Eve is a recovering alcoholic struggling with the death of her father and has been dealing with her mother missing for over a decade. She thought she had closure until she finds tapes that her mother had recorded prior to going missing, these tapes uproot her life and throw her for a spiral. I feel as though the reveal of the killer was a tad anticlimactic but the twist? Did NOT see it coming. Cannot wait to read more of this author’s books :)

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc. Eve’s father dies and she is cleaning out his house and finds tapes from her mother who has been missing for many years. Basically her mom says if she goes missing she was murdered so Eve finds herself trying to track down the killer. It was a good concept just didn’t keep me very enthralled but I did enjoy.

Thank you so much to Kerry Wilkinson, Bookouture, and NetGalley for this ARC of The Tapes.

While this is not a debut novel for Wilkinson, this is their debut to me! I found the premise of this book extremely interesting. Eve is cleaning out a house when she finds many cassette tapes in her mother’s handwriting. While many would cast these aside, they immediately intrigued Eve has her mother disappeared ten years ago. After listening through the tapes, Eve isn’t sure what is real and what is a lie. Eve is sure; however, that she cannot go to the police and that her mom may have been a victim of a serial killer. Eve puts her own safety at risk to figure out what her mom was trying to lead her to with these tapes.

The format of this book was really interesting and it wasn’t just chapters, it was also recordings, pieces of documents, and other mixed media. I feel like this book could lend itself very easily to being a very cool and well-done audio book. Some of the portions of this book were a tad dry for me and it did take me a little bit to feel interested in this book. It was a solid. 3/5 for me and I will definitely look for other books by this author.

The Tapes starts with a gripping premise, a daughter discovering chilling cassette recordings from her long-missing mother that suggests foul play. The setup is intriguing and promises a tense psychological thriller filled with secrets, danger, and family revelations.

While the concept is strong, the execution feels uneven. The pacing drags in places, with certain sections more repetitive than suspenseful, which undercuts the tension. Some of the twists are predictable, and the ending, though satisfying to a degree, doesn’t fully deliver on the initial sense of dread the tapes create.

That said, the nostalgia of the cassette format and the emotional pull of a daughter reconnecting with her mother’s voice add depth. Readers who enjoy domestic thrillers with a steady, slow-burn unraveling of family secrets may still find this engaging, but those looking for a sharper, more tightly woven mystery may come away wanting more.

Eve’s father has passed away, and while cleaning out his house, she stumbles upon a box of old cassette tapes. Most of them are her mother’s recordings, but one is different: “If you’re listening to this, I’ve been murdered.” Eve’s mother vanished without a trace thirteen years ago, and suddenly, Eve is forced to question everything about that day.

The beginning pulled me in, it was mysterious, eerie, and full of promise. But as the story went on, the repetitiveness dragged it down, and I quickly lost interest. The constant grammatical errors were frustrating, making me reread sentences to figure out what the author was even trying to say, which pulled me completely out of the story.

The “excerpts” sprinkled throughout the book felt out of place. They were confusing, jumbled, and honestly would’ve worked better as actual chapters from the victim’s POV. I got so tired of them that I ended up skipping ahead.

And then there’s the ending: rushed, abrupt, and unsatisfying. I had 12% left on my Kindle when it just… stopped. No explanation, no closure, just a flat ending that left me saying, “Huh?”

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. The Tapes has an undeniably intriguing premise, a daughter discovering old cassette recordings from her long-missing mother, on which she has recorded, “If you’re listening to this, I’ve been murdered.” The setup promises a gripping thriller, but the execution doesn’t quite deliver. While Eve, the protagonist, is believable and grounded in her grief, I found her inner voice and behaviours slightly annoying, especially her interactions/conversations with Mark, her brother and Liam. Her relationship with her daughter felt more superficial than heartfelt. Whilst, the side characters were thinly drawn and underdeveloped, serving more as plot devices than people, making the world around Eve feel woefully flat. The story opens strong but loses momentum midway, with repetitive pacing that undercuts the suspense. The ending felt predictable and arrived abruptly without fully building up the tension. Overall, this is not quite a thriller, but does make for a quick and easy summertime read.

This was a DNF for me. It pulled me in originally but about 6 chapters in I just was having to push too hard to stay with it.

