The premise of this book had me intrigued. Missing sister, stalker, fingerprint analysis, police procedural - all things that have high potential!

Unfortunately, the writing style was not for me and the slow burn of this one was just too slow. I couldn't get into it and I had no desire to pick it up.

Shaw Connolly, a forensic analyst, relentlessly pursues her sister Thea’s disappearance from sixteen years ago, straining her family and marriage. The audiobook was fantastic, with one of my favorite narrators. Saskia Maarleveld’s intense voice perfectly embodied both the main character and the stalker.  This suspenseful mystery captivated me and I definitely recommend this audiobook.

Gillian French's first foray into the world of adult fiction is definitely worth the read - interesting plot, intricate characters, and well-paced.

I thought the narration by Saskia Maarleveld was fantastic in this one. The pacing and tone were great.

I am not the biggest fan of procedural books overall, but this one really held my attention. The story was interesting and had some good twists. It was more unique than what I normally read for procedurals.

Overall, I think a lot of credit goes to the narrator for keeping me so engaged.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future

Shaw Connolly is a fingerprint analyst in a rural Maine town. Shaw is deeply affected by the disappearance of her sister. Although it has been sixteen years since her sister disappeared, Shaw remains determined to find out what happened to Thea and locate her remains. Shaw begins to receive calls from a man named Anders Jansen, who claims to know what happened to Thea. He also begins to taunt and stalk Shaw. Will Shaw uncover the truth of what happened to her sister sixteen years ago? Does Anders Jansen have the answers he claims to?

This was my first book by Gillian French. I enjoyed the atmosphere of small-town Maine in winter. I also liked the mystery. However, this one was a slow burn, and the character of Shaw left more to be desired. I found some of the dialogue to be a bit flat. The pacing was not the best either. Although the ending drew me back in and was satisfying in my opinion. Overall, I would give this one 2.5 out of 5 stars. If you enjoy slow-burn mysteries, this one is for you.

I just finished Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell by Gillian French and here are my thoughts.

16 years ago Shaw suffered a great loss. Her sister went missing. Never to be found. She knows her obsession to find the truth has pushed her husband away but she cannot stop. Especially when Anders Jansen calls her… Telling her he committed the crime. Playing with her. The more she tries to ignore him… The more he escalates and she is putting everyone in danger for the truth.

WHOAAAAA This book was something else! I was gripped, I tell ya… GRIPPED!!!

It was chilling!! Bone chilling! I could feel how close the stalker was getting as the book went on. It was excellent. Dark and gritty with a hot mess of an FMC. I wasn’t much of a fan of Shaw’s but I kind of think we weren’t supposed to. Respect her yep.. Like her? NOOOOO.

My biggest problem was that we knew what was going on pretty early in the book. I would have liked more of a mystery. The pace was really awesome and I was lucky to get an audiobook version along with the paperback copy. The narrator did an amazing bringing the book to life for me.

The pacing was a bit weird in spots and it was slower than I like my thrillers. I also felt that the police not investigating the calls before was a bit weird to me but all in all I enjoyed it. I liked the writing style and I definitely will try this author again.

3.75 stars.

Thank you to @netgalley @macmillanaudio and @minotaur_books for my gifted copy and ALC.

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🕵️‍♀️ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5 Stars)
"Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell" by Gillian French

If you enjoy slow burns with an undercurrent of dread, this could be a good fit for you. But if you’re wired for adrenaline and twists galore like me, you may find yourself watching the clock. "Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell" takes its sweet, spooky time getting to the finish.

The story revolves around Shaw, whose sister vanished sixteen years ago. When a mysterious voice on the phone begins to drop sinister hints, the book promises an intriguing mystery that I couldn’t resist!

As a fingerprint analyst, Shaw brings an exciting forensic edge to the slow unraveling of her sister's disappearance. And the small-town setting adds an eerie tension that simmers beneath the surface, but never quite boils over.

The premise was great, but I craved a faster pace.

Thanks to Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the gifted ARCs. All opinions are my own and left voluntarily.

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This was a very easy listen. I enjoyed that it wasn't a "who-dun-it" as much as trying to find the guy "they-knew-dun-it". I also love this narrator. 4/5 stars for a good, investigative cop drama.

