Cloudland

A Crime Novel

By: Joseph Olshan

Narrated by: Eliza Foss

Cloudland is a stunning literary thriller set in rural Vermont from the much-praised author of Nightswimmer and Clara's Heart.

Once a major reporter for a national newspaper, Catherine Winslow has retreated to the Upper Valley of Vermont to write a household hints column. While out walking during an early spring thaw, Catherine discovers the body of a woman leaning against an apple tree near her house. From the corpse’s pink parka, Winslow recognizes her as the latest victim of a serial killer, a woman reported missing weeks before during a blizzard.

When her neighbor, a forensic psychiatrist, is pulled into the investigation, Catherine begins to discover some unexpected connections to the serial murders. One is that the murders might be based on a rare unfinished Wilkie Collins novel that is missing from her personal library. The other is that her much younger lover from a failed affair has unexpectedly resurfaced and is trying to maneuver his way back into her affections.

Elegant, haunting, and profoundly gripping, Cloudland is an ingenious psychological trap baited with murder, deception, and the intricacies of desire.

©2012 Joseph Olshan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Slow to start

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I eventually became motivated to listen until the end. Slow to start. The mystery held my interest.

A Solidly Good Book

I usually shy away from books, that have consistant 3 star ratings, but after reading a few reader reveiws that I trust, I went with it. And I am so glad I did. I only rated it 4 stars because 5 stars for me is what I consider blockbuster. The character, Katherine, and the story reminded me of Jacqueline Winspear and Louise Penny books. Cloudland is a good mystery that keeps you guessing, has a great narrater, and has characters you would might like to know in real life. I could see a serios here, so I hope the Author gives us more of Katherine and Vermont.

Implausible and creaky

"Cloudland" rolls along, wispy and slight, well-named. As narrator Eliza Foss's soothing yet crisp voice adds shine to the text, listening is a pleasure, except for a few reservations.

First, a low-ranking assistant professor of English is unlikely to possess a rare 19th-century first edition from a famous writer, but if she did, she would never, ever loan it out to students. It belongs in a climate-controlled cabinet, not in someone's backpack. The don't-believe-it factor is high, and as this rare book is a crucial plot device, its inclusion comes close to ruining the story.

Second, the heroine is homophobic. She's hesitant about her bigotry, but that doesn't cut a lot of ice. Since this is a contemporary story, her reservations about her daughter's partner are tiresome and unlikable.

Third, Joseph Olshan's plot outline is too visible. It's like a hanger for a suit of clothes, instead of bones of a flesh-and-blood story.

All that aside, not bad, and the end is gripping. (P.S. Really liked the pig.)

Please, Please, avoid this book.

If you like crime novels, then stay far away from this book. It honestly was probably one of the worst in my current audible library, let alone in the vast range of books that I've read throughout my lifetime. The narration is not good, the characters are indistinguishable at times, and the woman's voice was just desperate and awful throughout. The story itself started off somewhat engaging but eventually I found myself thinking, "What is the author's point of including this?" a few different times. Not to mention the anti-climatic ending.
Some of the reviews here were very misleading, but I can only blame myself. Oh well, on to the next.

Well written, but is this really a thriller ?

Very little happens in this minimalist story. The main characters are not engaging, the plot bland, the end easy to figure out. Too bad, because Olshan knows how to write...

Cloudburst not Cloudland

What disappointed you about Cloudland?

over flowery descriptions, mispronounced words in descriptions, not meaty enough for a crime novel. Wrong narrator for the story.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Too many mispronounced words in descriptions

What didn’t you like about Eliza Foss’s performance?

Too many mispronounced words in descriptions, annoying bland performance - mechanical

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment in choice of this book. Especially after living in the "Upper Valley" not the "River Valley" as the author annoyingly refers it. overall a waste of listening time.

Mystery with several twists

This was a pretty good book. It got off to kind of a slow start, but then picked up. The way
It was presented, it was easy to consider first one, then another person as the murderer. Interesting ending. However, I didn't feel as though the narration did good justice to the book.

There are several side stories involving the characters, some of which seem to add to the value of the book, others do not. The one that did, in my opinion, was a theme of dealing with domestic abuse, and what would keep a woman connected to someone who has injured her (as, in fact, often does occur). This fits in well with the whole theme of violence that is there in a book of this sort.

One small concern was that toward the end, as the movement toward the climax was taking place, a couple of characters who had played a more prominent role in much of the book just seemed ignored. One wonders what happened with them. But that does not detract from its having had a good ending (in the sense that I,at least, did not figure it out too quickly :-).

It is not the best mystery I have ever read, but overall it's a good read.

Pretty good mystery

Liked the Vermont setting and the characters. I didn't figure out who the murderer was until fairly far along in the story.
The narrator was using a Northeastern accent (I guess) which was too slow for me (and I live in Texas where people drawl) so I speeded up the narration which helped. Did not like the detailed descriptions of the romance with the student.
I've never read or listened to this author before and I would try another of his books. Would also recommend it to a friend as a better than average mystery novel.

An good mystery- keeps you guessing to the end

What made the experience of listening to Cloudland the most enjoyable?

The way the mystery unfolded - who dunnit

What did you like best about this story?

Puzzling which of the FEW seemingly "respectable characters " could be the perpertrator"

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

Draws you into the scenes, creating them with her clever intonations,and draws you into every character . For me Its as good as watching a video.

If you could take any character from Cloudland out to dinner, who would it be and why?

The person who found the body. she stayed around when most would have run.

Any additional comments?

The story was very cleverly crafted with, for me, a surprize ending. Unnecessary incidental "padding" was nearly always tolerable and did not detract from the story too much.

too politically correct writing - rubbish.

What did you like best about Cloudland? What did you like least?

the writing is good but the pc aspect is annoying

Would you recommend Cloudland to your friends? Why or why not?

no because I am angry that the "gay" aspect is once again brought unecessarily into a story.

Which scene was your favorite?

the first chapter

Was Cloudland worth the listening time?

don't really have an answer for that.. for me NO.

Any additional comments?

why does Hollywood and now, writers, feel that it is their duty to consistently bring the gay agenda into stories where it really has no bearing. It is as if there is a mission to shove this down everyone's throats at any expense, even good writing. Where it matters and is actually part of the story - fine. But when peppered in just to push an agenda i find it distracting and a total turn off.