Preview
  • The Finishing School

  • A Novel
  • By: Joanna Goodman
  • Narrated by: Andi Arndt
  • Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (202 ratings)

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The Finishing School

By: Joanna Goodman
Narrated by: Andi Arndt
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Publisher's summary

In this suspenseful, provocative novel of friendship, secrets, and deceit, a successful writer returns to her elite Swiss boarding school to get to the bottom of a tragic accident that took place while she was a student 20 years earlier.

How far would you go to uncover the truth?

One spring night in 1998, the beautiful Cressida Strauss plunges from a fourth-floor balcony at the Lycée Internationale Suisse with catastrophic consequences. Loath to draw negative publicity to the school, a bastion of European wealth and glamour, officials quickly dismiss the incident as an accident, but questions remain. Was it a suicide attempt? Or was Cressida pushed? It was no secret that she had a selfish streak and had earned as many enemies as allies in her tenure at the school. For her best friend, scholarship student Kersti Kuusk, the lingering questions surrounding Cressida's fall continue to nag long after she leaves the Lycée.

Kersti marries and becomes a best-selling writer but never stops wondering about Cressida's obsession with the Helvetian Society - a secret club banned years before their arrival at the school - and a pair of its members who were expelled. When Kersti is invited as a guest to the Lycée's 100th Anniversary, she begins probing the cover-up, unearthing a frightening underbelly of lies and abuse at the prestigious establishment. And in one portentous moment, Kersti makes a decision that will connect her to Cressida forever and raise the stakes dangerously high in her own desire to solve the mystery and redeem her past.

As clever as it is compelling, The Finishing School offers a riveting glimpse into a privileged, rarefied world in which nothing is as it appears.

©2017 Joanna Goodman (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers
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What listeners say about The Finishing School

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    106
  • 4 Stars
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    23
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Performance
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  • 4 Stars
    51
  • 3 Stars
    25
  • 2 Stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Kept my attention

Disappointing after finishing the home for unwanted girls. Glad I listened and glad it is over.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A GREAT Story!

Really enjoyed this book. Well written, excellent narrator. Would give overall 4.5 stars only because the beginning was a little slow but - definitely hang in there because it’s like 5 mins out of the entire story. I was so enthralled I wanted to listen in bed!!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mysterious and Compelling

Draws you in and keeps you entranced throughout the journey. Difficult to put down or turn off. Truly enjoyed this mysterious story.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

excellent thriller.

I couldn't finish it fast enough. absolutely enjoyed every chapter.i didn't see this ending like that. I'm impressed.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Lot's of twists and turns!

I give this 4 stars because it kept me guessing. A bit long of a story for me but mostly enjoyable. First time I have seen or heard of this author.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Lost in Memories

I just finished this novel and if felt like I was listening to someone's memories, but I was captivated by the mystery. The narration felt personable, but the variation in voices, tones, tenses, and time differences added to the story. This story is not one easily put down, you'll want to come to a full break before pausing it, if you're capable of that! Hands down one of my favorite books of 2017, and I'm looking into a few more narrated by Andi Arndt. AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

this book was just ok

This is worth listening to but not her best work. Worth a deal price but not the full price I paid for it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This author takes me on journeys to places, times, and situations I know nothing about. It’s a true adventure.

It held my attention throughout. I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen next. 

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting enough.

Just enough interesting ro keep you hanging on. It reads a little slow at times. Overall, a good story, and a great ending.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Meh

No longer wish to read or listen to anything to do with zionists. The author is and the husband of the protagonist are jewish - more than 80% jews are Z10nists.

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