Shaundra

Disappointing save your credit

Revisado: 08-29-24

I’m guessing my expectations were too high but all I can comment is this book is a rambling walk of redundancies and the search gets very tedious long before this book ends. The author should not have made the search span the entire book. There were two murders to solve without the need for a monotonous search. It was as if the author had the basis for the book in mind but no story to go with it so all that’s there is pointless filler. The narration is the only bright spark.

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Mediocre…best I can say

Revisado: 01-24-24

I pick this book based on the glowing reviews and all I can say is broaden your horizons if you thought this book was ‘Amazing’, ‘Awesome’, ‘excellent’ and ‘I couldn’t put it down’. It’s mediocre at best. It had potential but the author is so set on keeping the protagonist a ‘decent’ but flawed criminal most of her actions are corny and predictable. There wasn’t a single plot twist in this book I didn’t guess ahead of time.

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Redundant waste of time

Revisado: 10-30-20

This book was out of ideas after the first two paragraphs. I didn’t like or care about the main character or any of the supporting charterers. Character development isn’t necessary because the outcome of the ‘good’ guys is so transparent it’s ridiculous. Spoiler alert if you are brain dead - I finally fast forward to the end just in case it wasn’t the person the author has been leading us to believe the entire book. There was never any chance that was going to happen. This would make a great lifetime movie.

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Thought provoking book...

Revisado: 07-31-19

It was nice to listen to a book I didn’t feel I had to compromise on any of the qualities that make up a well crafted book: plot, pace, character development, language, suspense and realism. I enjoyed this book a lot. As for the narration, I thought the performance(s) delivered emotion, conversational inflection (there were never any flat mono-tone monologues about the worst day of a character’s life. I’ve actually listen to books with performances like that...). The performers conveyed believable age appropriate differences between the teens and adults. It’s attention to details that set good narrators apart. As for the story itself, I’d say there were more medium sized surprises peppered throughout the book than major knock-you-off-your-feet surprises (which are there as well). If asked I’d describe this book as a dual suspense and human relationship novel. There’s a lot of ‘coming of age’ and ‘marriage surviving the child’ components to this book.

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Well Rounded Work

Revisado: 05-13-19

This was my first Meyrick but it won’t be my last. This ticked all the boxes of good writing - well developed charecters with separate recognizable personalities; excellent narration that offers the right tone to deliver humor horror and humanity to each of the charecters exactly when needed throughout the story. I was especially impressed with the narrator’s ability to deliver different regional Scottish accents and ‘class’ distinctions. Last but not least, a story-line that isn’t rushed or stingy or false or unrealistic. The story rolls out in a smooth natural pace. I never caught myself thinking, ‘...Yes! We got it! Can we please move this along!...’. A lot of authors do too much handholding, believing the audience didn’t read between the lines. I also appreciated that this book had no cartoon super villains or saints in the story. Even the dark humor is appropriate. Some of it was the whistling past the graveyard type humor and other moments is the personality of a natural card that doesn’t realize he’s funny half the time. Very enjoyable book. Thank goodness there are lots of Meyrick books because I listen to this one in two days.

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I can’t help but love’em!

Revisado: 11-23-18

These stories grew redundant 2 books back but I return to them like a favorite sweater. I swore them off when the narration changed to Marnye Young and even managed to overcome that hurtle. There’s something about Doyle and Acton I just can’t pass-up but I’d advise Anne Cleveland to find a fresh approach. I guessed the identity of the murderer the moment the character was introduced. Doyle is cute but she’s not that cute and her charm is wearing thin. The devotion of those who love her is unrealistic to say the least and should only be expected of her Section 7 husband.

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The writing...

