overall a good read.

So many twists and turns chasing a serial killer. There is a serial killer on the prowl in Liverpool and DC Cassie Rowan is on the hunt for him, or he on the hunt for her. She chases clues but the other investigators on her team seem to be working against her. When she thinks she has it figured out who it is, he has an alibi and then there is another murder and the suspect is arrested on the premises. However, the psychologist working with Cassie is adamant he didn't do it and Cassie agrees. Will they be able to prove who did it in time before he kills again?

I wanted to like this audiobook. The premise was interesting, the setting was good. But I couldn't help but feel the characters weren't fleshed out well enough to be truly compelling. Rowan, the main character, is flat and the other constables are one-dimensional. Several crumbs dropped that could have been interesting to follow up on about Alex were left hanging. The plot seemed plodding at several points, with extra attacks included that were superfluous and did not add much to the overall syoryline other than to exemplify just how vicious the attacker was. The twist at the end didn't compensate for the fact that the guilty party was identified and treated as such way early on. Also, the narrator's various accents seemed to shift for the same characters at different points, so I needed to relisten during some snippets of dialog to try to determine which character was speaking.

Before He Kills Again by Margaret Murphy is an intense listen. I was pulled in from the very beginning. The author wrote some great characters, vibrant and disturbing descriptions, and awesome twists. The narrator, Bianco Amato, was fantastic at expressing the right emotions for the scenes and brought the characters to life with her voice. Thank you #NetGalley and #Dreamscape Media for allowing me to listen to this pre-release book. Its great!

The was my first book by Margaret Murphy and it won’t be the last! OMG, this was good. The loved Rowan and she was my hero. This novel had all the excitement and was well round for a movie or TV series. What do you get when you have strong female detective, a therapist and a serial killer???
Well, you’ll have to read or listen to it to find out. Loved the writing, the pace, and the ending. Lot of suspense and mystery. I highly recommend it.
I chose to listen to this book on audio and it was 12 hours and 50 minutes long. Narrated by Bianca Amato who did a fabulous job.
Thanks Dreamscape Media via NetGalley.

I’m reviewing on Goodreads/FB/Instagram/ Barns&Noble/Bookbub

Detective CASSIE ROWAN is a young unmarried policewoman assigned to work undercover on the streets of Liverpool trying to find a serial killer who has been brutally assaulting sex workers. Cassie blames herself and Detective, Wicks, for not catching him as she herself almost became a victim.

But another brutal killing happens in a church, and the serial killer's technique is much like Jack Ripper's. Is it Jack the Ripper? Is it the Furman, a mob boss? Soon again, as she and her team search for the answers, her very life is in danger as she tries to uncover who the serial murderer is.

What a suspenseful, mysterious, thriller with some exciting twists! But, I do admit I was sometimes confused with the broad cast of different characters. Also, the book may have been more enjoyable had it contained a lot less swearing. However, I truly enjoyed the narration by Bianca Amato. Her ability to apply the right accents were impressive.

Earns 4 Stars.
My thanks to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Margaret Murphy for an AAC in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own.

#BeforeHeKillsAgain
#NetGalley

I meant to click the "no feedback" button.
I tried. I listened to about 90 minutes- made it into chapter 7- and it just could not catch, much less hold, my interest. I did not rate this on any sites since I did not listen to enough to provide an accurate review.

Thank you for the opportunity.

I really enjoyed this title. The writing was superb and the plot was fast paced. The characters were well written and interesting. The narration for the audiobook was very well done. I appreciated the different voices and accents for each character.

I did find myself getting confused as to what was going on and who was who, but that might be due to the audiobook. I'm sure that will be clearer on a second read through.

This book was fantastic!! I loved the twists and turns that it took to get to the murder and I love how kick-ass Detective Cassie was! She didn't let anything stand in her way of saving the last two victims. I also loved that the murders weren't successfully just put off onto the person with mental illness, that would have been such an easy cop-out. This author turned that on its head and it was the mentally ill patient that helped, in an indirect way, to solve the crime. I can't wait to read more books in this series and the other books by this author.

#BeforeHeKillsAgain
#NetGalley