BBP

Holes in the plot

Reviewed: 01-25-25

I liked this story less than the first book in the series because besides the heroine being even more annoying than before, this time she also had an obnoxious, boy-crazy friend and there were places the plot made no sense or was just way too thin. I don’t want to give spoilers and it was not the worst mystery I’ve ever read, but in my opinion it really left a lot of questions and had dead ends and misdirections that were not satisfactorily explained. So it felt like the author just threw in this and that for no good reason.

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Decent story

Reviewed: 01-23-25

On the whole I was not sorry I listened to this and I may try the next one. I like mysteries. I did not appreciate all the flashbacks and ‘foreshadowings’ that had no real place in the story. And I really could not particularly like this heroine. She was, for example, so affected by someone else’s grief and loss that she struggled to function and yet all she could think about was pastry and gossip. I hope the author’s depiction of her improves over time.

I thought the narration well done and I don’t understand other criticisms about the accent. This woman did very well with the French as well as with the few places that a French speaker was using English. I also truly appreciate a story so well read that a listener can differentiate between characters without the need for overdone “voices.”

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How depressing

Reviewed: 12-27-24

This was such an ugly, depressing tale I couldn’t finish it. What a waste! So much time was spent repeatedly detailing what awful people all the characters were and all the bad things that happened. The narrator did a good job on the dialogue for the most part but if I were transcribing the narrative every sentence must end with the last word in parentheses in size 4 font because they all dropped in volume and pitch to become a sort of raspy whisper. I finally gave up listening, went to Wikipedia to read the plot synopsis. It went pretty much as predicted. Yuck.

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Good story

Reviewed: 09-01-24

This was not the type of story I normally prefer (the ‘life and times of two women’) but I enjoyed it more than expected. It was well written and well read. I docked the story one star due to the over-emoting, especially at the ending, and that I did not enjoy hearing about 80 year olds having sex. The performances were great except for all the mouth noises that came through.

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Excellent narrator!

Reviewed: 07-28-24

The plot with all the added peripheral characters was a bit too complex and contrived for me to enjoy it. But it was an extremely good performance by the narrator.

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Best narrator ever

Reviewed: 02-16-24

Like all Strike novels, this is an engaging mystery, and like several of them gets a bit too graphic about physical and sexual abuse for my taste. I also find in this and some previous Strike novels, the answers to the mystery feel contrived or pulled out of nowhere at the end. It’s not entirely implausible but also rather unsatisfying and a bit disappointing. That said, Robert Glenister is one of the best narrators out there. I never get tired of listening to him as he highlights all the different characters and is flawless in his presentation.

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Sweet story

Reviewed: 02-11-24

Despite the tired repetition of “flirt” and “blush,” and the heroine’s angst, I did like this story. It was light and sweet. The narration almost ruined it for me though. I’ve heard countless narrations by British readers but this heroine and her sister sounded so over-the-top phony it was painfully annoying. Because the novel was written in the first person, not only the dialogue but the narration was annoyingly phony sounding.

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Good story, excellent narration

Reviewed: 12-23-23

This was a good mystery and the character development was very well done. I got tired of some of the detail and twists that didn’t seem relevant but otherwise enjoyed it very much. The reader is one of the best I’ve ever heard. His performance was perfect.

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Excellent performance

Reviewed: 12-10-23

This was a good mystery. I enjoyed the character development but felt it got bogged down in the details at times. The reader, however, was outstanding.

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Annoying

Reviewed: 09-09-23

This Nora Roberts novel was a disappointment - the trivial detail went on and on and on. Every patron at the bar was described in full detail including not just color or style but type of fabrics worn, jewelry and accessories, hair styles and shoes, not to mention what drinks and food they ordered and what they talked to one another about that had nothing to do with the story. The irrelevant details overpowered the plot for most of the book.

I did not care for the narrator’s style, speaking in a sort of hushed tone like she was trying to make every sentence sound significant. I literally fell asleep several times as I listened to this book. When I went back to relisten I realized that I really hadn’t missed anything. And if I had to hear “her ladies” one more time I might scream.

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1 person found this helpful