The Show Must Go On

Cirque Macabre, Book 1

By: CS Patra

Narrated by: Zachary Liebenstein

Dante Gallati was a man who ran his circus with an iron-fist and showed a soft side to a select few. He had his secrets that no one knew about and he could change his mind in a matter of seconds.

One night, he changed the theme of his circus right in the middle of a tour. He promised that it would be the show that everyone would remember. After that, he told them good night and said that he would talk more about Cirque Macabre.

That was the last time anyone saw him alive.

It isn't long before pieces of Dante Gallati are found and the circus performers realize a killer is walking among them. Cryptic notes with Shakespeare's quotes are sent to them and the circus starts to go into a panic. In the middle of it all are the nine people Dante trusted the most: trapeze artists Spencer and Rosalie, acrobats Lisa and Nick, tightrope walker Tracey, bareback rider Alana, Jonny the world's most cynical clown, Harry the lion tamer, and daredevil Andrew.

Dante saved them once upon a time and they swear to keep his legacy alive. But as they keep digging deeper into the murder mystery, they soon realize that Dante wasn't as honest as he appeared to be. He had many secrets and he surrounded himself with lies. He made plenty of people angry and one in particular was angry enough to kill.

Now it's up to Dante's trusted nine to find that killer before one of them ends up as the next victim.

©2013 Cithara Susan Patra (P)2016 Cithara Susan Patra

Middle of the road

Would you try another book from CS Patra and/or Zachary Liebenstein?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Not bad. Middle of the road mystery. Narration was average. I received this audiobook for free from the author for my unbiased review.

good mystery

I enjoyed the story but didn't care for the narration. It's just my opinion, but I just found something wrong with it and it kinda made it difficult to get through the book.


book gifted for a honest review

Badly Performed and Edited Narration

Maybe this will be corrected, but the audiobook I listened to had repeated phrases, 15 to 20 second silences then phrases repeated. Coughing fits. Voice characterizations were weird. Attempted accents too far fetched in what seemed to be attempt to individualize characters.Just didn't work forme.Sing song pacing.

I hate giving bad reviews, but the story just didn't work either. Characters action just didn't ring even near realistically. The police leave all of the suspects, persons of interest, want to question in one room together. Long after deciding to put them up in motel rooms so as to get question individually. In a sentence its described how the questioning is taking a long time. Then how only the one person they get to "won't take long. Just a few questions".... wtf.
Lots more examples but this just doesn't work on any level. I feel badly to have to leave this.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

The murder is never really solved..

Any additional comments?

The story is about nine circus performers with a tragic past.
Their ringleader is "believed" to have been murdered.

"The Show Must Go On", therefore, the young performers decide to do a free performance to compensate their fans for the shows canceled because of the circumstances.

The story ends after the successful performance and the detective tells the group that he has arranged for them to continue on their tour, hinting that he might join them in the sequel.

The murder is never solved, if there really was a murder..

Zachary Liebenstein did well with the narration.

Note:
"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

The book series must go on!

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

So i almost never talk about the narrator first, but i know Zachary Liebenstein from other books. I have to give him some "cudos", i love his voice and wow it fitted this book. CS Patra book The Show Must Go On: Cirque Macabre, Book 1 is a lot, but its not perfect, but i really really enjoy it, and Dante's story in this book get's a good start, but it feels a little like this is a "intro book". nothing really wrong with that, but it does not get full score.

The Show Went On...

...and on. This seemed like a much longer book than it was. And I listened to it on 1.5 speed! For me, it was the narration that made it difficult to listen to. Zachary Liebenstein's female voices were wanting, his male voices were OK, and his narration style left much to desire. He was definitely 'reading' the material rather than telling the story. He also called Henry the Fifth Henry V (as in the letter) or Henry Five throughout the book (and it was used a lot) and mispronounced words throughout which was very distracting. At one point, he leaned away from the microphone while recording and coughed.

It seemed like a great premise for a book. A single-minded, strong-willed circus owner announces the transformation of the show to his 'favorite' performers just before disappearing. Soon after, bits of him begin to be found and seeming to point the finger at different performers. I just didn't love how the story unfolded. Too much was kept back for too long and it took too long for discoveries to be made and secrets to be revealed. I usually like longer books over shorter ones but this book could have done with some editing and the ending definitely could have given more details heading into the second installment in the series. Would I listen to the second book? Yes, to see if Patra develops the story more fully and matures as a writer. I usually enjoy the author's work and would give this another shot.

I received this audiobook for free through Audiobook Boom! in exchange for an honest review.

The Show Must Go On: Cirque Macabre, Book 1

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."


This book takes the listener inside the circus world. We meet the "family" of performers and learn of their pasts they escaped from. Their leader disappeared and is presumed dead. Lots of mystery text messages, a few body parts and lots of questions! I'll need to move to the next book, to see what happens next.




The narration was well done, the characters were well portrayed.