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What She Witnessed
How far would you go to protect a secret...
Widow Kelly Carlsen has been through a lot since the death of her husband three years ago from a violent allergic reaction.
Reported to the police for murder by her vindictive mother-in-law, she was suspected of poisoning her husband, jailed away from her son, and nearly went to prison before an autopsy proved her husband died of an undiagnosed nut allergy.
Traumatized by the experience, she and her son Dan have become very close, while dealing with tension due to the emotional scars from the experience. She keeps a close eye on Dan, and not just because of what’s happened to her.
She has reasons that are more genetic than environmental. Dan, like his grandmother, is a sociopath: manipulative, impulsive, and almost remorseless.
Intensive therapy has helped him and his mother a great deal, but she has always worried that he is a ticking time bomb whose impulsiveness and lack of empathy will lead him straight to jail.
So, when Dan’s girlfriend goes missing after the two get blackout drunk on a date and Dan believes that he may have killed her, Kelly scrambles to cover for him.
But his vindictive grandmother has other plans and no qualms about lying to get what she wants.
A desperate mother willing to take any steps to protect her son must face a grandmother with no conscience in the ultimate battle over the life of Daniel and be prepared to suffer the consequences.
Widow Kelly Carlsen has been through a lot since the death of her husband three years ago from a violent allergic reaction.
Reported to the police for murder by her vindictive mother-in-law, she was suspected of poisoning her husband, jailed away from her son, and nearly went to prison before an autopsy proved her husband died of an undiagnosed nut allergy.
Traumatized by the experience, she and her son Dan have become very close, while dealing with tension due to the emotional scars from the experience. She keeps a close eye on Dan, and not just because of what’s happened to her.
She has reasons that are more genetic than environmental. Dan, like his grandmother, is a sociopath: manipulative, impulsive, and almost remorseless.
Intensive therapy has helped him and his mother a great deal, but she has always worried that he is a ticking time bomb whose impulsiveness and lack of empathy will lead him straight to jail.
So, when Dan’s girlfriend goes missing after the two get blackout drunk on a date and Dan believes that he may have killed her, Kelly scrambles to cover for him.
But his vindictive grandmother has other plans and no qualms about lying to get what she wants.
A desperate mother willing to take any steps to protect her son must face a grandmother with no conscience in the ultimate battle over the life of Daniel and be prepared to suffer the consequences.
333 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 3, 2021
418 people are currently reading
243 people want to read
About the author
Cole Baxter
46 books368 followersCole Baxter loves writing psychological suspense thrillers. It's all about that last reveal that he loves shocking readers with.
He grew up in New York, where there crime was all around. He decided to turn that into something positive with his fiction.
His stories will have you reading through the night--they are very addictive!
Sign up for Cole's VIP Reader Club and find out about his latest releases, giveaways, and more. Copy and paste this link to sign up: http://eepurl.com/dqL8yT
He grew up in New York, where there crime was all around. He decided to turn that into something positive with his fiction.
His stories will have you reading through the night--they are very addictive!
Sign up for Cole's VIP Reader Club and find out about his latest releases, giveaways, and more. Copy and paste this link to sign up: http://eepurl.com/dqL8yT
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
April 26, 2022
If the option were available I would give zero stars for grammar, spelling, editing and proofreading. The plot was ridiculous and the characters were worse. The mother in law was written like the evil fairy godmother from a fairytale, with absolutely no context provided for her sudden behaviour after her son being married to Kelly for twenty years. The writer has been extremely lazy in his research of correct police and legal procedure. Given his number of books released, he's clearly aiming for quantity over quality. Reads like something a teenager knocked out in an evening for an English assignment and didn't bother to read it through before handing it in. Sorry to be harsh, but this author really needs to improve his writing and research before asking people to give their time to read his books.
April 21, 2022
3.75 ⭐ rounded up
How is your relationship with your Mother-in-law?
Unbeknownst to both, David and Kelly, David had a shellfish allergy and was unable to be revived during one date night. 3 years later, Kelly was acquitted for his murder, a murder that, Mona, her lovely MIL, accused her of. I did struggle with how she could be accused of poisoning him when they were at a seafood restaurant that he chose, and he ordered his own food?
Now, Mona is bringing lawsuit after lawsuit against Kelly since money is no object for her. She is a manipulative, impulsive sociopath and an all around nightmare to deal with. Guess what ~ she even knew about her son's allergy and never told him ~ mother of the year there.
Soon after being released from prison and trying to get her life back on track, Kelly's son, Dan, is accused of killing his girlfriend, Sherry, even though there is no body. I don't think we ever even got any evidence of why he was accused, except for Sherry's parents placing the blame. I wasn't expecting the twist in this part of the story.
Chelsea Stephens did a great job narrating and showing proper emotion when needed. I 2x'ed it, so it made for a pretty quick listen.
I didn't care for all the teenage drinking.
*Thanks to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media LLC and Cole Baxter for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
More reviews here ➡ Heather Adores Books
How is your relationship with your Mother-in-law?
Unbeknownst to both, David and Kelly, David had a shellfish allergy and was unable to be revived during one date night. 3 years later, Kelly was acquitted for his murder, a murder that, Mona, her lovely MIL, accused her of. I did struggle with how she could be accused of poisoning him when they were at a seafood restaurant that he chose, and he ordered his own food?
Now, Mona is bringing lawsuit after lawsuit against Kelly since money is no object for her. She is a manipulative, impulsive sociopath and an all around nightmare to deal with. Guess what ~ she even knew about her son's allergy and never told him ~ mother of the year there.
Soon after being released from prison and trying to get her life back on track, Kelly's son, Dan, is accused of killing his girlfriend, Sherry, even though there is no body. I don't think we ever even got any evidence of why he was accused, except for Sherry's parents placing the blame. I wasn't expecting the twist in this part of the story.
Chelsea Stephens did a great job narrating and showing proper emotion when needed. I 2x'ed it, so it made for a pretty quick listen.
I didn't care for all the teenage drinking.
*Thanks to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media LLC and Cole Baxter for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*
More reviews here ➡ Heather Adores Books
May 2, 2022
Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.
This was a really good book. It had a couple of good twists that I didn't see coming. Thrillers tend to be so predictable anymore that it was refreshing to listen to a good and unique story. This was the kind of book that had you guessing who was the "bad guy" throughout. It all culminated into an ending that left me wanting a little more.
Kelly loses her husband in a tragic accident and is accused of murdering him. After being acquitted of all charges, she tries to start her new life. She has a teenage son who's been diagnosed with a personality disorder and a mother in law who is evil incarnate. One night, her son's girlfriend goes missing and he's accused of her murder. The rest is a twisty thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. How far would a mother go to protect her child?
I've never read anything by Cole Baxter, and this won't be my last book of theirs. Four stars! Great audio too. The narrator was good with the different character's voices. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a good domestic thriller.
This was a really good book. It had a couple of good twists that I didn't see coming. Thrillers tend to be so predictable anymore that it was refreshing to listen to a good and unique story. This was the kind of book that had you guessing who was the "bad guy" throughout. It all culminated into an ending that left me wanting a little more.
Kelly loses her husband in a tragic accident and is accused of murdering him. After being acquitted of all charges, she tries to start her new life. She has a teenage son who's been diagnosed with a personality disorder and a mother in law who is evil incarnate. One night, her son's girlfriend goes missing and he's accused of her murder. The rest is a twisty thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. How far would a mother go to protect her child?
I've never read anything by Cole Baxter, and this won't be my last book of theirs. Four stars! Great audio too. The narrator was good with the different character's voices. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a good domestic thriller.
