A Taste For Murder

I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes at first when I saw *another* detective-on-vacation-turned-murder-investigation setup. But *A Taste for Murder* subverts expectations almost immediately. Baker doesn’t just drop a body and let the procedural unfold—he makes you *feel* the sticky, uncomfortable dynamic between Joe Mottram and his daughter, Angelica, whose grief manifests as defiance. Their scenes crackle with unresolved anger, and Done’s narration sells it; he gives Angelica’s lines a brittle edge that makes her feel like a real teenager, not a plot device. The mystery itself is solid, though I’ll confess the mid-section sags slightly under the weight of Joe’s introspection. A tighter edit could’ve shaved 30 minutes off the runtime without losing depth. Where the audiobook *excels* is in its atmospheric tension. Done’s delivery during the interrogation scenes is masterful—his voice drops to a near-whisper for the suspects, forcing you to lean in, while the outdoor scenes (marketplace chatter, waves against the shore) are mixed just loudly enough to immerse without distracting. My one critique? The Italian dialogue occasionally feels *too* polished for a family in crisis—real arguments are messier, with more overlapping and half-finished sentences. Still, the final act’s twist lands with a gut punch, not because it’s shocking, but because Baker earns it through Joe’s emotional unraveling. This isn’t a thriller for fans of neat resolutions; it’s for listeners who want their crime fiction to leave a bruise. And that closing line? I replayed it three times.