Lewis Teeter
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Purity
- A Novel
- By: Jonathan Franzen
- Narrated by: Jenna Lamia, Dylan Baker, Robert Petkoff
- Length: 25 hrs
- Unabridged
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Young Pip Tyler doesn't know who she is. She knows that her real name is Purity, that she's saddled with $130,000 in student debt, that she's squatting with anarchists in Oakland, and that her relationship with her mother - her only family - is hazardous. But she doesn't have a clue who her father is, why her mother chose to live as a recluse with an invented name, or how she'll ever have a normal life.
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Not a case of Franzenfreude
- By Mel on 09-13-15
- Purity
- A Novel
- By: Jonathan Franzen
- Narrated by: Jenna Lamia, Dylan Baker, Robert Petkoff
So Disappointed After Reading His Other Books
Reviewed: 09-26-24
I went on a Franzen binge ordering The Corrections, Crossroads and Freedom and was super excited about diving into another. Early into listening I began to lose excitement. I felt like Purity was written by another author. Purity held none of the tightly woven writing as the previous three I enjoyed. I'm writing this review as I half listen to the last hour waiting for it to be over. I went online to find out what order Franzen's books were written and now that I know I'm no longer interested in ordering the earlier books. I could very well be missing a good book but I'm so disappointed by Purity I think I'll move on to another author. Still a big fan of Franzen and waiting for his next book.
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This Is Why We Lied
- A Will Trent Thriller
- By: Karin Slaughter
- Narrated by: Kathleen Early
- Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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For GBI investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton, McAlpine Lodge seems like the ideal getaway to celebrate their honeymoon. Set on a gorgeous, off-the-grid mountaintop property, it’s the perfect place to unplug and reconnect. Until a bone-chilling scream cuts through the night. Mercy McAlpine, the manager of the Lodge, is dead. With a vicious storm raging and the one access road to the property washed out, the murderer must be someone on the mountain. But as Will and Sara investigate the McAlpine family and the other guests, they realize that everyone here is lying.
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Another great read .
- By Summer on 08-25-24
- This Is Why We Lied
- A Will Trent Thriller
- By: Karin Slaughter
- Narrated by: Kathleen Early
Don't Read Reviews (except mine). Might Get Spoiled.
Reviewed: 08-30-24
There's just too much chance that this book could be ruined for you with a hint hidden among the reviews. Just get it!!! As I write this it's 3:33 in the morning. I couldn't stop listening, or wait to pass on my praise.
Karin Slaughter has outdone herself. I've enjoyed the entire Will Trent series but none of the previous books can touch this one. It's a masterpiece of the genre. So many twists your jaw will drop over and over. One in particular had me yelling "Whaaat?" out loud (you'll know it when you get to it.) When I first started This is Why We Lied I groaned upon realizing how many characters I'd have to keep up with but Ms Slaughter does an amazing job of keeping them all very clear. Not a chance one will be overwhelmed and lose track of who's who. At one point I counted 17 potential suspects. Please don't let that number turn you off from getting this book. It's super easy to keep up with the cast of characters and each only serves to heighten the suspense. You'll think you have it figured out a dozen times before the incredible end proves you had no idea. So many dastardly characters you'll want the murder pinned on but trust that even if they aren't the murderer they'll all get their comeuppance in one way or another. The same incredible narrator voices the characters readers of Ms Slaughters' books have grown to love. I wish I could erase my memory of this book and start it over. Amazing!
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Corelli's Mandolin
- A Novel
- By: Louis de Bernieres
- Narrated by: Stephen Lang
- Length: 18 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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The place is the Greek island of Cephallonia, where gods once dabbled in the affairs of men and the local saint periodically rises from his sarcophagus to cure the mad. Then the tide of World War II rolls onto the island's shores in the form of the conquering Italian army.
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LOVELY! Moving, hilarious, enlightening...
- By AK on 07-26-19
- Corelli's Mandolin
- A Novel
- By: Louis de Bernieres
- Narrated by: Stephen Lang
Got Too Cutesy
Reviewed: 08-26-24
This book could have been so much better. Every character talked like a mentally challenged 8 year old. Why do so many authors feel it necessary to treat foreign characters like they are too immature to have adult dialog? Perhaps because they were simple country people the author decided to make them stupid. Though the reader did what he could, the character's dialog was so stereotypical that when read with the accompanying accent it just sounded like a bad 70s movie. The romantic relationship was awful with the standard 'I hate you but I secretly love you' which never fails to annoy me. The book peaked with the war years and should have wrapped up soon after but it just continued to plod on and on. The 'surprise' ending was the worst part complete with the continuation of the cutesy flirting, a young boy finding (and falling in love with) the mandolin and the happily ever after that will surprise no one. No one that gets an hour into this book will consider anything I've written a spoiler.
