A fast, easy-to-read anthology that’s full of tension, shady moral areas, and those little choices that can send a normal life spiraling into chaos. The Alibis Collection kinda feels like a bookshelf get-together where domestic drama, psycological suspense, and page-turning thrills get passed from one author to the next — and most of the time, the hand-off actually works. The narrators did a great job too! they really brought the characters to life and made it super easy to stay hooked, even when switching between different authors’ styles.

I had such a great time reading this book! It pulled me in right from the start and kept me turning the pages. The writing flowed so well, and I found myself completely invested in the story and characters. It’s one of those reads you just don’t want to put down.
huge thanks to the publisher for sending me an early copy!! I’m so glad I got to read it ahead of the release day and can't wait for the world to get to enjoy it too!!

I enjoyed every story in this collection and it’s one of the best I’ve read in some time. Here are the reviews for each.

Staged by Freida McFadden ★★★★
the setup…
Despite having an airtight alibi, Talia Kemper was convicted of murdering her husband Noel and sits on death row, awaiting execution now that her appeals are exhausted. But Talia is adamant that she didn’t kill her husband. When her lawyer comes for his last visit, she sees a man in the visiting area who looks remarkably like Noel! Could it be he’s still alive?

the heart of the story…
Everything is through Talia’s point of view and she takes us back in time from when she first met Noel to the present. Pay careful attention because everything matters.

the narration…
Lauryn Allman is the narrator and whoa was she great! I’ve a new voice to add to my list of favorites with her low, mellow tone. She was perfect as Talia and as a storyteller.

the bottom line…
See, this is why I’m a sucker for short stories because there’s always the possibility they will land as solidly as this one. Oh, what a clever little path that was laid, leading me down one I thought I knew but ending in a place that had me rewinding. My first by the author and I like her style.


The Ex-Wives Club by Sally Hepworth ★★★★
the setup…
Ian Curley is a renowned chef and restaurateur with a thriving restaurant in Melbourne. His three ex-wives, Anita, Mary-Jane (MJ) and Rosie, meet there every Friday in the same corner booth to share their past marital woes (he foots the bill). His two children, Max and Daisy, work for him. When Ian is discovered dead in his commercial freezer, there’s no shortage of suspects, including his new child girlfriend Emma. But, they all seem to have rock solid alibis.

the heart of the story…
Detective Charlene Li and her hapless partner Adrian Collins are tasked with figuring out who murdered Ian and untangling the suspects’ whereabouts. I loved getting everyone’s point of view and Detective Li’s follow up interrogations. It was intriguing from the onset, especially after each gave color to who Ian was, really.

the narration…
I loved Anthea Greco’s voice tone, accent and storytelling! She was part of the “thing” that hooked me so quickly.

the bottom line…
Despite its brevity, there’s a lot of meat here. I got a strong sense of every character, tough to accomplish in a short story with this many characters. Thought I had it solved but that twisty little ending caught me off guard. This so perfectly fits in with the collection and Hepworth does it again.


False Note by David Lagercrantz ★★★★
the setup…
William Homberg is the son of Stockholm’s beloved baritone opera singer, Knut. He was raised solely by him following his mother’s death. Knut lived in excess…alcohol, women and lavish spending on himself and sadistically cruel to the women who adored him. William has lived his life dedicated to not be like this man and rarely sees him. However, when his beloved girlfriend Ebba encourages him to reach out to Knut with her at his side, he agrees and it’s life changing.

the heart of the story…
This was on the bleak side but compelling in a foreboding way. When Knut turns up murdered, all the evidence points to William, who has an alibi but is reluctant to reveal it. I had a feeling where this was going and my heart began to ache for William who was losing the struggle to not be the man his father was.

the narration…
Graham Halstead made all the difference in my enjoyment of this story. I would encourage everyone to listen to this one versus reading. He completely captures William and his storytelling is superb.

the bottom line…
This one will haunt me because William is such a tragic character, trying to not be his father and sort of failing in the attempt. I saw betrayal coming and just wanted to save him.


