Dawn J

Plot? .... Plot?

Revisado: 11-16-22

Mr. Grisham would benefit from a ruthless editor. I'm 6 hours into this and struggling to discern even a plot. It's just a long, rambling narrative of events and lives and getting more boring by the minute. Michael Beck is one of my favorite readers but he's stiff and over-enunciates in this production. Looking at having this non-starter go on for another 11 hours is dismal. Beck is honestly the only reason I've stayed with it this long. Writing this has convinced me to return the book. Life is too short.

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Fun for Fans of the Series

Revisado: 10-08-17

As a dedicated fan of the original series, I had a lot of fun with this. Old characters and plot arcs abound. Characters have evolved and many things are "explained."

The book is just the right length for a road trip. In fact, I'm downloading the next installment right away for the trip home.

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Narrator Ruined it For Me

Revisado: 06-27-17

Sadly, another book I couldn't finish because the narration was so bad. Ms. Traister was, okay, just okay; however, Mr. Naramore was robotic and his characterizations were exaggerated. The story was good enough to compel me to get and finish the hard copy as I'm a long-time fan of Lisa Gardner.

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Such a Disappointment!

Revisado: 06-27-17

Full disclosure: I listened to 5 hours and couldn't go on.

I am a huge fan of Ms. Kling's Saychelle Sullivan series - huge - and expected this to be on par. The description of this book appealed to me for a long road trip; I thought my husband would enjoy the diving for sunken treasure. Five hours in, there was NO diving. The ONLY thing that happened in those 5 hours was a rising body count; and, boy howdy, did it rise! Plot development was further slowed by constantly switching back and forth between past and present, which added nothing to our understanding of just what the heck was going on. I am still asking myself if this is the same Christine Kling.

The main reason I quit after 5 hours (during a 6+-hour road trip) was this: Angela Dawe gave me a headache. As my husband described it, she was reading in all caps. I may have been able to get through the story had it not been the physically painful delivery.

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The Last Hour Was Good ...

Revisado: 07-05-15

... the first 17, not so much. I found no sympathy for the two principal characters. Only Cynthia, the NSA employee, was interesting because she introduced some tension into the story. Add to that - Mr. Shah read the story as one would deliver a parable or fairy tale, rendering each description and dialogue broad and sweeping. A poor reading can ruin a good book; perhaps I would have enjoyed the story more had the delivery been more straightforward. Another of Mr. Gruber's books I read in hard copy was very good. But that's beside the point. *This* product was long, tiring, and boring.

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More, More!

Revisado: 09-09-13

I love Brigid Quinn! And Judy Kaye does a masterful job of making her real. This is a story of a retired FBI agent, a "woman of a certain age", recently married and trying to keep it all together after a, shall we say, unfortunate mishap. It's also a great who-dunnit. Ms. Masterman gives us action, suspense, and all the other goodies in all the right places. I can't wait for more from this duo.

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Ugh!

Revisado: 09-09-13

I am a huge fan of Thomas H. Cook. I find his works, usually, engaging and thoughtful. This was one of his early works, perhaps before he developed the style I have so come to enjoy. Mr. Cook typically gives us some hint of mystery or disaster to come; there was none here. This was just a very long, rambling account of a sister's life told through the eyes of her older brother. And it was not an interesting life, either! This amazingly boring account was not helped by the narrator. I'm not sure if that's his normal reading style or if he was trying to emulate an 80 year-old-man or if he was trying to for a perceived style of speech through the early part of the 20th century. The result - for me - was Forrest Gump without the accent. This is the very first Thomas Cook novel I have not found to be excellent. I would recommend his work in a heartbeat, just not this one.

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Stupid, Stupid Woman!

Revisado: 06-20-13

What disappointed you about Down the Darkest Road?

What didn't?! I like Tami Hoag, or at least did. I like Kirsten Potter when she reads other authors' works. This work, though, didn't work on *so many* levels. Ms. Hoag gives us a main character who displays stupidity with every action. I had no sympathy or empathy for her at all and when things go all wrong, as you know they will, it's no one's fault but her own. The living child (15 years old, really??) is an immature, simpering brat. Sadly, there is way too little presence of Anne or Vince Leone, characters who were so good in the other Oak Knoll books. Ms. Potters' reading for most characters and the ACTION is over-enunciated and over-dramatic. Way too much verbal punctuation for my taste. And, finally, my pet peeve, when there are only two children, there is not an "oldest" or "youngest."

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10 Stars!!!

Revisado: 12-04-12

What did you love best about Cat Daddy?

Okay, I admit it: I can’t get enough of Jackson Galaxy. This is one of those rare books I will listen to over again. He writes and reads this memoir straight from the heart and no other narrator could have done justice to his words. Jackson’s memoir recounts his beginnings and growth as a cat behaviorist while battling his many addictions. His story is humble, straightforward, and never wallows in self-pity. Here is a man who came face to face with the bottom, over and over again, and pulled himself out of it. While he was doing so, he discovered and nurtured his calling to help troubled cats and their guardians. His cat Benny was with him all the way, not only teaching him but becoming that rare animal with whom he established a lasting bond. I can relate: I had a cat who saw me through my “get my ‘stuff’ together” years and I, in turn, nursed him through several life-threatening illnesses. That cat will have a special place in my heart until I die. Even if you’ve never experienced that kind of relationship with an animal, you’ll appreciate this book, and even more so if you have.

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Good But Overlong With a Stuffy Reading

Revisado: 10-05-12

Any additional comments?

If this were the first book I experienced by Tana French, I would probably not buy another. Since I started the Dublin Murder Squad series with "Faithful Place," which was excellent on all points, I will stick with the series. This book was overlong and, during the last third, I was just hoping it would end soon. The story was very good as was character development. The author surprised me with the perpetrator(s) of the crime. The reading was skilled and also my biggest complaint. Rob Ryan, the character telling the story in first person, is Irish but was raised in British boarding schools and speaks with an "upper crust" British accent. Steven Crossley delivered Ryan just right, but then delivered the dialogue of ALL the characters in that same accent. I would have preferred Rob Ryan to at least imitate the Irish accents of the other characters and I blame the producers and directors for a poor judgement call. But that's really a minor complaint. All in all, the book was worth the time and kept me occupied for many 45-minute treadmill sessions.

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