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Eileen
- By: Ottessa Moshfegh
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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The Christmas season offers little cheer for Eileen Dunlop, an unassuming yet disturbed young woman trapped between her role as her alcoholic father's caretaker in a home whose squalor is the talk of the neighborhood and a day job as a secretary at the boys' prison, filled with its own quotidian horrors. Consumed by resentment and self-loathing, Eileen tempers her dreary days with perverse fantasies and dreams of escaping to the big city.
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Strange, unsettling, but engrossing
- By S. Yates on 01-09-18
- Eileen
- By: Ottessa Moshfegh
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan
Excellent Writing. Excellent Narration.
Reviewed: 08-19-24
The day I started this book I was about to give up. I had started and quickly deleted 4 books in rapid succession, so poor was the writing. I'll admit every book I read isn't award winning material but I had just finished a book by Lionel Shriver so my brain wasn't ready to settle for garbage. I knew within minutes of starting Eileen I had found a book worth my time. The attention to detail and the unexpected turns of phrase made listening to Ottessa Moshfegh's writing a joy. Though I'm sure this book isn't to everyone's taste if nuanced skill with words is what you enjoy, step right up. I would have given this book 5 stars even without a good story but it delivered that as well. The narrator was a perfect choice. I couldn't imagine a better interpretation of the two main characters.
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The Promise You Made
- By: A.J. McDine
- Narrated by: Fiona Mitchell
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Ten years ago, Rose made a promise to help her goddaughter, Eloise, if she was ever in trouble. A promise she may live to regret. But she meant every word...until the night Eloise turns up on her doorstep covered in blood and asking for the unthinkable. Rose has buried secrets before. Only this time, they’re about to come back and haunt her.
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Despicable protagonist..
- By Kelly on 03-27-22
- The Promise You Made
- By: A.J. McDine
- Narrated by: Fiona Mitchell
Enjoyable Listen
Reviewed: 08-09-24
I finished this one in a day while I painted the kitchen. Not being hard to figure out who the 'bad guy' was didn't distract from a great story. Well told with a few twists to keep me on my toes. Love the readers voice and will make note of her name for future selections.
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The Girl Next Door
- By: Jack Ketchum
- Narrated by: Jack Ketchum
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Suburbia. Shady, tree-lined streets; well-tended lawns; and cozy homes. A nice, quiet place to grow up. Unless you are teenage Meg or her crippled sister, Susan. On a dead-end street, in the dark, damp basement of the Chandler house, Meg and Susan are left captive to the savage whims and rages of a distant aunt who is rapidly descending into madness. It is a madness that infects all three of her sons and finally the entire neighborhood. Only one troubled boy stands hesitantly between Meg and Susan and their cruel, torturous deaths.
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A Horror To The Core
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-19-16
- The Girl Next Door
- By: Jack Ketchum
- Narrated by: Jack Ketchum
In Defense of Ketchum From the One Star Reviews
Reviewed: 07-08-24
So many of the bad reviews clearly came from those that are unaware of the true story behind this horrific tale. I too might have written off the book as torture porn were I not aware of the history behind it. Though hard to listen to at points if one takes the time to research the monstrous true story of the death of Sylvia Likens at the cruel, sick hands of Gertrude Baniszewski they will learn that this book doesn't even cover all the inhumanity that poor child was dealt. At least Jack Ketchum gives us a more satisfying ending than true life gave. The twisted Baniszewski was eventually paroled, thanks to 'finding Jesus' and her sadistic children served no time at all because they were 'just kids'. While the author may be guilty of adding some details that may not be part of the true story he's no more guilty than Truman Capote of creating a story around true events. Look for the Wikipedia page Murder of Sylvia Likens if you think have the stomach for it. It's a hard read.
I didn't expect to like the writing and was sure I would be giving up due more to bad writing than bad story but for such an awful story the writing was lyrical and well paced. Ketchum writes from the perspective of a man who, as a child, took part in the torture of a young girl. Through masterful writing, Ketchum manages to make this child a sympathetic character and pulls the reader into the young boy's conflict of knowing what's wrong but still justifying it (as an adult is giving direction) until he no longer can. This book is certainly not for everyone and more than once brought me to tears. It's awful, it's painful, and it's sickening but it's worst part is knowing it happened.
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The Toybox
- Detective Alyssa Wyatt, Book 2
- By: Charly Cox
- Narrated by: Kate Zane
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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All around Albuquerque, New Mexico, young women are going missing, seemingly vanished into thin air. With no link between the victims, Detective Alyssa Wyatt is quickly plunged into a horrifying case with no obvious clues. And when Jersey Andrews, the best friend of Alyssa's teenage daughter, Holly, joins the list of vanished girls, the case becomes personal. But this investigation will lead Alyssa and partner Cord into the most sinister depths of humanity; an evil place where life is expendable and where the depraved can fulfill their darkest desires - if they have the money.
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Truly awful....
