Stories Untold: A Novel

Something terrible happened 16 years ago; many lives were lost. Who was responsible? As long as the truth remains buried, his life is in danger. She will help him find it; she's the only one who can.

They're both strong and fearless, determined, relentless.

He's a decorated war veteran and he wants to die.

She's a prominent psychologist and she won't give up on him.

When a suicidal client seeks her help, Dr. Angela Blackwell cannot turn him away, despite the fact that he isn't seeking the kind of help she normally provides her clients. The man, who won't fully identify himself, wants the distinguished psychologist to stand witness after his planned death in six months' time, ensuring his wife will not be charged as an accessory or be hindered from collecting the death benefit he carefully provisioned for her. He calls himself DJ and won't willingly share anything about his past.

As Dr. Blackwell is struggling to reconstruct her own life after the loss of her husband, she recognizes his unusual request as a subconscious cry for help and embarks on a relentless effort to guide the reluctant stranger in uncovering the trauma that has permanently altered the course of his existence. Playing a deck of cards stacked high against her and rushing against time, she has no other option but to intervene, searching for the truth herself, refusing to give up.

A suspenseful thriller and an astonishing, vibrant story of human strength and frailty, of love lost and love found, Stories Untold will captivate as few stories ever do, with unexpected twists and turns, leaving a lasting memory ingrained into the essence of the listener's being.

©2017 Leslie Wolfe (P)2017 Leslie Wolfe

This was a very special listen

The beauty of audiobooks is that you can engage in other things while listening to a book. This book did not afford me that luxury. I had to stop many, many times and give this untold story it's due.

The want of the main character to end his life was interspersed with the daily grind of living and just how hard that can be sometimes. The fact that it was true for both patient and doctor gave this multifaceted listen its depth.

The narrator was exceptional. He was an excited little boy, an affable boss, and a distressed husband. All rich and believable.

This is not a light listen but is well worth taking the time.

Gripping and Surprising

This book is a totally different genre for me, I normally like to listen to or read books of a much lighter vein. But when I read the blurb I was intrigued and when I listened to the sample I liked the narrator's voice which for me is very important so I thought I would give it a listen. I am so very glad I did.

For me this was a story about loss of life and hope more than anything else. Angela who is a renowned psychologist has lost her husband to illness. Michael her husband died basically because the person in a position to offer help didn't. Now she only seems to have her work and when one day a man who will not give her his name but tells her to call him "D.J." comes to her office and tells her he wants to engage her services, not to help him heal but to be an expert witness after his death. He plans to commit suicide in six months time and wants her to testify in court, should it come to that, that his wife Taylor knew nothing of his plans.

Angela refuses to be his doctor but agrees to meet with him every week and record their meetings so that she will be able to do as he asks. She plans to do everything in her power to save him, he plans to do everything in his power to stay anonymous and achieve his goal of dying in six month's time leaving Taylor financially secure by means of the payment of his life insurance.

All of the above happens in the opening chapters of the book so I have not really given any 'spoilers'. The rest of the book is a deeply moving story about how society treats people, about how society tends to turn away from things it doesn't want to see. It deals with PTSD and with how it can affect people and we don't even seem to notice. I will not tell you any more about the storyline whether D.J. or Angela comes out of this the winner because it's not a case of either or because if Angel wins then so do D.J. and Taylor.

I found myself unable to stop listening to this book, the storyline was so very well done and although I found myself moved to tears on more than one occasion I also found myself feeling very angry as well. The subject matter is very dark but the way the author has dealt with it is very good. The research done must have been immense. At the end of the book we are given some very shocking statistics which left me feeling so very sad for the fate of humanity.

This book was gifted to me and this review reflects my own personal opinion and is written
voluntarily.

Fantastic!

Well written and great narration - I loved this one! I can't wait to check out more by this author.


I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. The fact that I was gifted this book had no influence over my opinion of it

Complex and suspenseful.

I thoroughly enjoyed this title for its original story and fully developed characters. Author Leslie Wolfe has created a factual portrait of the consequences of war, as endured by the veterans who have fought them. At the same time, it's a heartwarming tale of a psychiatrist who will go to great lengths to see her patient not only improve but thrive. Narration by Andrew Tell is simply fantastic. Overall, very well done. Don't miss this one!

I was provided a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my unbiased review. Many thanks for this opportunity.

Great message.

The message and overall theme of this book was really important and was described both sensibly and accurately. No spoilers. I say message because there is an actual very informative message from the author at the end. The book was engaging enough to want to listen to but it’s no great work of literature. Still, I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants a realistic and responsible look at the epidemic of suicide in the US. The statistics are about 10 years old (sadly, things are much worse now, I think) and the language is already outdated but the author did an excellent job of not stigmatizing or glamorizing death by suicide. As someone who deals with this issue personally, I must say, the book gave me some hope.