August 14, 2024
An innocent woman is arrested for killing her husband who dies in a restaurant due to a shellfish allergy. She is found not guilty but her mother-in-law proceeds to make her and her son’s life a living hell. While it was interesting, it was not as fast a pace as the other books I’ve read by him. And I enjoy this author. This book was not as good as the others I’ve read so far, and it ends without resolving a pretty important event. I was a bit shocked at that. Also the writing was clunky at times where commas could have helped a lot. There were constant comma slices where there should have been two sentences. And I noted 39 errors. I don’t mind a few, but this was excessive! All in all, I will still keep reading his books until I finish them all!
May 4, 2022
The Vindictive Mother-In-Law
Oh my what this mother-in-law would do to ruin the life of her daughter-in-law. She was just pure evil. This character was one of the evilest characters ever.
Kelly recently lost her husband, she was arrested for his murder and put in jail. She was released when it was found that the cause of death was from a food allergy. Her mother-in-law doesn't believe it and is convinced that Kelly killed her son.
Kelly's son Dan see's a psychologist because he has a mental behavioral problem. So when Dan's girlfriend goes missing after they spend a night drinking at the lake everyone assumes that it is Dan's fault and he is arrested.
The town along with the mother-in-law make life miserable for both Dan and Kelly. Kelly knows her son is innocent but no one else believes it except for her.
Kelly must face down her mother-in-law and she is willing to do anything to save her son from his sociopathic grandmother without a conscious.
What a wild story. This is the most evil mother-in-law and grandmother ever. You will not believe what she is capable of doing. You also will not believe how fast friends turn into enemies when they think you or your son have committed a horrible crime, even when you have not been convicted of it.
If you like wild psychological thrillers than you will definitely like this one. I listened to the audio book and the narrator did a fantastic job. Very clear enunciation, a lovely voice to listen to and perfect tempo.
Thanks to Cole Baxter for writing a great story, to Dreamscape Media for publishing it and to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to the audio book and review it.
Oh my what this mother-in-law would do to ruin the life of her daughter-in-law. She was just pure evil. This character was one of the evilest characters ever.
Kelly recently lost her husband, she was arrested for his murder and put in jail. She was released when it was found that the cause of death was from a food allergy. Her mother-in-law doesn't believe it and is convinced that Kelly killed her son.
Kelly's son Dan see's a psychologist because he has a mental behavioral problem. So when Dan's girlfriend goes missing after they spend a night drinking at the lake everyone assumes that it is Dan's fault and he is arrested.
The town along with the mother-in-law make life miserable for both Dan and Kelly. Kelly knows her son is innocent but no one else believes it except for her.
Kelly must face down her mother-in-law and she is willing to do anything to save her son from his sociopathic grandmother without a conscious.
What a wild story. This is the most evil mother-in-law and grandmother ever. You will not believe what she is capable of doing. You also will not believe how fast friends turn into enemies when they think you or your son have committed a horrible crime, even when you have not been convicted of it.
If you like wild psychological thrillers than you will definitely like this one. I listened to the audio book and the narrator did a fantastic job. Very clear enunciation, a lovely voice to listen to and perfect tempo.
Thanks to Cole Baxter for writing a great story, to Dreamscape Media for publishing it and to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to the audio book and review it.
May 14, 2022
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ARC provided by Dreamscape Media.
Widow Kelly Carlsen has been through a lot since the death of her husband three years ago from a violent allergic reaction. Reported to the police for murder by her vindictive mother-in-law, she was suspected of poisoning her husband, jailed away from her son, and nearly went to prison before an autopsy proved her husband died of an undiagnosed nut allergy. Traumatized by the experience, she and her son Dan have become very close, while dealing with tension due to the emotional scars from the experience. She keeps a close eye on Dan, and not just because of what’s happened to her. A desperate mother willing to take any steps to protect her son must face a grandmother with no conscience in the ultimate battle over the life of Daniel and be prepared to suffer the consequences.
I really liked the legal premise that this story was based upon, because it highlights the potential for corruption and the influence that people with money can have if they try hard enough, since I work in the legal field myself. It also brings wrongful convictions to the conversation which seems to be a very timely subject in our world today. The plot and the character development kept me very intrigued, however I did guess the twists early on. I also didn't like the ending but overall this book was very suspenseful.
Rating: 3.5/5
Widow Kelly Carlsen has been through a lot since the death of her husband three years ago from a violent allergic reaction. Reported to the police for murder by her vindictive mother-in-law, she was suspected of poisoning her husband, jailed away from her son, and nearly went to prison before an autopsy proved her husband died of an undiagnosed nut allergy. Traumatized by the experience, she and her son Dan have become very close, while dealing with tension due to the emotional scars from the experience. She keeps a close eye on Dan, and not just because of what’s happened to her. A desperate mother willing to take any steps to protect her son must face a grandmother with no conscience in the ultimate battle over the life of Daniel and be prepared to suffer the consequences.
I really liked the legal premise that this story was based upon, because it highlights the potential for corruption and the influence that people with money can have if they try hard enough, since I work in the legal field myself. It also brings wrongful convictions to the conversation which seems to be a very timely subject in our world today. The plot and the character development kept me very intrigued, however I did guess the twists early on. I also didn't like the ending but overall this book was very suspenseful.
Rating: 3.5/5
June 5, 2022
This would’ve been 5 stars had I not had to work so hard to understand the Kindle version. EDIT THE KINDLE VERSION. I’m not talking about misplaced commas, I’m talking about wrong words- “evening” when it should’ve read “everything” (“I think evening will work out”). That wasn’t the only one. And yes there are a lot of misplaced commas, and sentences that make you wonder what the author was wanting to say but somehow didn’t. It reminded me of someone using “talk to text” on their phone and it not working out. It gets worse the further you get into it. EDIT THE KINDLE VERSION. Please.
May 2, 2022
I enjoyed this story. At times it seemed far fetched, like whose MIL is really that vindictive? but it was enjoyable. The mother in the story seemed to get a bit whiny halfway through, but rightfully so! The last 25% had me on the edge of my seat, until the big reveal. The audio version of the book was quite enjoyable as well!
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Cole Baxter for the ARC of this audiobook, in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Cole Baxter for the ARC of this audiobook, in exchange for my honest review.
May 7, 2022
DNF. This book was so implausible I couldn’t get past the first few chapters.
1. Who doesn’t tell their child that they have a life threatening allergy?
2. When would a spouse get arrested for killing her husband by going out to a restaurant with him? Even if she knew about his allergy? Which she didn’t.
It got worse from there.
1. Who doesn’t tell their child that they have a life threatening allergy?
2. When would a spouse get arrested for killing her husband by going out to a restaurant with him? Even if she knew about his allergy? Which she didn’t.
It got worse from there.
April 13, 2022
Name of Book: Watch she Witnessed
Author: Cole Baxter
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Publisher: Dreamscape
Pub Date: May 3, 2022
My Rating: ⭐⭐.5 Stars!
Story starts with Kelly and Dave going out for a much needed date night. Only the unthinkable happened Dave has a serious allergy attack. He died and Kelly is accused of poisoning him.
Kelly is charged and while waiting for trail, Dave’s mother Mona takes care of her teenage grandson and is now demanding custody. The autopsy proves that Dave’s died from an undiagnosed allergy that neither Kelly nor Dan knew about. Kelly is found innocent and Dan is return home.
However, Mona is a sociopath and with her wealth she continues to cause Kelly problems.
Three years later Kelly fears that her son Dan has inherited not the family food allergies but his grandmother’s mental issues.
