These Toxic Things

A Thriller

By: Rachel Howzell Hall

Narrated by: Susan Dalian

Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

A dead woman’s cherished trinkets become pieces to a terrifying puzzle.

Mickie Lambert creates “digital scrapbooks” for clients, ensuring that precious souvenirs aren’t forgotten or lost. When her latest client, Nadia Denham, a curio shop owner, dies from an apparent suicide, Mickie honors the old woman’s last wish and begins curating her peculiar objets d’art. A music box, a hair clip, a key chain - twelve mementos in all that must have meant so much to Nadia, who collected them on her flea market scavenges across the country.

But these tokens mean a lot to someone else, too. Mickie has been receiving threatening messages to leave Nadia’s past alone.

It’s becoming a mystery Mickie is driven to solve. Who once owned these odd treasures? How did Nadia really come to possess them? Discovering the truth means crossing paths with a long-dormant serial killer and navigating the secrets of a sinister past. One that might, Mickie fears, be inescapably entwined with her own.

©2021 by Rachel Howzell Hall. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Susan Dalian's narration keeps the tension building in this thriller through her spot-on timing.... Dalian creates believable characters, including the spoiled and petulant Mickie, along with her caring parents and convincingly voiced men. The result is a thrilling mystery.” (AudioFile Magazine)

“Deeply moving, Villa’s debut fills a longstanding need in LGBTQ+ literature for more Latinx characters and a love story between two BIPOC characters. A lovely, important book that deserves a wide readership.” (Booklist, starred review)

“This cleverly plotted, surprise-filled novel offers well-drawn and original characters, lively dialogue, and a refreshing take on the serial killer theme. Hall continues to impress.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

Really enjoyed this

This was a great story. Really enjoyed it and recommend that you plan to make a time that you can enjoy it for several hours. You won’t want to put it down!

interesting story!

Enjoyed being able to hear a thriller with a different storyline for once. kept me guessing until the very end!

Wow

Must read or listen to. Slow start but by the third chapter you are hooked.

Loved the Secret Message in this book

Loved the hidden message above all had to re read to understand how the begging leave clues in the ending I knew from the beginning the chick was the one but this book is like Rachel Howzell Hall last book but only if she got away with it but love how the author had the villain try to rewrite history after forgotten a new remembrance would be there dope story great story great writer love the new narration

The principal character...

a modern story. I'm not sure if the main character is Michaela....or her cell phone!

Great characters, great listen!

This is a fun, gripping mystery with terrific characters and a complex mystery, I enjoyed every minute.

The narration really helped me get through this.

I think the book is good. I liked Mickie and loved the idea of her work with Memory Bank. The unfolding of the main plot was well done and had several interesting aspects. Much of Mickie's personal drama turned this into more of a slog than I would have liked. The narration helped me get through the duller bits. I listened at 2x speed and mostly read along with my ebook and finished this in a day while recovering from injury. I have to admit, though, that I would have stalled in reading this on my own. The abundance of details creates a vivid picture for the story, but it can also bog you down as you're scanning through all the text. It's very interesting, but not riveting. I was able to stay focused and zip through it, though, with the audio book.

Very Good

Okay, so I knew from about the 3rd chapter that there was a serial killer. The ins and outs were what kept me on the edge of my seat. Once I got into it I couldn't stop. The book is really good and I recommend it.

I liked it

I personally enjoyed this book. It was descriptive and just fun to read. I enjoyed living the main characters life with her and trying to solve the mystery. The narration was good as well.

Engaging

I loved every moment of this book. I enjoyed the main character and liked that she had such supportive friends and family in her life as the story unfolded.