Grete

Where’s the plot?

Reviewed: 12-11-19

After the at least the twentieth time Kelly answered inquiries into her health as an expectant mother, with ‘I’m fine’, and ‘Baby Jack is playing soccer today”, I just had to give up and returned the book. There are numerous retelling of events in previous books in the series, filling up space I assume. There are some references now and then to a murder, but mostly this is Kelly sitting in the knit shop telling people that she’s fine. I wasn’t that taken with the rest of the series, but this was really poor. I did think this reader was more vivacious than Jane Jacobs.

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Well-drawn characters make this cozy absorbing

Reviewed: 08-25-19

I found both victim and suspects so well described, that their motivations completely captured me. I think I wanted to murder the victim too, or at least I completely understood why somebody might. I enjoy Jill, the Minnesotan Sergeant, just as much as Betsy, the owner of Crewel World and the central character.
Getting a peek into a wholesale needlework market was intriguing, and I marvelled at how clearly drawn the whole setting was.
At first I thought I would have trouble with the change in narrators, but Ms Hughes did a fine job. Maybe not quite the Minnesota cadence that Susan Boyce achieves, especially for Jill. Very good on the Southerners though. All in all an excellent listen well worth your money!

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1 person found this helpful

Act of faith is rather unbelievable

Reviewed: 08-21-19

The actions of the otherwise sympathetic and intelligent heroine are so unlikely, it gave the whole plot a sitcom quality that took away from an otherwise good listen. All the other characters are very well drawn, and I appreciated the depiction of sexual harassment, its subtleties but devastating impact on girls and young women. The exploration of religion’s hypocritical and harmful side is well done.
Eve Matheson’s narration is fabulous as always!

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Charming characters, absorbing story, excellent narration

Reviewed: 07-30-19

Through deft character development, before I knew it I was thoroughly invested in the ‘match’, unsuitable or not. I was quite charmed by the children, and especially the precocious 4-year-old Grandson Jack.
Perfect, unobtrusive narration, speaks so well for the main character, Rose, but also for the others, male or female. I thoroughly enjoyed this.

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4 people found this helpful

This great series deserves consistent narrator

Reviewed: 07-13-19

Excellent story, well read! Definitely worth a credit.
I liked this reader so much better than CJCritt, who I’m sure is an excellent narrator but whose voice just doesn’t suit that of a young Sheriff Brady. Having said that, the odd pronunciation of Sheriff Lathrop’s name by this narrator was jarring - and it came up a lot in this particular story.
This is such a good series, it really deserves a consistent narrator, and would win a much greater audience with one who really suits the image of a young, energetic Southwestern Sheriff Brady.

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Poor Narration

Reviewed: 07-08-19

A great story with several plot lines and more opportunities to get to know Joanna’s fiancée, Butch Dixon. I read this series when they first came out and thought I would enjoy listening to them now, many years later. It’s hard to enjoy this good story with a narrator whose voice is much too old and scratchy to be Joanna. There’s little difference between dialogue and narration, and all the voices sound much the same. There are long pauses in some places, and virtually none between chapters. The narrator speaks so slowly, I listened to the entire book at 1.25 X the normal speed!

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I like this longer format

Reviewed: 06-02-19

Sarah and Jack are back! Same great narrator, another good story, but so much more with this longer format. Keep them coming!

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Whatever happened to the Georgie we knew and loved?

Reviewed: 05-13-19

Something happened to the character of Georgie in this book. At first she’s very whiney, looking for rescue everywhere, suspicious of Darcy which I thought had been resolved several books back, and then amazingly slow to catch on, even after an attempt on her life! It’s all quite unlike the gutsy, bright and resourceful Georgie of previous books.
Somehow the mystery did not draw me in at all and some of the happenings were entirely predictable.
The new narrator did rather well, except for a certain lack of energy - maybe the story bored her too! Queenie’s voice was the only one done with any life and excitement. Each time she appeared in the story I was drawn back in.
I appreciated the lovely tribute to the original narrator at the beginning. A much too early end to a brilliant career and young life.

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2 people found this helpful

One of the best!

Reviewed: 04-10-19

The Foundling, written in 1948 at a time when Georgette Heyer had fully mastered the Regency Romance genre she created, is delightful. Something of an “unsung hero” compared to the Grand Sophie, Frederica, Arabella, or the Wicked Uncle, it seemed to me a very worthwhile listen, especially with Phyllida Nash’s excellent narration. The hero, small in stature and not at all Duke-like, will nevertheless capture your heart, and you’ll be cheering for him as he struggles to take control over his responsibilities in all manner of ridiculous circumstances. There’s also a crowd of very humorously-drawn characters surrounding him to enjoy. A little different from the usual Georgette Heyer romance, but a very satisfying tale.

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I was completely absorbed

Reviewed: 10-30-18

I wish Robyn Carr would write lots more of these!!! Every time I listen to this I am completely intrigued. I think this was my third listen, and I was still carried away by this slowly evolving and unravelling mystery. Not only is the story full of unexpected twists, but the characters are complex, all very unique and different from each other. We get to see into their lives to understand their motivations, especially of course, the heroine. Must have been well researched, both for insight into abnormal psych, and law enforcement.
Robyn Carr brings all her understanding of women's experience to creating a crime story that has a unique human quality. It sheds light on the impact of these events on real people and the communities they live in.
Christina Traister's cool, smooth delivery was perfect for the story, providing that slight undercurrent of suspense hinting that all was not quite as it seemed - Like Rod Serling introducing an episode of Twilight Zone.

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