Michele L Rousseau
- 9
- reviews
- 1
- helpful vote
- 14
- ratings
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The Bag of Secrets
- Detective Matt Ballard Mystery, Book 6
- By: Joy Ellis
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 290
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 274
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 274
Matt is intrigued when his partner Liz brings home an old carpet bag she found dumped in the local library. It contains a pile of mysterious handwritten notes. Liz is convinced the bag belongs to Old Molly, a local woman who lives on the streets. The following day, a body is discovered in a marshy lagoon. It's Old Molly. Suffocated with an expensive men's handkerchief. Molly clearly knew something that got her killed. Liz believes she was trying to tell them something important. She calls on her nephew David to help decipher the carpet bag notes.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great as always
- By Linda J. Williams on 07-05-24
- The Bag of Secrets
- Detective Matt Ballard Mystery, Book 6
- By: Joy Ellis
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
Narration Disappointing
Reviewed: 12-29-24
I usually love books by Joy Ellis but I have unfortunately had to abandon this one after the 7th Chapter. I find the narrator’s performance pompous, overly affected and unnecessarily emphatic. It results in cheapening the story by making it sound like a pantomime.
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The Daughters of Madurai
- By: Rajasree Variyar
- Narrated by: Vaishnavi Suryaprakash
- Length: 14 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 2
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 2
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2
Madurai, 1992. A young mother in a poor family, Janani is told she is useless if she can't produce a son - or worse, bears daughters. They let her keep her first baby girl, but the rest are taken away as soon as they are born. Sydney, 2019. Nila has a secret, one she's been keeping from her parents for far too long. Before she can say anything, her grandfather in India falls ill and she agrees to join her parents on a trip to Madurai - the first in over ten years.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Poignant and Necessary Tale
- By Michele L Rousseau on 09-30-24
- The Daughters of Madurai
- By: Rajasree Variyar
- Narrated by: Vaishnavi Suryaprakash
A Poignant and Necessary Tale
Reviewed: 09-30-24
What a powerful story. So important for the plight of girls in rural India and perhaps the cities as well. Despite the narrator doing a great job, I longed for the Indian accent I have heard before in so many other books about this wonderland terrible continent.
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The Orphan's Gift
- By: Renita D'Silva
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
- Length: 15 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 9
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 8
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Story5 out of 5 stars 8
1910, India. Young and curious Alice grows up in her family’s sprawling compound with parents as remote as England, the cold country she has never seen. It is Raju, son of a servant, with whom she shares her secrets, but when they get too close, Alice’s father drags them apart, sending Raju far away and banishing Alice to England. 1944. Intelligent and kind Janaki is raised in an orphanage in India.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Beautifully Poignant
- By Michele L Rousseau on 07-29-24
- The Orphan's Gift
- By: Renita D'Silva
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
Beautifully Poignant
Reviewed: 07-29-24
This story is so moving. A period piece piece that takes us back in time to experience the lives of the characters and difficult impacts of Indian independence, the turmoil and misery of the results of colonisation. Read beautifully except the narrator did not do the much needed Indian accents I’ve become accustomed to from other narrators.
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A House Without Windows
- A Novel
- By: Nadia Hashimi
- Narrated by: Ariana Delawari, Susan Nezami
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 256
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 236
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 235
For two decades Zeba was a loving wife, a patient mother, and a peaceful villager. But her quiet life is shattered when her husband, Kamal, is found brutally murdered with a hatchet in the courtyard of their home. Nearly catatonic with shock, Zeba is unable to account for her whereabouts at the time of his death. Her children swear their mother could not have committed such a heinous act. Kamal's family is sure she did and demands justice.
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3 out of 5 stars
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For the want of the right reader
- By chris on 08-25-16
- A House Without Windows
- A Novel
- By: Nadia Hashimi
- Narrated by: Ariana Delawari, Susan Nezami
Very Important Story
Reviewed: 07-04-24
This story highlights the limitations of a culture that demonise and punish women who suffer abuse by the hands of men. It is a tale of a fight for justice and hope. Unfortunately this cause has completely gone backward in the last few years. I cannot say anything positive about the narration. The narrator had the voice of a 14 year old, no distinction between the varied voices, no accents. It was the power of the story that kept me persevering. Otherwise I would have abandoned it because of the grating narration.
