R. G. Shalhoub
- 21
- reviews
- 77
- helpful votes
- 53
- ratings
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Michael Caine: Gangs
- By: Michael Caine
- Narrated by: Michael Caine
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 312
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 291
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 286
Sir Michael Caine knows a thing or two about gangs: whether that’s joining one as a kid, or playing them in movies for over 50 years. Organised crime has captivated pop culture for decades, from the Krays to the Mafia. Now Caine delves into the real stories behind the gangs we think we know so well, revealing the hidden realities behind the myths. And he throughout the series he asks: can a gang ever truly be ‘successful’?
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1 out of 5 stars
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Underwhelming, Nauseous and Slightly Misleading
- By Myfamilyisloved on 07-10-21
- Michael Caine: Gangs
- By: Michael Caine
- Narrated by: Michael Caine
C’mon man!
Reviewed: 07-22-21
Unlikeable people are tricky to attract a
reader with. Plus “Alfie” didn’t need help to attract women. Just ask him. And the brothers weren’t a lot of laughs. So WTF?
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The Quaker
- By: Liam McIlvanney
- Narrated by: Angus King
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 312
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 276
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 274
It is 1969 and Glasgow is in the grip of the worst winter in decades, yet it is something else that has Glaswegians on edge: a serial killer whose name alone is enough to make them tremble with fear. The Quaker has killed another victim, snatching a young woman from a nightclub and dumping her body like trash in the back of a cold-water tenement. He leaves no clues, and the investigation has led police down one blind alley after another.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Great Listen!
- By Whispera on 06-13-20
- The Quaker
- By: Liam McIlvanney
- Narrated by: Angus King
Good not great
Reviewed: 01-31-20
I listened to this after listening to a Denise Mina’s “Conviction” which was great! While Quaker doesn’t make my top ten Scottish crime novels I’d read author again if positively reviewed in a convincing way. Story can’t be easily described without a “spoil”
Reader does a good job.
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Elevator Pitch
- By: Linwood Barclay
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 467
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 391
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Story4 out of 5 stars 391
It all begins on a Monday, when four people board an elevator in a Manhattan office tower. Each presses a button for their floor, but the elevator proceeds, non-stop, to the top. Once there, it stops for a few seconds, and then plummets. Right to the bottom of the shaft. It appears to be a horrific, random tragedy. But then, on Tuesday, it happens again, in a different Manhattan skyscraper. And when Wednesday brings yet another high-rise catastrophe, one of the most vertical cities in the world - and the nation’s capital of media, finance, and entertainment - is plunged into chaos.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Very good Who done it...
- By shelley on 09-20-19
- Elevator Pitch
- By: Linwood Barclay
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain
Worth reading
Reviewed: 12-08-19
“Elevator Pitch” is worth reading. It’s a fun, pulpy, quick read that requires one to suspend disbelief occasionally but has constant action and likable characters. The reader does a good job with three badass female characters and one cop with an anxiety problem. All four are competently aggressive at their jobs and good hearted. Interestingly, the author makes most characters slightly sexy without digressing into any physical descriptions. An enjoyable urban-crime caper.
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14 people found this helpful
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Into the Jungle
- By: Erica Ferencik
- Narrated by: Jayme Mattler
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 175
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 157
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 157
In this "hypnotic, violent, unsparing" (A. J. Banner, USA Today best-selling author) thriller from the author of the "haunting, twisting thrill ride" (Megan Miranda, New York Times best-selling author) The River at Night, a young woman leaves behind everything she knows to take on the Bolivian jungle, but her excursion abroad quickly turns into a fight for her life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Gorgeous story, thrilling adventure
- By Maura H. Larkins on 07-17-19
- Into the Jungle
- By: Erica Ferencik
- Narrated by: Jayme Mattler
Lost me when reader did her "Omar" accent
Reviewed: 06-04-19
I don't get why the writer or distributor doesn't get a reader who can "do justice" to an accent if it's going to be a significant part of the story. WTF? Here is a novel set in South American and the lead characters hubbie is "Omar of the jungle'...the reader chooses to give her best "Omar" accent...it really really does NOT work!! I stopped immediately...and am returning the book...Is it a good story? Who cares? The author and the distributor/producer didn't care about the listener enough to get a reader who can competently do a Spanish accent...the EASIEST second language to find a reader for in the Hemisphere!!! Give the listener a break please!! NOTE: Another option in the Audible version is to NOT do the accent...He speaks English? Ditch the goofy accents if nobody can be found to handle it.
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4 people found this helpful
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Cari Mora
- A Novel
- By: Thomas Harris
- Narrated by: Thomas Harris
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 479
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 434
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 437
Twenty-five million dollars in cartel gold lies hidden beneath a mansion on the Miami Beach waterfront. Ruthless men have tracked it for years. Leading the pack is Hans-Peter Schneider. Driven by unspeakable appetites, he makes a living fleshing out the violent fantasies of other, richer men.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Why?
- By PATRICK J SULLIVAN on 05-22-19
- Cari Mora
- A Novel
- By: Thomas Harris
- Narrated by: Thomas Harris
Good example of why professional readers should be used
Reviewed: 06-03-19
I can’t judge the story because I couldn’t get past the first five minutes. The writer isn’t a good reader. So why the *$#% is he reading the book?
