The Appearance of Truth

By: Rosemary J. Kind

Narrated by: Reagan Boggs

When 30-year-old Lisa Forster begins to trace her family tree, she discovers her birth certificate belonged to a baby who died at four months old and is not in fact her own. Her apparently happy middle class upbringing was a myth and her parents had a dark secret.

With Pete Laundon's help, Lisa sets about searching for the truth. She follows up all possible routes, until with no options left she goes to the newspapers for help. After 30 years, who if anyone knows: Who is Lisa Forster? Why was she never told? And who was the baby who died?

The Appearance of Truth is the gripping tale of one woman's search for identity.

©2013 Rosemary J. Kind (P)2017 Rosemary J. Kind

very good

Loved it !! this story. the narrator is so fantastic it's like your really there!! good overall

heartbreaking and uplifting story

This was such a whirlwind of emotions! It was both a heartbreaking and an uplifting story. Pete's sense of humor helped me not to be crying through the whole book but instead take a few breaks for contemplation and laughter.
The narrator did an excellent job and her soft voice was the perfect one for such a sensitive subject! I loved the twists and turns as we try to understand what's going on. The side letters let the reader know more than the characters but it was still very suspenseful and very enjoyable. I was extremely disappointed when my real life got in the way of me listening to this wonderful audiobook!

great story

I really liked this story. There was parts with too much unnecessary trivia. I also was confused by the accents used

Choose the Print Version

I really enjoyed the story but it was so slowly told I almost gave up listening more than once. The writing has pretty extreme, sometimes mundane, detail and it's made even rougher by the painfully slow narration. Reagan Boggs has a clear voice and a pleasant tone but she is so slow and her dialogue is choppy and full of awkward pauses. And on top of that I often felt like she had the wrong accent for the characters and the story.

That said, I am glad I finished the book - I liked the plot, the characters, the story development, and the ending. I'd recommend this book however I'd pick the print version.


This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review.

When You Discover You're Not Who You Think You Are

The premise of this book was fascinating. DNA is all the rage these days with people giving up their spit and their rights to privacy in order to gain some kind of understanding of where they come from.

It sounds simple, right? A little saliva and a few weeks later, you get the information. Twice, though, in the near-past, men were arrested and accused of being multiple murderers because of DNA. But not THEIR DNA. Distant relatives had submitted a sample and the police were able to track down suspects. By picking up discarded garbage with DNA from the suspects, the forensic techs were able to confirm DNA matches. It turns out the men had never even been on the police’s radar as potential suspects.

Is this fair?

Well, their DNA was on the murder victims when they died, so the men need to be looked at, potentially charged, and definitely have their day in court.

And those relatives who inadvertently reveal their relatives as killers? Well, they’ll either feel guilt at being responsible or quiet acceptance that a killer is off the streets.

When Lisa, the protagonist in ‘The Appearance of Truth’, discovers she is not who she has always believed herself to be, that is a massive shock. She met Pete at a cemetery, and after time, they became friends. At a pub one night, they bet each other on who can find out more about their genealogy.

Lisa wins, but also loses.

Watching her make discovery after discovery is painful. Why? Because very quickly, she discovers her entire life is a lie.

Now, I’m adopted, so maybe this affected me even more than most. I was lucky enough to always know I was adopted and my parents almost always made me believe I was good enough, that I was special because they chose me.

That being said, when was18, I began my search. I was 28 when I finally met my biological mother and I’m glad I was older than I had been at the beginning of the search. I was mature enough to handle meeting the woman who gave birth to me, her parents (my grandparents), and my half-siblings. I won’t lie – it was a life-altering experience.

So I am very empathetic to Lisa…to a point. At times, though, I wanted to shake some sense into her. Her treatment of Pete, on occasion, hurt my heart. He couldn’t have been a nicer guy and was, I think, almost too understanding.

That being said, I adored Pete. To hold the hand of someone going through such upheaval, to be so kind and generous – he is the guy that women like me would love to find.