Revisado: 10-16-18

This manage to get an overall rating of 3 stars from me because of Tana French’s talented descriptive writing and the great performance of the narrator BUT this story needed a deep haircut. There was a lot of redundancy and flat-out stalling, which is why I also gave the story just 3 stars. The premise is ridiculous because she could never take the place of a member of such an intimate group of friends. I’m sure there will be those who disagree with me but I doubt you could fool me even if I’d only had a casual relationship with a person. I’ll go so far as to say I’m sure of it. There’s something in the eyes, smell and movements of every individual that marks us and I rarely miss it. I might go along to get along with the idea if the character had been away for six months but no way after 2 weeks. They’d have had to be roommates that only passed each otherand then went their way. The relationship would have to stay at the level of just a group of people thrown together by the need to share rent but this group is supposed to be like siblings to one another and spent all of their days and nights together. No way...

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What's in a name? That which we call 'King'...

Revisado: 10-09-17

I am a huge Steve King fan. His books keep me company on the road and during my dailies when I do my spring cleaning or when I roam my neighborhood getting my errands completed. His audiobooks have made me laugh out loud inappropriately in grocery lines and I'm embarrassed to say I cried when Jake and Eddy died. Perhaps it was because I knew those characters for so long (the Dark Tower series stretched out over two decades). Maybe I owed the tears to the transformative voices of the great George Guidall and Frank Muller who both narrated the series. I've listened to some of King Sr.'s books several times and I feel justified to say this book is terrible in comparison. There are no less than 10 - 15 mini dramas to keep track of, making this a non-cohessive rambling story full of unformed charterers the reader has no investment in. Sorry. I return to listening to this story as if it were a dreaded homework assignment hoping each time to feel that familiar 'hooked in and enjoying' tug. I'm half way through the book and it's not going to happen. I've only listen to two of Joe Hill's books and can only say his work is 'okay'. I don't have much of an opinion about him. I may dive into his body of work but not if this stands as his representative. I won't go on and on but will simply say I'm disappointed and surprised. A better narrator might have been able to elevate the story but it's hardly her fault. I guess I'll finish it, if I can. I expect better from King and deserve better..

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Don't waste your credit on this book

Revisado: 07-22-17

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Someone desperate for entertainment or a shut-in

What was most disappointing about B. A. Paris’s story?

I'm in the 3rd or 4th hour of this book and I can't go on! I'm going to return it and hopefully Audible won't give me a hard time. It's easily the worst book I've heard this year. Didn't anyone edit this book? It's like the diary of a sulky coddled girl with no real problems and too much time on her hands for making up fear and anxiety over a crime she was barely involved in! Maybe this charector becomes more involved later in the story but I won't be there to find out. The redundancy of her daily routine is mind-numbing boring and the charectors are too flat to care about. Didn't anyone at the publishing house read this book?! The author had to be bored writing this! There's no story here, just a repetive recital of a pretty boring life, like a girl's journal. She's dull!

How could the performance have been better?

You can't blame the performer. She's the only life raft in this mistake.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

First disappointment which turns to anger because it represents a laziness and a lack of respect for the audience. If the author thought it was good work I don't know what to say...

Any additional comments?

If the book isn't there, it just isn't. Repetitive unnecessary dialogue at unnecessary lunch dates with her vapid friends that don't add anything to the plot don't equal a book.

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I'm returning this one too...

Revisado: 11-05-16

I really liked the concept of the story described on the jacket (investigating crooked judges) so I had high hopes for this book. To say it falls short is kindness itself. The book doesn't establish any intimacy between the reader and the primary characters before you're plunged into an unrealistic maze with a multitude of names and places you won't care enough to follow. Also the perils of their assignment don't thrill or bother the reader because the main characters are flat and uninteresting. Even the crimes narrative lines are corny and hackneyed. By chapter three you'll already come across ex-ball players, American Indians, the Mob, gold-diggers, con artist and red-necks. As for the performance, the narrator's qualification seem to be a clear voice and age appropriate tone. I couldn't pick her from a crowd of her peers if my own life depended on it.

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esto le resultó útil a 6 personas