Blink

A psychological thriller with a killer twist you'll never forget

By: K. L. Slater

Narrated by: Lucy Price-Lewis

Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Three years ago Toni's five-year-old daughter, Evie, disappeared after leaving school. The police have never been able to find her. There were no witnesses, no CCTV, no trace.

But Toni believes her daughter is alive. And as she begins to silently piece together her memories, the full story of the past begins to reveal itself - and a devastating truth.

Toni's mind is trapped in a world of silence. Her only chance to save herself is to manage the impossible: she must find a way to make herself heard. She must find her daughter.

A compelling, gripping thriller with a breathtaking twist that will keep you awake until the early hours. Perfect for fans of The Girl on the Train, Behind Closed Doors and The Sister.

Please note that the last chapter of this audiobook was missing on release. This has been rectified and the full audio made available as of 28 February 2017.

©2017 KMW Enterprises Limited (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

Entertaining

Right up until the end, I enjoyed it, so I'll give 4 stars. To me, the journey is just as important as the destination, and I found that I enjoyed the story even if not the payoff so much. The end felt rushed and a little forced...like trying too hard for the big twist...only the big twist wasn't really that big. In order for the twist to work well for me, there has to be adequate foreshadowing and clues along the way for me to look back and think OMG, why didn't I see that?!!! The twists in this either came out of left field or were too obvious. One more nit, which is wrapped up with the big twist is that the villain explained themself. I hate that. It's such an overused and cliched device in mystery/thrillers that it has begun to throw me out of the story every time I come across it. I can suspend disbelief for a story if it's something fresh, but I cannot suspend disbelief that every villain always gets the opportunity to spill their guts at the moment they are caught out, giving away all of their motives and methods in one long vitriolic diatribe. I've stopped reading books at the end when it happens, it irks me so much. This particular villain's rant was so close to the very end that I went ahead and finished....which, again, the end was just so rushed and sloppy that it didn't take long. In short: worth the read if you, like me, are ok with being entertained for the duration of the story even when the end is weak.

I LOVE K.L. Slater!!

I have been listening to what I am 'hungry' for lately. Ever since I listened to my first K.L. Slater book, I have been hungry for more! LIAR actually shocked me- I honestly was clueless to how it would end- and Slater loves to confuse and surprise her readers. Blink is no exception to her pattern.

Slater's normal writing style introduces characters 'now' and 'years ago.' She writes from the beginning and the end, and solves the issues somewhere in the middle of the characters' story. The style is brilliant, and it takes the reader's (listener's) full concentration to piece things together. I love her style of writing and I daresay that she has officially become one of my favourite authors.

Blink is the story of a woman who is laying in a coma. We don't know why or how, or even who she is. The doctors are going to shut off her life support, but she can still hear them- she can't move to tell them. You'd think that would be exciting/heart racing enough of a story base, but Slater takes it 15 steps further. We learn all about what's happened to several women, from three years ago to the present- and eventually who the woman in the coma is and how she ties in with a child abduction.

This book kept me guessing. I couldn't wait to listen more. I devoured it and I loved it- this author has yet to disappoint me and I am addicted to her style.

-Wendi

I got a lot done.

I got a lot done because it was so hard to put this book down. It's interesting, the reader is excellent, and the ending was fine. as a result, my bedroom closet is now organized and my silverware drawer has been thoroughly sanitized, and several other projects were finished. I definitely recommend this book.

Very Slow Moving and silly ending

This book was slow and rather confusing... The ending was ridiculous and ended very abruptly.The idea of the twist was good because it lead you away from the main characters that you would have suspected, but when the twist is explained it was silly and rather far fetching... The book itself moves painfully slow and quite boring. It had potential but the premise of the twist killed this book. The narrator does a good job. I wouldn't waste a credit on this book....

Ending was a disappointment/ Spoiler Alert

I enjoyed the book as far as it pulled me through , making me want to know more. But the ending was such a disappointment because 1, I felt that the author got sick of writing and quickly wrote through an ending so that she could put it to bed. Two, such a big deal was made out of her taking the sedatives through the entire book, only for the ending to make like it was no big deal at all. There were many characters who could have been the kidnapper. The writer did a good job at making me wonder who it could have been. But at the end I was so let down, because the true kidnapper(s) were not even suggested that they could have been the ones. I felt a bit tricked. I felt like the author was having a little party and the reader was not invited. I gave it five stars because it did keep me interested, I just was disappointed at how the author did the ending as if on a whim.

I thought it would be more suspenseful.

The storyline was alright but the end seems a bit forced like the author wrote themselves into a pickle and didn't know how to properly unravel the mystery. I like the performance of the narrator. As far as mysteries go I wasn't bored, but I don't think I'd recommend.

Great narration!

This was a good mystery, very well written and the narrator is flawless. I actually think the narrator bumps up the ratings on this book. The reason I say that is because I hated the main character, I almost stopped listening because I found her whiny and difficult to sympathize with. The narrator saved me from that, she’s delightful, and toward the last quarter of the book I was glad I did. It got much better, things started to fall in place and the ending was solid. The jumping back 3 years to present just about every other chapter was difficult to keep up with and contributed to my 3 star on the storyline but others may not feel that way. Overall this is a solid 4 star book when you consider the excellent narration!