The Skydivers by Chris Bohjalian> ★★★1/2
the setup…
A woman is cycling around the dairy farmland near Burlington, Vermont when she’s distracted by the sight of two skydivers. Recalling her own great experience, she stops to watch. But then she sees that one of them changes course and starts heading towards an active forage harvester. She watches in horror at the impending disaster. Brothers Pete and Leo Hamilton have returned home following their father’s death to settle his estate but disagree on what to do with the farm. They both agree to his request that they sprinkle his ashes over the fields and are the skydivers seen by the cyclist.

the heart of the story…
Even though the cyclist is the alibi, she comes from a background that makes her an exceptional witness and knows something was off. One of those brothers died and given their disagreement about the farm, suspicion is cast on the survivor. We get a tiny glimpse about the two when it transitions back to before it happened and pick up a few clues. Nothing was as it seemed.

the narration…
Eric Altheide, Soneela Nankani and Pete Simonelli give voice to the brothers and the cyclist. All were great at their storytelling, especially the cyclist who sets up the skydiving scene perfectly.

the bottom line…
I wish this was just a smidgen longer because I just couldn’t get a good sense of the brothers before the skydiving disaster. However, the epilogue wrapped things up nicely with a sweet little twist. I liked it but had to rewind to make sure I heard things right.


Good Neighbors by Chad Zunker ★★★★
the setup…
Kara is new to the neighborhood and has only made friends with her next door neighbor Mindy who shares her fears about her husband’s possible philandering. Kara decides she’ll look out for her whenever she’s away from home. When she sees someone there through the window while Mindy is out, Kara decides to do some closer snooping and gets the surprise of her life.

the heart of the story…
What is it they say about good fences make good neighbors? Definitely something Kara should have kept in mind as things quickly got dangerous. The cat and mouse game that later ensued was filled with tension and surprises. The alibi? Well, that’s a spoiler.

the narration…
Amara Jasper (new to me) was fabulous! She did a great job of storytelling and characterized Kara perfectly. It’s five for five with the narrators in this collection.

the bottom line…
This one is a winner! It grabbed me right away and never let go. And, I couldn’t believe how quickly the time went because I was completely immersed in the story. Well done.


Small Things by Wanda M. Morris ★★★★
the setup…
From the outside, Hannah and Rusty Ferguson seem to have the ideal marriage. But Rusty is an emotional abuser and Hannah’s his constant target. Her only outlet is her backyard shed where she secretly designs and creates jewelry. When Rusty takes steps to destroy this smallest thing, it’s a step too far for Hannah.

the heart of the story…
Hannah constantly dreams of ways Rusty could experience lots of bad luck, all of it harmless until he threatens that shed. He’s cruel, selfish and spiteful so you know something’s coming. I could hear the Jaws music in the background.

the narration…
I’m a fan of Susannah Jones and she delivers an inspired and wonderful performance. She had me listening intently to every word and inflection.

the bottom line…
This story ends the collection with a flourish. There wasn’t a question of if but how and so that little twist was a bit unexpected. Well done as I finished this in one session, surprised that it was over so quickly as I lost track of time. Gotta check out more from this author.

What a fun and chilling collection of psychological thrillers—perfect for summer reading (or listening)!

This anthology includes six short stories by incredible thriller writers centered around the theme of an “alibi.” We all know a crime requires motive, means, and opportunity, but without an alibi, even the innocent can be condemned.

I was already familiar with Sally Hepworth and Wanda M. Morris, but it was great to sample stories from new-to-me authors and get a feel for their writing styles.

I listened to the whole collection—each story is about an hour long, making it perfect for dog walks, folding laundry, commuting, or lounging by the pool or beach.

Like most short story collections, I had a few favorites: Death Row and Small Things. But honestly, each one kept me guessing!

I read these entertaining mystery short stories before listening to the audiobook, and while I enjoyed the stories, I thought they were even better on audio, with terrific, suspenseful performances.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #AmazonOriginalStories for the collection of short stories, #Alibis by #FreidaMcFadden #SallyHepworth #DavidLagercrantz #ChrisBohjalian #ChadZunker and #WandaMorris. This thrilling collection was filled with many alibis and I loved every one of them. The reviews for each story is on the authors individual pages.