Yikes I had a hard time with these unlikeable characters.
Mona is an evil total mess plus!
Kelly is so annoying with her whiny nasty language.
And
Then there is Dan!! Hmm I really wasn’t sure about him. He was accused of kidnapping and perhaps murdering his girlfriend. He is the one who kept me reading; found him more likeable than his mom and grandmother!!!
I was drawn to this story as I too have a serious food allergy.
I hung in there ~ turned out okay but it was not the great read I was hoping would develop.
Want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Audio for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review. Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 3, 2022.
Author: Cole Baxter
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Publisher: Dreamscape
Pub Date: May 3, 2022
My Rating: ⭐⭐.5 Stars!
Story starts with Kelly and Dave going out for a much needed date night. Only the unthinkable happened Dave has a serious allergy attack. He died and Kelly is accused of poisoning him.
Kelly is charged and while waiting for trail, Dave’s mother Mona takes care of her teenage grandson and is now demanding custody. The autopsy proves that Dave’s died from an undiagnosed allergy that neither Kelly nor Dan knew about. Kelly is found innocent and Dan is return home.
However, Mona is a sociopath and with her wealth she continues to cause Kelly problems.
Three years later Kelly fears that her son Dan has inherited not the family food allergies but his grandmother’s mental issues.
Yikes I had a hard time with these unlikeable characters.
Mona is an evil total mess plus!
Kelly is so annoying with her whiny nasty language.
And
Then there is Dan!! Hmm I really wasn’t sure about him. He was accused of kidnapping and perhaps murdering his girlfriend. He is the one who kept me reading; found him more likeable than his mom and grandmother!!!
I was drawn to this story as I too have a serious food allergy.
I hung in there ~ turned out okay but it was not the great read I was hoping would develop.
Want to thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Audio for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review. Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 3, 2022.
March 27, 2022
The plot was very really unrealistic and impractical. About half way through the book I found myself hating the mother and finding her to be whiny.
May 2, 2022
3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book to read. This is my 2nd Cole Baxter book and I feel sort of the same about this one as I did the other that I read. This was good, but not mind blowing and I really wanted just a little bit more. It's a little simplistic and a big twist in the plot in the end and a little bit more realistic plot points would've made this great for me. This is about a mother named Kelly who is put in jail when her husband dies of anaphylactic shock. It is known that he is allergic to peanuts so her sociopathic mother in law accuses her of intentionally poisoning him and she's put in jail before any conclusions are made. After the autopsy we find out that he was also allergic to shellfish and that is actually what he died of-- his own decision to go to a seafood place not knowing he was allergic to shellfish. Kelly is very eager to get released and go back to be with her son. He's a diagnosed sociopath as well but he fights hard against it and tries to make sure he doesn't do anything wrong. But he starts having blackouts and his girlfriend disappears-- we are left to wonder-- did he kill her? The police seem to be after her family and automatically arrest him with no evidence and I thought the way the police targeted them so much got old. Our main character was just okay. Overall, I liked the ending of this book (though its not hard to see coming) and I liked the pace, I just didn't love some of the unbelievability and the lack of draw to the main character.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
The mother in law kidnapped the girlfriend and was hiding her in the attic as a punishment to the mother for not letting her raise the son (which I didn't really understand why she wanted that so bad?). The mother in law dies in the big show down by falling down the stairs. The girlfriend is rescued and Kelly's name is cleared.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
The mother in law kidnapped the girlfriend and was hiding her in the attic as a punishment to the mother for not letting her raise the son (which I didn't really understand why she wanted that so bad?). The mother in law dies in the big show down by falling down the stairs. The girlfriend is rescued and Kelly's name is cleared.
May 9, 2022
This is a mystery thriller that was just okay for me. It was too busy, brought in too many twists and turns that have already been done.
The monster mother-in-law was done well in the beginning, but as other elements were added the story pivoted to a clumsy long magazine story. The ending put the nail in the coffin.
Narrator Chelsea Stephens did a good job.
The story never grabbed me, and I didn't like any of the characters.
Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for accepting my request to read and review What She Witnessed.
The monster mother-in-law was done well in the beginning, but as other elements were added the story pivoted to a clumsy long magazine story. The ending put the nail in the coffin.
Narrator Chelsea Stephens did a good job.
The story never grabbed me, and I didn't like any of the characters.
Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for accepting my request to read and review What She Witnessed.
February 2, 2022
Complicated reading
This was a good story, spoilt by the numerous misuse of words throughout the book. It was very distracting!! I don't know if this was the authors fault or the fault of the proof readers, but it certainly reduced my enjoyment of this book, and makes me wary of reading any more books by this author. Such a shame!
This was a good story, spoilt by the numerous misuse of words throughout the book. It was very distracting!! I don't know if this was the authors fault or the fault of the proof readers, but it certainly reduced my enjoyment of this book, and makes me wary of reading any more books by this author. Such a shame!
April 26, 2022
From the first pages of the book, I felt nothing but pity for Kelly. Her life went down the hill the day her husband passed away. But the sudden death of the husband was only the beginning of the horror of a life that Kelly will live throughout the novel.
Although I liked the idea of the plot, there was something about Kelly's character that bothered me to the core. My compassion for her has changed about halfway through the novel as I found her character whiny and cross. The plot itself had great potential, but it took a long time to develop and unfortunately didn't stand up to the thrilling synopsis.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.
Although I liked the idea of the plot, there was something about Kelly's character that bothered me to the core. My compassion for her has changed about halfway through the novel as I found her character whiny and cross. The plot itself had great potential, but it took a long time to develop and unfortunately didn't stand up to the thrilling synopsis.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.
May 4, 2022
This is my second book by this author and I feel very much the same about this one like I did the first. It was a good story but I wasn’t blown away by the plot or conclusion. I was a little disappointed to not know how certain things played out, but I’ll live!
I will def keep reading books by this author, they make for enjoyable car ride audiobooks!
I gave this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I will def keep reading books by this author, they make for enjoyable car ride audiobooks!
I gave this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️
January 7, 2022
Would have given 5 stars except...
The terrible grammar and punctuation right down to the last sentence is kind of inexcusable. It's a shame because the story itself was fantastic. Some weren't even typos - Just lack of knowledge. For instance, the author kept saying "instance" instead of "instant". Careful editing in the future will produce some 5 star winners!
The terrible grammar and punctuation right down to the last sentence is kind of inexcusable. It's a shame because the story itself was fantastic. Some weren't even typos - Just lack of knowledge. For instance, the author kept saying "instance" instead of "instant". Careful editing in the future will produce some 5 star winners!
June 6, 2022
This is genuinely one of the worst books I have ever read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced audio copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, I actively hated like 90% of this book. Kelly is a widow who is put on trial for the death of her husband. He died of a shellfish allergy that he didn't know he had when they were out for diner one night. Apparently this meant that obviously Kelly killed him??? Red flag number one.
Obviously, Kelly is acquitted of that change, but not before her terrible for no good reason MIL slanders her all over town and to the jury. Mona is a miserable and horrible human being for, again, literally no good reason.
Then for about 30% of the book, we are just carried along for the rest of Kelly's legal troubles-- the civil suit brought against her by Mona; Mona suing for custody of Kelly's teenager. Like okay yeah, you're showing that life is hard for Kelly and that Mona is awful. But did I really need to sit through 2 1/2 hours of Kelly's legal battles???? Please. spare me.
