Heart wrenching brilliance

I’m a big fan of Dawn Kopman Whiddens work. It’s human and real. It’s heart wrenching and gut pulling. It’s brilliant.
The characters are so good and you are on the edge of your seat waiting for what’s next!
I will be listening to this again, as I did with her other audio books and I will also read them.
Too good not too.

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Shocking

Another really enjoyable book in this series. I particularly enjoyed the reference to the first book and how the characters were developed. An excellent story full of surprises, the ending was a complete shock. I hope there is going to be a fifth book.

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Dawn just keeps getting better and better

This is the fourth book in this series and I loved it more than the third which I thought was wonderful. The characters seem realist and the stories are gripping. Its an easy listening book with a gritty storyline that is not overly gory or distasteful, yet the story packs a punch and keeps you listening. I recommend the entire series for those who like easy listening with exciting stories.

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Never would have guessed! -

I have just discovered a new favourite author in Dawn Kopman Whidden. I love that she writes intelligent interesting thrillers. She hooks you from the first chapter and reels you in. I loved the main characters Hope, Jean & Marty and enjoyed their background stories. I was rooting for young Brad throughout the book. I would never have guessed who dunnit! I can't recommend this book highly enough. I'm off now to buy the first three books in the series.

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1 person found this helpful

Wow this is the 4th in the Whitley & Keale series and boy did it end on a good one. There were moments that left me mouth wide open and speechless. there were times that made me cry. and most of all it kept my interest from start to finish. Brilliant book and really well written. Love Dawn's style of writing. highly recommend

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Sometimes evil is more handsome than we expect.

On the day that Brad appeared before the Judge, Detectives Jean and Marty uncovered the skeletal remains of a woman, believed to have died some 50 years before. She had been beheaded. It was three years since Marty, then just a cop, had found Brad, bloodied but calm, playing computer games in the room below his parent's bedroom where both mum and dad lay brutally beaten to death by baseball bat. Since then, Brad had been held at the Armistice psychiatric hospital under the immediate care of Dr.Hope. It was how she and Brad had met and now they were soon to be married.

Then two more bodies were found in the same area as the first. And this time they were recently dead.

Although very pleasant to resume acquaintance with characters from earlier in the series, it is not necessary to have read the earlier books to fully appreciate, Keeping Hope A!ive. The main characters are well developed and the writing good, although the occasional flip back to times past can sometimes be disconcerting. Author Dawn Kopman Whidden skilfully leads the reader through the town and list of possible suspects as the investigation to discover firstly the identity of all the victims and then the why? and by whom? of their murders is conducted in this disturbing, sometimes visceral, psychological thriller. Narration by Any Deuchler is excellent, clear, pleasant toned and with good intonation, she breathes life into all of the characters, giving each a distinctive and appropriate voice. A good performance.

I have to thank the rights holder of Keeping Hope Alive for freely gifting me a complimentary copy of the book after my request for one via Audiobook Boom. As with the earlier stories in the series it was very enjoyable, a feeling of normalcy diffusing all of the diverse protagonists until the final chapters and the denouement. Suspicions might abound but discovery of the culprit? - well, that has to remain a 'read it and see'! Recommended to fans of psychological murder mystery thrillers.

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KEEPS YOU GUESSING!

At first I was a bit dubious about listening to this book as I am not usually keen on American narrators! However I soon warmed to the voice and very quickly became engrossed in the story.
I also had no idea that this book was part of a series, but that really didn’t matter as it was complete on its own. I imagine you get to learn more about the characters in the rest of the series...which I shall definitely listen to at some point.
A very clever plot and thoughtfully written ... and to me, all the characters seemed to be more normal and down to earth than in some books, which made it easier to relate to them.
As with all good murder/mysteries it kept you guessing right until the end and for once I did not guess who had done it!!!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to everyone.

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Great suspense book

First I was a little worried about listening to this book since it was a part of a series. I shouldn't have worried, it is completly stand alone. The story draws you in quickly, you get very invested in the characters and the mystery. The narration was excellent. What I liked best with this book is how it was difficult to push pause, you just had to know what came next. As soon as I finished I bought Dawns other books on audio and look forward to listen to them.

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Excellent Book - But Now I Need More!

I very much enjoyed this fourth instalment of Dawn Kopman Whidden's Whitley and Keal series. The link between this book and the first is established almost immediately in the novel, which enhances the overall force of the series while it hints at the potential for character development that may or may not have taken place in the space between them.

The characters themselves are wonderfully consistent with the way they have been presented before. The relationships between individuals is emphasised, whether the bonds are those between work colleagues, romantic partners, family members or medical professionals and their patients. This book is very much about the way human beings relate to each other - with all the good, the bad and the loathsome sides of humanity revealed with no apologies.

Kopman Whidden does not shy away from the evil that exists under the thin veneer of civilised society, but she does not disregard compassion and filial love however much it is counterbalanced by the cruelty she describes.

I wish there was a book 5 in this series! The narrator made particularly good work of the female characters.

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Volume 4

Volume 4 is an excellent addition to this series, Well loved characters are back and gave you more insight into their busy and eventful lives!

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1 person found this helpful