This short story collection started out strong with a thriller from Freida McFadden that is just as twisty and engaging as her longer books are. Sally Hepworth's Ex-Wives Club is also very entertaining and suspenseful, and I was amazed that both of these authors were just as good at writing short stories as full length novels. The other authors were new to me and equally great, I'm looking forward to reading more of their books now.
In the audiobook, each short story had its own narrators and Lauryn Allman, Anthea Greco, Graham Halstead, Eric Altheide, Soneela Nankani, Pete Simonelli, Amara Jasper, and Susannah Jones all were fantastic!

Not only is every single one of these thriller stories AMAZING...everything single narrator did an amazing job! There wasn't a single one of these shirts stories that I didnt enjoy and where my jaw wasn't on the floor from the twists. One of the best collection of thriller short stories ive had the pleasure of reading and listening to on a long time.

6 excellent psychological suspense stories you won't want to miss.

I just finished reading Alibis a Psychological Suspense book written by Freida McFadden; Sally Hepworth; David Lagercrantz; Chris Bohjalian; Chad Zunker; Wanda M. Morris. I read the AudioBook published by Brilliance Publishing | Amazon Original Stories. NetGalley gave me a copy of this book. I listened to this book on NetGalley. It is a stand alone book.

This book is a must read if you like: Thrillers, psychological suspense, dark themes.

"I didn't kill him"

This short story collection contains 6 stories by 6 different authors. The first and by far the stand out story for me was Death Row by Freida McFadden. I did a full review on that you can find. Also included was The Ex-Wives Club by Sally Hepworth, a clever whodunit that explores the complexities of modern families. False Note by David Lagercrantz, a dark exploration on if we can truly escape becoming our parents. The Skydivers by Chris Bohjalian is a sad story of unexpected death. Good Neighbors by Chad Zunker is a story about what happens when neighbors get a little too involved in each other's business. And lastly Small Things by Wanda M. Morris, an exploration or expectations and how reality can differ from the perfect picture we want life to be.

These stories all have deep emotionally dark themes. Absolutely only for mature audiences.

I'm just getting into thrillers and overall I liked this book and it was more of a dive for me into the genre.

I liked the variety in this book. No two stories were similar.

By far, Death Row was the highlight of this book. I have a hard time allowing anything to complete with McFadden.

Trigger warnings on the audiobook. Also, I really didn't care for the last story, but that is probably because it was close to home.

Every single one of the narrators were excellent. I really enjoyed the deliveries.

I really did enjoy this book. A nice quick read that allowed me to take breaks and come back.

Content Warnings: Suicide, death, murder, adult language, abuse, adult themes.

I often have a difficult time with short stories, because by definition they do not provide a lot of time or space for establishing character. But every now and then, especially with authors whose writing styles I already know I like, I enjoy them - particularly in audio format.

This collection was solid and I liked the theme and enjoyed seeing how each author teased it out. I was very surprised that my favorite story was the Freida McFadden, since she is not normally an author I enjoy, but I found the twist to be delightful and truly surprising. I could not get into the Sally Hepworth at all and was not a fan of the narrator on that one all that much either. The Lagerkrantz was fine but didn't particularly resonate with me.

The other three, particularly the trad wife story in the Morris tale, were very interesting and even if I saw the twists coming, I did not mind because the overall arc of the stories was an engaging one in each instance. The narration in each of them was also excellent. I will be on the lookout for more from Zunker and Morris - they were the two authors I was not familiar with going in, but I did find their storytelling styles to resonate well with my reading/ listening style.

I enjoyed this collection overall. I’m not a huge fan of novellas because I don’t think they present a full story with well-developed characters and enough suspense to get my heart racing. What it does, however, is give me a good idea of what an author’s voice is like and if I’d like to read more by this author. I had already read the Freida McFadden one and loved it; I am a huge fan. I really enjoyed the Sally Hepworth and Chad Zunker stories. While I appreciated what David Lagercrantz was trying to convey in his story, I wasn’t a fan of the subject matter and will most likely not continue with his stories. Chris Bohjalian is another author I am familiar with and usually enjoy his work but this was too short. Wanda M. Morris’ story rounds this out and this was probably my favorite of the stories (outside of the one I had already read). I can’t wait to read more by her.