After this, we are introduced to Kelly's son's girlfriend, Sherry. (Oh yeah, did I mention that her 16 year old is named DAN? Freaking DAN. Like he's a 40 year old dad. Who is dating a teenage girl named SHERRY. Sure, Jan)
Dan and Sherry are madly in love, but like to do risky things like go drinking at a pond over by Mona's house. Sherry's parents are thrilled with their relationship because Dan has antisocial personality disorder (APD) and they think it's only a matter of time before he really hurts Sherry.
Then one night, Sherry goes missing and, of course, Dan is blamed for her disappearance and assumed death. Kelly knows her son though, and she's sure that Dan is innocent. Of course, the town (and Sherry's parents) quickly assume that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and neither Kelly nor Dan is to be trusted. Mona comes out of the woodwork to harass Kelly some more, and then we get to see even MORE of their legal battles (OH JOY). At this point, Kelly decides that SOMETHING has to be done. No matter the cost.
If you couldn't tell that things were bad before all of this, let me just keep telling you more
-Story was slow AF
-"What she witnessed" doesn't happen until like 80% of the way through the book
-Written like the author just used a thesaurus. Examples: when Kelly questions something and then says "what am I to do [about it]"; when something happens and Kelly says the situation is "not idyllic" (instead of ideal); everything is "such as." No one says things "such as this" are bad. That's just lazy writing, bro.
-Boring main character
-Teens are written like adults (and boring ones)
-Mona is evil for no reason?
-Demonization of (suspected) mental illness by Kelly even though her WHOLE SCHTICK is about how her son shouldn't be judged based on his APD diagnosis
Please. PLEASE just put this book down and walk away. It's not worth it.
Spoilers below for those who care:
Kelley decides she has to kill Mona because....???? So she goes to her house at night with a lockpicking kit. But what she sees in the attic window is Sherry. Just... standing by the window apparently. So now Kelly has to break in to save Sherry instead of to kill Mona. Or, I dunno, you could CALL THE POLICE, KELLY.
She breaks in and takes about 100000 years to get to the attic. She's almost caught by Mona once because Mona had to leave her master suite in her mansion to use the bathroom (honestly, the most unrealistic part of this whole book. Obviously Mona would have an en suite).
Kelly FINALLY gets to Sherry and then they sit there and talk for like.... 45 minutes instead of LEAVING THE HOUSE. During this time, Sherry says she hasn't eaten because the food is obviously poisoned, but Mona has been going through all the legal channels to get a gun (cue eyeroll).
Of course, Mona bursts into the attic with a gun and now Kelly has to talk both herself and Sherry out of danger. In the ensuing struggle, the gun goes off and Mona falls down the stairs and dies. Instantly. From a fall. Down a few stairs.
Sherry runs away and Kelly is a bit behind after doing.....??? She finally keeps heading home and Sherry is at her house? With her son? Instead of going back to her parents'???? But don't worry, she called her parents. (again, eyeroll)
Kelly finally calls the police after consulting with her lawyer, and the police come in guns blazing being all like "omg why did you kidnap and try to kill Sherry?? Obviously you have done something bad here." when.... why????
The book (finally, mercifully) ends with Kelly in jail awaiting the trial for her "murder" of Mona and she's like totally happy and chill because at least her perfect angel baby Dan is safe and everyone knows he's not a monster now.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced audio copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
Unfortunately, I actively hated like 90% of this book. Kelly is a widow who is put on trial for the death of her husband. He died of a shellfish allergy that he didn't know he had when they were out for diner one night. Apparently this meant that obviously Kelly killed him??? Red flag number one.
Obviously, Kelly is acquitted of that change, but not before her terrible for no good reason MIL slanders her all over town and to the jury. Mona is a miserable and horrible human being for, again, literally no good reason.
Then for about 30% of the book, we are just carried along for the rest of Kelly's legal troubles-- the civil suit brought against her by Mona; Mona suing for custody of Kelly's teenager. Like okay yeah, you're showing that life is hard for Kelly and that Mona is awful. But did I really need to sit through 2 1/2 hours of Kelly's legal battles???? Please. spare me.
After this, we are introduced to Kelly's son's girlfriend, Sherry. (Oh yeah, did I mention that her 16 year old is named DAN? Freaking DAN. Like he's a 40 year old dad. Who is dating a teenage girl named SHERRY. Sure, Jan)
Dan and Sherry are madly in love, but like to do risky things like go drinking at a pond over by Mona's house. Sherry's parents are thrilled with their relationship because Dan has antisocial personality disorder (APD) and they think it's only a matter of time before he really hurts Sherry.
Then one night, Sherry goes missing and, of course, Dan is blamed for her disappearance and assumed death. Kelly knows her son though, and she's sure that Dan is innocent. Of course, the town (and Sherry's parents) quickly assume that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and neither Kelly nor Dan is to be trusted. Mona comes out of the woodwork to harass Kelly some more, and then we get to see even MORE of their legal battles (OH JOY). At this point, Kelly decides that SOMETHING has to be done. No matter the cost.
If you couldn't tell that things were bad before all of this, let me just keep telling you more
-Story was slow AF
-"What she witnessed" doesn't happen until like 80% of the way through the book
-Written like the author just used a thesaurus. Examples: when Kelly questions something and then says "what am I to do [about it]"; when something happens and Kelly says the situation is "not idyllic" (instead of ideal); everything is "such as." No one says things "such as this" are bad. That's just lazy writing, bro.
-Boring main character
-Teens are written like adults (and boring ones)
-Mona is evil for no reason?
-Demonization of (suspected) mental illness by Kelly even though her WHOLE SCHTICK is about how her son shouldn't be judged based on his APD diagnosis
Please. PLEASE just put this book down and walk away. It's not worth it.
Spoilers below for those who care:
Kelley decides she has to kill Mona because....???? So she goes to her house at night with a lockpicking kit. But what she sees in the attic window is Sherry. Just... standing by the window apparently. So now Kelly has to break in to save Sherry instead of to kill Mona. Or, I dunno, you could CALL THE POLICE, KELLY.
She breaks in and takes about 100000 years to get to the attic. She's almost caught by Mona once because Mona had to leave her master suite in her mansion to use the bathroom (honestly, the most unrealistic part of this whole book. Obviously Mona would have an en suite).
Kelly FINALLY gets to Sherry and then they sit there and talk for like.... 45 minutes instead of LEAVING THE HOUSE. During this time, Sherry says she hasn't eaten because the food is obviously poisoned, but Mona has been going through all the legal channels to get a gun (cue eyeroll).
Of course, Mona bursts into the attic with a gun and now Kelly has to talk both herself and Sherry out of danger. In the ensuing struggle, the gun goes off and Mona falls down the stairs and dies. Instantly. From a fall. Down a few stairs.
Sherry runs away and Kelly is a bit behind after doing.....??? She finally keeps heading home and Sherry is at her house? With her son? Instead of going back to her parents'???? But don't worry, she called her parents. (again, eyeroll)
Kelly finally calls the police after consulting with her lawyer, and the police come in guns blazing being all like "omg why did you kidnap and try to kill Sherry?? Obviously you have done something bad here." when.... why????
The book (finally, mercifully) ends with Kelly in jail awaiting the trial for her "murder" of Mona and she's like totally happy and chill because at least her perfect angel baby Dan is safe and everyone knows he's not a monster now.
April 16, 2022
1.5 stars
The initial part of the story was interesting but resolved in a few paragraphs and became a story that was implausible and miserably unrealistic. Specifically, the author has know knowledge of the legal system/police procedure and creates events that are impossible. The 'resolution' was very predictable and the ending is an annoying cliffhanger. There was also a lot of unnecessary repetition and misuse of words. The characters are also unlikeable. First there is grandma Mona who is a narcisstic sociopathic piece of shit but also an extreme over-the-top cartoon villian. Mom Kelly is DUMB and whiny. I don't know how I feel about teen son Dan.
