Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Emma Cunniffe, Lee Ingleby, David Blair, and Alexandra Boulton do a fantastic job narrating this story and making it come alive for the listener.

This is book 7 in the police procedural series featuring DCI Adam Fawley. While it would be ideal to read books 1-6 of the series first, I didn’t and I was still able to enjoy it. This is due in large part to how well the author does a summary and character recap in the beginning of the book. That helped a ton!

This is a solidly written police procedural story with likable characters. The pacing was appropriate and I really enjoyed this!

💖 Happy Pub Day!! 💖
Rating: 3.5 stars, rounded to 4 on Goodreads

Loves:
❤️ I LOVED the use of multi-media in this. Cara Hunter always is amazing at including a variety that is captivating and helps to set the scene.
❤️ I very much appreciated the section at the start going over the characters and who they are! I read this as a stand-alone so it was good to have an overview going in!
❤️ There were multiple narrators in the audiobook and I really enjoyed that level of production and all the narrators did a great job!

Factors that influenced my rating:
❤️ I think it would be better to read this physically because apparently there are also photos that weren’t visible with the audiobook, based on other reviews I’ve seen.
❤️ This book is highly connected to the first book in the series. While I was able to read it as a stand-alone, it would be better read after the first book
❤️ I’m not from the UK so I wasn’t familiar with a lot of the abbreviations used and needed to look them up. While this may not be an issue to many, it’s something to be aware of.

Now, my rating on this is totally my own fault. I read Cara Hunter’s Murder in the Family novel and it was an easy 5 stars and I adored it. I haven’t read any other Cara Hunter books and did not realize how closely this book tied into her Adam Fawley series. This definitely would’ve been higher if I read it physically to get the full effect of the mixed media and could take better advantage of the list of characters at the start. Overall I did really enjoy the mystery and I loved the different POVs and how there was always something happening, with very little slow parts.

Thank you so much to @netgalley Cara Hunter, and @harpercollins for the audiobook ALC in exchange for an honest review!

Audiobook Review: Making a Killing by Cara Hunter
Narrated by Emma Cunniffe, Lee Ingleby, David Blair, and Alexandra Boulton

I received this audiobook from NetGalley, and I truly appreciate the opportunity to discover and read new authors and share my thoughts.

This was not my first book by Cara Hunter—my first was Murder in the Family, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Unfortunately, Making a Killing didn’t quite live up to that experience for me. While I did listen to the entire audiobook, I found it harder to connect with the storyline and characters this time around.

That said, the narration was excellent. With a talented cast including Emma Cunniffe, Lee Ingleby, David Blair, and Alexandra Boulton, the performances were engaging and well-executed. I really enjoyed the British accents and the way the narrators brought their characters to life. Their delivery and tone were spot on for the genre, helping to maintain interest throughout the listen.

Making a Killing is the seventh book in Cara Hunter’s DI Adam Fawley series. I hadn’t read or listened to any of the previous entries in the series, and I think that played a role in why this book didn’t resonate with me as much. There were references to past cases and established relationships that felt a bit disconnected without the prior context, making it harder to fully invest in the plot and characters.

Overall, while this particular title wasn’t a favorite for me, I still respect Cara Hunter’s writing and storytelling. I would definitely be open to exploring more of her work—especially Murder in the Family-style standalones or potentially going back to start the DI Fawley series from the beginning.

Thank you again to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook!

First of all thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this before publication date.
For any First time readers of this author it's best to read in order since this does have other books before it.
Crazy twists and was not expecting that ending. Good read.

Making A Killing: Not all Murder Victims Stay Dead
DI Fawley Thriller #7
Cara Hunter
This is the seventh book in the DI Fawley series. This tale revisits the Daisy Mason case from book 1. I highly recommend you read book 1 and then you can skip right to book 7.
In 2016 Daisy Mason was declared dead; she was a mere 8 years old. Daisy’s mother, Sharon, was accused, convicted and sentenced to no less than 25 years for Daisy’s murder. But the conviction is questionable. The body was never found. The conviction was secured based on strong forensic evidence. Daisy’s father, Barry, is sure that Sharon is guilty; he believes Sharon murdered her own daughter out of jealousy.
The original investigator, Adam Fawley, believes it is a strong conviction. Journalist Nick Vincent is the host of a true crime show; he receives new evidence. The evidence is being examined to see if it is real. During the summer of 2024 a dog walker makes a grisly discovery a shallow grave, with the body of a female, under a tree; the tree was linked to a witch trial many years ago. The woman was murdered a couple of weeks ago. A hair stuck to the duct tape links the DNA to Daisy. DI Fawley is revisiting the case. Were there mistakes in the original investigation? Could Daisy have been kidnapped? What really happened to Daisy?
Author Cara Hunter’s characterization is wonderful. This is a police procedural book. Hunter uses photographs, police reports, cell phone records/transcripts, newspaper articles, social media posts, emails, and documents. It is well written and held my attention throughout the tale. The story is told through multiple points of view. This is a classic mystery filled with twists and turns. The plot of this tale will have you thinking and pondering the clues. I was surprised at the role of Daisy. She was an eight-year-old child, and the premise of the plot seems far-fetched. The ending will surprise most readers.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I have to admit, I didn’t realize this was part of a series when I requested it — the story just grabbed my attention. Now I wish I’d read the previous books first.

