Trudi

another gripping Kings Lake tale

Reviewed: 02-13-24

The writing is so well done! I love that the characters are beautifully drawn .While it is a police procedural it doesn't contain foul language or graphic detail. then it had to end....drat it

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A Bit Contrived

Reviewed: 11-15-22

just so many things going this way and that. okay, great performance, but really contrived.

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best series.. well, after DC Smith

Reviewed: 09-16-21

love the characters and the professional links between them. good writing doesn't need a lot of hype and THIS is very good writing!

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Every body wants to be Sherlock

Reviewed: 08-19-19

Kate Reading is the perfect narrator for this story - her very British perfection carries the characters well. I'm always impressed by Sherlock Holmes, but not sure I'm overly excited about this unique turn of the character. Still, the story was very well done. I was somewhat surprised by the mystery, but I find it historically bothersome. The author played well into the headlines of today's social mores, but not those of the turn of the century. Still, all in all, I would recommend this book as a well done mystery.

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Where's the real Lucas?

Reviewed: 07-09-19

I miss Lucas. This Marshall just isn't the same. The stories are not nearly as exciting and they seem very forced. Lucas Davenport is a Minnesota man, and taking him out of there is not doing anyone justice. He needs to get back into his work, and quit playing with the U.S Marshalls. It just doesn't work for me. Maybe it's just me, but it's predictable and a little boring.

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You Can't Go Home Again

Reviewed: 02-24-18

According to Thomas Wolfe no one can go home again, but when you left under strange circumstances, you probably will benefit from returning to understand what happened. That's the crux of this tale; a man taken from his hometown under suspicious circumstance is asked to return in his role as a police investigator to investigate the suicide of his childhood friend. He's greeted with intense hostility, suspicion, and anger, so naturally he wants to leave. Then who will solve the mystery behind an unexpected suicide? Well, of course, he stays, and boy am I glad he did! This story goes to the past and back again throughout - a writing form I generally find irritating - so well, that each step takes us a bit closer to a resolution. It builds past problems with modern ones, and step by step finds a uniquely satisfying and unexpected conclusion! The people are so real I felt I knew some of them from my own hometown from the old pals to the town drunks they were solidly woven into a story that kept me wanting more! There were a few gaps, and I'd like to have learned more about the environment around the town and why it was so dry. Still, it matters less, and I learned much more in the long run!

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I liked it, but.....

Reviewed: 02-24-18

This had a fairly intense story about a group of women sent on a hiking backpacking adventure as a form of building a better working relationship. From the get-go they were more adversarial than necessary - they should have had some bonds, they worked together! They were all a little snarky and not all that likable. That seemed rather harsh. So, they have to trudge through a wilderness, that we don't learn much about. I'd have liked a little more detail in the description - take me to the place where they hiked! I love a police investigator who has flaws, but is a good solid person, and Falk is that. The story had some gaps in it, but the characters were very well drawn. So, it was a good listen, but not a great story - a good story, though and well worth a listen.

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6 people found this helpful

Before it was Practical

Reviewed: 11-28-17

Practical Magic was one of my top 10 favorite audio books, and now this prequel fills in many of the subtle lines between the stories. Long before Gillian and Sally were calling the house on Magnolia Street home, there was a story of Franny and Jet. Set in the turbulent 60s their stories were mingled with the changing social atmosphere of rebellion and discovery. This book is a love story of family and their dedication to one another and to those who loved them along the way. It's an enriching tale, and I immensely enjoyed getting to know the other people in Jet and Franny's lives. However their story might have been just a tad less magical and a scooch more heartbreaking.

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Connelly - a little different

Reviewed: 10-03-17

I'm sure writing about the same characters over and over can get a bit boring, so Connelly branched out or over to The Late Show. I hope if he continues this series the characters are a little more three dimensional; they just seemed rather flat to me. Over the years I've come to understand some things about Harry and Michael, but not one character here really caught up my heart. The story was okay, not stunning but okay. It's not a waste of time because there is a story and there are characters trying to piece their lives together. It just seemed a little disjointed and I'm not so sure I'd like these people. If you like Connelly, you'll probably like it; if you like police procedurals, it's okay. Overall, though, it's just okay.

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A Massacre By Any Name - Is Still A Massacre

Reviewed: 09-01-17

I've studied US criminological history for 30 years, and I'm no longer surprised by the social acceptance of the murder of ethnic social groups by predominantly white Americans. The justifications are many and varied from religious overtones to racial bias. While we've logged the obvious racial subjugation of blacks in the US, the Native American still faces historic and real time legal challenges. I listened to this story while driving through the American West; I felt the sorrow and shame we continue to place on Native Americans. I also see new forms of acceptance and respect. Few stories in my schooling ever addressed Native American history, but today people are becoming more and more aware that their history is the history of the United States. Parts of it should never be sources of pride, but instead be lessons of tomorrow. Killers of the Flower Moon awakens all my protective instincts. We can't rewrite history or pay for it or change it's outcome, but we can and should accept the moral messages so that this sort of massacre never happens again.

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