SUMMARY: Kelly & her husband go on a date to a seafood restaurant. Unbeknownst to them both, he has a seafood allergy and died. Kelly is on trial for his murder. It looks suspicious since their business was doing poorly and he had a life insurance policy, see. She is acquitted. However, his mother (whom he was estranged from for many years) sues her for wrongful death of her son. Kelly wins again. Then grandma tries to sue for custody of Dan.
Here are some of the problems I have: First, why isn't Kelly suing Mona? Any half-rate lawyer would tell Kelly to sue Mona for attorney's fees from these frivolous lawsuits/harassment, for libel/slander (grandma was on the news saying awful things), and most importantly: the wrongful death since Mona knew of the shellfish allergy and never disclosed it to her son! Second, when someone has a life-or-death food allergy (as the late husband did... peanuts too I think?), they are immediately tested for all other allergies so there is no way an adult could reach 40 and never know he's deathly allergic to shellfish. Just sayin'
After all the lawsuits, Kelly is bankrupt and can't get a job since she's been tainted. She lost her business, but it's covered in four sentences. It is also revealed her teen son Dan is a sociopath (?) some kind of mental illness, but he's medicated and in therapy. However, recently he and his GF started drinking and he's had two blackouts. Can't remember a thing but had bruises. Uh OH!
Next, the girlfriend goes missing. Son is arrested. The town really turns against them. Kelly is doing everything to save her son. Grandma Mona is all over the news again, this time saying her son is a killer. She also is calling Kelly and trying to harass and bribe her, which Kelly records. Eventually, Kelly is so stressed and frustrated that she decides she is going to kill Grandma Mona. When she goes to her house to do the deed, she finds out what happened to the missing girlfriend. Grandma was in on it, see. Instead of calling the police, she has a long discussion/talk with psycho grannie which results in Grannie falling down the stairs and you guessed it, Kelly is on trial for murder AGAIN. The end.
The one nice thing I can say is the narrator is good and the story is fast-paced / easy enough that you could blow through it in a day, or a few hours doing chores, as I did. I kept waiting for it to get better but it only got worse. The title is also deeply confusing. Very free kindle book vibes.
Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.
The initial part of the story was interesting but resolved in a few paragraphs and became a story that was implausible and miserably unrealistic. Specifically, the author has know knowledge of the legal system/police procedure and creates events that are impossible. The 'resolution' was very predictable and the ending is an annoying cliffhanger. There was also a lot of unnecessary repetition and misuse of words. The characters are also unlikeable. First there is grandma Mona who is a narcisstic sociopathic piece of shit but also an extreme over-the-top cartoon villian. Mom Kelly is DUMB and whiny. I don't know how I feel about teen son Dan.
SUMMARY: Kelly & her husband go on a date to a seafood restaurant. Unbeknownst to them both, he has a seafood allergy and died. Kelly is on trial for his murder. It looks suspicious since their business was doing poorly and he had a life insurance policy, see. She is acquitted. However, his mother (whom he was estranged from for many years) sues her for wrongful death of her son. Kelly wins again. Then grandma tries to sue for custody of Dan.
Here are some of the problems I have: First, why isn't Kelly suing Mona? Any half-rate lawyer would tell Kelly to sue Mona for attorney's fees from these frivolous lawsuits/harassment, for libel/slander (grandma was on the news saying awful things), and most importantly: the wrongful death since Mona knew of the shellfish allergy and never disclosed it to her son! Second, when someone has a life-or-death food allergy (as the late husband did... peanuts too I think?), they are immediately tested for all other allergies so there is no way an adult could reach 40 and never know he's deathly allergic to shellfish. Just sayin'
After all the lawsuits, Kelly is bankrupt and can't get a job since she's been tainted. She lost her business, but it's covered in four sentences. It is also revealed her teen son Dan is a sociopath (?) some kind of mental illness, but he's medicated and in therapy. However, recently he and his GF started drinking and he's had two blackouts. Can't remember a thing but had bruises. Uh OH!
Next, the girlfriend goes missing. Son is arrested. The town really turns against them. Kelly is doing everything to save her son. Grandma Mona is all over the news again, this time saying her son is a killer. She also is calling Kelly and trying to harass and bribe her, which Kelly records. Eventually, Kelly is so stressed and frustrated that she decides she is going to kill Grandma Mona. When she goes to her house to do the deed, she finds out what happened to the missing girlfriend. Grandma was in on it, see. Instead of calling the police, she has a long discussion/talk with psycho grannie which results in Grannie falling down the stairs and you guessed it, Kelly is on trial for murder AGAIN. The end.
The one nice thing I can say is the narrator is good and the story is fast-paced / easy enough that you could blow through it in a day, or a few hours doing chores, as I did. I kept waiting for it to get better but it only got worse. The title is also deeply confusing. Very free kindle book vibes.
Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.
May 2, 2022
This story was way too unrealistic for me. But, to its credit, I was interested enough to finish it.
The books begins with Kelly's sociopathic mother-in-law, Mona, getting Kelly jailed and tried for the "murder" of her husband. He died of a formerly unknown food allergy at a restaurant, but Mona is convinced that Kelly poisoned her son for no reason. The fact that it was obviously an accident, as neither Kelly nor her husband knew about this allergy, does not deter Mona in the slightest. Kelly sits in prison while awaiting her court case while her son, Dan, is sent to live with Mona, who (for reasons unexplained) realllyyy wants to raise Dan. While he is under her care, she refuses to let him see his therapist, take his medications, go to school, AND she locks him in the attic if he angered her. When Dan and Kelly are reunited, Mona vows to get her revenge (for what??).
This book is highly entertaining, and will keep you engaged. However, I had several big issues with it. Kelly and Dan both face serious murder charges for almost no reason. In Kelly's case, her husband died in public of a food allergy he was unaware he had. For Dan, his girlfriend goes missing and immediately he is accused of murder by her parents, even through no body has been found and he doesn't have a motive. Dan is also a diagnosed sociopath, which made very little sense to me as he was easily the nicest, most caring, and and most empathetic character in the book... not quite sociopathic behavior.
SPOILERS BELOW:
When Kelly decides that she needs to get Mona out of the way in order for all the craziness to stop, she accidentally finds Shelley in Mona's attic. Mona had kidnapped Shelley and kept her as revenge on Kelly for not letting Dan live with Mona, which was a weird reaction, but ok. Shelley has not eaten since being kept in the attic because Mona is clearly trying to poison her. Because Shelley has refused to eat the poisoned food, Mona gets a gun and conveniently returns right after Shelley had finished explaining everything that had happened. They fight over the gun and Mona falls to her death. Even though Shelley is a witness who had been kept hostage by Mona and happily explains this to the police, KELLY IS AGAIN SENT TO JAIL FOR MURDER. This was weird because not even did Kelly not murder Mona, but even if she had it was a clear case of self defense WITH a witness. But alright. Kelly's name is cleared and Dan is super loving and grateful to be reunited with his mother after she is released from jail, which again is simply not how sociopaths function.
