The American Girl

The Maureen Ritter Series, Book 1

De: Eoin Dempsey

Narrado por: Angela Ellis

Gripping and unputdownable World War 2 fiction

Can one woman’s inspirational story inspire hope in her granddaughter’s lost soul?

New York, 2006. Amy Sullivan’s life is a mess. Fired from her dream job at a prestigious newspaper, she gets a call from her 90-year-old grandmother in the South of France. Maureen Ritter flies to America, the land of her birth, ostensibly to visit her ailing sister, but soon she begins to share with Amy what she’s hidden for more than 60 years—the story of her war.

France, 1940.

The impending German invasion threatens the idyllic existence Maureen and the Jewish refugees living with her enjoy in the French countryside. On a trip to Paris to arrange visas for them to escape, Maureen meets Christophe, a handsome would-be suitor who seems to have something to hide. When he tells her of some Jewish children about to be caught in the eye of the Nazi Blitzkrieg in Belgium, they assemble a team to rescue them before they are swallowed up by the invading Wehrmacht.

But when the Nazis occupy northern France, the need to evacuate the Jewish orphans in her personal care becomes apparent. With the help of the resistance and a new network designed to extricate Allied servicemen from France, she will begin a dangerous and arduous journey to save the lives of those she loves most, no matter what the cost to herself might be.

THE AMERICAN GIRL is the first novel in a new series by the #1 Amazon bestselling author of WHITE ROSE, BLACK FOREST, and THE LION’S DEN SERIES. Download it and discover Eoin Dempsey’s books today.

©2023 Eoin Dempsey (P)2024 Eoin Dempsey

Good Story / Not so good Narration

The story follows one of the children of Seamus Ritter during beginning of WW2. Story is good, believable and characters are well developed. But the narration almost spoils every positive attribute of this book. Mispronounced names of commonly referred to French cities, monotone voice of a young girl (even when narrating the voice of the 90 year-old grandmother) and no attempt to distinguish the male and female voices. Stuck with it to the end, but not sure I would purchase another one if it is narrated by same voice.

Outstanding Narration Brings This Story to Life

A friend gave this book to me but for some reason, I wasn’t able to get engaged in it so I bought the audible to see if that might help and it did! The story really came to life and I felt like I knew the characters. The different voices are distinct without being overdramatic as many narrators seem to do. It doesn’t feel rushed, robotic or slowed down. As someone who listens to many audiobooks and has encountered their fair share of disappointing narrations, this is one of the best I've experienced. For anyone debating between the print and audio versions of this book, I strongly recommend choosing the audiobook.

Narration Hampered Storytelling

I loved Eoin Dempsey's Lion's Den audio series about the Seamus Ritter family in Germany on the brink of WW2. I was looking forward to listening to the follow-up series about daughter Maureen's involvement during the war. So disappointed. The narration was monotone, no changes in character voices, but the worst part was the horribly mispronounced French words. Here are just a few examples: St.Tropez read as Saint Tro-pez..Lyon read as Lion..Seine read as Zyna, Marseilles read as Marseyels.. I expected a narration but instead listened to a book simply read aloud. I finished the story but won't continue the series unless someone more professional narrates.