Redpen

literary mystery, extraordinary narration

Revisado: 04-12-25

What a treat! Multiple story lines blend seamlessly, We have 2 mysteries to solve, two children from the same family who disappear (if I can indulge in a trite description) "without a trace." LM gives us plenty of possible villains and a cast of unique characters from a rookie female investigator to Alice, the mother, who drunkenly drifts through life, to Barbara, the adolescent central character, to Scary Mary who wanders the woods at night. Can't recommend this enough, friends who love a literary mystery. And as always, Saskia's narration is superb.

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homing pigeons

Revisado: 03-31-25

I'd classify this as light historical fiction, a fun beach read. The romance plot is predictable, but the information about the Allies using homing pigeons during WWII is unusual. Imagine pigeons flying across the English Channel over and over! What I didn't understand is how the special pigeon Duchess found Ollie in France even when he was moving around. This was fun light reading after 2 heavy mystery/thrillers.

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a 24-hour thriller

Revisado: 03-20-25

Fifteen years ago, PM couldn't find a publisher for this thriller. It was deemed too far fetched. Enter Covid in 2020 and suddenly a thriller about a virus killing thousands seems relevant. The main character, D.I. Jack MacNeil, has 1 day to solve the murder of a young girl. A virus continues to kill at an unprecedented rate. And an assassin named (of all things) Pinkie is working to eliminate the people on the mysterious Mr. Miller's hit list. Fast listen with good cast of secondary characters.

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Good sequel to Pieces of Her

Revisado: 03-09-25

U. S. Marshal Andrea reports to the judge who's receiving death threats, but in reality there's another mystery to solve: In 1982, who raped Emily and fathered her child, and who killed her on prom night? Excellent cast of characters, possible villains, and study in group dynamics. In your own high school circle of friends, those closest to you, would they have abandoned you if you suddenly realized you were pregnant? Or would they have closed ranks around you offering support? I had a hard time with the clique's reaction to Emily. And I confess that I stayed up all night listening to this whodunnit. Excellent narration from Kathleen Early. Can't wait for book 3. Ms Slaughter, you're working on it, right?

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heartwrenching thriller

Revisado: 02-19-25

It's been a long time since a book's struck me so powerfully. And in the last year I've listened to some masterpieces. Not one, however, was as emotionally devastating as False Witness. If you're looking for a sweet, cozy mystery, this isn't the book for you. If you're looking for a tightly wrapped mystery, with not a single extraneous word or character, dig in. A word about the narration... magnificent.

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beach read

Revisado: 02-05-25

Why only 2 stars for performance? The narrator pronounced "mischievous" wrong! And I found the narration volume too soft. Had to turn the volume way up to hear it. The story was ok but too long. it might be labeled historical fiction with the ever-popular dual timelines format, but I'd call it "easy listening historical fiction." There was no grit here, no depth of character. I'd hoped for more. My recommendation: Take it on your next flight or to the beach.

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entertaining read

Revisado: 01-29-25

I recommend this book for several reasons. First, it gives life to an historical event we know about from history books, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and second, it discloses American prejudices against the Chinese at that time. Otherwise, it's a story revolving around several women and a mob boss who collects them like he collects unusual plants and Chinese antiques. Enjoyable read, but not a masterpiece.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

I'm a big fan, LM, but...

Revisado: 01-29-25

...this was a miss for me.I truly enjoy LM's books. The audiobooks are easy to follow, entertaining, and engaging. For me, though, this was a miss. The "what would you do if you knew when you'd die" feels old to me. That sure puts me in the minority! I did like the story of the swimmer at the end. :-)

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Just plain fun

Revisado: 01-26-25

Butch falls in love and
He becomes Noble but Van
Ruins everything.

A weak haiku... You'll understand once you read this delightful story. Nothing heavy here, just a fun daydream about Butch Cassidy and what might have been. Thanks, AH. You never disappoint.

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DNF for me

Revisado: 01-25-25

I started this, then quit. A month or so later, I tried again. I WANTED to engage with these characters but I found I just didn't care about them. So it's a miss for me..

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