Thank you to Netgalley, Cole Baxter, and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The books begins with Kelly's sociopathic mother-in-law, Mona, getting Kelly jailed and tried for the "murder" of her husband. He died of a formerly unknown food allergy at a restaurant, but Mona is convinced that Kelly poisoned her son for no reason. The fact that it was obviously an accident, as neither Kelly nor her husband knew about this allergy, does not deter Mona in the slightest. Kelly sits in prison while awaiting her court case while her son, Dan, is sent to live with Mona, who (for reasons unexplained) realllyyy wants to raise Dan. While he is under her care, she refuses to let him see his therapist, take his medications, go to school, AND she locks him in the attic if he angered her. When Dan and Kelly are reunited, Mona vows to get her revenge (for what??).
This book is highly entertaining, and will keep you engaged. However, I had several big issues with it. Kelly and Dan both face serious murder charges for almost no reason. In Kelly's case, her husband died in public of a food allergy he was unaware he had. For Dan, his girlfriend goes missing and immediately he is accused of murder by her parents, even through no body has been found and he doesn't have a motive. Dan is also a diagnosed sociopath, which made very little sense to me as he was easily the nicest, most caring, and and most empathetic character in the book... not quite sociopathic behavior.
SPOILERS BELOW:
When Kelly decides that she needs to get Mona out of the way in order for all the craziness to stop, she accidentally finds Shelley in Mona's attic. Mona had kidnapped Shelley and kept her as revenge on Kelly for not letting Dan live with Mona, which was a weird reaction, but ok. Shelley has not eaten since being kept in the attic because Mona is clearly trying to poison her. Because Shelley has refused to eat the poisoned food, Mona gets a gun and conveniently returns right after Shelley had finished explaining everything that had happened. They fight over the gun and Mona falls to her death. Even though Shelley is a witness who had been kept hostage by Mona and happily explains this to the police, KELLY IS AGAIN SENT TO JAIL FOR MURDER. This was weird because not even did Kelly not murder Mona, but even if she had it was a clear case of self defense WITH a witness. But alright. Kelly's name is cleared and Dan is super loving and grateful to be reunited with his mother after she is released from jail, which again is simply not how sociopaths function.
Thank you to Netgalley, Cole Baxter, and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
June 8, 2022
Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the chance to review the advance audiobook of What she Witnessed by Cole Baxter.
First I do want to say that the premise is what initially intrigued me into the story; a mother newly widowed and under suspicion of murdering her husband, all the while unsure if her son is a psychopath like his grandmother. And while the first half of the story did focus on the wife's trial, I did find the reasoning behind her suspicion of murder to be extremely faulty (seafood allergy). This right here was red flag #1 for me, if the author wanted the mc to stumble between the lines of guilty and not guilty, then maybe having a different means of death for the husband would have been better. Allergies can come and go throughout one's life, so to have an allergy that neither the family nor the deceased knew about if understandable, unfortunately the author did not go any deeper than that and based on that one fact alone the mc when to trial. Okay......
After the initial battle is over the harassments and the mc complaining the entire first half of the book just made me want to DNF this because I felt annoyed at this point that nothing of consequence or surprising happens. It was like listening to a bad B-budget lifetime movie. Sorry but there really could have been more suspense more action involved for the mc to ACTUALLY have witnessed something instead of that part happening at the end of the book!
If for instance, the mc (the mother) witnessed something happening at the lake where her son and his girlfriend goes then the novel may have held my interested, but this is not something that happens. Would have made a good twist of her knowing what happens and trying to cover it up, alas that was not meant to be.
In truth this novel is more of a slow burn to a somewhat flat suspense at the end that leaves me wondering what the point of the story was. This might have been for some people, however I did not enjoy the book like would have hoped.
2/5 stars!
First I do want to say that the premise is what initially intrigued me into the story; a mother newly widowed and under suspicion of murdering her husband, all the while unsure if her son is a psychopath like his grandmother. And while the first half of the story did focus on the wife's trial, I did find the reasoning behind her suspicion of murder to be extremely faulty (seafood allergy). This right here was red flag #1 for me, if the author wanted the mc to stumble between the lines of guilty and not guilty, then maybe having a different means of death for the husband would have been better. Allergies can come and go throughout one's life, so to have an allergy that neither the family nor the deceased knew about if understandable, unfortunately the author did not go any deeper than that and based on that one fact alone the mc when to trial. Okay......
After the initial battle is over the harassments and the mc complaining the entire first half of the book just made me want to DNF this because I felt annoyed at this point that nothing of consequence or surprising happens. It was like listening to a bad B-budget lifetime movie. Sorry but there really could have been more suspense more action involved for the mc to ACTUALLY have witnessed something instead of that part happening at the end of the book!
If for instance, the mc (the mother) witnessed something happening at the lake where her son and his girlfriend goes then the novel may have held my interested, but this is not something that happens. Would have made a good twist of her knowing what happens and trying to cover it up, alas that was not meant to be.
In truth this novel is more of a slow burn to a somewhat flat suspense at the end that leaves me wondering what the point of the story was. This might have been for some people, however I did not enjoy the book like would have hoped.
2/5 stars!
April 24, 2022
What She Witnessed
Cole Baxter
Three years ago Kelly Carlsen’s husband died of a severe and unknown allergic reaction to shell fish or nuts. After her wealthy and influential mother-in-law, Mona contacted the police insisting her son was murdered. Kelly was arrested and charged with murder. She was incarcerated until the autopsy deemed her not guilty. Dan, Kelly’s fifteen-year-old son was sent to stay with his grandmother, Mona. After Kelly was released from jail, she was reunited with Dan however, Mona was determined to get full custody of him. Dan was diagnosed with a mental disorder perhaps he inherited it from his sicko grandmother. He has been in therapy and on medication for quite sometime and seemed to be improving. When his girlfriend, Sherry disappears, he is charged with murder although there is no evidence, no body. His grandmother wants Kelly punished and will do anything to chastise her including destroying Dan. The whole town turns against Kelly and Dan. Kelly will stop at nothing to prove her son’s innocence. Evil Mona brings lawsuit after lawsuit in an effort to destroy Kelly.
The plot was surprising and while not realistic it was interesting and entertaining. However, author Cole Baxter needs to hire a good proofreader, the grammar was atrocious, word usage was terrible. All books MUST be proofread. While I am not a proofreader or editor mistakes, like in this tale jump out at me. I always suggest an author find ten friends and give them each a printed copy of the book, a red pen and pad of paper, ask their friends to read the book, mark and record any errors or questions. The author needs to carefully examine each questionable part and decide whether to make changes. THEN hire a really good proofreader to proofread. I am suggesting this to Cole Baxter. Mistakes distract from a good plot. I am subtracting 2 stars for proofreading.
Cole Baxter
Three years ago Kelly Carlsen’s husband died of a severe and unknown allergic reaction to shell fish or nuts. After her wealthy and influential mother-in-law, Mona contacted the police insisting her son was murdered. Kelly was arrested and charged with murder. She was incarcerated until the autopsy deemed her not guilty. Dan, Kelly’s fifteen-year-old son was sent to stay with his grandmother, Mona. After Kelly was released from jail, she was reunited with Dan however, Mona was determined to get full custody of him. Dan was diagnosed with a mental disorder perhaps he inherited it from his sicko grandmother. He has been in therapy and on medication for quite sometime and seemed to be improving. When his girlfriend, Sherry disappears, he is charged with murder although there is no evidence, no body. His grandmother wants Kelly punished and will do anything to chastise her including destroying Dan. The whole town turns against Kelly and Dan. Kelly will stop at nothing to prove her son’s innocence. Evil Mona brings lawsuit after lawsuit in an effort to destroy Kelly.
