Pamela

A good yarn with truly terrible narration

Reviewed: 09-20-23

I like this author for writing light but interesting mysteries. The narration that makes everyone sound like an irritated third grader creates an awful audiobook - do yourself a favor and read the book instead.

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Ugh!

Reviewed: 03-11-23

If you like men as Neanderthals who meet singular women who understand them, this is your book. All others, select something else.

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Rewarding Read

Reviewed: 11-28-22

Slow moving book that builds in layers and well worth the effort needed to appreciate it. Helpful to write down the many characters at the beginning to best follow the story. Your reward with a little mystic woven throughout is a well-crafted yarn and many enjoyable listening hours.

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Perhaps Better Read, Not Listened

Reviewed: 11-05-21

I have the greatest respect for Penny as an author and Clinton as a talented person - regretfully, this book does not reflect well on either. Perhaps Allen was chosen as reader because her voice sounds like Clinton, however she is simply terrible. The tone and word emphasis makes it impossible to evaluate the writing. And, threading Gamache and Three Pines through this mess is an added insult to Penny fans. Perhaps read, the writing might seem better and the framing of the Secretary of State as savior could come off as a fun fantasy romp. Instead, Allen makes all seem arrogant and trite. The only reason “story” got a 2 instead of 1 rating is that, given Clinton’s experience, the book provides a glimpse into how leaders really act behind closed doors.

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Bad Narration

Reviewed: 01-18-21

Hard to get past the narration and decide if the story was worthwhile. Unless you are Jim Dale, it is really tough to do multiple voices - and this narrator was truly awful. Story seemed predictable, and the ending stale, however again...this might be a book that is better when read and not as an audiobook.

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Difficult Listen

Reviewed: 07-15-20

So many good mysteries on Audible, however this is not one of them. Hits the trifecta: 1) terrible narrator; it’s difficult to project different voices and the attempt to do so was cringe worthy. 2) bad writing with analogies and synonyms silly 3) predictable story that tries to be complex with twists and turns equally unbelievable and absurd. Perhaps it’s the narration that makes Ellen so unlikeable - hard to tell. Only grit got me through to the end.

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Gardner’s Worst

Reviewed: 03-26-19

I am a big fan of this author, however this was one terrible book from the reader who seemed to yell every word to a story that was transparent and totally, even by fiction standards, unbelievable. Don’t let this book stop you...current evidence aside, Gardner is a good mystery writer.

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Gardner’s Worst

Reviewed: 02-19-19

I am a Gardner fan who usually enjoys her books. This book is the exception...simply awful. The plot is unbelievable from start to finish, a woman with a violent past links up with a “good” man who treats her in a brutish fashion. A child and old woman escape from a serial killer but FBI, police and mercenary can’t catch him...Lisa, what were you thinking????

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Almost

Reviewed: 02-19-18

This book could have been really good, however it went off the rails midway through the book. All the people surrounding the mother knew her...had weathered tremendous challenges together. Yet, not one of them gave her any benefit of the doubt when the videos surfaced. The story never recovered after that point.

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Simply Awful

Reviewed: 06-09-17

This is the worst book that I've listened to in a long time. The narrator sounded like a valley girl, lots of story lines that the author thought clever but were trite and predictable, the romance cringeworthy, and overall, the worst of "mystery and suspense" story writing. It is my fault that I mix up this author with a good mystery writer, Lisa Gardner - from this point forward, it is a mistake that will never be repeated.

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5 people found this helpful