Matthew W. Grant

Set in 1999, internet dating is starting to gain in popularity. This serial killer finds it the perfect way to both hunt his victims and taunt the police. Jennifer Warren has been trying to get into the local police academy, yet her application keeps being denied. Until she succeeds, she works for the police commissioner. Pretty soon, she is swept up in the hunt for the Net Killer.

The story starts off by showing the reader the soon-to-be-killer growing up, without giving away the identity. This is done in small scenes and then the bulk of the story is set in 1999, told from several different points of view. The author did a good job of keeping the identity of the killer secret for most of the story. Of course, as things start to wind down, I couldn’t help but start eliminating suspects. I found this as much fun as listening to the tale. I had it narrowed down to two people and I was gratified when I wasn’t completely off the mark.

Jen is an interesting character. She’s working in a man’s world at a time when workplace harassment of various types was not just the norm, but also expected, especially for a woman trying to break into a ‘man’s role’. Again, the author did a great job of showing the various forms of harassment and misogyny – everything from totally in your face ‘get out of here’, to the patronizing head pat, to the let’s get a cup of coffee and date idiocy. It was really well done. Despite all these obstacles, Jen holds onto her father’s memory, who was a cop as well. She wants to make him proud, even if he is no longer alive.

So the killer meets these various women through internet dating sites. He’s charming and has them hooked right away and then he kills them, typically at their place or a ‘his’ place. He picks a homey apartment or house and tells his dates it’s his place. I really liked that the various women all reacted a bit differently. Some did their best to smash the guy in the face and then run and hide. Some improvised weapons and tried to fight him off. I liked that they weren’t all a bunch of silly fainting geese. Once the deed is done, the killer sends a taunting email with a poem in it to the police.

This book was better than I expected. It wasn’t some simple slasher movie or a gore fest or a Women Haters Anonymous groupie movie. It was actually pretty good and had several clever moments. I liked that I didn’t know right away who the killer was and that it took most of the book for me to narrow it down. I liked that Jen had so many obstacles to go over or around in order to track the killer, though I did find the final cat & mouse game between the killer and her to be a bit overly dramatic. I even liked that the various men and women reacted differently to Jen’s wish to become a cop.

I won a copy of another audiobook by this author via Audio Book Reviewer and the author tossed this one in addition.

Narration: Jeannie Lin had good character voices and kept them all distinct. Her male voices were believable. The volume for this audiobook did vary quite a bit so I don’t suggest listening with earbuds. Lin did take the time to add in computer sounds, like IM pings, and to make it really sound like a character was talking over a phone.… (meer)

ABR's original The Killer Net audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Remember when the Internet was still new, when the potential dangers of Internet dating were practically unknown? This book won’t let you forget. In fact, Matthew W. Grant’s The Killer Net will make you realize just how close you are to killers on the Net.

I liked the concept of this book, especially since it takes place before the Internet became a “must”, and it was still a bit new. The opening sequence shows us how the serial killer was bred, which is a powerful prelude to the rest of the story. The first murder was a bit confusing – I had to rewind and listen again to make sure a murder had actually taken place. Many of the murders were very suspenseful, though, more so as the book went on and the girls being attacked became smarter.

Sometimes the main female character was frustrating or acted in a way that didn’t seem realistic. I found her character to be inconsistent to a certain degree, and I also found some dialogue in general to be stilted and cliched. The killer, however, was well written and I thought all his moves, motives, and strategies were consistent and suitably clever. He was not infallible, he was believable, and we got to see some of his reasoning from his own POV, which was very enjoyable. I also thought I had the killer pegged from the beginning, but Grant does a fantastic job making various males in the story seem like the murderer to the point that I really wasn’t sure who it was.