Thankfully, the author includes a brief recap at the beginning, which I really appreciated. I’ve always thought book series could use something like that, just like TV shows.

I listened to the audiobook, and while most of the narration was great, one of the three narrators did bother me. I found myself wanting to speed up the audio whenever they spoke.

Despite not knowing the full backstory, I was still invested in the plot and characters. This book made me want to check out the earlier ones, but I hope they don’t all end like this. I was honestly confused when it wrapped up — it felt unfinished, and I wasn’t sure if it was really over.

I know it’s not uncommon for a series to leave some things unresolved, but I expected the case itself to have a bit more closure. Even if I had read the previous books, I think I’d still feel let down by the ending.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

4.5⭐️

Book 7 Adam Fawley series


I had the audiobook read by Emma Cunniffe, Lee Ingleby, David Blair, Alexandra Bolton who are great.

I love this series, especially on audio as I love Lee Ingleby as Fawley. Love the inclusion of the who’s who at the start, informative and fun.

This book takes us back to the first case in the series (Close To Home) as usual with the series it uses mixed media to tell the story, I feel the way it’s been blended in this book works well for the audiobook version. I have read close to home but couldn’t remember it, the author gives the reader enough to pick up on the story so you’ll be ok if you haven’t read it, but if you can read it first then move on to this one all the better.

I love the interaction with Fawley and little Lily, it’s a lovely grounding family interaction amidst the world of crime solving. Fawley’s dry quips make me chuckle.

The plot has layers including a thread from Daisy which work well.
This one is left more open ended, so I’m so looking forward to the next book, hoping that there’s not such a long wait. I enjoyed the additional short story, I’m not usually a short story fan but it addresses something from Adam’s past.

This is the seventh book from the Adam Fawley series, and it’s the second one I’ve read. I enjoyed Close to Home, which is the first book in the series.

This is a book of confusion and intrigue. I needed to find out more, but it took a long time to get there. I think I would benefit from reading the other five books I haven’t read yet. This author has a way with stories and words that makes me want to go back to past books.

I received this book from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

2 stars

There are a myriad of things that didn't work out for me.

Let's start with the fact that in the first half of the book, nothing happens. And the entire focus of the story is put on the whereabouts of the supposed killed girl who is now proven to be alive. But no one actually cares about the dead woman found by the dogwalker.

I didn't understand how the same team that wrongfully accused and convicted a person for someone's murder, it is now allowed to investigate where the "not so dead" girl is. How is that even possible??? Not to mention it was not the first time they accused someone of being killed, got someone convicted and then they were proven wrong.

Then we have a thousand characters. Every single DI, DS and any other person working in the police in UK is in this book.

And if having all those characters was not enough, the author felt compelled to lay out their every thought, every doubt, every inner dialog, their extremely judgemental way of looking at people and labeling them.

The investigation is more shooting darts in the dark and running away with a supposition based on nothing, no facts, no evidence, not a thing. Just theories that sounded good or good enough and presented as a good theory.

Then we have the so called victim which turns out to be the biggest villan in town. I didn't buy it. Not for one moment, one second, nothing. I just can't see an 8 year old acting like that, planning all that. If she would have been at least 13-14, maybe, but at barely 8 years old??? Nope. I am sorry.

And, lastly, the ending. Or the lack of it. I mean after putting up with all that mess, the dragged plot, the million useless characters and the chopped chapters with journals and Now and Then and the insanely repetitive sections (because every conversation was repeated entirely all throughout the book which was very annoying), so after all that .....there was no ending. Very disappointing.

And, as a last note, having listened to this book, I am sure we can come up with a better system than reading every single email, email address, the title, the subject, the signature and so on. It is tiresome to no end.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion!