Lisa’s discoveries are paralleled by her ‘parents’ story, the narrative slipping from present (which is written in third person past tense) and the past (which is written in first person present tense). We also got the point-of-view of several characters other than Pete and Lisa. This could have been confusing, but I was never lost.

As Lisa’s story unfolded, she was blessed by having people who entered her life and enfolded her into their lives, accepting and embracing her. It turns out that Lisa isn’t the only one with a tragic past. Eventually, Pete’s is revealed and it was as tragic as I had imagined.

I won’t give away too many details, but I was rooting for Lisa and was happy with her ending.

Regan Boggs is a great narrator and did an admirable job. It took a bit of time for me to discern the setting of the book because Ms. Boggs spoke in an American accent while Lisa and Pete are British and there are a number of characters from Australia as well. Better to not attempt an accent rather than do it badly. I can think of several British narrators who would have done a good job, however, I think Ms. Boggs was a good choice.

Finally, I want to encourage people to listen to this book. Although Ancestry DNA screening programs were only in their infancy when Ms. Kind wrote the book in 2007, she was almost prescient in the questions she raised. These are questions that readers might ask themselves before giving away all their genetic secrets.

Oh, and when Lisa referred to Pete as her ‘little truffle pig’ who snores gently? My heart melted.

Hard to put down, need to know what happens next..

What made the experience of listening to The Appearance of Truth the most enjoyable?

I liked the story, with some twists. the narration was good too. I looked forward to my time to listen to it...

Have you listened to any of Reagan Boggs’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Any additional comments?

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Couldn't stand the main character

Well, this book really had potential. Unfortunately, the main character, Lisa, is so unlikable that I didn't really care what her story was. It just so happens that her particular story is more than half of this book. Her poor boyfriend Pete put up with a LOT, to the point that it almost became painful to listen to. I understand that Lisa was full of emotions in finding out her history, but man! Though they do say that it's easier to take things out on those we love because they will still love us and forgive us in the end. The story of her parents was more interesting. I can't imagine going through what they did, and it was neat hearing their story unfold.

Reagan Boggs did an adequate job with the narration, though as others have mentioned, what with the book being set in England and the main characters being British, I was a little surprised that the audiobook was narrated with an American accent. The thing that really got me was how darn slow the narration was a 1.0x. It pretty much needs to be sped up in order for it to be bearable. Am I saying don't listen to this audiobook? No. If it sounds like a story that you'd enjoy, take a chance on it! Just be prepared to speed up the narration. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher for an honest review.

though I had problems with the book I found it

the book had a lot of issues for me to explain those issues will be to make spoilers but though I had those issues maybe it's something of me as a person because I can find the appeal of the book the book is well written but again but I will not explain why I had problem with the book and finally I'm not regretting to listen to it because of the book made me think and when something like this happened it's means the book is good and the issues you had with the book it's not because of the book itself it's more about you so because of it I will give this book 4 stars again I do recommend this book because this book will make you think a lot

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

sooooo good!

one of the best books I have ever read! hope to find more just like this one...

A slow, steady story for a slow, steady listener.

What did you like best about The Appearance of Truth? What did you like least?

I read and listen to books constantly, and my to-be-read pile will still be sky-high when my time on this planet is done. I tend to read/listen quickly, and I have little patience for a writer who dithers around. The Appearance of Truth tells the story of a young woman searching for her identity after she learns her history is not what she was led to believe. Her search, however, is described in excruciatingly extensive detail, including the transcription of tedious conversations and phone calls the protagonist herself rolls her eyes at! Lisa's experiences are traumatic, but she frequently comes across as whiny and petulant, and her beau, Pete, is far more tolerant than I am. The narration, too, was extremely slow, even listened to at 1.5 times the recorded speed, and there were often pauses in odd places. That said, there was a quiet appeal to the story, and some readers/listeners with fewer demands on their time might enjoy the story which was at times intriguing and came to a satisfying conclusion.