Snipe

By: Lily Lashley, Etzoli

Narrated by: Sophie Amoss

A ruthless gang assassin teams up with a street-smart orphan to uncover the secrets of her past in this heart-pounding cyberpunk thriller.

Kara—codename Snipe—isn’t just any gun-for-hire. Savvy, brutal, and equipped with cybernetic enhancements that make her extra lethal, she’s a key player in her older brother Darius’s underground operation, which floods the streets of Cascadia with dangerous digital highs. She’s fast, efficient, and likes what she does. That is, until Jack Monroe, Darius’s rival, contacts her with devastating intel.

Jack has undeniable proof that Darius meddled in Kara’s mind, erasing vast portions of her memory without a trace. Determined to track down the truth about her past, Kara goes off the grid, teaming up with Faith, a quick-witted alley-dweller, to find her so-called brother and get revenge for what he’s done. But going against Darius won’t be easy. Because Kara’s not the only one looking for answers about what happened to her all those years ago. And now she can’t even trust her own mind to guide her...

A near-future novel that effortlessly dances between mystery, science fiction, and suspense, Snipe is a high-octane thrill ride from a fantastic new voice in the cyberpunk genre.

©2022 Lily Lashley (P)2022 Podium Audio

A thrilling drama of discovering one's identity

I'll start this with a disclosure - I received this audiobook for free so I could share my thoughts on it. That said, this review does reflect my *honest* thoughts.

The story follows a confused teenage girl named Kara, alias Snipe, as she struggles to come to terms with the revelation that she can't trust her own memory, and all that entails. To make matters worse, as this is happening, chaos erupts in the city, and with her internal conflict, Kara finds allies few and far between. But that's all okay, because without her brother guiding her life for once, she finally has the opportunity to make a friend - and I'm pretty sure it's a crime to not love Faith as a character; she's smart, she's funny, and she provides the perfect balance Kara desperately needs. Friend at her side, Kara must figure out who she really is, what really happened with her brother, and what she, not her brother, wants out of life. And on top of all of this, Kara must also get to the root of the chaos in the city, figure out what's really going on, and perhaps most importantly, decide if she even wants to intervene.

Lily Lashley is a master of drama, and it shows in Snipe. Kara doesn't know who to trust, what to do, or even who to be, and Snipe follows her on her journey of both self discovery and investigation. Each character is real, with quirks, flaws, and their own unique personality. The futuristic, cyberpunk setting is very well developed without just throwing out an info-dump, and while perhaps it's something that I don't think our society could develop into, it contributes well to the story.

No review is complete without a few criticisms, and I've got a few notes to make to that effect, but to be clear, they are minor issues that did not have any meaningful impact my enjoyment of the story. At times, some scenes feel over dramatized, with more weight assigned to a situation than may be strictly necessary. A few characters receive a bit more time being developed than I felt deserved, but I'm sure others will disagree and really enjoy their development. Finally, flashbacks play an important role in Snipe, and while I personally don't mind a well timed flashback, others may disagree.

I found myself immediately captured by Mz Amoss

After listening to book where the MC was so full of self recriminations, fear, and idiocy, so much so that I wanted to scream. I found that I was seriously ready for a kickass protagonist and stumbled across, Snipe.
Snipe's about young woman, who at the start of this book knew exactly who she was, that seemed like a godsend! And in the audio sample provided Sophie Amoss sounded perfect! Although initially I had some problems with the books presentation... first off the mind games, I didn't like it. Alright maybe not quite mind games but a series of flashbacks (memories captured by her own cybernetic eye) as Snipe reviewed 'em, thus giving the readers an opportunity to catch up to the story, and where self-doubt crept into Snipes psyche.. gods no! And did I tell you that I hate flashbacks (can you say info dumps). I did like Snipe, well as much as you can like a sociopath, lol! But I especially liked her new friend Faith. Faith makes the book for me! She's awesome! In my opinion without Faith there'd be no story! Once you mostly got past the onerous flashbacks the story was quite good...