Shadows of Winter Robins by Louise WolhuterSynopsis: “Sometimes you must shine a light on the dark places to see what was always there​.

Winter Robins is a happy enough child, growing up in the north of England, with parents who love her and the constant companion of a twin brother, but a cold wind blows through when her mother dies. Her father turns to the bottle, her grandmother struggles to cope, and she and her brother are sent to live in Western Australia with family their mother had never mentioned.

Although Winter quickly settles in Australia and comes to love her life and the people in it, she notices strange happenings in the shadows of her new home. When a news story prompts her to look back as her past, she begins to wonder whether things were as idyllic as she had thought at the time.

As she uncovers secret after secret, she realises a much darker narrative may have been – and perhaps still is – playing out …“

My Review

I really enjoyed this audiobook by new-to-me author Louise Wolhuter.

It’s mostly set in Australia in 2018, but flits back and forth between there and Northern England in the 1990s. The story is told by Winter Robins, through her therapy sessions and past memories. It’s not revealed for quite a while why she’s in therapy, which was good as it really drew me in, wanting to know her story and why she was having counselling.

I can’t say much more without spoilers, so it’s definitely one to go into blind.

I will say it was a lot darker than I was expecting, with some great twists and reveals that I didn’t guess!

This was the second audiobook that I’ve listened to narrated by Maddy Withington and she’s definitely becoming a new favourite.

Recommended on audio especially if you enjoy thrillers set in Australia.

Thanks to NetGalley and Wavesound from W. F. Howes Ltd for my digital copy via the NetGalley app.