Dark Things

By: Kate Anslinger

Narrated by: Abigail Reno, Sebastian York

She wrote fiction for a living—until her own life became the plot twist.

When best-selling author Amy Willows vanishes without a trace, her disappearance is written off as a publicity stunt—until her daughter, Rylie, a struggling journalist, uncovers a digital breadcrumb trail leading to an enigmatic social media group her mother recently joined.

As Rylie plunges deeper into the group's shadowy corners, she realizes Amy wasn't just researching her next standalone novel—she was reliving it. With a disgruntled agent fuming over Amy's decision to abandon her wildly successful series, and clues that suggest the standalone may be more confession than fiction, Rylie finds herself unraveling a twisted narrative written in secrets and stained in truth.

How far would one author go for research?

©2025 Kate Anslinger (P)2026 Blue Nose Publishing

The Perfect Psychological Thriller

One of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to this year! Dark Things is full of suspense, grabbing your attention from the very beginning and not lessening its grip the entire time. If you love twisty, suspenseful psychological thrillers that make you feel immersed in the storyline, with a shocking twist that you could never guess, this is the book for you! The narration choice was excellent and absolutely perfect for the characters! Thank you Kate & BlueNose audio for letting me listen to this ALC. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Fantastic Psychological Thriller with Stellar Narration!

Dark Things by Kate Anslinger is a psychological thriller and mystery—a fresh take on the good old whodunit. I must admit, I’m not normally a fan of mysteries. It’s just not typically my thing. But this story had me caught hook, line, and sinker. I could not stop listening! When the FMC, Riley, discovers that her mother, a famous crime author, has gone missing, she can’t help investigating for herself. Through mainly digital clues, she tries to recreate her mother’s last days before her disappearance, following one clue to the next. To say she becomes obsessed would be an understatement, and before she’s done, nearly every person in her life becomes a suspect at one time or another. Her inner monologue as she investigates is nothing short of controlled chaos. And I loved every single minute of it! This story kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time and served up an ending that I never saw coming! The incredible duet-style narration from Abigail Reno and Sebastian York truly elevated this already-fantastic story. Both of these uber-talented voice actors kept me hanging on every word with performances that were emotional, passionate, layered, and real. They honestly made me feel like I was following the clues right along with them. Together, they brought this compelling story to life perfectly. Highly recommend!

3.75⭐️

An intriguing psychological thriller centered on the disappearance of a successful author and the investigation led primarily by her daughter.
The suspense is well maintained, and I didn’t guess the final reveal. The ending is bold and reframes the story in an unexpected way, though it left me slightly ambivalent.
🎧 Audiobook performance:
Sébastien York is excellent, as always — grounded, nuanced, and completely believable. Abigail Reno was a new narrator for me, and I truly enjoyed her performance. She brings clarity and distinction to the female voices, adding fluidity and depth to the listening experience.
Overall, a solid thriller elevated by strong narration — 3.75 stars

Excellent psychological thriller

Dark Things
By Kate Anslinger
Blue Nose Audio
(02/26/26)
4⭐️

Rylie is tossed into a mysterious puzzle when her award winning author mother is missing. Clues begin to appear and the story unravels slowly torturing us in classic psychological thriller style.

Rylies character is all over the place with her constantly changing accusations. Excellent storyline with interesting characters. The ending kind of slams you like a ton of bricks, just suddenly ending quickly. I wish the author would’ve taken a little bit more time developing the ending, giving more closure to the characters.

I couldn't stop listening!

Story - ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Narration - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dark Things is a psychological thriller that grabbed me from the prologue and made me binge this to the very end! Ms. Anslinger is a new author for me and I really enjoyed her writing. Set in Santa Monica, CA, Rylie's famous author mother is missing and as she investigates, she begins to question everything she's known about her parents, family friends, even her fiancé. The intrigue and suspense is palpable with unexpected twists and turns making it impossible to figure out the surprising ending. Absolutely loved this one.

The duet narration from Sebastian York and Abigail Reno really brought the whole thing together. These are favorite narrators of mine and while I'm used to hearing them in romance mode, they owned their performance. Loved, loved, loved this duo. 5/5 stars!