Playing Dead

A Novel

By: Julia Heaberlin

Narrated by: Madeleine Lambert

“Dear Tommie:
Have you ever wondered about who you are?”

The perfume-scented letter that turns Tommie McCloud’s world upside down arrives from a stranger only days after her father’s death. The woman who wrote it claims that Tommie is her daughter—and that she was kidnapped as a baby thirty-one years ago. Tommie wants to believe it’s all a hoax, but suddenly a girl who grew up on a Texas ranch finds herself inextricably linked to a horrific past: the slaughter of a family in Chicago, the murder of an Oklahoma beauty queen, and the kidnapping of a little girl named Adriana. Tommie races along a twisting, nightmarish path while an unseen stalker is determined to keep old secrets locked inside the dementia-battered brain of the woman who Tommie always thought was her real mother. With everything she has ever believed in question, and no one she can trust, Tommie must discover the truth about the girl who vanished—and the very real threats that still remain.

©2012 Julia Heaberlin. All rights reserved. (P)2012 AudioGO

Great book!

This book was enjoyable and suspenseful. I am a Texan and the author did a wonderful job describing Texans.

Texas twister !

Read Herberlins books! This was my second of hers and enjoyed both immensely. This book has you guessing from beginning to end, twist and turns like a spring tornado. If you live in Dfw area you will enjoy the suspense even more. Greatness !!

This narrator destroyed book for me

I'm still trying to get thru the book and I do like the story line but the fake accent, the unnecessary references to
Fort Worth hotels and landmarks sounds like a travel guide. In the Blackeyed Susan's I love the references to the city. But in this book it just doesn't ring true If only there had been another narrator.

Not bad

The plot was not terribly believable, but the writing was several grades above the trite, poorly written drivel too often found in this genre, so I am ok with that aspect. The narrator’s Texas accent was indeed very heavy. Having grown up in small-town West Texas, I will not say it is exaggerated—I could call up any number of women who sound just like her:)—but it is about as thick as it gets. A more subtle accent, or only using the accent when reading dialogue, would have served just as well as characterization and been far more pleasant to listen to. Even as a native expat Texan it got annoying. I can deal with conversations when I go home but I don’t let my mother’s friends read to me for 10 hrs...:)

Like the main character, I grew up on a ranch and can shoot a gun, etc, and it makes me a little homesick. Viva Tejas:)

A good read/listen

Not great but entertaining enough. I enjoyed this story. It had a twist I didn’t see coming, and do recommend. I was traveling and listened all day in the airport and on the planes. It’s well written and the characters are likable.

Narration was very distracting!

The story is good, but I almost returned the book before finishing because the narration was so bad.

Horrible fake accent

If you are actually from Texas or anywhere near, the narrator's horrid fake Texas accent will make you cringe. I almost had to stop listening and delete the book, but it's a great story! Just beware that this narrator's idea of what Texans sound is infuriating.

the narrator...

the book was good but the narrator was horrible. she needs to work on her accents if she is going to use them.

Save your credit

Disappointing. I really enjoy this author however the narrator of this particular production was so difficult to listen to it made the story impossible to truly follow. I was so distracted by the terrible accent and lack of heart reading the story. Maybe worth the read but not worth the credit to listen to

Playing Dead

Story was okay but nothing exciting. Storyline was easy to follow and characters were well developed. The performance was very juvenile. No emotion, very flat and rushed.