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2 people found this helpful
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The Ploughmen
- A Novel
- By: Kim Zupan
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,303
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,187
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,174
At the center of this searing fever-dream of a novel are two men - a killer awaiting trial and a troubled young deputy - sitting across fromeach other in the dark, talking through the bars of a county jail cell: JohnGload, so brutally adept at his craft that only now, at the age of 77, has he faced the prospect of long-term incarceration; and Valentine Millimaki, low man in the Copper County sheriff's department, who draws the overnight shift after Gload's arrest.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Perceptive Narration
- By Abby Elvidge on 09-22-16
- The Ploughmen
- A Novel
- By: Kim Zupan
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
The Ploughmen low key action and surprises
Reviewed: 12-20-18
The authors voice is enhanced by the reader. Light a great story teller who keeps you listening when ur monkey mind begins to wander I hung in and skipped other distractions to finish this. Not an easy listen but a rewarding one. Well worth reading if u find Cormac McCarthy’s early books on Audible enjoyable.
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Only to Sleep
- A Philip Marlowe Novel
- By: Lawrence Osborne
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 250
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 218
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Story4 out of 5 stars 217
The year is 1988. The place, Baja California. And Philip Marlowe - now in his 72nd year - is living out his retirement in the terrace bar of the La Fonda hotel. Sipping margaritas, playing cards, his silver-tipped cane at the ready. When in saunter two men dressed like undertakers, with a case that has his name written all over it. For Marlowe, this is his last roll of the dice, his swan song. His mission is to investigate the death of Donald Zinn - supposedly drowned off his yacht, and leaving behind a much younger and now very rich wife. But is Zinn actually alive?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brilliant resurrection of greatest detective in US fiction
- By R. G. Shalhoub on 07-28-18
- Only to Sleep
- A Philip Marlowe Novel
- By: Lawrence Osborne
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
Brilliant resurrection of greatest detective in US fiction
Reviewed: 07-28-18
Lawrence Osborne was an excellent choice by the Chandler Foundation to resurrect Marlowe. The book succeeds at every level w a bonus of beautiful literary riffs every few pages....historically and geographically accurate...as Marlowe/Chandlers voice rings true. The eccentric gumshoe comes out of retirement in Southern CA for one last job at age 72 into a sleazy and violent world of hustlers and grifters operating on the coastal towns in Southern California and Northern Mexico. Ray Porter shines as the voice of a worldly and articulate Marlowe while deftly handling accents and pronunciations of the credible characters that appear. As a 72 year old Chandler fan who is well traveled in the Mexican locations where most of the novel’s action takes place I particular enjoyed this brilliant resurrection of my favorite private eye by one of my favorite writers.
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17 people found this helpful
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The Laughing Monsters
- A Novel
- By: Denis Johnson
- Narrated by: Scott Shepherd
- Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 124
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 113
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 114
Roland Nair calls himself Scandinavian but travels on a U.S. passport. After ten years' absence, he returns to Freetown, Sierra Leone, to reunite with his friend Michael Adriko. They once made a lot of money here during the country's civil war, and, curious to see whether good luck will strike twice in the same place, Nair has allowed himself to be drawn back to a region he considers hopeless.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good
- By Amazon Customer on 02-08-15
- The Laughing Monsters
- A Novel
- By: Denis Johnson
- Narrated by: Scott Shepherd
Not for the faint of heart
Reviewed: 06-13-18
Denis Johnson (RIP) is a great writer...brilliant story teller presents a pain of rogue spies...in the Congo...bouncing around in danger that you can taste and smell...Has the requisite ultra-v going much of the time but paints some characters that one can care about...and feel for...if that makes any sense. Anyway...if you don't like it...return it. I liked the book and the reader.
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Winter of the Wolf Moon
- By: Steve Hamilton
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 355
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 298
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Story4 out of 5 stars 300
Sequel to Hamilton's award-winning first novel ( A Cold Day in Paradise), the story returns us to the small town of Paradise, Michigan where ex-Detroit police detective and reluctant private investigator, Alex McKnight, rents out small cabins to snowmobilers and tried to bury his demons under the snow he plows each day.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding dialog and cast of characters
- By Dennis on 09-06-12
- Winter of the Wolf Moon
- By: Steve Hamilton
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
Disappointment from author of “The Lock Artist”
Reviewed: 04-14-18
“The Lock Artist” is a brilliant book that deserves more readers. This audible that I REALLY WANTED TO LIKE fell flat. Couldn’t tell if reader was flat or it was the material but WTFD? Normally I return books I’m not going to finish after 5-10 min. I wasted an hour w this one so it’s two stars but no return.
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1 person found this helpful
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Democracy in Chains
- The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America
- By: Nancy MacLean
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,575
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,375
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1,365
Behind today's headlines of billionaires taking over our government is a secretive political establishment with long, deep, and troubling roots. The capitalist radical right has been working not simply to change who rules but to fundamentally alter the rules of democratic governance. But billionaires did not launch this movement; a white intellectual in the embattled Jim Crow South did.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A must read if you believe in democracy
- By H. L. Nelson on 10-11-17
- Democracy in Chains
- The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America
- By: Nancy MacLean
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
The historical context for "Dark Money"
Reviewed: 08-26-17
Would you consider the audio edition of Democracy in Chains to be better than the print version?
Yes...because most most of us won't finish reading the book whereas the reader is good enough to keep us engaged while we're driving the car and listening.
What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
That I learned about the intellectual source for the Kochs, Mercers and fellow billionaires takeover of the US government in 2016. And It's not Ayn Rand or Horatio Alger. It's John C. Calhoun from the early 19th century and a unknown academic who formulated a strategy to obstruct integration in the 1950s. The conspiratorial stealth thesis sounds nutty until you listen to it and keep in mind that the relentless greed of the very wealthy is a bottomless tar pit for the rest of us.
Which character – as performed by Bernadette Dunne – was your favorite?
Reader doesn't annoy or distract with character voicing.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The fact that a county in Virginia closed public schools for five years (1959-1964) to avoid integrating schools resulting in no schools for black students.
Any additional comments?
Advice to the listener...Don't be afraid to learn the truth...but don't expect it to set you free.
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1 person found this helpful