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The Secrets Between Us
- A Novel
- By: Thrity Umrigar
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,770
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,590
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1,579
Bhima, the unforgettable main character of Thrity Umrigar’s beloved national best seller, The Space Between Us, returns in this triumphant sequel - a poignant and compelling novel in which the former servant struggles against the circumstances of class and misfortune to forge a new path for herself and her granddaughter in modern India. Poor and illiterate, Bhima had faithfully worked for the Dubash family, an upper-middle-class Parsi household, for more than 20 years.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A heart-wrenching story/sequel
- By Slopeggy on 08-17-18
- The Secrets Between Us
- A Novel
- By: Thrity Umrigar
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan
Marvellous
Reviewed: 06-08-24
Everything about this story, the narration, the complexity, the moving experiences were fantastic, touching my heart and soul. I now want to read everything by this incredibly nuanced and talented writer. Thank you, thank you.
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Immoral
- By: Brian Freeman
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,391
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,887
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,866
In a riveting debut thriller that has drawn comparisons to masters of the genre like Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly, Brian Freeman weaves obsession, sex, and revenge into a story that grips the reader with vivid characters and shocking plot twists from the first minute to the last.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Intrigue in Minnesota.
- By Byron on 08-25-13
- Immoral
- By: Brian Freeman
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
Infuriating Narration
Reviewed: 05-04-24
I persevered with the story which was kind of clunky. I will never listen to a book narrated by this narrator. I found his portrayal of the characters lacking.
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The Madness of Crowds
- Chief Inspector Gamache, Book 17
- By: Louise Penny
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
- Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 19
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 19
When Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is asked to provide crowd control at a statistics lecture given at the Université de l'Estrie in Quebec, he is dubious. Why ask the head of homicide to provide security for what sounds like a minor, even mundane lecture? But dangerous ideas about who deserves to live in order for society to thrive are rapidly gaining popularity, fuelled by the research of the eminent Professor Abigail Robinson. Yet for every person seduced by her theories, there is another who is horrified by them.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Warning - too many triggers and horror
- By Janet Pavey on 02-04-22
- The Madness of Crowds
- Chief Inspector Gamache, Book 17
- By: Louise Penny
- Narrated by: Adam Sims
Poignant, Moving and totally on trend
Reviewed: 09-25-21
I absolutely loved this book. I have listened to all of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache books and am a huge fan. This is not just a crime novel. It is so richly textured and multi layered. I was moved to tears at the end. I’m wondering if it’s because of the context that it is written in. It is controversial, humane, tragic and thoughtful. The narrator is superb. The interview at the end between the author and narrator is a special surprise. Thank you Louise Penny and Adam Sims. I am deeply grateful.
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Sweet Caress
- The Many Lives of Amory Clay
- By: William Boyd
- Narrated by: Jilly Bond
- Length: 15 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 18
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 17
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 17
It is Amory's photographer uncle, Greville, who gives her a camera and some rudimentary lessons in photography and unleashes a passion that will irrevocably shape her future. Her search for life, love and artistic expression will take her to the demimonde of Berlin of the late 20s, to New York of the 30s, to the Blackshirt riots in London and to France in the Second World War, where she becomes one of the first women war photographers.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Narrator destroys story
- By Michele L Rousseau on 02-16-18
- Sweet Caress
- The Many Lives of Amory Clay
- By: William Boyd
- Narrated by: Jilly Bond
Narrator destroys story
Reviewed: 02-16-18
I am a big fan of William Boyd’s novels. Unfortunately I could not listen beyond the first few chapters. I found the narrator’s style intolerable. Others may disagree as I realize that whether one likes the narrator or not is highly subjective. However I wanted to write this incase others felt the same and Audible would be inspired to use another narrator.
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The Wonder
- By: Emma Donoghue
- Narrated by: Kate Lock
- Length: 12 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 27
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 26
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Story4 out of 5 stars 26
An 11-year-old girl stops eating but remains miraculously alive and well. A nurse sent to investigate whether she is a fraud meets a journalist hungry for a story. Set in the Irish Midlands in the 1850s, Emma Donoghue's The Wonder - inspired by numerous European and North American cases of 'fasting girls' between the 16th century and the 20th - is a psychological thriller about a child's murder threatening to happen in slow motion before our eyes.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Not Room
- By Robin on 01-06-18
- The Wonder
- By: Emma Donoghue
- Narrated by: Kate Lock
Great Story, unfortunate narration
Reviewed: 05-14-17
This is a powerful tale involving characters who strive to comply with the demands of the cultures they are embedded in. Whilst at the same time colliding with the differing beliefs of others. The result is ongoing collision involving issues of gender superiority, fervent religious beliefs vs science to name a few. This occurs at the expense of the vulnerable main character. Dark secrets emerge which deepen the complexity of this psychological thriller. Unfortunately the narrator brings a pantomime like emphasis to the characters which eclipses the strength of the narrative.
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1 person found this helpful