VanDelay

Enjoyable listen, interesting story

Revisado: 03-30-25

This wasn’t a typical book of woman held captive by serial killer. The multiple POVs of captive, girlfriend, and the daughter of the killer added depth to the story and the killer’s character was more realistic than stereotype. The story held my interest and kept up the tension throughout. The narration was well done. I look forward to exploring other books by this author. I recommend this listen.

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Engaging, Well Written Thriller

Revisado: 08-18-24

This is not the first Kubica novel I’ve listened to, but it is probably my favorite. The book, told over several time periods and from multiple POVs, sucks you in and pulls you along in a tension filled story with plenty of secrets and twists.
I finished this book in just a few days, finding it hard to put down. The characters were interesting and fairly well developed, but I would have liked a little more background on the antagonist so that the shift in behavior would not have felt so sudden and extreme.
If you like Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies), you will like this story and author as well.
Overall I enjoyed this book and feel it well worth a credit.

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Long and Verbose

Revisado: 05-16-24

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book. While the two main characters were fairly well developed and not unlikeable, the wordiness and similes disrupted the flow of the story. I did want to learn where these characters were going, but at multiple points I really struggled with the way the author protracted parts unnecessarily. I stuck with the book until the end, even through the epilogue of a romance novel with greater than 50 chapters, but I won’t likely return for this author.

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Fantastic Telling of “The First Modern (UK) Crime”

Revisado: 05-08-24

I first heard of Tom Wood on a true crime podcast, but you don’t need to be a true crime fan to enjoy this book.

This is a well written recount of a 1930s murder of two women by the town doctor (& husband to one of the murdered women). It is told by a now retired Scottish police detective and read by a great narrator who despite an accent, is easy to understand.

Thoroughly researched, it contains sufficient detail without putting you to sleep. It kept my interest throughout the book, although admittedly I lost track of who was who by the time the author describes their lives and careers after this landmark case.

If you like true crime, a little history of forensics and police work, and the awful things that can result from a passionate but possessive love, this book is for you. If you like Ann Rule, Jeffrey Toobin, Dominic Dunn or even Sherlock, you’ll love this.

I highly recommend this listen.

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Best Narration Performance I’ve Heard

Revisado: 03-15-20

I read this book many years ago and later saw the movie, but it was a real treat to listen to The Silence of the Lambs from this audiobook. Frank Muller is not a familiar name to me, but I will most certainly want to hear him again. His performance was outstanding, from Clarice to Lector to Jame Gumb. This is likely one of the best performances I’ve heard, if not the best.
Whether you are new to the story or have read and seen it before, you will enjoy this book. Well worth a credit.

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Kept me interested, but not upbeat

Revisado: 08-07-18

This was a decent podcast or series, but it left me a bit annoyed. Not at the story telling, but at the story and it’s characters.

A horrific murder occurs and it’s followed by one bungle after another. The main suspect just cannot help himself and brings police attention to himself. He’s such an odd duck, it’s hard to know what to make of him. The townspeople of the remote area this occurs in don’t appear too concerned with finding the murderer of a newcomer. It’s a sad thing to have happened and a sadder ending.

This was a decent listen for true crime, but the story, like in Serial season 1, is more about a lack of good investigative work and evidence leading to more questions rather than solving a mystery, and neither ends in catharsis.

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Story Good; Narrator not so much

Revisado: 04-03-17

I had been looking forward to a new series and one set in Alaska, but when I first began to listen to this story, I thought, "oh my, this better improve real soon. How did this win an Edgar?" I couldn't get past the narrator's rhythm. The words droned on without reflecting their meaning; the narrator could have been reading anything. I've listened to Ms Gavin previously, and she is not a favorite, but I've gotten past it before. This time, however, Gavin's lack of feeling and depth strangled the story.

Fortunately, because I have a disability, I had another option for a narrator, going through the library for the blind. Wow! What a huge difference. I hadn't listened to their narrator before, but she read the book as if she'd actually READ the book. And the book, I enjoyed.

This story was written some time ago, I believe 1992 or earlier, but it's one of a few I've read that doesn't feel dated- well, except for references to a character looking forward to getting a CD writer and the like. I liked the main character; she's bright, capable, insightful and flawed. I enjoyed the descriptions of Alaska and what life could be like there for both indigenous and white residents. The story wasn't too complicated (it's a 5.5 hr story), but it kept my interest. Any romantic entanglements were ancillary to the mystery.

I look forward to the next books in the series, but I'm steering clear of Gavin as narrator.

If you're interested in the book and starting the series, I'd recommend reading the book yourself, rather than the Audible version. The Kindle + Narration is reasonably priced if you were eager to try both.

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Perfect Narrator and Fun Read

Revisado: 06-28-15

I wasn't expecting much from a short book in the "Brazen" series, but this was a nice surprise.

Both main characters were fairly well fleshed out and likable, the development of the relationship was reasonable (no exaggerated responses to over the top mistakes; just boy messes up, boy makes good) and did not solely revolve around how well the couple responded to each other sexually. The secondary characters were a little flat, but I suppose that is because each other couple has their own story in the series.

James Cavanaugh (who currently has no other books on Audible) was absolutely perfect for the book. I am not from the South and I cannot say if his slight twang was genuine, but he sounded like Matthew McConaughey's sexy brother and I thoroughly enjoyed his reading. I would be much more tempted to continue the series if he were the narrator in all.

The "Wedding Dare" series describes how each of several couples get together at a friend's wedding, with each book by a different author. This is the third book in the series and where I started (book numbering differs between Amazon, Audible and Goodreads, but order is the same). While this book references the other couples getting together, it is fine as a stand alone book and other than who is interested in who, no secrets are revealed.

If you are interested in the series, do note that Audible neglects to list the fourth book in the series, "Seducing the Bridesmaid," by Katee Roberts, when you click on the series "Wedding Dare," but it is available on Audible.

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No tension, all tell

Revisado: 05-18-15

I've read books by this author before and don't remember them being so lackluster. There is far, far too much tell versus show. Description after boring description, all told as matter of fact. A scene with a ladies lunch in which they all introduce their back stories (i .e. Previous books), was particularly stiff and marked the start of my waning interest. There is no tension between characters; from the start both characters have tacitly agreed to be together, their only hurdle mutual commitment phobia. The narrator enhanced the feeling of what I can only describe as a romance procedural. I just couldn't finish; after just half way through I decided to spend time with better books.

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Character Driven, Depressing

Revisado: 01-26-15

This book was difficult to get through, not because it wasn't interesting, not because it was poorly written, but because it was a sad story of two young girls of poor circumstances who made a few poor decisions when they were young, and more when they were older and who pay dearly for those mistakes (and one more so than the other).

The story unfolds in the present, when by chance the two women meet again as adults, and in the past, as we are slowly fed tid-bits of their infamous past. It is interesting to see how each turned out, what motivates them, and how they interact with others. They have become people who are both different from the convicted girls they once were and different from each other.

Although it did move a bit more slowly than I would have liked, I don't regret listening to this book. I would recommend it with the caveat that the reader know that it is in no way an uplifting or light book.

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