This is one of those slow burn, chilling thrillers you think about days after finishing.
I will admit, at first I struggled with the pace of this book. I also found some of the police procedure scenes to drag too long, but when it came to action French brought it at the end.
Shaw is a fingerprint analyst, and while she seems to love it, she also seems to want to play detective. She is especially involved in trying to solve the case of her missing sister. Between the cold case of her sister’s disappearance, a man stalking and calling her for years, and the scenes of the crime she visits for prints, this books basically makes up everything you want in a thriller.
This eerie and scenic mystery is not one to miss.
Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur books for the arc!

well narrated audiobook. I loved the Connelly family, it's tragedies and it's grit. good mystery with one hell of a bad guy!
thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook!

First of all, I just have to say that the cover is perfection and totally set the mood here!

I was so excited for this one as the synopsis sounds like my ideal book. While it was a fun read, it did seem to drag on a little too much for me.

The ending was worth the slower parts, but I wish we had more of that action up front. I still feel like I'm left with more questions than answers even after finishing.

Overall, I think this will be a hit for some and a miss for others- I'm somewhere in between!

A missing sister, a stalker following you for years also claiming to be the one to have killed your sister and hinting at more. This would be a nightmare and it is amazing that Shaw handles all this plus family issues, an arsonist going wild, and trying to find her sister's remains in this thrilling story that is dark but also a message that Shaw can rise above it all and still live her life and not let Anders destroy her like he claims to have done to her sister. That whole cat and mouse game kept me listening to see if Shaw could finally catch Anders in a lie and finally be done with him, and I also enjoyed listening to the aspects of Shaw's job of being an expert fingerprints analyst as she examined murder scenes and taught her job to others.

The narrator did a good job in bringing the characters to life in this gritty slice of life where bad things happen but the bad guy can be caught and peace can come to the family after all the years of searching for Theo.

So incredibly slow moving. I disliked Shaw and her alternately angry temper and folksy joking demeanor. There are some decent moments, and the audiobook did help me to get all the way through it.

Shaw Connolly is a fingerprint analyst who is haunted by the disappearance of her sister Thea 16 years ago. Both she and her father have never given up the search to find out what happened to Thea. Shaw has been getting phone calls from a man she knows as Anders Jansen who basically admits to killing Thea, but taunts Shaw with tiny bits of information.

Although this book had potential, the mystery was so slow. The phone caller angle was over-dramatic and I just could not believe that even with recordings, the police didn't investigate his involvement further. I wanted the book to be more creepy, maybe with a twist to reveal that the villain wasn't who we thought it was. But no, we know his identity from the beginning, so it was really anti-climactic when it all came together.

Shaw's obsession with finding answers totally takes over her life. Even with that, I found her character very bland and wishy washy. The audiobook narration of her character has a very odd Boston accent. I generally like Saskia Maarleveld's narration, but I didn't care for the way she voiced Shaw in this book.

Once again Gillian French has created a tense and chilling story. Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell focuses on the story of a woman who is obsessed with finding out what happened to her sister, ho disappeared 16 years ago. Today Shaw works as a fingerprint analyst, and helps to solve some of the most brutal crimes, but it is her sister's unsolved case that haunts her. She has watched her marriage disintegrate because she can't let it go.

She receives disturbing phone calls from a man who claims to know what happened, and Shaw cannot ignore the calls. She is convinced he can lead her to the answers. She knows it is placing her in danger. She knows that she should let it go. But she can't...

The pacing of the book creates a level of suspense and tension that worked very well. The Setting is gritty and moody. The characters are relatable. And the cat and mouse game is intense and compelling. Shaw becomes more and more desperate, and as that happens she makes decisions that place her in significant danger. The threats escalate, putting her sons and father in jeopardy, and still Shaw is fixated on finding the truth.

Part of what makes this thriller work so well is that it feels deeply emotional and personal. It feels like many of us would act the same as Shaw.

I was #gifted the audiobook by @netgalley and the publisher, @minotaurbooks ... Thank you. The review reflects my honest opinion.

