The Fresh Start

A gripping psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist

By: Ellis Howell

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

After an affair wrecks their marriage, Dan and Miranda Kelly attempt to escape with their young daughter to the remote lake town of Pinewood, Kansas. It’s a new start, a chance to heal and begin a new chapter of their lives. More importantly, it’s an opportunity to forget Abby, the woman who nearly destroyed their family.

Unfortunately, Dan and Miranda soon discover that past mistakes cannot be avoided so easily. Shortly after beginning their new life in Pinewood, Dan begins to receive harassing messages from Abby, warning him that she will not be easily forgotten. What begins as harassment quickly turns to deadly obsession and violence.

As Abby’s acts of terror escalate, Dan and Miranda begin to learn the depths of her derangement and the lengths a person will go for the one they love, even if it includes murder. Filled to the brim with twists, THE FRESH START tells the story of a deadly lover’s triangle, where everyone has their secrets and no one is who they seem.

Virtual Voice almost ruined a fantastic story

First, let me say that this story was great! But it was nearly sunk by the Virtual Voice narration. The AI narrator missed important inflections and frequently misplaced making sections of the book nearly unintelligible. It also grotesquely mispronounced "Gatorade" as if it was a French confection, which in and of itself nearly killed the book for me.

It makes plain the fact that AI will not be replacing voice actors anytime soon!

These AI narrations are horrible...

The story was great but I almost stopped listening because of the AI narration. The lack of emotion and mispronounced words made it hard to listen to.

Such a fun premise... such a silly ending

I really enjoyed a lot of this book. Then it just got ridiculous. I was planning to look up this author for another book until I got to the last ¼ of the book. Skip it. Plus, though better AI readers than I have heard... it is AI.

AI narration - not a fan

The recent trend of using AI is abysmal. I enjoy audio books as they allow me freedom to multitask while listening. That said, mechanical narration loses natural ebb & flow/timing of natural conversation & an abundance of mispronunciations. May have to go back to (literally) turning pages!

Nice ending not expecting

I didn’t mind the AI voice honestly some other readers are worse. The ending was unexpected, definitely glad I stuck around