Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • The First Time He Hit Her

  • The Murder of Tara Costigan
  • By: Heidi Lemon
  • Narrated by: Sylvie de Crespigny
  • Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (3 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The First Time He Hit Her

By: Heidi Lemon
Narrated by: Sylvie de Crespigny
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £18.99

Buy Now for £18.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

For fans of true crime and books such as See What You Made Me Do, a shocking and movingly told portrait of the murder of suburban mum Tara Costigan and an examination of why domestic violence affects us all.

Tara Costigan was the woman next door. A hard worker. Quick to laugh and easy to like. She was happy, confident, strong. A woman who always looked after herself and her kids. Close with her family and her friends, she was much loved. Then, in 2013, she met Marcus Rappel. A local tradie, he was charming and sincere, they dated and fell in love. That should have been the end of a happy-ever-after story. But for Tara, it was much uglier. And for her family it would be devastating.

A year later, Tara was pregnant to Marcus. Her family had been worried for a while, but Tara didn't tell anyone how Marcus' jealousy was souring the relationship. She tried to keep it quiet. Despite everything, she never imagined he would be physically violent - he would never hurt her.

Tara was wrong. One fine day, the last day of summer in 2015, she was holding their newborn baby in her arms when he attacked her with an axe. Her murder seemed to come out of the blue. But as this extraordinary, often shocking audiobook reveals, it did not.

The First Time He Hit Her is an attempt to understand why dozens of women are murdered each year by men who profess to love them.

©2020 Heidi Lemon (P)2020 Hachette Australia Audio
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Unsafe cover art
Joe Cinque’s Consolation cover art
My Account cover art
Wicked Girl cover art
My Girl cover art
A Mother's Job cover art
The Hidden Child cover art
I Want My Daddy cover art
A Life Stolen cover art
One Day in April: A Hillsborough Story cover art
Stella's Story cover art
When the Moon Turns to Blood cover art
Trust No One cover art
Silenced cover art
Won't You Love Me? cover art
Vow of Silence cover art

What listeners say about The First Time He Hit Her

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    0
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Poignant and moving

Family violence takes so many women yet we tolerate it. This is a tale of one of many victims of this horrendous crime. Stop men’s violence agains women now! Talk to your sons. Your brothers. Your coworkers. Call it out. Today.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A much needed and informative audio book.

It took a while to get into the subject matter of Tara Costigan. Apart from that, this was an excellent and well documented story and beautifully narrated. I am surprised that there was only one review so far. A horrific case of domestic violence ending in the ghastly murder of a beautiful woman. This man deserves life without perole. To think that her baby was in her arms (his child) and her two boys there, beggars belief. Marcus Rappel obviously, was an extremely paranoid and disturbed person. I send her family every possible good wish. Rest in peace dear Tara, you did not deserve this tragic ending.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!