JanetMaggie

Awful!

Revisado: 03-13-25

I could not become engaged in this book from the very beginning. I live in the San Juan Islands and the accents of the characters are nothing like the way we talk here! We are not a bunch of small-town hicks who speak with a Maine accent! There is Seattle to the south, Vancouver to the north, and Victoria to the west. Thus we are quite cosmopolitan, including the many people who own “very nice” boats and who are excellent sailors. This author has obviously never been here and this book is ridiculous.

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Well Done

Revisado: 12-28-24

The plot and the characters were skillfully intertwined. I can usually figure out the perpetrator but not this time; I was genuinely surprised. The characters were well developed and believable. I loved the forensics as they were in keeping with the real world. I really liked the ending. The best books leave a little something to be pondered which this book did very effectively. I do not feel it was rushed or abrupt. Finally, the narrator was excellent. She pronounced all the scientific terms correctly.

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Wonderfully creative writing.

Revisado: 02-16-24

Loved this book. It was a nice touch to include a thread of Nate’s personal life intersecting with his legal life. The holiday settings in this book were magical and varied and the growth in Nate’s relationship with his dad was wonderful. And, as always, the legal story was riveting.

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Another Excellent Story

Revisado: 02-14-24

This is a well written and researched novel. I especially appreciate the respect given to the concepts of hearsay, assumption vs. evidence, and discovery as they occur in the real world of our justice system as opposed to the ridiculousness we see in every kind of media. As one other reviewer noticed, there is one obvious mistake in this one. I have no idea why the author included it; It seemed like he felt the need to insert just a tiny more drama. Finally, I loved the math concepts included with one of the experts!!

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Classic "To Kill Mocking Bird" Style

Revisado: 02-07-24

I enjoyed this book very much. The story was believable and the courtroom scenes were true to actual trial proceedings. I have no patience for courtroom antics and Perry Mason moments in books that have trials and, this one is outstanding in its authenticity. The characters are interesting and have personalities and circumstances in their lives that a normal person can recognize in themselves and people they know. The narration is excellent in pace and is consistent throughout for each character. The depiction of the music touring scene provides a look into that world with all of its hazards and, in my humble opinion, the unwarranted adulation and value our society gives to "famous" people.

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Unexpected Point of View

Revisado: 01-28-24

This book was written by and narrated by Mandy Matney and she did an excellent job of revealing the unfolding and exposure of the Murdaugh family. I also really appreciated her insights into the challenges of women trying to excel and be treated as professionals in a profession and work environment dominated by men. It was also interesting to learn the facts behind the sensationalism of the murders that brought the Murdaugh family to national attention. I would have enjoyed more attention given to the actual solving of the murders, such as the DNA, forensics, and police procedures that led to the arrest, but that is probably another book!

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Clever Story

Revisado: 01-28-24

This book is well-written. The author had a lot of twists and turns to keep track of and she did a good job. The story has one glaring flaw, but it could just be my detail-oriented and literal mind! I loved the ending. This is a story that brings to mind the stratification of our society where wealth and occupation are used to judge the value of of a human being. The narration was good as it did not detract from the story like so many do.

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Really Tedious

Revisado: 01-28-24

This entire book was the same lament by the main character over and over again. I was tempted to just skip to the end which I have rarely done since high school 50 years ago!! The entire real story is crammed into he last couple of chapters instead of a measured, skillful unveiling. of clues. And the ending was unbelievable, anyway, in many different ways. Just be prepared for a long slog with a bunch of ridiculousness at the end! Finally, the narrator sounded like she was either sucking on a longenze the whole time or she had excess saliva that she had to keep subtly slurping and swallowing. I wanted to tell her to take a break and take care of whatever the problem was!

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Good story, terrible narration.

Revisado: 01-27-24

I like this author. The stories are good and the characters are okay. I like the setting, characters, and narration in the Misty Isles series MUCH better. Not to be unkind, but this narrator has a lisp. Thus, all of the characters sound the same, as well as the narrator barely changes the pitch of his voice. It often sounds like he is simply reading the text. It is very off-putting. He can't seem to make up his mind about the speech of one of the characters; He starts out with "normal" speech and then he switches it to cockney. And then he switches it back. Too much for me. I won't be reading anymore books with this narrator.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Incredible, incredible True Story

Revisado: 01-03-24

I did not realize until the ending credits that this book was copyrighted in 1959, but thinking back on it, there was no profanity, no graphic violence, and no salacious sex. It is all about the character and integrity of twenty-eight men of varying personalities, ages and areas of expertise during an unimaginably grueling fight for survival of nearly two years from 1914 to 1916 in Antarctica. It is spell-binding and it never drags. Ernest Shackleton is one of those people you wish you could go back in time to meet in person.

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