In a Quiet Town

De: Amber Garza

Narrado por: Marni Penning, Natalie Duke, Andrew Eiden

"Turn[ing] a familiar suburban setting into a deliciously chilling landscape… Garza once again proves she's a master of twisted relationships."—Ashley Winstead, author of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife

In this chilling new novel, a woman discovers that her estranged daughter is missing, but no one believes her, until she meets a man claiming to be her daughter’s fiancé.

Tatum hasn’t seen her daughter, Adrienne, in years, not since Tatum’s husband—the pastor in their small California town—all but disowned her. When she finally gathers the courage to secretly reconnect with Adrienne, Tatum’s thrilled she’s even willing to talk to her. But then—Adrienne disappears.

Tatum tries desperately to get the police or her husband to take her daughter’s disappearance seriously, but no one will listen, until a mysterious man shows up claiming to be Adrienne’s fiancé. It’s a relief to finally have someone who believes her, someone who’s trying as hard as she is to find out where Adrienne is. But can she trust that this stranger is who he says he is? And can she find her daughter before it’s too late?

©2023 Amber Garza (P)2023 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

A good story

The only criticism I have is regarding the end of the story. It got boring and unnecessarily long with too much inner dialogue, particularly by the young woman. Other than that, it was pretty good.

Mostly good

Too much inner dialogue, especially in the end (scary) scenes. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the story and narration.

Author Not For Me

The 1 an only review on this book was so well written for this daily deal, I took a chance. I did check out two samples of the two lady narrators, which I felt I could get by with. I personally did not care for male narrator but l think it’s because of the dialogue he had to perform. Sadly, The reviewer did a better job on her review than the author did on the book. I felt the dialogue was on an amateur’s scale . The publisher summary was spot on, and the three points of view should have done the job, so it comes down to word choice.
Were my comments of help?

Mother knows best

I love that the mother had such a good intuition about her daughter's personality.

Lost interest

I lost interest after listening for less than hour- too many details that aren’t relevant or thought provoking.

daughter's strength and forgiveness

Mother's constant whiney, pathetic voice. Her regret would have been more believable if she portrayed other characteristics and strengths.

Great book

A book about Control, abuse, and murder.

This is a buck you cannot put down.
I definite must read

Well….I finished

The mother narrator is just hard to listen to. My husband gave up. I finished but cringed whenever she spoke. The story needed editing but was okay.

Great, Twisty Story

I really liked this one!
The story is told from multiple POV, and a past and present timeline. In the present, the mother Tatum is struggling to balance a loveless marriage to a stern pastor and rebuilding her relationship with her daughter. The daughter rebelled against the strict household and now works at a bar, so her mother is sneaking to spend time with her. Then she finds out Andrian is no call no show to work and seems to be missing.
In the past, the story is told from the daughter's perspective - how she feels about her parents, meeting her "fiancé" (who she never mentioned to her mother). The past timeline catches up to the present about 3/4 through.
The narrator who reads Tatum sounds in distress for the whole book, at times almost sobbing and hard to understand, even when there's nothing to be hysterical about. I think the character is written somewhat as a "victim" and the narrator makes that whininess even worse. The other narrators are amazing.
The only reason for 4 stars, not 5, is that the "danger" keeps ramping up or coming back. It reminded me of a horror movie where you breathe that sign of relief, but Jason comes right back. Once or twice even would be OK but it got tedious to me about the 4th time and took the book from 5 to 4 in the last 3 chapters.
I'm going to see what else Ms. Garza has on offer.

casts a spell from the very first page

"In a Quiet Town" is an absolute literary gem that casts a spell from the very first page. This mesmerizing tale transports readers to a world of intrigue and secrets, where every character is a puzzle piece in a brilliantly crafted narrative. The writing is both evocative and suspenseful, keeping you on the edge of your seat throughout. The author's ability to create a palpable atmosphere of mystery is simply remarkable. As you delve deeper into the story, you'll find yourself immersed in a labyrinth of emotions and revelations. "In a Quiet Town" is a mesmerizing journey that will linger in your thoughts long after you've turned the final page. It's a must-read for lovers of suspense and intricate storytelling.