Death Row- 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ex-wives Club- 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
False Note- 1/5 ⭐️
The Skydivers- 2.5/5 ⭐️⭐️💫
Good Neighbors-2.75/5 ⭐️⭐️🌟
Small Things-4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝗣𝘂𝗯 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: 6/2/25

*Thank you @NetGalley, @AmazonPublishing, and @BrilliancePublishing for sending this ebook and audiobook for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: A series of short story thrillers

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: I enjoyed these quick reads to break up some longer books I’m currently reading. There were 3 that I enjoyed more than the others and recommend! The other three were not my favorites. The narrators for all six stories were excellent!

I posted all of the reviews of these books individually onto Goodreads since I was able to get all of them individually as well as the complete set audiobook.

But I really enjoyed these collections of short stories. Each one was so different but enjoyable. I finished each one in one sitting and I loved how they all wrapped up.

This was a great collection of 6 short stories from big name authors, available as one audiobook.

One thing that stood out to me was that the narration was excellent for all 6 of these books, each performed by a different narrator (the Skydivers had 3 different narrators). They all provided such wonderful atmosphere for their book, and kept the character's voices unique.

As with all short story collections, I liked some more than others. Small things by Wanda Morris, Good neighbors by Chad Zunker and The ex-wives club by Sally Hepworth were my favorites. I was a little disappointed in Death Row by Frieda McFadden, partly because my expectations were so high, and while it was intriguing, the ending left me completely confused.

Interesting collection and I enjoyed listening to it.

What an awesome collection of short stories from some great thriller authors. Not sure which one was my favorite as they all were great! I think maybe the last one, Freida’s, or Sally Hepworth’s! I think each narrator did great as well.

Alibis is a Amazon Original short story collection from six well known suspense authors. Often times with short stories I find myself wishing they were longer, even full length novels, and yet this time around I found these bite sized stories quite satisfying. I won’t go into each of the stories but rather highlight my two favorites. Good Neighbors by Chad Zunker, a fast paced story that proves you never know what is going on with your neighbors. And Death Row by Frieda McFadden. Now I’m a sucker for any and everything McFadden writes, and in DeatH Row she delivers a serious brain twister where you are never entirely certain what is the truth because every time you think you have a handle on the story she offers up a new wrinkle. The audio book features multiple narrators: Lauryn Allman, Anthea Greco, Graham Halstead, Eric Altheide, Soneela Nankani, Pete Simonelli, Amara Jasper, and Susannah Jones and they all do a great job. I’d like to thank Brilliance Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review an advanced audio version of the Alibis short story collection.

•Death Row by Freida McFadden ⭐️- A novella that is disappointing and overly exaggerated. The ending is the only aspect of this story that stands out (it still left me with questions).
•The Ex-Wives Club by Sally Hepworth ⭐️⭐️⭐️- an interesting revenge filled novella by with a surprise twist.
•False Note by David Lagercrantz - ⭐️ I’m not sure what I just read. There wasn’t a discernible plot and story ended without resolving the “mystery”.
•The Skydivers by Chris Bohjalian - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This short story begins with graphic images and full of suspense. It was engaging and emotional. This had the potential to be a captivating thriller novel. Great narration too!
•Good Neighbors by Chad Zunker - ⭐️⭐️⭐️ An entertaining short story however, this is a frequently used trope.
•Small Things by Wanda M. Morris - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Very engaging short story with quite the surprising twist at the end.
Thank you to the publisher/author for the opportunity to listen to this complimentary advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Excellent short stories from some famous authors. Overall, I really enjoyed this compilation. Definitely would recommend reading!

This was a great collection of short stories by some fantastic psychological suspense authors! Some stories I liked more than others. The works by Freida McFadden, Wanda M. Morris, and Chris Bohjalian were my favorites in this collection. I listened to the audiobook versions, and all of the narrators did a nice job. If you’re looking for some quick, suspenseful reads, I recommend checking out this collection! Thank you NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really good book of short stories by a few good authors that I already enjoyed! And I found a few new ones to add to my list to keep reading! I loved Death Row, false note and good neighbors those were my favorite ones! The rest were pretty good also! But those kept me guessing and guessing!