In case you’ve been living in
cave for the last two years, we have entered the age of anxiety. Reality has turned
a tad surreal and rather scary with this ever-mutating virus in our midst. Just
when we thought the COVID vaccines would return our lives into some form of
normalcy, up pop these variants. Firstly, we had the Delta [variant], named
after the 4th letter of the Greek alphabet [and used in Chemistry
and Physics to signify change]; and now we have the Omicron [aka Omikron Variant]
named after the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet – and this variant
appears to be evading our vaccine defensive barriers.
But what has this to do with
thriller novels, apart from our perceived reality resembling the title of Robert
Ludlum thriller?
What to do?
Bibliotherapy, the reading of
fiction / or listening to narrated books are medically recognised and
prescribed for the easing of anxiety, and returning the mind to a calmer state.
This article is enlightening –
“During the last lockdown,
when my anxiety was high, a friend suggested I tried re-reading books I used to
enjoy. While the thought of starting a new book felt somehow daunting, reading
something familiar appealed, so I gave it a go. And it worked: I found that I
was able to lose myself completely. Absorbing myself in a story I already knew
and loved was as good as a mental rest, and now, if I feel anxiety creeping in,
I’ll reach for a well-thumbed novel!'
Literature has the power to
transport us away from the to-do lists and troubles of life and soothe us with
a comforting balm of captivating characters and scintillating storytelling. But
how exactly does reading aid our mental health? Here we outline seven of the
top benefits”
Read More CLICK
HERE
I read in bed to ease me to
sleep, but find at times I find reading in itself a challenge because my
attention span becomes truncated as my mind wanders from unwelcome thought to
troubling thought – but I found a solution. Instead, I listen to a well
narrated audiobook.
I’ve
been a member of Audible, for some time now and found their thriller range
my medication to combat
anxiety and worries, both existential and real.
A number of titles on the
audible platform are exclusive, acted as dramas and narrated professionally so
they engage and hold the mind captive from those unwelcome worries and
anxieties that derail our thinking.
The importance of the
narrator’s performance is critical, such as Scott
Brick among others such as Stephen Fry.
As reported within
the publishing industry –
Even though the availability
of audiobooks in digital format is relatively new, their origins
date back as far as the 1930s when they were sold as analog cassette tapes and
vinyl records and used as an educational medium in schools and libraries. Since
the shift to digital, the audiobook market has grown exponentially with new
entrants jostling for market position.
The undoubted leader is
Amazon-owned Audible, the world’s largest producer of downloadable audiobooks.
Since its 1995 launch, Audible’s library includes more than 200,000 audio
programs covering all genres – subscribers downloaded 725 million hours of
audio last year, almost double that of 2011.
So, what’s new from Audible?
Well, I’ve enjoyed two particular
titles, tucked up in bed and I’d like to share them with Shots Magazine Readers
-
Life Sign by Carl Goodman
The second book in the DI Eva
Harris series, is a dark and totally engrossing thriller -
In an abandoned warehouse, a
schoolboy makes a grisly discovery: ninety-six containers, each filled with
exquisitely preserved bodily remains. Detective Eva Harris knows the line
between life and death better than most. Having survived a near fatal encounter
with the criminal underworld once before, she is still haunted by the
repercussions of her actions – and fearful of the whole truth emerging. With
the remains showing signs of experiments and modifications, she is forced to
contemplate a difficult question: what does the perpetrator of this
extraordinary crime imagine themselves to be? Artist, scientist - or something
completely new? Her search for answers takes her across Europe, from the upper
echelons of society’s glittering elite to the dark and tangled web of the
underworld – and finally, to the very limits of humanity.
Read about 20/20, the first in
the DI Eva Harris Series CLICK
HERE
Read more about Carl Goodman’s
writing of LIFE SIGN Click
Here
To download LIFE SIGN written
by Carl Goodman and Narrated by Louise
Brealey then CLICK
HERE
To download the first in the
DI Eva Harris series 20/20 written by Carl Goodman and
Narrated by Louise
Brealey then CLICK HERE and search
[“20/20 Carl Goodman”]
A
Perfect Stranger by Shalini Boland
A troubling and all-engrossing domestic thriller from the dark imagination of the prolific Shalini Boland.
Annie comes home from a market
trip with her young son George only to make a gruesome discovery. Could the
perpetrator be the new lodger she and her husband David just rented their spare
bedroom to? Emily dreams of one day owning a house where her son Josh and the
little one on the way can grow up, but when her husband Aidan insists on
leaving his lucrative job as a luxury car salesman, she senses something more
is afoot—even while she harbours a secret of her own. What is Aidan hiding and
will it jeopardize their young family’s future? Meanwhile, Aidan’s boss,
Marcus, finds himself caught between placating his wife Dani’s all-consuming
desire to get pregnant and managing the less than savoury group of associates
now helping to run his car dealership. How far is Marcus willing to go to prove
his love for Dani? Or will his business come first?
The production values of this
audible original production are extraordinary, with vocal talents of Alison
Campbell, Tamsin
Kennard, and Ciaran
Saward who bring this thriller to life.
Highly recommended
To download A Perfect Stranger
by Shalini Boland or any of the authors’ previous audiobooks, Click Here and put ‘Shalini Boland’ into
the search box.
Images © 2021 Audible Studios