This is the 7th book in the Adam Fawley series but the first for me. There were a few bits that seemed to be continuing storylines but for the most this was a mystery that was contained in this book so I enjoyed it. I listened to the audiobook and the narration was excellent, but there were a lot of different formats of information and I would have preferred this one in physical form to be able to track those a little better. The mystery in this one was pretty out there and I enjoyed it quite a lot except I didn’t love the ending. There were a few bits that were far fetched, but it was overall a good mystery. A woman is found dead and buried but there is a hair on the body that leads police to a previously solved murder of an 8 year old girl. But they don’t share a perpetrator, the hair is from that 8 year old child, clearly still alive. My favorite perspective/modality was the shadow journal from that missing child herself. It was so well done. I liked this book a lot and the characters so I will have to go back and find some of the previous books.

Loved this one! Great narrators and the story was very entertaining! This was the first book by this author that I've read / listened to, and now I feel the need to get to the backlist! Definitely recommend this one.

Making a Killing is sharp, gritty, and satisfyingly twisty — a solid entry in a series that just keeps getting better. Think investigative journalism meets small-town secrets, with a side of dry wit and escalating danger. It can be read as a standalone, but the emotional impact definitely hits harder if you’ve read the others. The characters are layered, the pacing is tight, and the multicast narration brings it all to life in the best way. It’s dark without being overwhelming and smart without trying too hard. Definitely worth the listen.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
Rated R for language, violence, mature themes, and references to sexual assault.

Cara Hunter delivers another twisty, emotionally charged installment in the Adam Fawley series with Making a Killing. When a new true-crime angle reopens the harrowing case of a murdered child, past mistakes come crashing into the present. Hunter weaves dual timelines and media influence into a taut police procedural that keeps you guessing until the final page. The moral gray areas and emotional stakes are high, especially for Fawley, whose personal connection to the case adds depth and urgency. A gripping, smartly plotted thriller.

Thank you Cara Hunter, Harper Audio, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

#makingakilling #netgalleyarc #netgalleyreview #netgalley #arcreview #arc #arcreader #review #somanybookssolittletime

Making a Killing

Format: Audio
Audio Pub Day: May 20
Rating: 4⭐️

Hunter brings back an old case in this DI Fawley book, the one from her first in the series of missing girl Daisy Mason. I’m so glad I Close to Home last year, I just don’t think I would have enjoyed this as much had I not already known everything surrounding the previous case.

I thought the mystery was really interesting and having all the characters who worked on the case previously come back in to play was great. I really enjoy how Hunter devises her story and was very entertained by this.

The multicast narration really elevated the story, the audio was excellent!

Thank you Harper Audio for the alc via Netgalley!

Making a Killing is the latest installment in the police procedural series featuring DCI Adam Fawley. While it would be ideal to read the rest of the series first, I didn’t and I was still able to enjoy it. This is due in large part to how well the author does a summary and character recap in the beginning of the book. That helped a ton!

The plot was well-done and easy to follow and I was definitely intrigued throughout the book. Kudos to the trio of narrators on this audiobook; they did a really good job.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this audiobook ARC.

It starts with a missing girl. It ends with your trust in humanity in shreds. Somewhere in between, the truth body-checks you into traffic and steals your wallet. Daisy Mason was eight years old when she vanished from a backyard barbecue in Oxford. No screams. No body. Just a costume, a garden full of secrets, and a mother the public decided was wrong — too cold, too calm, too guilty-looking. Sharon Mason was convicted of Daisy’s murder and sentenced to life. Case closed. But Daisy? Daisy was never found.

Now, in “Making a Killing,” a woman’s body is discovered in a shallow woodland grave. She’s bound. Brutalized. And the forensic evidence ties her straight back to Daisy Mason. And just like that, the story the police wrapped up eight years ago starts to rot at the seams. Was Sharon wrongly imprisoned? Did they get the wrong killer? Or — and here’s where the book turns the knife — what if Daisy isn’t dead? What if she’s been alive this whole time? What if she’s been watching? Waiting? Pulling strings no one even realized were still moving?

Cara Hunter doesn’t just reopen a cold case — she takes a flamethrower to it. And as someone jumping into this series at book seven (yes, I know, I’m that person), I was fully prepared to be lost. But the story catches you up fast. There’s a much-needed team recap at the front — and as a first-time visitor to the series, I was clinging to it like a lifeline. Without it, I would’ve been lost in a sea of detectives, trauma flashbacks, and job title upgrades. Hunter threads in just enough backstory to keep you afloat, but make no mistake: this team has history, and you’ll feel every unresolved bit of it.

