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Reviewed: 11-06-22

This was a callback to what I think of as the golden age of Cole and Pike - reminded me of the atmosphere and set up of The Monkey’s Raincoat and the books published close in time to that. 10/10.

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A lot of fun

Reviewed: 10-02-21

This story breaks some of the norms of fantasy. It adopts some tropes from private detective noir. It’s a fun listen, moved quickly. Readers who know Martha Wells murder bot stories might miss the sci fi setting but they will recognize the story teller.

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1 person found this helpful

Human detective story

Reviewed: 07-15-20

This series keeps getting better. At last, a human detective who functions in a family and isn’t just a lone wolf. Great character, good plotting.

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Maeve Kerrigan Lives

Reviewed: 09-17-16

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The main character is compelling. I was really pulled into Maeve's internal world. Totally bought the story.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters were well developed. This ties up the threads from previous books, but stands on its own. Complex. gripping plot with a plausible resolution that surprised me.

What about Sarah Coomes’s performance did you like?

Coomes is a gifted actor and brings across the several personalities of the book clearly.

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Great Narration of a Potboiler

Reviewed: 09-16-16

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would analogize this to a sculpture that was roughly cut by a journeyman, then turned over to a beginner to finish. The pacing is good, and the plot is revealed through competently arranged set pieces such as are typical of the genre. But the individual lines, the specific events within a set piece, are often strikingly silly. For example, the genius protagonist gathers a group of five lesser experts, supposedly to put every piece of evidence before them and seek confirmation of his reasoning. They agree to consult, provided the genius won't make them liable for their advice. He promises no one will know they were involved. He sets out the key facts we know. In the course of the discussion, the group of lesser experts begin to come to a different conclusion than the genius appeared to be aiming for. They ask for information but he refuses to provide it. As the group appears to begin to find flaws in his logic, he suddenly reveals a group of new facts - not the ones he expressly refused to disclose, but other facts that Carr withheld strategically until this point - to prove that he is way ahead of them. They are indeed impressed at how far ahead he is. The express awe of his amazing skills. He tells them that if anything happens to him, they must reveal the facts they now know to law enforcement. They agree. You see the inconsistencies here? There's lots of that kind of silliness in this book.

Has Surrender, New York turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, but from other books by this author, it sure has. The Alienist was good, but Killing Time was awful, and Surrender, New York, is only slightly better.

What about Tom Taylorson’s performance did you like?

Mr. Taylorson manages to pull a great performance out of a mediocre script. He voices the three main characters brilliantly. Somehow manages to make the incredibly pompous protagonist likable. I really enjoyed listening to the parts that didn't make me wince.

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Extraordinary second entry in series

Reviewed: 05-23-15

Where does Death Without Company rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

A very strong follow-on to The Cold Dish, Craig Johnson's story here is extremely strong, and George Guidall's performance is A+. I have taken to searching Guidall's name in audiobooks because his voice is so pleasant on long drives. I would say this is the best of Longmire, but I have listened to four so far and have not heard one that was less than excellent. One of the ten best audiobooks I have listened to.

What other book might you compare Death Without Company to and why?

This is in the non-noir tradition of later Harry Bosch (after he has his daughter and softens a bit) or even Dick Francis. Most everyone in these books has a motive and acts for reasons he/she believes valid. Evil is rare, and Johnson doesn't mind seeing it punished fiercely. The community it is set in is small, like Hillerman's Chee/Leaphorn series.

What does George Guidall bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Guidall has the perfect voice for Walt Longmire, and does a great job summoning up the characters. I think his line readings are among the strongest of narrators I have heard. He really acts the book and brings it to life. Particularly fun are his crusty old codger voices.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The dialogue between Longmire and Henry Standing Bear can be hysterical. cJohnson brings to life a strong relationship of many years, with warmth and humor.

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Not My Cup of Tea, but Maybe Yours

Reviewed: 01-28-15

Would you try another book from Jodi Taylor and/or Zara Ramm?

I would certainly listen to anything Zara Ramm narrates. I think she is wonderful. If Jodi Taylor tried a straight mystery, I would listen to it. But for me, the fantasy genre needs to be handled lightly, or it kills my willingness to suspend disbelief. This novel takes itself a bit too seriously for a time travel fantasy about a society of zany British dons who defend the world from catastrophe in the form of sociopathic British dons.The serious tone of this featherlight concept provoked my internal naysayer I was too busy mentally poking holes in the plot to give myself over to it. I could not grant Taylor the space she needed to develop her plot and I found myself saying "No, no, no" to my car stereo. So, my bad, but not my cup of tea.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

It didn't make sense. In a time travel novel, the timeline has to be traceable so that, when all the secrets are revealed, you can go back and see how the people who got fooled were tricked, and how the people doing the fooling managed to get ahead of their dupes. Listen to a Jasper Fforde Thursday Next novel to see how this can be done right. This did not happen for me in Just One Damned Thing After Another.