Shaw Connolly is tenacious and reckless but a likable character. As a respected veteran fingerprint analyst, she has access to resources that she uses to relentlessly pursue her sister’s murderer. But Shaw’s foe, Anders is just as tenacious and stalks her, threatens her family and taunts her via phone calls while claiming to be her sister’s killer. The book is a cat and mouse crime thriller with lots of suspense and the capability to make the reader question the soundness of Shaw’s decisions and motives in engaging Anders in the game.
I chose this audiobook mostly for the narrator, Saskia Marveld as I always enjoy her work but the book description also intrigued me. I really liked Shaw’s character and thought it was well developed. Shaw is tough and somewhat reckless but level-headed most of the time as she keeps the police informed about her interactions with Anders. Not one of those characters that makes me roll my eyes at her stupid decisions that seem unrealistic. So she is strong and relentless but also smart and compassionate. I really liked how she interacted with her trainee and also made her family a priority.
So the story is entertaining and good but once again, Saskia Marveld makes it come alive with her narration. Her accents and voice inflections are spot on. I think any author is fortunate to have Saskia perform their written works. I definitely recommend this audiobook.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own.

In the book Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell, author Gillian French writes about Shaw Connolly who is a fingerprint analyst and one of the first on the scene of the crime. When a string of mysterious arson’s and murder scenes start showing up in rural Maine, Shaw wonders if they are connected with her sister’s disappearance 16 years before. And when Anders Jansen begins make mysterious calls to her, she cannot hang up and is convinced he was behind her sister’s disappearance. This could have been a good story but the writing was choppy and lots of unnecessary information. It reminded me of a term paper where the writer was just writing to fill a quota of words and pages. The audio-book narration was very good. I received a copy of this audio-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audio book.

Solid 3.5 on this mystery/thriller. Was curious on what happened... what the twist ending would be. Didn't disappoint. I did not feel cheated. Recommend.

Shaw Connolly is no stranger to trauma. As a fingerprints analyst, she’s one of the first on-site for crimes, including murder scenes and a mysterious string of arsons popping up throughout the rural Maine community her department serves. But the tragedy of her little sister’s disappearance sixteen years ago has always weighed on her the most; Thea is never far from her thoughts or dreams, and Shaw knows that her obsession with finding the truth about Thea is driving her husband away and impacting her two boys. Still, she can't let it go and has even started taking disturbing calls from a man named Anders Jansen who all but claims to have committed the crime.

Anders taunts Shaw with hints and innuendo about what supposedly happened all those years ago. His calls go to the next level as he reveals just how much he knows about Shaw’s personal life, like her stalled career and ruined marriage. As his stalking escalates to threats on her and her family's lives, he begins to show just how dangerous he might be. Shaw is too desperate for answers to hang up now, just when she's getting close to finding proof. The only question left is what she must lose to learn the truth.

A taut, atmospheric thriller from Edgar Award-finalist young adult author Gillian French, Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell introduces a compelling new voice in adult suspense fiction.

Gillian French delivers a haunting and emotionally charged mystery with Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell, a story that grips from the very first page and never lets go. At the heart of the novel is Shaw, a fierce and determined protagonist driven by a singular mission—to uncover the truth behind her sister’s disappearance. As the search deepens, Shaw’s relentless pursuit places her in increasingly dangerous territory, raising the stakes with every revelation.

The tension is expertly crafted, and the emotional depth adds richness to the narrative. For those considering formats, the audiobook version is a standout experience. Hearing the killer’s voice adds a chilling layer of realism, while the performance enhances the distinct personalities of each character. French’s ability to weave suspense, danger, and raw emotion makes Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell a powerful read—and listen—that stays with you long after the final chapter.

Reading in Between the Wines book review #61/125 for 2025:
Rating: 3🍷🍷🍷
Book: Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell
Author: Gillian French
Releases June 17, 2025!!

Sipping thoughts: This was a great mystery that spanned over a decade. Shaw Connolly was desperate to find her sister’s killer. And while she is dealing with that, she has a stalker. Is it one in the same? I wish there was a little more suspense as I felt like the horse was let out of the barn a little too early. However, I enjoyed the cat and mouse game with Anders and Shaw. Good book if you are not a fan of twisty thrillers but rather a slow burn suspense.

Cheers and thank you to @Netgalley and @MacmillanAudio for an advanced copy of @ShawConnollyLivesToTell.

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