Fawley, a DCI (that’s Detective Chief Inspector for us non-Brits), is the beating, broken heart of this book. He’s not flashy. He’s not brilliant and tortured in that hot detective way. He’s just a man with a crumbling moral compass, and the weight of one very bad conviction pressing on his chest. He arrested Sharon Mason. He believed she was guilty. And now he’s being asked to rip that whole case open again — fully aware that if they got it wrong, he helped destroy an innocent woman’s life. Honestly, someone get this man a therapist, a whiskey, and a job that doesn’t involve murder.

And if that weren’t enough, here comes the true crime show “Infamous” — hosted by slick media parasite Nick Vincent — digging up the original case like it’s a ratings grab. Once the cameras get involved, all hell breaks loose. The cops are scrambling, the public’s frothing at the mouth, and Daisy’s case turns into tabloid catnip all over again. The show isn’t looking for justice. It wants a story. Preferably one with blood, betrayal, and a beautiful victim.

This book is obsessed with perception: who we believe, who we condemn, and how the media spins grief into spectacle. Sharon Mason didn’t get convicted on evidence. She got convicted on vibes. She didn’t cry enough. She didn’t say the right things. That’s the JonBenét Ramsey effect — when a mother becomes the villain just for surviving her child’s disappearance the wrong way. Layer in the Madeleine McCann overtones — the missing girl as national obsession, turned into a symbol instead of a person — and you’ve got a novel that cuts way deeper than your average procedural.

Hunter doesn’t just throw in plot twists. She forces you to examine your own biases. The book’s signature mixed media format — case files, articles, transcripts, internet sleuth forums — makes you feel like you’re piecing together the story yourself. Until she yanks the rug out from under you. Because you weren’t solving anything. You were consuming it. Just like the public. Just like "Infamous."

And through all of it, Fawley keeps digging. Even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts. Because this time, he has to get it right — no matter what it costs him. And that? That’s where the book stops being a thriller and becomes a reckoning.

Yes, it’s a slow burn. Yes, there are a lot of characters to track. But by the time the threads start tightening, it hits hard. “Making a Killing” isn’t just about who killed whom. It’s about who we destroy along the way — and whether the truth, once uncovered, is any better than the lie we believed.

Four stars — and now I’m spiraling back to book one to watch how the Daisy Mason case really began.

Whodunity Award: For Getting Played by the System and the Streaming Service, All in One Glorious Flameout

Huge thanks to NetGalley and HarperAudio for the early access to this audiobook — and shoutout to the narrators (Emma Cunniffe, Lee Ingleby, David Blair, and Alexandra Boulton) for absolutely nailing it. That cast didn’t just tell the story — they dragged me into the interrogation room, lit the overhead fluorescent, and stared me down like I had something to confess. Top-tier, no notes.

While I loved the storyline and it can be read as a stand alone; if this is the first time you’re picking up this series like me; I would suggest reading a print version. There is a very large cast of characters and while the author does a great job of outlining each at the beginning; you can’t just flip back like you could in a print version. Or take notes, because I was lost.

Like I said, a good fast paced action packed story, just a little hard to follow on audio

Thank you to HarperAudio Adult and NetGalley for this audio arc.

I very much enjoyed the audiobook for Making a Killing by Cara Hunter. I thought the narrators were great! They didn’t “oversell” the parts they were playing which I think is important.

While this is number two in a series, I think it can easily be read as a standalone. If you like police procedural books, you’ll love this.

Cara Hunter’s Making a Killing is the newest installment of the DI Fawley (now DCI Fawley) thrilling mystery series. It was so worth the wait!!

In this psychological thriller, we find DCI Adam Fawley and his team of forces from not only Thames Valley CID, but also South Mercia CID tackling the craziest whodunit by trying to first figure out what and how “it” had been done.

Eight years prior, circumstantial evidence had seen an eight-year-old Daisy’s parents sentenced to crimes such as for her murder and child pornography consumption. New evidence from a new murder where there was an actual body has brought everything surrounding Daisy’s disappearance and assumed murder into question.

Just when you think that you definitely know something new, lies are uncovered, and twists in the plot are revealed.

This book was well worth the wait, and had me incorrectly guessing through most of the book. I loved this fast-paced thriller!!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult for this fascinating audio ARC!!

If you have not read Close to Home, the first Adam Fawley book, and you plan to you should read it first as Making a Killing will be a huge spoiler. Having said that Making a Killing can easily be read as a stand-alone as all of the background is explained. I listened to the audio version and loved the format with messages, memos and news articles being read. There is a large cast of characters, and they were listed with a short bio. If you are listening like I did you might find taking notes will help with who each detective is, but other than getting to know them better and perhaps for future books it really doesn’t affect the story. This is a fabulous police procedural where small clues and great detective work eventually lead to a conclusion that no one could have imagined.