BOOK REVIEW
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2025 started off with a busy calendar and no apparent end in sight. The silver lining of this slightly overcast beginning of the year is that there will be plenty of driving, which equals plenty of listening time with my trusty audiobook in hand/ear. I had a meeting to attend with a 90-minute round trip on the 2nd January, so I managed to finish my first book of the year fairly early on!
I picked this book for no reason other than it was far from overcast on the cover and as I was feeling a little dreary to start the year I wanted something pretty to pop up every time I opened Audible. I am very easily amused! The book is only available through Audible and I have found some real gems in the Audible Original category, so I was excited to get started.
BLURB
Who is Audrey Hoedemaker? It's a question her sister Maureen has heard more times than she can count, and she doesn't know what the short answer would be. Little sister, troubled teen, backpacker, musical theatre coach, con artist, childcare worker. Murderer.
A tragic, traumatic childhood casts a shadow on the Hoedemaker sisters. Maureen has worked hard to move beyond the violence of the past and build a good, honest life for herself. Audrey, however, just can't seem to do the same, careening from one state of chaos to another.
Maureen loves her sister, but when Audrey's criminal past catches up to them both, she will have to make some difficult decisions about the limits of family loyalty - and just how far sisters are willing to go to protect each other...
AUTHOR
Caroline Overington is a well established and successful Australian author and journalist. She's done it all, hosting podcasts, true crime shows, judging writing competitions. She's pretty active on her website here where she has a blog and links to her social pages as well as some of the key articles she's been part of within her journalistic endeavours.
PLOT/STORYLINE
I loved how this book was set up, with Maureen as the narrator speaking directly to you as the reader, trying to tell Audrey's story based on her conversations with Audrey, her own research, press and court coverage and her own experiences. She tells the story in a pretty straight timeline from childhood through to present day, with little dalliances here and there to give extra context. Not quite a dual timeline but similar vibes.
She discusses her own experiences as well as Audrey's, showing how they went their separate ways and building towards the main event, the crime that has made Audrey notorious, along with Maureen's battle to come to terms with what her sister did, and her reasons for doing it.
CHARACTERS
Maureen is the narrator, the older of the two sisters and the one who has chosen the straight and narrow path out of her difficult childhood. She has very clear dreams that involve stability, reassurance and something solid to be part of. She has meticulously researched her sister's life which seems more of an effort or obsession with trying to understand her sister's motives, rather than in an effort to entertain readers or gain infamy herself. She's quite likeable if not a little naive and her character is used well to tell Audrey's story, first person third person narrative, almost biographical in style and nature.
Audrey is the enigmatic sister, the chameleon, the mystery. She is the almost polar opposite to Maureen and has a very different way of handling life's difficulties and traumas. She's manipulative yet is described with an air of innocence (perhaps more Maureen's perception than anything else) and seems much more cold and closed off. She wants to be loved but has a very unusual way of getting that affection from people. She's a very interesting character, especially in the way that she is being depicted by our biased narrator.
There are multiple other characters who flit in and out of the story as witnesses, or people who have had involvement with Audrey in the past, all doing a good job of bolstering the character traits and highlighting the perceptions of Audrey in particular.
OVERALL REVIEW
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
SPICE: 🆒(no spice but some indirect references in the context of trauma)
Let me start by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed the biographical stylings of this book. It's fiction but doesn't read like fiction due to how cleverly it has been worked in this style. It was like listening to someone telling you their own story, very well thought out and effective.
The story was told in such a way that made me sit up and listen. I could feel myself being reeled in with little morsels of intrigue and suspense. What was interesting to me was the depth of information I was being given, while still having an undercurrent of more to come, the little references to the monster that Audrey becomes and the notoriety that she has built as a result of her actions. I was finding out why she committed these acts before knowing what the acts were which was a masterful play. Because when the ball dropped, when the shoe finally fit, when the cookie crumbled, I WAS SHOOK.
The final couple of chapters made me reconsider all of my prior opinions and assumptions, despite my insistence that I am great at figuring everything out. The fact that this book literally starts by telling you who the bad guy is, puts the reader on the back foot, in a really good way!
The story was compelling and really came together at the end. All of the little bits that I had filed away as "wish I knew why that's relevant" made complete sense and nothing was left incomplete. I would have preferred there to have been an outcome of some sort at the end (no spoilers so yes, this is deliberately and frustratingly vague!) as that could have added a new layer of mystery, or come full circle.
That said, this was a great book to start 2025, I have rated it 4 stars and would definitely recommend to all the thriller/mystery/psychological loving readers out there. As an additional note, I love Australian accents for audiobook narration, this was no exception to that rule, the narrator did a great job!
WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK?
As mentioned, this is a definite for those of you who love a psychological book, that focusses on the build up to the "madness", this would be a great addition to your 2025 reading list. The unique, biographical narration style is a great selling point too, it adds something to the storytelling that makes it stand out from the crowd. It's also quite a short read too at under 6 hours (considerably less if you listen a bit faster than 1x speed) so is perfect for a long drive, a crafting session (I love to listen while I crochet!) or to help you through the "New Year New Me" fitness sessions/power walks that some of you (ie...ME) may be on at the moment!
2025 is off to a great start, with a 4 star review to get us out of the gate! If you want to stay up to date with my 2025 reading, reviews and lists, you can follow my blog by clicking this link. I also post bookish content over on my TikTok and will be starting my video reviews on YouTube very soon, so watch this space!
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