And so It Begins cover art

And so It Begins

Stephanie King, Book 1

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And so It Begins

By: Rachel Abbott
Narrated by: Olivia Vinall
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About this listen

WHO WILL BELIEVE YOUR STORY IF THE ONLY WITNESS IS DEAD?

Cleo knows she should be happy for her brother Mark. He's managed to find someone new after the sudden death of his first wife - but something about Evie just doesn't feel right...

When Evie starts having accidents at home, her friends grow concerned. Could Mark be causing her injuries? Called out to their cliff-top house one night, Sergeant Stephanie King finds two bodies entangled on blood-drenched sheets.

Where does murder begin? When the knife is raised to strike, or before, at the first thought of violence? As the accused stands trial, the jury is forced to consider - is there ever a proper defence for murder?

©2018 Black Dot Publishing Limited (P)2018 Headline Publishing Group Ltd Detective Domestic Thrillers Mystery Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Fiction Crime Murder Exciting

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Critic reviews

"A properly addictive, leave-the-light-on thriller." (Red Magazine)

"Masterly and compelling. I couldn't put it down until its heart-stopping conclusion." (Robert Bryndza)

"Unbearably tense, with a killer twist." (Good Housekeeping)
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You know you're onto a winner when you read/listen to a Rachel Abbot book and this one had me hooked right from the start. It is such a clever story and it tied me up in knots. Nothing is as it seems and there are twists galore. I kept changing my opinion of the lead characters, Cleo, Mark & Evie throughout the book. The writing is excellent. And So It Begins is a police procedural, courtroom drama and psychological thriller all rolled into one. It would make an awesome tv series/movie.

The narration by Olivia Vinall was excellent.

Wickedly Good

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A gripping read/listen at the beginning but increasingly disappointing as it progressed because you realise the twists are going to be extremely far fetched, which made the whole plot somewhat hollow and the lead characters a bit silly. The final third of the book I’d stopped caring and was just waiting for the ending so it was over rather than enjoying the story.

Far fetched

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did not enjoy the change in voice for male characters and storyline was too predictable. got more tense towards the end .

Very predictable storyline and voice not enjoyable

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The storyline is interesting and inventive, and requires you to keep guessing to a certain extent. The characters, however, are small in number and are not likeable, and this kept me strictly at arms length rather than feeling engaged. I mostly felt caged within a very small set; a claustrophobic atmosphere. Some of the plot is obvious from the start, although this is not problematic as details are revealed more slowly. Well, drip fed really. Scenarios are revisited several times as the details come to the surface, and I sometimes wanted to speed things up. The ending was also slow paced and lacked any kind of tension or excitement, plodding patiently on revealing the last few pieces of the jigsaw. (Perhaps this was partly due to the narrator?). Not intending to listen to any other books by this author.

Interesting but over long

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Loved it, never read from this author before, loved it, worth a listen, very good

Very good

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The book was very slow to start for me. I have read all of Rachel Abbott’s DCI Tom Douglas series and have been GRIPPED from the very start through to finish.

This one took a while to get going and I could take it or leave it for the first part.. then I was gripped.. couldn’t put it down and really enjoyed the middle section.. then as the plot unravelled, I found it very far fetched and was disappointed in the end.

If you haven’t ready the DCI Tom Douglas series, I’d highly recommend over this one!

A rollercoaster of emotions

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Over the next few chapters I wanted to know what was happening, were this story was going, had me guessing until the end

Not a great beginning but ….

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When you look at the storyline you may think it's nothing much, but it is full of twists and turns, then you think back and it all slots together. I enjoyed it.

Surprisingly addictive

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Brilliant writing and well constructed dark tale. I had several goes at the first part of this book as it did not grip me but by Part Two I was hooked. Glad to have discovered this author.
A couple of plot points don't bear close scrutiny but just go with it.
Excellent narrator enhances the experience.

Slow to start but stick with it.

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It took me three attempts to get into the book and I was actually enjoying it but the twist was too convoluted I ended up hating all the characters and feeling deflated

Slow burn which burnt out

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