Eve’s mother disappeared years ago and her Father has just passed away. Eve is tasked with cleaning out her Father’s house and she finds tapes that her mother had recorded before she disappeared. Eve finds comfort in the tapes but is alarmed when she hears a tape saying that her mother knows the identities of a killer who plagued their town. Eve becomes obsessed with figuring out the mystery and hopes to also figure out where her mother has been all this time. I really liked the premise of this book and the twist and turns throughout the book. I found myself rooting for Eve even though she had many flaws. The book was easy to read and I was satisfied with the ending. Thank you to Bookoutoure and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the plot of this story. I wish the ending was more. Once you find out who the killer is, you don’t really get a why. Why did he kill them and why was it so many years apart? His daughter told more about the killings than he did.

Wow! This author never disappoints. He is my go-to author and I pick up his books knowing I'll enjoy them. And this one was amazing, even better than I expected and that's saying something! Just wow!

3.5 stars. This books has a really great premise, and I enjoyed it start from finish.

I feel like it would hit differently if it was on audiobook with one (or even a couple) good narrators. Then it would take it from good to great.

The content of the tapes were really interesting and I was invested in unraveling this mystery and finding out what happened.

Tapes were the bane of every teens life in the Eighties, pencils and sellotape were always close to hand - iyky. But they never came with a message like this...

‘If they say I’m missing, I’m not. If you’re listening to this, I’ve been murdered.’

That opening chapter had me hooked! I have no shame in saying I read it in one sitting...it was waaay too good to wait!

It's told in first person from Eve's POV. I became so invested into her character that I went through all the emotions with her.

Pace was fast, the plot twisty, and the suspense was shocking.

I enjoyed it immensely.

I really enjoyed this book, I liked the extracts about the killer and the recordings but I wish there was a little more of the tapes . It was tense and made you want to keep reading. I had guessed who the killer was but for a completely different reason so it still was able to keep me guessing. A really quick, enjoyable and easy read. Would definitely read this author again.

A short, fast read with an interesting payoff. The key of the story comes as you watch our protagonist's delivery. You feel the gambit of emotions from her.

I won't share what I figured and when. I will say the amount of exposition at the end to cover all plot points ran the grade down.

THAT WAS IT. It reads like a book written by a new author. Find that amazing start point to capture your audience, check. Good characters, check. Red Herrings, check. A SURPRISE! that is made because the story hasn't really considered it until the end.

Not a bad book, just "Green" from an established author.

‘If you’re listening to this, I’ve been murdered.’ - A tape played by Eve. She recognized the voice immediately. This was her mother who disappeared for years. Eve had to find out what happened to her mother.

Kerry Wilkinson is one of the most promising thriller writers. I enjoyed much of his writing, style and the story plot. The Tapes was perfectly written, with a fast paced and wonderful twists and turns at the end. The characters were very relatable in real

"…if this is Eve listening, I just want you to know I'm sorry. If they say I'm missing, I'm not. I've been killed – and I need you to know that I love you."

The Tapes by Kerry Wilkinson begins with Eve's father having passed away. When cleaning out his house, she finds a box of tapes. Her mother, who had walked away and not returned many years ago, records on one of those tapes the message above. The reason she is missing? She knows the identity of the Earring Killer – a serial killer with at least 9 women's deaths to his name. Throughout the rest of the book, Eve tracks down clues to understand who her mother actually was and to find the Earring Killer.

This was an interesting premise. For anyone who has lost a parent, the idea of messages of love from beyond what is likely the grave will pull at your heartstrings. There are several twists to this book, some of them utterly failed to be a surprise, while many other red herrings were planted and left as plot holes.

Fans of The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn or Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris may enjoy this book for its ambitious psychological thriller premise that doesn't quite stick the landing, but still provides enough intrigue to keep pages turning despite its narrative shortcomings.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for an eARC of this book for my honest review.

✨✨✨ 1/2

The Tapes by Kerry Wilkinson is a dark psychological thriller about grief, family secrets, and a chilling discovery from the past. While clearing out her late father’s home, Eve finds a box of cassette tapes her mother recorded before disappearing more than a decade ago—one of them containing a shocking message that sends her searching for the truth about her mother’s death.

The premise hooked me right away, especially the eerie tapes. The short chapters kept the pace up, though at times the story felt a little repetitive as Eve took her time listening to them. Still, the mystery surrounding her mother’s disappearance and its possible link to a serial killer kept me engaged.

