Rabbit Hole Audiobook By Mark Billingham cover art

Rabbit Hole

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Rabbit Hole

By: Mark Billingham
Narrated by: Maxine Peake
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Alice Armitage is a police officer. Or she was.

Following a debilitating bout of PTSD, self-medication with drink and drugs, and a psychotic breakdown, Alice is now a long-term patient in an acute psychiatric ward. Though convinced that she doesn't really belong there, she finds companionship with the other patients in the ward despite their challenging and often intimidating issues.

So when one of her fellow patients is murdered, Alice feels personally compelled to launch an investigation from within the ward. Soon, she becomes convinced that she has identified the killer and that she can catch them. Ignored by the police, she must gather proof on her own, relying on the few contacts she has on the outside that still take her calls. But Alice's life begins to unravel as she realizes that she cannot trust anyone in the ward, least of all herself. Having lost her conviction and with her investigative confidence shattered, she comes dangerously close to a psychological point of no return.

Mark Billingham has crafted a mind-bending, heart-stopping, and wholly original thriller.

©2021 Mark Billingham Ltd; The Bob Dylan quote is transcribed from Rolling Thunder Review: A Bob Dylan Story. (P)2021 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books International Mystery & Crime Mystery Psychological Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Heartfelt
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While the premise itself was good, there are so many ways it fell short I would not recommend this book. Rather than drag out a long review I will list the main issues my book club had: too many characters (and too much time spent on them) that ended up not being central to the story, too little information and development of Alice's boyfriend and best friend, not fully explaining the different motives for the murders and finally Alice's connection to Johnno was weak. Without giving anything away, I'll just say for his death to have had this level of an effect on her he should have been more important in her life.
These were not our only issues but they are the main ones. A minor issue was the narrator. Unless you're from North London you may struggle understanding her.

Too many characters (possible spoiler alert)

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It’s hard to separate the narration from the story because they could not be more perfect. I have read and listened to hundreds of mystery/crime novels and believe this is my favorite. Maxine Peake nails the narration and makes the character and story so real, humane and intense that her character will stay somewhere dancing in the back of my memories forever. Alice is a very special character. Please listen.

An Absolute Stunner

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I really wanted to like it as I love the Tom Thorne series, but I just didn’t. Despite the fact that there were two murders, there was no little drama and no buildup. There wasn’t even much of a plot. It was mostly the musings inside the head of someone with mental illness, which isn’t my idea of a good read. I finished it, but I wish I hadn’t wasted the time.

It’s a no for me.

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Repetitive story that drones on with no real surprises or twists. The narrator uses a heavy accent for the main character and it is just horrible and difficult to understand.

Horrible narration

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