- By Kimberly on 01-17-21
- The Toybox
- Detective Alyssa Wyatt, Book 2
- By: Charly Cox
- Narrated by: Kate Zane
Yawn
Reviewed: 07-02-24
I went in thinking I was going to have to stop listening as I feared a book called The Toybox might be torture porn. Once I realized that even the most horrific of (very few) scenes never went very far beyond the selection of a strap or some clamps (with vague references to 'other devices') my mind was eased and I settled in ready for some big payback to the bad guys. I'm not interested in the bad guys being tortured either but I expected more revenge than 'the full extent of the law'. The whole book was just 'mommy cop loves her kids' with a seething cop partner that does nothing but seethe. Could we have not had just one punch in the nose to the smarmy rich kid? I guess I wanted less than Saw III but more than Disney does human trafficking. Through I wasn't thrilled with every character's voice there were many and the reader made them all different. That's a talent. She did an amazing job creating just the right tone for fear, anger and sorrow. Even the screaming was well done.
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The Post-Birthday World
- By: Lionel Shriver
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby Sirois
- Length: 20 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Children's book illustrator Irina McGovern enjoys a quiet and settled life in London with her partner, fellow American expatriate Lawrence Trainer, a smart, loyal, disciplined intellectual at a prestigious think tank. To their small circle of friends, their relationship is rock solid, until the night Irina unaccountably finds herself dying to kiss another man: their old friend from South London, the stylish, extravagant, passionate top-ranking snooker player Ramsey Acton.
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A terrific examinination of relationships
- By Susan D on 12-04-10
- The Post-Birthday World
- By: Lionel Shriver
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby Sirois
I Love This Author So Much
Reviewed: 07-01-24
Every time I read one of Lionel Shriver's books I say "this is my favorite of her books". In Post Birthday World she does an amazing job of writing of 2 'what ifs'. Though the trope has been done before it's Ms Shriver's ability to glide so deftly between the two scenarios that makes this so perfect. One of the things that stood out the most to me is that she would write the same words coming from the same character in different scenes and have them resound with a totally different feeling. And speaking of feelings, don't be surprised to find your eyes moisten at a couple points in the book. There's a goodbye (no spoilers) scene that is so touching I ran it back to listen several times. This book could have ended in a dozen different ways but true to her style Ms Shriver picked the perfect one. That it was read by one of my favorite readers added to my enjoying the book. She doesn't 'do voices' but rather gives subtle change to her natural voice to differentiate the characters. Pay close attention to her reading the character with a low cockney accent . She delivers it with a charm that makes it sound exotic and beautiful.
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The Cold Moon
- By: Jeffery Deaver
- Narrated by: Joe Mantegna
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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On a freezing December night, with a full moon hovering in the black sky over New York City, two people are brutally murdered, the death scenes marked by eerie, matching calling cards: moon-faced clocks investigators fear ticked away the victims' last moments on earth. Renowned criminologist Lincoln Rhyme immediately identifies the clock distributor and has the chilling realization that the killer, who has dubbed himself the Watchmaker, has more murders planned in the hours to come.
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Another great puzzle!
- By Laura on 08-14-06
- The Cold Moon
- By: Jeffery Deaver
- Narrated by: Joe Mantegna
My Least Favorite of the Series
Reviewed: 06-20-24
Though the story failed to grab me I suspect it was the narration that really did it in. The minute it began I thought "That sounds like Fat Tony from The Simpsons". Sure enough when I saw the name I realized it was indeed the same man. Though he may be a fine actor Joe Mantagna needs to steer clear of book narration. Every voice sounded the same with perhaps just a touch more 'gangster' added for some characters. This made Lincoln Rhyme, the churlish pedantic character we've grown to love, sound like a petulant cartoon villain. Narration is a make or breaker for audiobooks. Audible usually does an amazing job but this one was a miss.
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Should We Stay or Should We Go
- A Novel
- By: Lionel Shriver
- Narrated by: Hannah Curtis
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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When her father dies, Kay Wilkinson can’t cry. Over 10 years, Alzheimer’s had steadily eroded this erudite man into a paranoid lunatic. Surely one’s own father passing should never come as such a relief. Both medical professionals, Kay and her husband Cyril have seen too many elderly patients in similar states of decay. Although healthy and vital in their early 50s, the couple fears what may lie ahead. Determined to die with dignity, Cyril makes a modest proposal.
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Innovative storyline
- By Richard.odell on 08-20-21
- Should We Stay or Should We Go
- A Novel
- By: Lionel Shriver
- Narrated by: Hannah Curtis
Thought Provoking
Reviewed: 06-10-24
As much as I love Lionel Shriver's writing I held back from this particular book fearing 12 incarnations of the 'ending' would be tedious. Not in the least. Each chapter produced it's own very different story. I kept rooting for a happy ending and (at least to me) that's what was delivered. At 65 years old I was given much to think about the aging process and the ultimate decline we all face. I may have to find myself a soap dish to keep in the fridge.
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