The plot was surprising and while not realistic it was interesting and entertaining. However, author Cole Baxter needs to hire a good proofreader, the grammar was atrocious, word usage was terrible. All books MUST be proofread. While I am not a proofreader or editor mistakes, like in this tale jump out at me. I always suggest an author find ten friends and give them each a printed copy of the book, a red pen and pad of paper, ask their friends to read the book, mark and record any errors or questions. The author needs to carefully examine each questionable part and decide whether to make changes. THEN hire a really good proofreader to proofread. I am suggesting this to Cole Baxter. Mistakes distract from a good plot. I am subtracting 2 stars for proofreading.
April 18, 2022
*Audiobook provided by NetGalley for an honest review*
Kelly Carlson has quite a bit of bad luck. Her husband died from eating shellfish (he was apparently unaware of his allergy) and she was tried for his murder. Her monster-in-law attempted to sue for wrongful death. Her monster-in-law next tried to gain custody of Kelly's son. Then her son's girlfriend turns up missing and her son is the prime suspect.
The story was fine. I felt there were some things that didn't sit right with me - like how Kelly was even tried for murder for her husband when he willingly went to a SEAFOOD restaurant and ordered seafood himself. The claims were that he knew he was allergic to seafood and his wife somehow snuck seafood onto his plate. ANYWAY, it's not necessarily a main part of the story, but I feel like it wasn't realistic whatsoever.
For the most part, the story was anti-climactic for me. It was over half the book before Dan's girlfriend disappears. I assume that's to give more backstory to Kelly and her crazy mother in law's issues, but it felt very dragged out. The book wasn't boring, but it just felt like I kept reaching for something bigger to happen only for it to fall a little flat. There was definitely more potential there.
The narrator was fantastic. She was very entertaining to listen to and a big reason for why I continued with the book. All in all, it was an okay story with great narration.
Kelly Carlson has quite a bit of bad luck. Her husband died from eating shellfish (he was apparently unaware of his allergy) and she was tried for his murder. Her monster-in-law attempted to sue for wrongful death. Her monster-in-law next tried to gain custody of Kelly's son. Then her son's girlfriend turns up missing and her son is the prime suspect.
The story was fine. I felt there were some things that didn't sit right with me - like how Kelly was even tried for murder for her husband when he willingly went to a SEAFOOD restaurant and ordered seafood himself. The claims were that he knew he was allergic to seafood and his wife somehow snuck seafood onto his plate. ANYWAY, it's not necessarily a main part of the story, but I feel like it wasn't realistic whatsoever.
For the most part, the story was anti-climactic for me. It was over half the book before Dan's girlfriend disappears. I assume that's to give more backstory to Kelly and her crazy mother in law's issues, but it felt very dragged out. The book wasn't boring, but it just felt like I kept reaching for something bigger to happen only for it to fall a little flat. There was definitely more potential there.
The narrator was fantastic. She was very entertaining to listen to and a big reason for why I continued with the book. All in all, it was an okay story with great narration.
April 19, 2022
3.5/5 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Cole Baxter for an ARC audiobook copy to review. As always, an honest review from me.
Trigger warning: physical and emotional abuse, gaslighting, prison
Like:
- Likable main character and that’s key for me to connect with a story
- The cover art
- The villain in the story being a member of the family- very realistic and relatable for so many people
Love:
- An engaging plot from the beginning- lots of intense drama but the author makes it believable. I definitely wanted to keep reading, right from the first chapter
- Talks about APD, anti social personality disorder, in a non judgmental way that doesn’t dramatize or catastrophize this condition. I appreciate books that discuss mental health in a realistic meaningful way and don’t just use it to make the characters seem more interesting.
- The plot twist!!!!
Wish that:
- The middle of the book was more interesting. There’s lots of drama happening but it didn’t pull me into the story as much as I wished.
Dislike:
- The grandmother’s actions, but they also drive the story so it’s a necessary evil
- Watching the mom have emotional meltdowns/mental breakdowns due to all the stress in her life - very uncomfortable and painful to watch and to be honest got annoying to read real quickly.
Overall, an enjoyable page turner of a read with lots of drama and twists and turns. The middle got a little repetitive for me but the rest of the book definitely made up for it!
Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Cole Baxter for an ARC audiobook copy to review. As always, an honest review from me.
Trigger warning: physical and emotional abuse, gaslighting, prison
Like:
- Likable main character and that’s key for me to connect with a story
- The cover art
- The villain in the story being a member of the family- very realistic and relatable for so many people
Love:
- An engaging plot from the beginning- lots of intense drama but the author makes it believable. I definitely wanted to keep reading, right from the first chapter
- Talks about APD, anti social personality disorder, in a non judgmental way that doesn’t dramatize or catastrophize this condition. I appreciate books that discuss mental health in a realistic meaningful way and don’t just use it to make the characters seem more interesting.
- The plot twist!!!!
Wish that:
- The middle of the book was more interesting. There’s lots of drama happening but it didn’t pull me into the story as much as I wished.
Dislike:
- The grandmother’s actions, but they also drive the story so it’s a necessary evil
- Watching the mom have emotional meltdowns/mental breakdowns due to all the stress in her life - very uncomfortable and painful to watch and to be honest got annoying to read real quickly.
Overall, an enjoyable page turner of a read with lots of drama and twists and turns. The middle got a little repetitive for me but the rest of the book definitely made up for it!
April 26, 2022
What She Witnessed by Cole Baxter
-Expected Publishing Date: 5/3/22
(Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review)
I admittedly had a bit of trouble rating this one, bouncing between 3 and 4.
There was a lot going on here. A mother being declared innocent after being imprisoned for the murder (via ingestion of allergens), her angry rich mother-in-law intent on revenge, and a son with a personality disorder and a missing girlfriend.
What was leaning me towards 4 stars was that I really wanted to keep listening all I could to unravel this whole mystery and find out what was really going on. I loved the "boy blacked out and doesn't actually know if he committed a crime" did he/didn't he storyline. And the author discusses his psychological disorder along with him being in therapy, on medication, etc. and I appreciated the very therapy-positive plot points. And I adored this child. And as a mom, I super loved the mama-bear unrelenting desire to prove a child innocent.
But then there's the 3 stars. Sadly I figured out what happened early on. So a twist or big reveal wasn't one for me. I hoped I was incorrect and would be stunned, but I was right so it kind of was a let-down that it really wasn't as big a mystery as I expected. And I found the grandmother to just be way way over the top. Almost comically.
But overall, I enjoyed listening to this one and I will definitely keep up with this author.
-Expected Publishing Date: 5/3/22
(Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review)
I admittedly had a bit of trouble rating this one, bouncing between 3 and 4.
There was a lot going on here. A mother being declared innocent after being imprisoned for the murder (via ingestion of allergens), her angry rich mother-in-law intent on revenge, and a son with a personality disorder and a missing girlfriend.
What was leaning me towards 4 stars was that I really wanted to keep listening all I could to unravel this whole mystery and find out what was really going on. I loved the "boy blacked out and doesn't actually know if he committed a crime" did he/didn't he storyline. And the author discusses his psychological disorder along with him being in therapy, on medication, etc. and I appreciated the very therapy-positive plot points. And I adored this child. And as a mom, I super loved the mama-bear unrelenting desire to prove a child innocent.
But then there's the 3 stars. Sadly I figured out what happened early on. So a twist or big reveal wasn't one for me. I hoped I was incorrect and would be stunned, but I was right so it kind of was a let-down that it really wasn't as big a mystery as I expected. And I found the grandmother to just be way way over the top. Almost comically.
But overall, I enjoyed listening to this one and I will definitely keep up with this author.
