JulieB

Very dated & full of cliche Aussie blokes!

Reviewed: 06-07-24

Could not keep listening, full of the most cliched idea of Aussie blokes and the misogynistic language you’d expect them to engage in - very disappointing.

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A tense little story

Reviewed: 06-07-24

I’m a big fan of Scandi noir and as this was free I was happy to give such a short story a listen. It is certainly packed with tension, very dark and in the end a very sad tale. I’m not sure I’d agree with the main protagonist when he says at the end that he didn’t actually hurt anyone but I did feel some sympathy for his story. There were a couple of scenarios that I questioned the likelihood of but overall a well written tale.

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Excellent short listen, highly recommended

Reviewed: 06-07-24

This was a book club choice, I wouldn’t usually choose such a short book but so glad I did. The stories are quirky and full of dark humour featuring an unexpected protagonist. As the stories progress we learn more about this elderly lady’s life and eventually how the first murder in the book was carried out - a bit like Columbo in reverse. As someone else commented this would work very well on screen.

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Gave up halfway through

Reviewed: 06-07-24

Disappointed by this book which had a promising synopsis. I know the main character suffered a dreadful trauma but his portrayal just made him seem pathetic. The split between the main story and chapters from the character’s novels was an interesting idea, it’s just a shame that the story didn’t grip my attention. The narrators did a reasonable job with accents and general portrayal.

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Not a series I’ll pursue further

Reviewed: 06-07-24

The story was okay for the most part although the ending was implausible. I’m not sure how much of my opinion was coloured by the narration, accents were laughable and the voicing of some characters incongruous. The main character Manon came across as desperate, then pathetically lovesick and finally maturity itself - quite the journey in the space of a single book. Maybe I’ve read too many books of this genre but this story was fairly predictable in parts, I would have given up if it hadn’t been a book club choice.

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Giving up on this series

Reviewed: 27-09-23

2 hours in to this one and can take no more. First book in the series was promising but with each subsequent book I’ve grown more and more frustrated, by the characters, storylines & narration. All the police officers are referred to either by their rank or first name except ‘grumpy Bob’, he’s always ‘grumpy Bob’ - a very childish nickname. I had expected to discover a bit more substance to the main character after 4 books but apart from his wealth there’s not much to him. I hadn’t realised that there was a supernatural aspect to this series, this isn’t really for me so has certainly coloured my reaction.
These books are very ‘polite’ and this is exaggerated by the narration, until this book the narration has been bearable but the whispering used for the murderer’s chapters is so grating - I accept that this may have annoyed me more because of my growing disaffection with the series.
Sadly I’m not prepared to waste any more time on these books.

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The best yet!

Reviewed: 23-08-22

From the first book these stories of Armand Gamache, his team & Three Pines grabbed my attention and haven’t let go. Louise Penny’s writing is so beautifully evocative, the variety of interesting characters and complex plots provide everything I want in a book. This is the best yet, it ties up the storyline that has bubbled away under the surface since book 1 and does it with a plot that was totally unexpected. The case that takes the story back to Three Pines is unusual, the protagonist is easily guessed but this doesn’t detract since the storyline is secondary to the main plot. As usual (for me) Ruth says little but easily rises above the pack of characters and her tender scene with Jonquil (towards the end) brought me to tears.

Adam Sims is a wonderful narrator making for a perfect listening experience.

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Chronicle of COVID

Reviewed: 16-06-22

It must have been difficult for authors writing during the Covid pandemic, whilst stand alone books might get away with ignoring it a series really needs to acknowledge the changed procedures. Sadly this book just goes too far.

The central crime story is weak and the archeological element irrelevant, the book really is simply a chronicle of lockdown and includes everything - clap for carers, provision for comprehensive vs private education, effects on university students, government briefings, people having an affair breaking the rules & a near-death from Covid with patient discharge applauded, oh and domestic abuse. You will live through it all again!
I’m not sure where the introduction of a long lost relative (I won’t spoil it) will go beyond this book - the drama in their back story seems unnecessary as an explanation for a name change & they’ve already been central to a crime case.

I’m not a big fan of Michelle but she’s away for the entire book only to return at the end with a “we need to talk Harry” - presumably setting up for the next book. As such this was a wasted opportunity to hear a bit more about what might be going on in her head and the impact of Harry & Ruth’s affair, Michelle is such a weak character in comparison to the others.

The narrator is okay, her refined voice fits these books well but the audio effects are dreadful and distracting - we don’t need the voice on the other end of phone calls to be distorted and the ghostly, echoing voice of the victim was completely unnecessary. I also noticed an odd dramatic emphasis applied to many sentences that I wasn’t aware of before - but this may have been because I wasn’t enjoying the story and finding fault.

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Amazed I listened for 30 minutes!

Reviewed: 03-04-22

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Cowley & Danilov books by the same author but this was unbearable to listen to. I managed 30 minutes then could take no more of the caricature voices - sad to say I can’t comment on the story - one to be read rather than listened to maybe.

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Okay introduction to new author

Reviewed: 10-10-21

I read the synopsis of this book a few times but kept rejecting it, eventually only deciding to give it a go as it was part of the Audible Plus catalogue. Joey, an ex-NYPD officer and his half-brother, Catholic priest Fr. O’Brian are an unlikely pair of private investigators who also run a bar together. The characters and the relationships between them are likeable although I do have to suspend belief a bit that a priest would get so involved with investigations - but I’m a sucker for Grantchester so who am I to criticise.
At just over 5 hours it’s a short novella and at this length the whole thing works quite well. At times there’s a bit of repetition - you don’t need to keep telling me that when you hear the street noise you know someone has entered the bar for example, in a full length novel this might have become very annoying.
Stefan Rudnicki Does a reasonable job of narration, the Irish accent is a bit dodgy but overall his tone is pleasant to listen to and different characters are well defined. I’m pleased I gave this book a chance as it’s not my preferred genre; I would definitely return to the Plus catalogue for more in this series but I wouldn’t use a credit to buy one.

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2 people found this helpful