Aug 19, 20236 min read

The Family On Smith Street by Elisabeth Carpenter. Review.

Book: The Family on Smith Street

Author: Elisabeth Carpenter

Pub Day: August 14th 2023

Book Description

A happy family. A picture-perfect street. A secret someone would kill for. My husband James and I love living on Smith Street, with its neat houses and friendly family barbecues. Our daughter Scarlett grew up playing outside with the other local kids – it’s somewhere nothing bad could ever happen. Or so I thought… Because when I wake terrified, head pounding, in a cramped windowless room, I realise I was entirely wrong. As my eyes adjust to the dark, I see creased pictures of missing local people I vaguely recognise from the news covering the walls. Then my skin turns ice-cold when I notice the newest pictures are of me, of James, of Scarlett… A terrified sob catches in my throat. It seems there’s been a killer hiding in our neighbourhood for years. And I’m their next victim. I stare at the photos in horror. Because if they’ve got me, they could also have James or, worst of all, my precious daughter Scarlett... In that moment, I know I’ll do anything, everything, to save my family. Especially because, deep down, I know this is all my fault… A completely compelling and page-turning psychological thriller perfect for fans of My Lovely Wife, The Serial Killer’s Wife and The Housemaid.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The Family On Smith Street' by Elisabeth Carpenter.

Read and reviewed via NetGalley Shelf and NetGalley for Elisabeth Carpenter, Bookouture publishers, Bookouture Audio, Bookouture anonymous and Hachette UK.

Publication date 14th August 2023.

This is the first book I have read by this author but I'm definitely looking forward to reading more!!

This novel consists of 44 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

'The Family On Smith Street' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Elisabeth discusses animal abuse, bullying and child abuse.

This book is very well written and narrated and had me hook, line and sinker from beginning to end. The descriptions were so in depth and vivid that the hair on my arms was standing on the ends and my heart was pounding throughout. The synopsis, title and cover were perfect for the storyline.

I will admit that this book was a bit of a slow burn to start as the story starts to build up but I would definitely liken it to a rollercoaster ride. You open the page and then you start going up the ride to the peak and then all of a sudden you are thrown over the top with twists and turns with the speed building up and up until it comes to a fantastic ending. The book is written with both multiple protagonists as well as a dual timeline and Elisabeth weaves the different characters and the different timelines together perfectly building up the larger picture for the readers to see what happened in the past to lead to what was going on in the present. The 'present' protagonists are Joanne who is on her way home one night when she gets abducted and Joanne's daughter Scarlett. The past timeline protagonist is Alexander who is a young boy who lives with his grandparents after an event between is alcoholic mother and abusive father. I wont go into more details about the storyline as I don't want to spoil it for future readers. The storyline is ram packed with tension, drama, twists, lies, mystery, friendship, secrets, red herrings and much more! It is a captivating book that once I started listening to it I just couldn't stop and I was playing it through my earphones while doing jobs in the house, in the car when out and even through Alexa until I had devoured it in several hours!! There were several twists throughout the book. Although the book was slow to begin with it did pick up speed quite quickly and I enjoyed the unexpected twists and even the ones that were not a huge surprise. The ending was definitely unexpected and did leave me mind blown and considering how many crime books I have read that is definitely a huge bonus as it is getting harder and harder to surprise me. I am looking forward to seeing what Elisabeth comes up with next! It is set over multiple time lines. When books show what has happened in the past and what is happening in the present I find it really helps the reader (if it is well done) understand why things are happening and what has lead to the present activities and decisions. It also shows the bigger picture This is one of the few books that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. If I listen to a book on audiobook I usually also read the physical book between but I listened to the whole book and I was impressed! I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Sarah Durham who did a great job bringing this story to life. I would listen to it in the car and while walking at any opportunity and Sarah did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices!!! I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Elisabeth but also to listening to more books narrated by Sarah! I have previously listened to several books that Sarah has narrated and she really does do an absolutely amazing job ensuring the story comes to life for the reader. The books I have listened/read that Sarah has narrated and I would highly recommend are The Doctors Wife by Daniel Hurst, The Doctors Widow by Daniel Hurst and The Nurse's Secret by Liz Lawler. The characters were all realistic and Elisabeth evocative writing skills and Sarah's fantastic narration brought each of them to life leaving you feel that you are standing next to each of them as they are telling you their stories. They each had their own unique personalities that I enjoyed getting to know as the story was being told. My heart went out to Scarlett who is just 17 years old when her mum goes missing. With her mum missing and her fathers strange behaviour she doesn't know what is going on and who is telling the truth. I also felt sorry for Alexander whose past made my heart break. Alexander's mum was an alcoholic and his dad abusive and that is no way for a child to live. I wont say anymore about them. I read Elisabeth's letter at the back of the book (not included in the audiobook version so I always look at all books I listen to via audible to read any letters and notes that the authors have included) and she states that she enjoys 'exploring reasons that make people act the way they do, and the lengths they'd go to, to protect the people they love'. I am exactly the same as Elisabeth in this regards and I think she has definitely included this aspect of her personality in her book perfectly. This is a book filled with lies, twists and one where you have no idea which characters are telling the truth or who are hiding secrets. regardless of whether you love or hate the characters they all work together perfectly to create a tension packed psychological drama that will keep you hooked throughout!

Congratulations Elisabeth on an absolutely gripping true page turner! I am looking forward to reading more of your books!!

Overall a captivating and tension packed intriguing psychological thriller!!!

281 pages. 8 hours 10 minutes via Audible.

This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle, free with kindle unlimited, £7.99 in paperback, £16 for the Audiobook and £7.99 for the Audiobook with Audible (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 4/5 (I enjoyed it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Author Bio

Elisabeth Carpenter lives in Preston with her family. She completed a BA in English Literature and Language with the Open University in 2008.

Elisabeth was awarded a Northern Writers’ New Fiction award, and was longlisted for Yeovil Literary Prize (2015 and 2016) and the MsLexia Women’s Novel award (2015). She loves living in the north of England and sets most of her stories in the area, including the novel she is writing at the moment.