Bits & Pieces by Dawn Hosmer

March 11th, 2020 Kimberly Review 13 Comments

11th Mar
Bits & Pieces by Dawn Hosmer
Bits & Pieces
by Dawn Hosmer
Narrator: Diane Box-Worman
Genres: Suspense Thriller
Source: Author
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
Narration: 2.5 cups Speed: 1.3x

A chance encounter with a stranger traps Tessa within the mind of a madman.

Tessa was born with a gift. Through a simple touch she picks up pieces of others. A “flash” of color devours her—the only indication that she’s gained something new from another person. Red equals pain; purple, a talent; yellow, a premonition; orange, a painful memory; and blue, a pleasant one. Each flash blurs the lines between her inherent traits and those she’s acquired from others. Whenever she gains bits of something new, she loses more pieces of herself.

While assisting in search efforts for a local missing college student, Tessa is paralyzed by a flash that rips through her like a lightning bolt, slicing apart her soul. A blinding light takes away her vision. A buzzing louder than any noise she’s ever heard overwhelms her, penetrates her mind. As the bolt works its way through her body, images and feelings from someone else take over. Women’s dead eyes stare at her as her hands encircle their throats. Their screams consume her mind. Memories of the brutal murders of five women invade her.

Will she be able to find the killer and help save the next victim? Can she do so without completely losing herself?

Bits & Pieces by Dawn Hosmer was an original, brilliant, fast-paced suspense thriller that kept me on edge. The audiobook however had an issue with sound quality, pacing and shrill male voices.

Even though bits of this audiobook made me cringe, the story…the story was brilliant and unlike anything I have read. It kept me on edge and listening despite the volume issues, Gilbert Gottfried male voices and pacing issues.

So let’s tackle the narration first..

Diane Box-Worman captured Tessa’s emotions from manic moments, new experiences, to her cold-blooded fear. I appreciated that her voice was that of an adult female, and not someone trying to sound like an adult female. All of her female voices were unique. Sometimes Tessa’s voice became shrill and almost sounded like her brother, who so help me sounded like Gilbert Gottfried. It was awful. Thankfully, most of the POV is that of Tessa.

However, there were sound or quality issues. It could have been a production or narration issue. Words would be softer or louder, fade in and fade out. At first I thought it was me. After playing the audio on three different devices, I confirmed it was the audiobook recording.

I ending up having to slow down or speed up the audio as the narrator herself slowed down or sped up. It may have been because the character herself was becoming more manic but it didn’t follow a pattern.

Ok, are you still with me?

Having said all that about the audiobook, I still gave Bits & Pieces four and half cups of coffee. Even if the audio drove me insane, the story kept me listening. I lost a night’s sleep. Yep, the story was that good. The story itself kept me on edge and I would try this author again.

Tessa has a gift or a curse. When she touches someone, not always, but sometimes she gains something from them. Sometimes it’s a memory, other times it’s pain or an addiction. Slowly, as she amasses these bits and pieces, she loses more and more of herself. Does she like Chinese food, or did she pick that up? She can speak fluent French, and can describe in intimate detail people and places she has never been. Lives she has never lived.

Only this time the blinding light overwhelms her and the memories and thoughts show her victims’ memories and the thoughts of a killer that might just consume her.

The twists, unexpected turns, and the hunt to save Tessa and find the killer were absolutely addictive. The suspect list had me biting my nails, and those who aided her only enhanced the tale, and ultimately blew my mind.

If you like psychological suspense with supernatural elements, then you need to read this or listen to it.

A refreshing suspense thriller, I recommend you grab a copy. This title is available for Kindle Unlimited, hardcover and paperback as well as audio.

Trigger Warnings: View Spoiler »

Bits & Pieces by Dawn Hosmer was an original, brilliant, fast-paced suspense thriller that kept me on edge even if the audiobook had issues. #SuspenseThriller #Twisted Share on X
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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13 Responses to “Bits & Pieces by Dawn Hosmer”

  1. Debbie S Haupt

    OK yes I was a bit surprised to see how much trouble the narration gave you when I saw the rating so I think I’ll cozy up with a kindle copy and put on my seatbelt 🙂

  3. Katherine

    The narrator would drive me crazy so I think I would go with the print version but other then that this sounds really good! I definitely haven’t come across anything like this before.

  12. Ailyn Koay

    i am not sure, from your review the narrative is a bit tricky? Interesting but i will stick to the paperbacks XD