A Woman Made of Snow

De: Elisabeth Gifford

Narrado por: Fiona McNeill

Scotland, 1949: Caroline Gillan and her new husband, Alasdair, have moved back to Kelly Castle, his dilapidated family estate in the middle of nowhere. Stuck caring for their tiny baby, and trying to find her way with an opinionated mother-in-law, Caroline feels adrift, alone, and unwelcome. But when she is tasked with sorting out the family archives, Caroline discovers a century-old mystery that sparks her back to life.

There is one Gillan bride who is completely unknown - no photos exist, no records have been kept. The only thing that is certain is that she had a legitimate child: Alasdair's grandmother. As Caroline uncovers a strange story that stretches as far as the Arctic circle, her desire to find the truth turns obsessive. And when a body is found in the grounds of the castle, her hunt becomes more than just a case of curiosity. What happened all those years ago? Who was the bride? And who is the body?

©2021 Elisabeth Gifford (P)2021 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Wonderful!

Unique and beautiful! A little challenging as an audio book for speakers of american english but worth it!

Not what expected

Narration accent difficult to follow and also with inappropriate pauses. Inconsistent and improbable story line. Today’s beliefs implanted on 1940’s story. Sorry I wasted time and a credit.

Was the editor asleep?

This narrator put pauses in the wrong places as if she were turning a page in the book. It was disjointed and awkward. She also mispronounced many words. Doesn’t anyone listen for quality control? Really, I hope they got a discount.

Very interesting

The story held me as to who was buried and why on the castle grounds ….. and I LOVED listening to the performer with her scots brogue. Great entertainment …….. and you’ll never guess who was buried !!!!!

Beautiful story

Beautiful story, well read. Wonderful descriptions of scenery and emotions. Very sad in parts but as this is a historical novel "all is well that ends well" at the book's conclusion

Couldn't finish, too many narrator pauses

I really wanted to complete this book. I tried once and gave up after a couple hours and then several weeks later tried again for much longer. Couldn't do it. The story is interesting enough and perhaps reading a hard copy would get me to the end, but this narrator, Fiona McNeill wasn't good for me. She pauses often at the weirdest points. Mid-sentence, between sentences, between thoughts. I wondered if she was pressing an on/off button for recording and catching her breath or something. Whatever the reason, I found it very distracting and I stopped following the story. I'd have to back up and listen again. I tried so hard not to focus on her misplaced and numerous pauses but I found myself completely tuning out to the story. I gave it a real shot but finally gave up. Too bad. I really do wonder how an audio editor would have let that get by. Hmmm. This time I'm marking this one finished and putting it in my "Don't Listen" category so that I'm not tempted to try yet a third time.

Cannot understand the narrator!

I cannot finish this book because I find myself struggling to understand the words that I am giving myself a headache.

Inability to understand dialect.

I'm a basic English-speaker, but could not understand the Scottish dialect much of the time. It was a little too thick.

Meh

The book wasn’t horrible. It just wasn’t great. The end of the story just lost me… I really didn’t care what happened, just didn’t find the ending plausible. I’m an American and I followed and understood the narrator just fine but I did think she had some awkward pauses mid- sentence here and there. I lived in the UK and have known some Scots do maybe that helped me along. I’m hoping this was a free book because I’m going to be unhappy if I paid for it!