The audio talent, Jeannie Lin, has moments of perfection, like when she reads the part of the travel agent. I have never heard such great acting that really sounded not only just like the character was described, but incorporated things like the sounds of the character talking while her mouth is full. That sounds gross, but it wasn’t, it sounded absolutely perfect. I couldn’t get over how well that was done. I do wish the whole recording had been done with that amount of commitment and excellence. There are parts, even during action sequences, when the narrator sounds bored, which detracts from the excitement. The main thing that bothered me was the production quality. There were times when the voice was quiet and others when suddenly it was so loud it hurt. Even when a character is supposed to be screaming, it’s common practice to adjust the volume in the recording so the listener’s ears aren’t blown out. Unfortunately that wasn’t done here, and that made it literally painful at times. I did appreciate the sounds, like email bleeps, that were inserted into the story to give it an almost movie-like feel.

All in all, I think this book is worth a listen, especially if you like mysteries and some gore or anything about serial killers. And pay special attention to the small part with the travel agent – so well done!

Audiobook provided for review by the author.… (meer)

ABR's original Dark Secrets audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Dark Secrets is a young adult horror story that is reminiscent of the old-fashioned horror stories. Old-fashioned is not meant to be a criticism. In fact, it is meant as a compliment.

The story follows 17-year-old Rick and his friends as they literally go into battle with the Devil. Nicole is Rick’s long-time friend and potential love interest. Their relationship is really sweet and their dialogues are fun. Most teenagers should be able to relate to these two.

Rick lives with his Mum who told him his Dad was killed in an accident. But his Mum has secrets. And with Rick’s eighteenth birthday looming, her secrets may get them all killed.

There are some great scenes at the local high school, a very likable cat, and lots and lots of classic horror and occult elements.

At just under four hours, it was a very quick listen. But there is a lot of action packed into that time. The plot flows nicely and I really enjoyed Matthew W. Grant’s style of writing. His characters are well developed and the story should appeal to younger as well as older fans of classic paranormal horror.

The narration provided by Luke Avery was very good. He managed to pull off the teenage characters as well as the female characters in a believable manner and had a good satanic voice for the devil. Pacing and intonation were fine, and there were no issues with the quality of the production.

Audiobook provided for review by the author.… (meer)

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

What a trippy ride!

I have to admit I didn’t have high expectations for The Killer Net when I finally started the audiobook. I picked it up on a whim when I was searching for a bloody, gory audiobook to read. I expected to enjoy the read, but I never expected it to be so unpredictable and complex. It’s such a short listen, I thought I had the killer figured out by chapter five, but I really couldn’t have predicted such an intricate ending. I have never been so pleased to be proved wrong! This goes to show, I really should stop judging books by their appearance (but let’s be honest, that’s not happening any time soon).

Instead of giving us one clear point of view, Grant gives us multiple – I loved the peeks inside the killer’s head, his victims, and the cops trying to track him down. I was so surprised when I realized how closely interwoven all the characters are, even the ones that don’t meet until the end! They all had a purpose in the book I finally learned why at the end of the book. I couldn’t have enjoyed The Killer Net more! It really was a unique twist to a slasher thriller and it boggles my mind the amount of talent one has to have to be able to piece together such a complex plot line and it make it work in such a short amount of time. *shakes head* I honestly don’t know many bestselling authors who could have pulled it off. Grant is a wizard and I can’t wait to read more from him.
The narrator was enthralling

In my short time listening to audiobooks, I have stumbled upon some awesome, okay, and downright terrible narrators. But Jeannie Lin was magical for The Killer Net. She performed impeccably and clearly distinguished characters (and she had a lot of character’s to portray!) so that it was easy to identify them. For some narrators, it can appear awkward when they have to cross gender boundaries, but it was clear that Lin put in a lot of hard work to give an entertaining and smooth listen for us readers. I found her narration soothing and can’t wait to listen to more of her performances!

All-in-all, I had a fantastic time within the pages of The Killer Net. It was short and sweet and completely satisfactory. If you are a beginner to the world of audiobooks, this thriller is the perfect story and length to try your hand at listening to books. I recommend The Killer Net to all thriller fans!… (meer)