Alicia A. Jenson

Best Book I've listened to this year.

Revisado: 03-08-11

This book could have gone on forever and I'd still be listening. I absolutely loved it.
Abraham Lincoln is one of my favorite Americans, and I've read several non-fiction books about him, but this is truly the first time I ever got a sense of what he may have been like as a young man. This book was not only entertaining but woven so well with historical fact that at times I actually forgot I was listening to a fictional book.

I disagree with the complaints about the narrator. Most of the history books I've listened to on audible are exactly like this: a sort of dry reader who conveys little emotion. I thought he was perfect and it added an interesting contrast to the dramatic events unfolding.

Do yourself a favor and try this out. I liked it so much that I bought the hardcover edition for my history buff boyfriend. He loves it.

a

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If you hate Spiders.....

Revisado: 11-16-10

I enjoyed this book immensely, mostly because the end was completely different than I was expecting. I would have given it a five but only books that make me cry or fool me who the murderer is get that.
I heard about this book on Facebook, and I was somewhat skeptical about how good it would be but I am very glad I downloaded this. It was entertaining, creepy and I did root for the characters.
There was a review on here that said it was sexually explicit....I don't know what book she was reading but I didn't think any of this book sexually inappropriate. And what sex there was was important to the story.

Download it, I liked it, a good listen, good narrator and I will definately buy his second when it comes out.
a.

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A Welcome Surprise

Revisado: 08-04-10

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book but to tell the truth, it's probably the best book I've read in ten years, which is appropriate since it took ten years to write. When you're finished with it, Check out the WNYC RadioLab Podcast on Itunes (from npr) which has some of the actual recordings Skloot made with Debra, including the beautiful sequence between Debra and her cousin singing to sooth her. The episode is called Famous Tumors. I have listened to Radiolab for years and had read the book almost three months before Radiolab did a story on it. I knew Skloot was a good writer, but her power of description is so amazing that when I heard the tapes it was EXACTLY how I had pictured it in my head. How many writers can you say that about?
I know it seems to be a book about boring old science, and perhaps in the beginning that's what Skloot might have thought would happen, but the actual story is so rich and beautiful it's difficult to put into words how thoroughly amazing it really is.
Do yourself a favor, download this book. You won't regret it.

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More graphic than Mo Hayder and that's great!

Revisado: 08-04-10

A few months in the life of an ambitious but angry journalist who hates himself caught up in a gruesome child murder in Yorkshire. And that's just the first ten minutes. Much like a James Ellroy novel, everyone in this book is corrupt with the possible exception of the main character's Mother. It is written in a semi-stream-of-consciousness style that gives it an edge very few books have. I just finished it tonight and I can honestly say that, even though I'm not sure who did what to whom (I did listen to this at work, so perhaps I might have missed a few details) I actually didn't care because it was so well written and well read I could have listened to it for a year.
I will definately be downloading the other three books in this series as soon as my new credits are available.
A word to the warning however: Up until now Mo Hayder's "The Treatment" has been my gauge for shock, violence and just plain sickness in a book but Peace has beaten her hands down. This is not a book for the casual crime fiction reader, it is extremely violent and graphic. And if you don't like swearing than this is DEFINATELY not the book for you, I'm pretty there isn't a solid three minutes in this book without the f-word.

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Impressive

Revisado: 11-21-07

I didn't think I would like this but I'm so impressed I've preordered the next one which doesn't come out until January. The characters are rich and compelling and the story is filled with both depth and compassion. I love thrillers, especially by British authors, but this is above and beyond what I usually expect. A must read.
n

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Love the British

Revisado: 08-27-05

Mo Hayder's first book is a breath of fresh air for anyone who reads a lot of mystery. No holds barred and certainly not for the squeamish, if you want a mystery that has characters who extend beyond the flat can-do attitude of American mystery, then this is for you.
If you think murder isn't a dirty, business, then don't buy this book. If you want a real mystery, then try it out.
oh, And if there is a narrator anywhere with a sexier voice, I've never heard it. I could listen to Damien Goodwin read the phone book.
n.

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The Best of Britain's Mystery Writers

Revisado: 08-27-05

Though this book does not continue the story begun in Birdman and Treatment (that title will be out in early 2006), Hayder's book about a socially disabled and obsessed woman in Japan has her trademark clarity and beautiful ability to bring character and setting to life. Since Hayder was once a hostess in a Japanese club, she certainly knows what she's writing about, and this book is a mystery within a mystery that will keep you wondering what is really going on.
Like Birdman and Treatment, Hayder is able to mesh multiple storylines into one coherent narrative that will keep you from turning off your audible.
Try her out, Hayder is definatly one of Britain's best mystery writers.

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Absolutely Brilliant

Revisado: 06-03-05

If mo hayder had 50 books, I'd read them all, especially since this one is exponentially so much better than the last, and Birdman was nothing to shake a stick at. Very few authors are so capable of delving into the inner lives of their main characters, and create characters so damaged but so honest it's almost painful to read. I'm rarely shocked by books, but one aspect of this one shocked me, and it wasn't the nature of the troll.
Mysteries should never really be about the murders, they should be about the people who have to deal with them. No one does it better than mo hayder. a must read.
n.

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Not for everyone

Revisado: 05-27-05

Everyone says "Shocked" or "disgusting" like this is a bad thing. When was the last time you were truly truly shocked by something? I don't mean the news, that is numbing. Palahniuk does shock like no one else. And not only that, he is a brilliant writer. If you don't finish it, you're missing out. There are some truly beautiful sequences in this book, it's not just "disgusting".

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