April 22, 2022
What She Witnessed by Cole Baxter is a mystery/thriller quite unlike any I have read.
This poor woman!! What Kelly Carlsen goes through is the stuff of nightmares!
***************spoiler alert*************************
She is first accused of killing her husband and jailed for said offense, unjustly I might add. Her mother-in-law, Mona, starts an evil smear campaign against her and starts gaslighting and baiting her. Next. Mona sues for custody of Kelly's son. Dan. Then. Dan's girlfriend goes missing and the whole town turns against the family while Dan goes to jail with no hard evidence of a crime, just speculation.
Mona is a true sociopath. In her mind, it's all about her and the imagined evils others have perpetrated against her. She has been holding Dan's girlfriend in the attic all this time, trying to poison her! Kelly saves the girl. Mona accidentally falls down the attic and dies. What the heck! The evil police charge Kelly with Mona's death and she sits in a jail cell at the end of the book!
I would have liked a more satisfying ending for Kelly. This poor woman has been through enough.
Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this advance audio book in exchange for my unbiased review
This poor woman!! What Kelly Carlsen goes through is the stuff of nightmares!
***************spoiler alert*************************
She is first accused of killing her husband and jailed for said offense, unjustly I might add. Her mother-in-law, Mona, starts an evil smear campaign against her and starts gaslighting and baiting her. Next. Mona sues for custody of Kelly's son. Dan. Then. Dan's girlfriend goes missing and the whole town turns against the family while Dan goes to jail with no hard evidence of a crime, just speculation.
Mona is a true sociopath. In her mind, it's all about her and the imagined evils others have perpetrated against her. She has been holding Dan's girlfriend in the attic all this time, trying to poison her! Kelly saves the girl. Mona accidentally falls down the attic and dies. What the heck! The evil police charge Kelly with Mona's death and she sits in a jail cell at the end of the book!
I would have liked a more satisfying ending for Kelly. This poor woman has been through enough.
Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this advance audio book in exchange for my unbiased review
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 15, 2022
This was a fast-paced listen that I was able to knock out in a day.
When a woman is accused of poisoning her husband, and subsequently charged with his murder, she must fight for innocence in a town that has been under the control of her mother-in-law’s scare tactics and influence.
To make matters worse, her teenage son, whom battles a personality disorder, faces his own murder trial for his missing girlfriend, even though no body was found and no evidence was actually obtained.
With everyone against them except for their faithful and diligent lawyer, this mother-son duo must find a way to bring the truth to light, despite every possible obstacle being thrown their way.
I really liked the legal premise that this story was based upon, because it highlights the potential for corruption and the influence that people with money can have if they try hard enough. Furthermore, it brings wrongful convictions to the conversation which seems to be a very timely subject in our world today.
I did think some of the story was overly exaggerated and I was able to predict the twist early on, but the character development and the plot kept me eagerly listening through the end.
When a woman is accused of poisoning her husband, and subsequently charged with his murder, she must fight for innocence in a town that has been under the control of her mother-in-law’s scare tactics and influence.
To make matters worse, her teenage son, whom battles a personality disorder, faces his own murder trial for his missing girlfriend, even though no body was found and no evidence was actually obtained.
With everyone against them except for their faithful and diligent lawyer, this mother-son duo must find a way to bring the truth to light, despite every possible obstacle being thrown their way.
I really liked the legal premise that this story was based upon, because it highlights the potential for corruption and the influence that people with money can have if they try hard enough. Furthermore, it brings wrongful convictions to the conversation which seems to be a very timely subject in our world today.
I did think some of the story was overly exaggerated and I was able to predict the twist early on, but the character development and the plot kept me eagerly listening through the end.
May 31, 2022
Thank you to #NetGalley, #DreamScapeMedia and #ColeBaxter for the advanced listener copy. This is my voluntary, honest review of What She Witnessed
This is my fourth book by Cole Baxter, and probably my least favorite. There were minuscule twists and turns, but nothing super "thrilling" about a woman being falsely accused and a crazy mother in law. I thought it was long and dragged out, there was substance, but not a lot of action. I did not see the ending coming, so that was a plus, but I just feel like this story fell flat. I will also say that I was a little confused, In the blurb about the book, the first line is "how far would you go to protect a secret?" - I am not entirely sure what secret we are referring to, so I feel like there are some unanswered questions that this book leaves you with. I can honestly say, that I did love the character, and thought that Kelly Carlsen took everything she endured quite well. However, I hated her mother in law. She is a sneaky, spoiled, self centered piece of dirt. And that’s all I can say about that character without any spoilers. I will still read more by this author.
This is my fourth book by Cole Baxter, and probably my least favorite. There were minuscule twists and turns, but nothing super "thrilling" about a woman being falsely accused and a crazy mother in law. I thought it was long and dragged out, there was substance, but not a lot of action. I did not see the ending coming, so that was a plus, but I just feel like this story fell flat. I will also say that I was a little confused, In the blurb about the book, the first line is "how far would you go to protect a secret?" - I am not entirely sure what secret we are referring to, so I feel like there are some unanswered questions that this book leaves you with. I can honestly say, that I did love the character, and thought that Kelly Carlsen took everything she endured quite well. However, I hated her mother in law. She is a sneaky, spoiled, self centered piece of dirt. And that’s all I can say about that character without any spoilers. I will still read more by this author.
April 20, 2022
While listening to the first half of the audiobook of "What She Witnessed" I wondered how one family could meet with so much tragedy. While I understand that this was the ideal set-up for the action of this book, it was still rather depressing. I liked the protagonist, Kelly, and her son, Dan, but the constant barrage of bad things that happened to them was a bit unrealistic, as were some of the details regarding legal matters and Mona's influence (yes, she has money, but she is so unlikeable that I found it hard to believe that she could sway public opinion to her side to such an extent). However, I didn't give up on the story, in part because I kept waiting for a moment when something shocking would be witnessed (re: the title) and that took a long time. I also kept hoping that Kelly and Dan would find their problems resolved. For that reason, I didn't love the ending, but I admire the structure of the book that brings us back to the beginning. Overall, this is an entertaining audiobook, but not totally satisfying. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this audiobook.
April 11, 2023
Reported to the police for murder by her vindictive mother-in-law, she was suspected of poisoning her husband, jailed away from her son, and nearly went to prison before an autopsy proved her husband died of an undiagnosed nut allergy.
Traumatized by the experience, she and her son Dan have become very close, while dealing with tension due to the emotional scars from the experience. She keeps a close eye on Dan, and not just because of what’s happened to her.
She has reasons that are more genetic than environmental. Dan, like his grandmother, is a sociopath: manipulative, impulsive, and almost remorseless.
I started out really liking this book and storyline but it started to fall apart and sections were just not believable. There's some shoddy police work, mixed with a little too obsessed MIL, who apparently never talked to her son about deadly allergens, and a twist that was decent but not phenomenal. It had potential but too many unplausible details mucked it up.
Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape media for an advanced listening copy in exchange for my review.
Traumatized by the experience, she and her son Dan have become very close, while dealing with tension due to the emotional scars from the experience. She keeps a close eye on Dan, and not just because of what’s happened to her.
She has reasons that are more genetic than environmental. Dan, like his grandmother, is a sociopath: manipulative, impulsive, and almost remorseless.
I started out really liking this book and storyline but it started to fall apart and sections were just not believable. There's some shoddy police work, mixed with a little too obsessed MIL, who apparently never talked to her son about deadly allergens, and a twist that was decent but not phenomenal. It had potential but too many unplausible details mucked it up.
Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape media for an advanced listening copy in exchange for my review.
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