Caffeinated Reviewer

The Skin Code by Stephen Williams is the first audiobook in the Raine and Hume crime thriller series. A dark serial killer is on the loose. Detective Mary Hume enlists the help of ex-police officer, PI Raine, in this heart-pounding thriller.

AN ABSOLUTELY GRIPPING CRIME THRILLER WITH AN ASTONISHING TWIST.

Can you crack the code?

Detective Mary Hume is on the trail of a vicious serial killer. A killer who leaves a baffling code carved into the skin of his victims.

The first victim, a young man, lies spreadeagled in his stylish Soho flat. Carved deep into his hairless chest—while he was still alive—are the numbers 1-4-3.

The second victim is a vicar—murdered and mutilated in his own church, his body posed kneeling in the front pew. Etched into his torso are more cryptic numbers.

Detective Inspector Mary Hume knows that to crack the case, she must crack the code. And to do that, she needs the help of maverick ex-police officer Raine, who can reach places—and people—that Mary can't.

Now the killer has their next victim in sight . . .

I love a good serial-killer mystery and decided to listen to The Skin Code. I am delighted that I did. This was an intense thriller. When a body is found in a Soho flat, murdered with the numbers 1-4-3 on his chest, Detective Mary Hume is assigned the case. Before she gets all the facts involving the murder, another body turns up and etched on his chest are more numbers. Hume’s reaches out to PI Raine, a maverick ex-detective with more reach than the department to assist. The tale that unfolds delivered a riveting crime thriller that held me captive.

The murder victims are diverse, leaving Hume to realize the numbers are the significance. I found the tale to be addictive. I liked both Detective Hume’s and her partner Echo, but mixing PI Raine into the tale was a fantastic dynamic. Raine is dealing with mugging victims and working on a missing person’s case. All three characters were interesting. Hume is dealing with a personal loss, Echo is a tech wiz and Raine, well she is complicated with baggage.

In the Skin Code, the mystery was intense and dark. The author offset this darkness with one-liners and delightful banter between Detective Humes and DC Echo. The attention to detail and descriptions of the crimes scenes and forensic aspects pulled me in. Our serial killer is quite twisted, and the author did a fantastic job of revealing details, providing twists and spotlighting Hume and Raine’s deductive skills.

Hannah Curtis narrates. I enjoyed the voices and tone she set for the story. She made the one-liners feel authentic and brought the case to life through inflection and tone. I will continue the series in audio format.

Amazon* | Audible | Libro.fm

About Stephen Williams

S Williams has written lyrics for several musicians, has poetry published in London magazine Brittle Star and writes, directs and performs bespoke ghost evenings in historic buildings. His thrillers are available in several languages.

About Hannah Curtis

Hannah Curtis is from the UK and has been acting and narrating for over twenty years. She starred for a long time in British soap Hollyoaks. She has had roles in movies such as The Heavy and guest-starred on ER, in addition to appearing in many TV commercials across Europe and America. She has recorded many audiobooks, including Wave, Dark Eden, The Widow and Queen Anne, and The Pigeon Pie Mystery. Hannah has enjoyed narrating a range of fiction, nonfiction, comedy, and thrillers, using many different accents. She has a home studio and enjoys spending time narrating and recording from there.

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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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