I guessed part of the ending, but the final twist still caught me off guard. While not my favorite from Wilkinson, it was definitely an entertaining, twist-filled read.

I would like to thank Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

"The Tapes" by Kerry Wilkinson is an intriguing psychological thriller built around a fascinating premise: a young woman inherits a set of cassette tapes recorded by her late mother, only to uncover secrets that challenge everything she thought she knew about her past. The story immediately hooks you with its unusual device (the tapes themselves) as they drip-feed confessions, hidden truths, and cryptic clues that slowly unravel a bigger mystery. Wilkinson does an excellent job creating a sense of tension and unease as the main character listens to the tapes, making the reader feel as though they’re uncovering the secrets alongside her. This narrative style gives the book an atmospheric and slightly claustrophobic feel, which works well for the genre.

That said, while the premise is gripping, the pacing sometimes falters. The middle section of the book lingers a bit too long on repetitive emotions and rehashing what was already revealed on previous tapes, which can slow down the suspense rather than heighten it. Some characters also feel underdeveloped, leaving their motivations murky or unconvincing at key moments. The plot twists are effective, but not always as shocking as they seem intended to be, with a few feeling predictable for seasoned thriller readers. Still, the tension remains steady enough to keep you invested in finding out how the story ends.

Where "The Tapes" shines most is in its emotional core. The mother-daughter relationship, though strained and complicated, adds a poignant layer to the thriller elements. The idea of uncovering who your parents truly were and how much of yourself is shaped by their secrets resonates deeply, even when the thriller mechanics stumble. Wilkinson ties the narrative together with a satisfying conclusion, though it might not pack the jaw-dropping punch some readers will expect. Overall, "The Tapes" is a solid and atmospheric read with an original concept, but it doesn’t quite deliver the relentless pace or shocking turns of the best psychological thrillers.

Think The Reappearance of Rachel Price x Listen for the Lie. This was suspenseful and had me guessing up until the final reveal. The Tapes is largely told from the perspective of Eve who is an incredibly unreliable narrator which is a trope that I simultaneously love and also find infuriating.

As far as thrillers go this hit the spot and I think the audiobook for this has the potential to be amazing. There were a couple of plot points that didn’t make sense/weren’t resolved and left you wondering what was the point - almost like their sole purpose was to misdirect the reader. Ultimately this was enjoyable and I couldn’t put it down, but for a book titled The Tapes I wish we got to hear a few more of the tapes!

Thanks NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

The Tapes by Kerry Wilkinson was an interesting psychological thriller, which was full of twists throughout especially as it bought back lots of memories of Tapes I used to use when I was a teenager, recording music from the radio and making music tapes for my grandad to play in his car. . . . .Now, they were fun to do and listen to!

Now. . . . . . ‘If you’re listening to this, I’ve been murdered.’ WoW what a start to a book!!!

Eve has a massive job of clearing her late father’s house, when she finds an old cassette player and a box of tapes.
She is grieving, but she smiles at the spark of nostalgia when she see's the old cassette player and its contents..
As she gets closer and starts to look through the tapes, Eve finds one tape labelled for her! and it has her mother's handwriting on it. Her mother, called Angela’s, disappeared over ten years ago and no one has heard from her!

Eve places the tape in the old cassette player and the tape whirrs into action. . . .. A familiar voice crackles into life.
‘My name is Angela’. just a few words and it sends a shiver down Eve's back and she bursts into tears. It is the voice of her mother - this was a tape just for her only. . . . . . .But the next words make her heart pound.

‘If they say I’m missing, I’m not. If you’re listening to this, I’ve been murdered.’ 🥺

Eve is no desperate for answers, Eve, has so many questions that is swimming round in her head, But she has no one left to ask or turn to. All she has is a box of old cassette tapes, hopefully these will lead Eve to find out what happened to her mother all those years ago. But the more she listens to them the more she realises she can Never go to the Police with what she is about to find out!!!!

Eve's mother has many secrets of her own. . . . . . . and the killer is still out there!

Is he still alive?

Could Eve be next especially as she is opening her mother's secrets!

This book was excellent and I loved reading it. But, then I enjoy reading everything that Kerry writes, as I just love the way he writes.