This felt a bit all over the place for me. There were two HUGE storylines and I was trying to keep them straight. I felt like the mystery part of this and the kids basically being amatuer slueths was fun, but the paranormal connection was way too slow in development and my interest was lost by the time it was truly explained.
I don't always appreciate a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter unless it's done really well. These cliffhangers left me annoyed and sometimes forgetting how it was connected to the next bit.
I think this author has a ton of potential, I just wish I was left with something that felt like a solid read instead of relying on interest in the next book to see what happens.

It just really wasn’t for me. I tried to get into it,but couldn’t. I think it is for a younger age range than mine. I was sad too because I usually like Gregg Olsen.

Beneath Her Skin is just what I would expect from Gregg Olsen. Loved hearing the audio version. I am giving it five stars.

When a young teen is found dead in the bath, the sleepy town of Port Gamble becomes filled with rumours about whether the death was accidental or suicide.

As the town grapples with the shocking loss, it's forced to address secrets which have been held by some since a previous incident which rocked the community. An incident which some have never truly recovered from, despite the brave faces they put on.

Centring on the intriguing Ryan twins who seem to have abilities to sense things which others can't, we follow them as they try to discover what truly happened to their childhood friend.

Exploring how relationships ebb and flow through different life stages, we see how jealous and insecurity can become deadly. We also see how courage can ensure that truth and innocence is protected.

Featuring topics including self harm, cyber bullying, assault and murder, this is a perfect start to a new crime series which I will look forward to checking out in the future.

Fun YA mystery. Thank you for the opportunity! I listened to and finished this book back in January. I liked the narrator and I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

There were so many times during this book that I wanted to call it quits and DNF. This book essentially sets up a story about twins with special powers that are to be explored further in the next book. Hopefully the story doesn’t take as long to get through in that one.

This book seemed to constantly be changing directions without much of a clear path until the end. Was it actually about Katelyn or was it just a really long background story setting up further plots involving the twins?

This book might be more for someone looking for a slow introduction into the mystery/thriller genre.

When I downloaded this audiobook I didn’t realize that it is YA. I think this is a good mystery series for that age group dealing with teenagers and their issues. There is also a sci go component to this book. For me the book wasn’t the right fit but I’m a middle aged mom and probably not the intended audience.

This book has the suspense and mystery of a thriller and a dash of magical realism.

A 15-year-old girl is found dead in the bathtub, along with an espresso machine. Weird, right? The two Ryan twins, friends of the deceased teenager also thought so, and this is where an addictive and impossible-to-put-down story begins. I'm a slow reader, but I read this in 4 days. And that's not at all what usually happens. It always takes me a few more days, which means I couldn't put it down.

The story is told by an omniscient narrator, I'm not very used to this type of narrative, and in addition to making me leave my comfort zone, the writing is fluid. ironic and even fun, it won me over. And the truth is that it won me over in such a way that I started reading volume two yesterday. I'm very curious to know what the Ryan twins will do next.

I recommend this book.

I liked this one, but I did find myself a bit bored at times. It is a suspense/mystery story, however it also reaches into supernatural - so even though it was a bit far fetched, I still enjoyed the story as a whole. I didn't really like the narrator, I felt like she sounded too adult for most of the characters in the book.

My opinion: Would Recommend
Level: Medium Low - 3/5 ⭐️

I didn't realize this was a YA book until I started reading and it quickly became apparent with the interactions between the teens. It also made me oh-so-glad I'm no longer a teenager! The book started a bit slow for me but gradually built up interest. I wish there had been more about the twins supernatural abilities - that was a fascinating part of the book. Most of the characters were interesting and the story was unusual. The ending was surprising - and not totally satisfactory for me.

The narration was excellent.

Beneath Her Skin
By Gregg Olsen

I am a big fan of Gregg Olsen and love his stories. He always seems to have the ability in his writing to surprise me. This series, The Port Gamble Chronicles Books, is no exception. I really enjoyed this, Beneath Her Skin, the first in the series.

In the small town of Port Gamble, not to much happens, but when a the teenage girl Katelyn Berkeley is found dead in the bathtub with an expresso machine, the town is shaken. Was it suicide or homicide? No one is quite sure but it all seems to stem from the horrible bus crash that happened 10 years ago.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the advances copy in turn for my honest review. Definitely a story to add to your TBR pile.

