Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ALC and Minotaur Books, #partner for the advanced copy of Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Minotaur Books / Macmillan Audio
Published: June 17, 2025
Summary:
A page-turning, compelling thriller about a woman who will stop at nothing to uncover the truth behind her sister’s disappearance.
Shaw Connolly is no stranger to trauma. As a fingerprints analyst, she’s one of the first on-site for crimes, including murder scenes and a mysterious string of arsons popping up throughout the rural Maine community her department serves. But the tragedy of her little sister’s disappearance sixteen years ago has always weighed on her the most; Thea is never far from her thoughts or dreams, and Shaw knows that her obsession with finding the truth about Thea is driving her husband away and impacting her two boys. Still, she can’t let it go and has even started taking disturbing calls from a man named Anders Jansen who all but claims to have committed the crime.
Anders taunts Shaw with hints and innuendo about what supposedly happened all those years ago. His calls go to the next level as he reveals just how much he knows about Shaw’s personal life, like her stalled career and ruined marriage. As his stalking escalates to threats on her and her family’s lives, he begins to show just how dangerous he might be. Shaw is too desperate for answers to hang up now, just when she’s getting close to finding proof. The only question left is what she must lose to learn the truth.
A taut, atmospheric thriller from Edgar Award-finalist young adult author Gillian French, Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell introduces a compelling new voice in adult suspense fiction.
My thoughts:
This is the first book in Gillian French’s Shaw Connolly Mystery series and it’s been sitting on my shelf for a while. With the second book due out in June, I decided it was time to finally pick it up and I’m so glad I did…I really liked it and now I’m even more excited for book 2, Restless Bones, which I already have a copy of!
This is a police procedural and cat & mouse game all in one! It’s twisty, suspenseful and very tense and despite the slow start, I was all in. I found myself quite intrigued by Shaw’s character – she’s a fingerprint analyst and she’s also deeply flawed. Her sister went missing sixteen years ago and that has hung over her life ever since.
The opening scene really had me on edge, with Anders, a man that likes to toy with Shaw every once in a while, once again making contact, this time around saying he’s behind the disappearance. The cat and mouse game that ensues was wild and even with the pacing being on the slower side, it still works.
Everything about this book was satisfying and I’m so eager to see what happens next. This is definitely one series I can’t wait to continue on with…it’s shaping up to be a new favorite, for sure!
Audio thoughts:
I was thrilled to see that Saskia Maarleveld was narrating this book – she is a favorite narrator of mine and she really did a great job bringing out the tension and suspense here.
Books in this series:
- Shaw Connolly Lives to Tell
- Restless Bones – due out June 2026
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