The Man from Stone Creek

Stone Creek, Book 1

By: Linda Lael Miller

Narrated by: Buck Schirner

There was trouble in Haven, Arizona, and Ranger Sam O'Ballivan was determined to sort it all out. Badge and gun hidden, he arrived posing as the new schoolteacher, and his first order of business was to bring the rough ranchers' children under control. To that end, he called on Maddie Chancelor, the local postmistress, whose younger brother was in firm need of discipline.

Sam wasn't sure what to expect - but it was definitely not this graceful woman whose prim, proper stance was so at odds with the fire in her eyes. Working undercover to capture a dangerous band of rustlers and train robbers was a job that had always kept him apart from other people. He was a man with his heart firmly in check - until Maddie. Now she was unwittingly tempting him down a path he swore he'd never travel.

©2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc. (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Enjoyed

as always, great story line and great for travel. I like the twists too trying to figure out the underlying personalities in her characters

3 And One Half Stars

As I am a huge fan of Linda Lael Miller, I have listened to all of the Linda Lael Miller books that Audible has available. I really wanted to give this book 4 or 5 stars but I couldnt this time. This is my least favorite of the 6 available audiobooks. Its an enjoyable book however it is the most violent of the 6 books and has the least amount of romance. She does write an excellent story and gives a very realistic feel for the old west. This narrator and Lauren Fortgang (who narrated the McKettrick Way) are my least favorite narrations of this group of audiobooks. Buck Schirner (who did a better narration in The Poet by Michael Connelly) has an excellent speaking voice, but his character voices (womens dialog in particular) were shrill and unrealistic. His voice seemed to drone on and I would lose concentration and have to rewind often and listen again to keep up with the story line. I did not find his voice conducive to a romance story. That being said, I still look forward to more Linda Lael Miller books (and hope that they are narrated by Christina Moore, Laurel Merlington, Sandra Burr or Dick Hill).

Love the hero as much as the reader

Sam is incredible and the reader is outstanding! I love his voice, it's so sexy

100% LLM!!

This book was A little slow getting started in the beginning, but by the end I was crying happy tears!!

This was a good book, however

it's not as good as her others I've read. A Wanted Man is a good one for a historical western/love story.

Great story - lousy reader!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No. The reader - Buck Shirner - needs to go back to middle school and earn about stories - when to pit excitement into your voice; pauses; sternness, etc. And most especially - DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DO A WOMAN'S VOICE! That ruined the entire thing for me, I have roughly 300 audio books with audible.com and rely on them to help me through a cluster migraine (something to focus one that I don't have to look at). They are many male reader of romance books, such as Richard Ferrone, who simply reads the story without attempting other voices and does a great job.

I intend to return this audio book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Man from Stone Creek?

The opening sequence- school teacher in a well...

How did the narrator detract from the book?

By trying a womans voice and ruining the timing of the sentences.

Could you see The Man from Stone Creek being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

no

Any additional comments?

The book itself is a great read. Forget the audio version.

A Real Page Turner - Husband liked

I have to say LLM did it again she’s an amazing storyteller. It is definitely an adult story. It’s real western per husband. He actually enjoyed the violence. I’m not that excited about it but it really was a great book great story great reading. However the narrator Really needs to work on his women voices The only one that sounded true was Violet. She’s just a young thing but the rest of them sounded like 90 year old spinsters and not like women at all. That would be the only thing I can say negatively.

Not very good

Too many different threads and no romance until the last 15 minutes where the obligatory sex scenes we added. It is not worth my credit. VERY DISAPPOINTED.

Terrible narration

I will admit I didn’t complete the book. I got through several chapters before I couldn’t take the narrators lifeless performance. His performance of the female characters was cringeworthy. I have enjoyed Linda Lael Miller’s books up until this one. I’m hoping to enjoy more in the future.

narrator is awful

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Might have been a good story, but couldn't take the narration

What was most disappointing about Linda Lael Miller’s story?

the narrator

What didn’t you like about Buck Schirner’s performance?

He sounds like a robot