Which character – as performed by Zara Ramm – was your favorite?

Zara Ramm did a good job making the main character charming, As usual with Audible narrators, I was blown away by how easily she changes sexes. Ms. Ramm can do dialogue on behalf of a female character, and one breath later summon up a male voice so instantly recognizable as that character that my subconscious accepts without noticing. I wonder how these narrators do it. I like the richness of Ms. Ramm's voice, too.

Was Just One Damned Thing After Another worth the listening time?

Sorry, only just. I was down to my last audiobook while taking a tedious road trip, but I needed some breaks, here and there, to listen to the voices in my head because they were slightly more amusing. I never skip through books, but I came close here.

Any additional comments?

If it's not going to bother you that you have to take seriously the idea of time-traveling British dons and their predators, you likely will enjoy this book. I'm just a grouch and I prefer mystery to fantasy.

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2 people found this helpful

Another Classic

Reviewed: 01-28-15

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. Connelly doesn't write bad books. He has clearly spent the time to imagine his characters and their world in detail. Mickey Haller is a charming rogue and as consistent as Bass Ale.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mickey Haller, because he is the main character. Sheesh.

What about Peter Giles’s performance did you like?

Giles does a great job with the voices and accents, making each character pop. It is so easy to slip into seeing a room full of people talking, because he can change voices in a breath. A gifted narrator makes the book more fun to listen to than to read, and Giles is gifted.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go Back into the Courtroom"

Any additional comments?

This is just a fun read. I love Connelly's primary characters, but I wish he would give Rachel Walling a book of her own.

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Satisfying Ending, But Takes Goodwill to Get There

Reviewed: 01-28-15

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

If you listened to/read The Last Policeman and Countdown City, and enjoyed them, you will be glad to read the last part of the trilogy. it is a satisfying resolution of the threads that Ben Winters spun in the first two instalments.

Would you recommend World of Trouble to your friends? Why or why not?

But as a stand-alone book, it is pale. The story draws down on the goodwill that the first two novels established. The charming quixotic-ism of those stories becomes a bit strained here. Henry Palace gets just a bit too weird, unless you have already come to love him.

Which scene was your favorite?

The last one, which I will not spoil by describing.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

As the great mystery begins to be resolved and Henry's quest draws to an end, it actually pulls you into his world, which is about to end. It is a sad book.

Any additional comments?

The narrator, Peter Berkrot, departs from the verbal style he used in Last Policeman and Countdown City, and ruffles Henry Palace's easy calm. This Palace is hectic and talky, the annoying monologger sitting behind you on the Greyhound bus. I think it was appropriate to the change in mood of the story, but it was a bit wearing. I am giving full marks for the performance because I think it was a good artistic choice for a book that is, let's be frank, a bit hard to take.

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4 people found this helpful

Classic of the genre

Reviewed: 01-28-15

Would you consider the audio edition of The Cold Dish to be better than the print version?

The performance adds a lot to the text. The narrator, George Guidall, brings a lot of life to the story and his characters change so rapidly it is hard not to imagine a room full of people interacting.

What other book might you compare The Cold Dish to and why?

There's a little bit of Hillerman's Leaphorn in the focus on locale (Bighorn Mountains instead of Navajo Nation) and a little of Charles Todd's Ian Rutledge in the main character's anomie. But The Cold Dish mostly reminded me of Henning Mankell's Return of the Dancing Master, because of its themes of dislocation and culture clash set within a plot where a small community's population is killed off by an unknown malefactor.

Which scene was your favorite?

When the protagonist, Walt Longmire, and his best friend Henry Standing Bear, visit the Cheyenne reservation and meet Henry's family and friends. It brings the book into focus and calls the status of the "victims" into question. Unusually thoughtful for a genre novel.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened to about fourteen hours of it on a snowy drive from Farmington, New Mexico to Alamagordo and back. So, yes.

Any additional comments?

I am so glad to have found this series. In many long hours of travel I have worked my way through all of Chee and Leaphorn, Martin Beck. Kurt Wallander, Harry Hole, The Peculiar Crimes Unit, Harry Bosch (and Michael Connelly's other creatures), Collins & Burke, and Thursday Next. I was afraid I had worn the genre out.

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