The Perfect Ghost

De: Linda Barnes

Narrado por: Hillary Huber

Mousy and shy to the point of agoraphobic, Em Moore is the writing half of a celebrity biography team. Her charismatic partner, Teddy, does the interviewing and the public schmoozing. But Em’s dependence on Teddy runs deeper than just the job - Teddy is her bridge to the world and the main source of love in her life. So when Teddy dies in a car accident, Em is devastated, alone in a world that she doesn’t understand. The only way that she can honor his memory and cope with his loss is to finish the interviews for their current book - an "autobiography" of renowned and reclusive film director Garrett Malcolm.

Ensconced in a small cottage near Malcolm’s Cape Cod home, Em slowly builds the courage to interview Malcolm the way Teddy would have. She finds Malcolm at once friendlier, more intimidating, and much sexier than she had imagined. But Em soon starts hearing whispers of skeletons in the Malcolm family closet. And then the police begin looking into the accident that killed Teddy, and Em’s control on her life - tenuous at best - is threatened.

In this stunning breakout novel from the beloved author of the Carlotta Carlyle mystery series, Linda Barnes slowly winds the strings tighter and tighter, leading the listener ever more deeply into the lives of her characters with pitch-perfect pacing and mesmerizing prose.

©2013 Linda Barnes (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Narrator's phony Noo Yawk accents is grating

I found the delivery of the story impossible to follow in the droning cadence of the narrator. Honestly, I think maybe this book is simply not suited to audio. But the reader's fake "dis is how dey tawk dere" NYC accent was horrific, and I couldn't finish the book.

A Shocking Ending

Would you try another book from Linda Barnes and/or Hillary Huber?

I have read other books by Linda Barnes and I have liked them. However, I'm glad I didn't read this book first... I wouldn't have read any of her other works if so. Also, I found the narrator having trouble maintaining the correct accent. Sometimes it was a New York type accent then morph into a Southern accent, but mostly little to no accent. It was distracting.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

First of all, a different narrator would have been better. Also, the psychologically complex lead character was possibly too complex for me... on the other hand, because she was such a bundle of contradictions, fears, and insecurities, the ending was even more unexpected.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Hillary Huber?

If either of these ladies were still alive, Betty Davis or Joan Crawford...

Could you see The Perfect Ghost being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Maybe a psychological thriller and only as a movie... no sequels, please... The lead actress, either Betty Davis or Joan Crawford. Can't think of a modern day actress who could pull off the truly crazy hiding behind the mousy neurotic outside.

Any additional comments?

I think I will stick to Linda Barnes' Carlotta Carlyle Mystery Series, it's more my speed with its lighter touch and smattering of humor.