Beneath Her Skin (Port Gamble Chronicles #1) was a great read by Gregg Olsen. The body of troubled teen Katelyn Berkley is found in her bathtub. The close knit community of Port Gamble, Washington is shaken. At first glance it seems like suicide but to add to the tragedy, she survived a horrific bus crash ten years before. The bus crash took the lives of several young girls and scarred the town forever. Hayley and Taylor Ryan are identical twins that grew up with Katelyn. They have spent the last ten years trying to get over the crash. Ever since the crash the twins could hear the dead, and it’s a secret they haven’t told anyone. Katelyn starts communicating with them. I enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to read more by the author.

Available on NetGalley I assume in anticipation of the release of the second book in this YA series, it is a little dated in “teen talk” which is to be expected after 10 years.

I really enjoyed the story, loved the twins. A great thriller with a nice supernatural twist. There are a lot of characters to keep up with but that made the small town more interesting and more believable.

Really looking forward to the next in the series.

With thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed this audiobook. It was an easy listen! The narrator did an amazing job.

Gregg Olsen is well written. I do feel like this book lacked something. It does start slow. If you like slow builds this is for you.

Overall this isn’t a bad book at all, I do recommend it!

An older book that I listened to in order to appreciate the second one which was on NetGalley. Although both could be standalone I felt listening to both gave me a better insight and made the story’s more enjoyable.

I was initially drawn to this book by the eerie cover so I really wasn’t too sure what to expect when I started it. I was all ready to like it, was in the mood for a scary read even if it proves to be generic. This book is a YA book and a repackaged version of the book "Envy (Empty Coffin #1)., originally published 10 years ago.

When the body of troubled teen Katelyn Berkley was found in her bathtub, the small town of Port Gamble was shaken. On the surface, her death appeared to be a cry for help gone wrong, but twins Hayley and Taylor Ryan didn’t think so. Being gifted with the abilities to ‘hear’ the dead, the twins received a message from Katelyn and soon they suspected everyone in Kingston High, from popular cheerleader to the class outcast.

So, I didn’t realise this was a YA thriller. Originally published as ENVY in 2011, this new edition has been re-edited. The
premise was so promising, but I wasn’t into the high school drama aspect of it. I was quite intrigued with Hayley and Taylor’s ‘gifts’ though. It was clear from the beginning that the book was a set up to a bigger story universe for the girls.

Even though I’m not usually a fan of YA thrillers, I thought the ending of this one was done quite well! The narration was also well done - so easy to fly through the book. It also added to the fun that I was reading this around Christmas and New Year, and that was also the setting of the book.

This book starts with a bang, I love that in stories, and from there is a non-stop tense, heart pounding and fast paced thriller that will keep you at the edge of your seat.
This is the first book in a series and I can’t wait to read the second one.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for this complimentary audiobook.

𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗻 by Gregg Olsen released February 2, 2021.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

Beneath Her Skin, written by Gregg Olsen, is the first of the Port Gamble Chronicles books. This book follows the people of Port Gamble and has multiple story lines, but begins with the death of Katelyn Berkley. The book follows Katelyn’s friends and family as they try to find out what happened, and as they learn more about Katelyn and what lead up to her death.
I have read and enjoyed other books by this author, but this is my first time reading a
Fictional book by them. I really enjoyed learning about the different relationships between the characters, and the mystery of twins Hayley and Taylor and how they help with the mysteries of this book. I do recommend this book, and think it would also be good for a YA audience. Thank you to NetGalley and to the author and publisher of this book for an ALC in exchange for a review.

3 1/2 stars

I"m disappointed to say that I struggled to get through this audiobook. I've heard wonderful things about Gregg Olsen's writing which had me anticipating a nail biting thriller. What I found this book to be instead was a YA whodunnit with several plot lines spinning at once and no clear direction. It moved slowly and sadly felt like a trudge for me to get through.

That said, I did like the premise behind the book. To have the twins with their psychic abilities and a bus crash from years before that impacted the community was clever. Yet I needed it to move quicker and I probably didn't need to be in the minds of two teenagers.

Thank you to NetGalley for this early listening copy of the audiobook.