Blink

To confusing, not very interesting. Wish it had started out better. I would not listen to it again, or read the book.

Ok . . I didnt enjoy as much as I hopes

I found I didnt bond with any of the characters and I was not gripped. I got to the end but there were no surprises or reasons as to why

Complete waste

Bought this thinking based on the great reviews and was greatly disappointed. This was a waste of a credit.

Don't bother

Sorry but ending seems rushed. Also
the main character seems rather weak and pathetic. The twists are unbelievable and the whole thing a waste of time.

Blink! just Don't Miss It!

Another high quality thriller with the usual excellent narration from Lucy Price-Lewis who is one of the best female narrators out there. I found this one very well-written, it’s tight and economical and it feels like it packs quite a lot into its relatively short length. I say that but really not an awful lot happens, there is a lot of the ordinary side of life in here an yet it somehow just works. It very much deals with how we often struggle when the veneer of security that we think protects us is broken and life turns on tragic events. How seemingly strong people can be brought lower and end up being made to look much worse by the careless judgement of modern society.

It uses a clever device of someone trapped within their own mind and the events of three years previously. The plot twists and turns and it’s genuinely difficult right up until towards the end to see your way to the ending. For me that actual ending itself was just slightly weaker than the rest of the book but I’ve read much worse and the journey to get there was genuinely exciting and unpredictable. Well worth a credit!

Fast Paced Page-Turner

A good, well-paced novel that will grab you and keep you hooked until the last moment! Toni is a single mother recovering from the death of her husband and struggling to raise her five year old daughter Evie with the help of her mother but in a new town and with a new job, she feels alone. Evie seems to have taken the interest of her teacher's assistant, but she suddenly hates going to school, and Toni marks it up to adjustment. When Evie goes missing, the mystery is taken to new heights.
There are many moments of clues in the story that you must try to retain to puzzle out later. There are several creepy characters in this book and you just don't know who to trust. The end is an explosion of twists and reveals, but I wished that the stories woven together were pulled together a little more, or the story drawn out a bit. The end felt like a bomb exploding oddly from a slow burn. Other than that, an easy read that entertains and thrills at times. Recommended!

Thin storyline of child abduction.

A thin storyline is stretched woefully in order to complete a book. Implausible characters, surround a grieving widow and her young daughter in a tale of child neglect and emotional abuse, ultimately child abduction and revenge. The child is the most engaging character in the book which despite the flimsy writing is well narrated. Not a good read, and in my view sensationalist treatment of very serious subjects.

Badly written and predictable

This is a depressingly poor novel, packed with cliches and manufactured tension and without a single believable character. The twist was entirely predictable.

Genius - loved this book

What did you like best about this story?

You know when you sit in stunned silence after finishing a book? Those few minutes when you're trying to get your head around the revelations which delivered a perfect ending? That's me now. This is the first book I've read by KL Slater and will definitely not be the last. The characters in this book were so believable and real, I found myself getting annoyed with them, wanting to hug others and wanting to give the main character a good telling off at times too. Only a skilled writer can draw the reader into this extent and I tip my hat to Kim for she writes with beautiful, touching believable prose.
The second half of the book is very face paced and as each twist and turn is expertly delivered, I found myself unable to carry on with everyday life until I knew just a little bit more. It's outstandingly clever, definitely the kind of book I wish I had written myself. If you like a good psychological thriller with lots of twists and turns, then you will love this book.

Any additional comments?

The narrator did a fantastic job too.

Oh good grief!

Has to rank amongst the worst things I had ever read. How it can be utterly unbelievable, far fetched but intensely boring I don’t know. I fast forwarded through massive chunks, yet still seemed to have to read the hum drum tediousness every time I stopped. Intensely dull and inanely stupid.I know I won’t read anything else by this author and suggest you do likewise.

Not sure what all the fuss is about

What did you like best about Blink? What did you like least?

This book is ok but not quite the masterpiece it is made out to be. I found it all quite irritating. Not quite sure what the killer twist was really it all seemed a bit overdone.

Do you think Blink needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No I'm not interested enough in the characters.

Far fetched

Concept is ok, but the characters are often OTT and act pretty unbelievably a lot of the time. Lead character (Toni) is pathetic. I got quite irritated by that half way through and it was a struggle to keep listening.
Narration is good.

badly written, boring and plot holes a plenty

Any additional comments?

This book is trying to be a page turner but it is filled with such generic characters that do unrealistic action, cliched dialogue and bland description that the only reason to keep listening is to find out the "killer twist". It's not worth 8h of your life, trust me. It's an odd sensation when you are willing the abduction of a child to get it over and done with.
Utter trash, it's trying to be a thriller but without anything at all happening till over 3/4 through the book, this book fails with its mundanity.
Blink? I couldn't stay awake