Eve is clearing her late father's house when she finds a box of tapes, and a mystery.


I didn't read the blurb on the book, I knew immediately that I wanted to read it - Kerry Wilkinson!!
This book did not disappoint. I enjoyed every page of it.
The suspense! The emotion... I have a tape of my father's voice which is all of two minutes long. I feel close to him when I listen to it, and he has been gone a long long time. I can imagine how Eve felt, hearing her mother's voice, and hearing her mother profess her love for her daughter. Gave me chills to be honest.
Eve suspects everyone that she comes into contact with, but never - never ever did she suspect the serial killer to be who it actually was! I would never have predicted the ending.

Loved this book, and of course stayed up far too late to read it!

Another winner for Kerry Wilkinson.

5/5 stars from me.

This one was definitely a page turner. I was intrigued right from the start and my mind kept changing throughout the book as to who the killer really was. I really liked Eve, the main character and I felt that despite everything going on she remained a strong. There were a lot of side characters which can be a mess sometimes but this one was handled well and I felt the book easy to follow along with. This was an good mystery that had me guessing right until the end.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cassettes… that’s really nostalgic for me.
I remember having some myself when I was younger, though they were filled with music—not creepy messages.

Of course, this raises all sorts of questions for Eve. Is it the truth or a lie? Because her mother didn’t always tell the truth. There’s only one way to find out, and so Eve decides to investigate—and that’s naturally, as it should be in a thriller, not without danger.

Just like Eve, you’re constantly being pulled back and forth between believing and doubting, and she’s desperately searching for people who can help her. And when she finally uncovers the killer’s name, she’s left speechless. Now she just needs solid evidence to expose them.

I thought using cassette tapes as a clue was a fun and original concept. Eve has been through a lot and that makes her an interesting character, and you really hope she finally gets the answers to the question that’s haunted her for years.

As a teenager, you don’t always appreciate your parents being overly sentimental toward you, but when they’re gone, and you find—or hear—a message like that years later, you realize what you’ve missed out on.
Maybe it’s an idea to hide a few little notes with kind words around the house for your children to find one day, to help them through tough times.

I thought it was a good book. I might have liked to get a bit more insight into the killer’s mind to understand their background better. Still, a solid 4 stars.

Thank you!

I loved it! The plot was a unique one and I loved how it was based around old school cassette tapes. The story flowed evenly throughout and it was a good read. There wasn’t any confusion in the storyline. As for the characters, I liked how each one one had a distinctive personality. Just the right pacing when talking about the authors writing style. Overall a good book with a good twist ending !

Review of ‘The Tapes’ by Kerry Wilkinson, due to be published on 11 August 2025 by Bookouture.

After the death of her father, Eve is clearing out his house when she stumbles across a box filled with dozens of cassette tapes, musings from her mother who disappeared 13 years ago. Whilst listening to them she comes across a chilling message from her mother, claiming that if she has gone missing, it’s because she’s been murdered, and she knows who a notorious serial killer is.

This sends Eve on a journey to discover what has actually happened to her mother, if she is alive or dead and who the potential killer could be. With lots of people who are prominent in her life all seeming to have had the opportunity and further developments casting doubt and complications, Eve desperately searches for the truth.

This book had me hooked from the very first page, really well written background, plenty of teasing about the identity of the unknown killer and well developed characters. It has everything you need for an intense thriller that leaves you reeling at the end. A recommended read.