The Escape Artist

By: Diane Chamberlain

Narrated by: Coleen Marlo

Susanna Miller loses custody of her 11-month-old son, Tyler, but rather than turning the little boy over to her ex-husband and his new wife, she goes on the run. She dyes her hair, changes her name and escapes from Boulder, Colorado, leaving behind everyone she knows, including Linc Sebastian, the man who has been her best friend since childhood and who knows her better than anyone. Susanna lands in Annapolis, Maryland, alone, frightened, and always looking over her shoulder for someone who might recognize her. Just as she's beginning to feel safe in her new surroundings, she stumbles across information that could save the lives of many people...if she's willing to take it to the police. But going to the authorities means revealing her identity, admitting her guilt, and worst of all, losing her son.

Equal parts family drama, love story, and thriller, The Escape Artist is the poignant story of a mother's unbreakable bond with her child and the resiliency of a love that transcends distance and time.

©1998 Diane Chamberlain (P)2013 Tantor

Good pace

was a good story, not Diane chamberlains Best but I liked the pace and loved the ending

great book!

couldn't stop listening to this book. It had mystery love and suspense. I loved the characters and the writing style

Another winner

I haven’t had a disappointing Diane Chamberlain book yet. I buy the audio version due to long commute. Her books are often the same narrator, but this one was different. I found her voice very annoying and if it weren’t for the story, I would have deleted. It’s like she had a permanent sinus infection

Page Turner

Gripping and emotional, from sweet love to hate, a strong empathy for and understanding of a mother's love and the anger toward both physical and emotional abuse. Couldn't stop listening!

Enjoyed this story

I read several reviews on her bashing the narrator but I really enjoyed her. She has a soothing voice and did a great job with her characters. The characters were believable and personable. Overall this was a great listen and worth my time and money.

Listen at .9 speed

This recording was sped up for some reason. Take it down a notch and you’ll find that is the correct speed. This is not my typical genre, which may account for the average story rating I gave it. I found myself rolling my eyes more than once. It is well written though, so there’s that.

Just mediocre...

I would say this story was just mediocre. I've been working my way through Diane Chamberlain's books, and this is the first one to disappoint. First, the performance for this book was dreadful. It seemed like she was speaking so fast, and her different voices were like nails on a chalkboard. Second, I'm guessing this was written before Ms. Chamberlain had children, because she has zero clue in this story what it's like to have a one year old. The child always slept, was always happy, and never seemed to prevent her from working on her word processing. Kids at fussy, whiney, they don't always sleep, and they don't always cooperate. This was s very unrealistic portrayal of what it's like to be a single parent of a young child. I'll move on to her next book though.

Unrealistic but somehow predictable

Not one of my favorites by Chamberlain. The protagonist wasn't that likable, the plot -- while full of twists and turns -- was pretty easy to guess, and the narrator had an interesting accent. I spent a large part of the book trying to place the accent vs. listening to the story. It was "entertaining" but not as impressive as some of the others.

The storyline was good but the narrator was awful. Her prom and proper language made every character seem unbelievable.

I love Diane Chamberlain’s work, but this book was not her best. The narrator made it almost a painful listen, so I ended up being tense after an hour instead of relaxed and intrigued. Disappointed.

Not My Favorite of Hers

I have truly enjoyed several of Chamberlain’s other books - both in print and in audio. This one, unfortunately, is far from my favorite of her work. Though Chamberlain’s books all have a certain Lifetime-movie-quality, this one feels more like a re-run... the story feels overly familiar and even the subplots fail to add an unexpected element (despite the bombings, even!). The performer narrates the audio version has a smooth voice, and though she handles the male characters well, the timbre she uses for Lucy in particular is almost painfully brash. It certainly makes me thankful that she is such a relatively minor character!

Originally published in 1997, this book certainly feels a bit dated listening to it now. Particularly in the way that the research is handled, and how many different factors would change in today’s world were the same story to be told. The Internet really has changed daily lives! The early computer technology that is mentioned here will certainly make modern readers reminisce over their own memories.

But, ultimately, these are not Chamberlain’s best characters. Suzanne/Kim is not easily likable and the other characters, like Peggy, just don’t feel as realistic or complex as other characters in Chamberlain’s other novels. The pacing drags in the middle, and unlike other audiobooks that I have listened to by Chamberlain, I never once found myself exploiting every opportunity to listen. I am still a big fan of Chamberlain, but this one just feels more bland by comparison.