Narrated by Siiri Scott 🎧︎The Spires by Kate Moretti provides a slow burn thriller with an interesting and unexpected twist. Sit back, relax and take a journey into the world of murder, lies and revenge……
A troubled woman becomes consumed by a past she’s desperate to forget in this unsettling psychological thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Vanishing Year.
Title: The Spires: A Thriller
Author(s): Kate Moretti
Narrator(s): Siiri Scott
Published by Brilliance Audio on September 21, 2021
Length: 11hrs 4mins
Genre(s): Psychological Thriller
Source: Publisher
Format: ARC, Audiobook 
Purchase: Amazon|Audible
Rating: 
Strung between two teenagers, an unemployed husband, and a tenuous career, Penelope Cox barely has her life together when the past comes knocking at her door. Willa Blaine, her old roommate, needs her help: refuge from an abusive husband. “Two weeks tops,” she says—but it’s not the imposition that bothers Penelope; it’s the memories Willa brings with her.
Twenty years earlier, Penelope, Willa, and three friends lived together in a converted church. Insular and closed off from the rest of the world, the five roommates formed their own dysfunctional family, celebrating the pinnacle of their lives; they called themselves “the Spires.” But nights of wild parties gave way to a darker undercurrent: jealousy, resentment, unrequited love, and obsession. Tensions boiled over during a night of debauchery that ended in a deadly fire, leaving the Spires scattered and forever changed.
Now Willa is the perfect houseguest: accommodating, helpful, bringing a newfound sense of excitement to the Cox household. Yet Penelope can’t help but feel the cracks in her life widen as she begins to question Willa’s motives. Everyone has secrets, it seems—and the fire may have brought down the Spires, but not everything burned was forgotten.
🎧︎The Spires tells the tale of five friends, (Penelope, Wilma, Bree, Jack and Flynn) who lived in a converted church building. However, all was not well as jealousy, obsession, resentment and unrequited feelings reigned among these friends. Then the unthinkable happened during one night of partying. The building burned to the ground, leaving death in its wake and ripping the friends apart.
Fast forward twenty years later, Penelope is a wife and a mother of two. All appears to be going well, but then Willa seeking to escape an abusive husband sought refuge with Penelope. A move which poses a threat to Penelope’s marriage, family and ultimately her sanity.
The story moved between the past and the present. I found the section of the story set in the present fascinating, while that set in the past bored me. The storyline set in the past focuses on the relationship between the five friends and was necessary in the plot’s development. I never connected with the characters showcased in the past, as their actions annoyed me. In the present, the characters, though unlikeable, were more tolerable and quite fascinating.
The POVs of both Penelope and Willa in the present captured my attention. It would have been great if Willa’s POV received more page time, though. Penelope allowing Willa to move into her home after twenty years of no communication baffled me. Especially knowing that Penelope wanted to keep that part of her life hidden. I understood the need to help her, but moving in with her should have been a last resort.
🎧︎The Spires was marketed as a thriller, therefore I expected a fast-paced and suspenseful read. However, it fell way below my expectations. Despite the slow pacing, the story had some interesting aspects, which kept me listening. I was curious to know Willa’s endgame and how it tied in with the events from the past. As the end drew near, an unexpected and explosive twist occurred.Â
Narration
Siiri Scott provided the narration. It was my first time listening to her. Her male and female voices were not unique, and there were a few instances of mispronunciations. Despite the monotony of her delivery, she provided a fairly enjoyable listen. I would listen to her narration again if the opportunity arises. I listened at a speed of 1.3x
Conclusion/Recommendation
Overall, 🎧︎The Spires delivered an interesting tale of lies, secrets, revenge and murder. Fans of slow paced thrillers will enjoy this latest offering from Kate Moretti.
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About Siiri Scott
Siiri Scott is the Head of Acting and Directing at the University of Notre Dame in the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre. Currently in her 22nd year with the department, she teaches advanced acting, voice, dialects and movement. After many years with the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival as a voice/dialect coach and actor, Siiri returned to Chicago to continue her professional work and commutes back to Notre Dame to teach. A graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul, she has worked locally with Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Lifeline Theatre and hosted the KidsWB TV Network for WCIU. Regional work includes a stint in Los Angeles where she appeared on City of Angels; Milwaukee, where she performed in The Kentucky Cycle and co-directed Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry; and Seattle, where she worked with Theatre Babylon, Book-it Repertory Theatre and Seattle Children’s Theatre. Siiri is a company member of the international Japanese Noh theatre, Theatre Nohgaku and The Irish Theatre of Chicago where she directed both the Jeff-nominated production of My Brilliant Divorce and the critically acclaimed remount of The Weir for the Irish Theatre of Chicago. Siiri’s voiceover career includes museum installations, commercials, and she has narrated over 40 audiobooks.
About Kate Moretti
Kate Moretti is the New York Times Bestselling author of Thought I Knew You, While You Were Gone, Binds That Tie, The Vanishing Year, Blackbird Season, In Her Bones, Girls of Brackenhill. Her first novel THOUGHT I KNEW YOU, was a New York Times bestseller. THE VANISHING YEAR was a nominee in the Goodreads Choice Awards Mystery/Thriller category for 2016 and was called “chillingly satisfying.” (Publisher’s Weekly) with “superb” closing twists (New York Times Book Review). Her books have been translated in over ten different languages and has been optioned for television. Kate has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for twenty years as a scientist and enjoys traveling and cooking. She lives in Pennsylvania in an old farmhouse with her husband, two children and no known ghosts. Her lifelong dream is to find a secret passageway.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2021 Audio Book Challenge
- 2021 New Release Challenge
- Coyer 2021
- Kindle Unlimited
