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109th out of 1,793 books
—
4,037 voters
Carnal Innocence
by
Nora Roberts
Nora Roberts, bestselling author of The Reef and Genuine Lies, mixes scorching passion with icy suspense in her classic novel of murder and infatuation in a southern town now available in hardcover for the first time.
In the small town of Innocence, Mississippi, days are long, nights are fragrant, and secrets are hard to keep. But when a brutal killer starts claiming the li...more
In the small town of Innocence, Mississippi, days are long, nights are fragrant, and secrets are hard to keep. But when a brutal killer starts claiming the li...more
Paperback, 512 pages
Published
December 1st 1991
by Bantam
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ETA: 4/7/12 The unagridged version narrated by Tom Stechschulte is now available on audible.com!
5* for the narrator/narration. Listened to this on audio narrated by the masterful Tom Stechschulte. Absolutely amazingly deep, sexy voice. Recommended if you can find it.
While listening to a book on audio the reader is forced to listen to all the description and not skim. I'm guilty of skimming at times, especially when the action gets going and I'm on the edge of my seat. While listening to Stechs...more
5* for the narrator/narration. Listened to this on audio narrated by the masterful Tom Stechschulte. Absolutely amazingly deep, sexy voice. Recommended if you can find it.
While listening to a book on audio the reader is forced to listen to all the description and not skim. I'm guilty of skimming at times, especially when the action gets going and I'm on the edge of my seat. While listening to Stechs...more
Great narration. Fun listen. Classic old school romance novel. Lite on bedroom scenes, but great chemistry and satisfying HEA with the main couple.
Nice one far a long drive on a sunny day. :) .
Definitely recommended!
Nice one far a long drive on a sunny day. :) .
Definitely recommended!
The setting of the sweltering, southern small-town is fantastic. It is inhabited with flamboyant characters who get under your skin quickly. They breath life in to their town with gossip, passion, love, death and everything in between. Add a rivting suspense with twists and turns that surprised the hell outta me and I was enthralled by this story from beginning to end. The romance was heart-tugging sweet, Caroline and Tucker are endearing characters with their personal quirks and their chemistry...more
4 STARS
Things in Innocence, Mississippi are anything but Innocent. A second women in this small town has been found murdered after having a public row with one of the wealthy townspeople. Tucker a lady killer is suspected of being a killer of ladies as both women were known to Tucker in more than a friendly manner. People are divided in what they think has happened and who has done. Caroline has returned to her mother's hometown after a breakdown to recover in her late grandmother's home. She s...more
Things in Innocence, Mississippi are anything but Innocent. A second women in this small town has been found murdered after having a public row with one of the wealthy townspeople. Tucker a lady killer is suspected of being a killer of ladies as both women were known to Tucker in more than a friendly manner. People are divided in what they think has happened and who has done. Caroline has returned to her mother's hometown after a breakdown to recover in her late grandmother's home. She s...more
Narrated by Tom Stechschulte - Narration 5+*
Reviewed for AAR's Speaking of Audiobooks 6/11/12 http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=8353
Anyone who has been around Speaking of Audiobooks for long is aware of my love for Tom Stechschulte’s narration of Carnal Innocence. With its recent rerelease in digital format I decided to articulate what makes this book a favorite relisten for me.
The number one reason is Tom Stechschulte’s performance and I mean performance in every sense of the word – few narrato...more
Reviewed for AAR's Speaking of Audiobooks 6/11/12 http://www.likesbooks.com/blog/?p=8353
Anyone who has been around Speaking of Audiobooks for long is aware of my love for Tom Stechschulte’s narration of Carnal Innocence. With its recent rerelease in digital format I decided to articulate what makes this book a favorite relisten for me.
The number one reason is Tom Stechschulte’s performance and I mean performance in every sense of the word – few narrato...more
Para uma pequena cidade onde nunca acontece nada, os últimos dias em Innocence (Mississípi) têm sido bem agitados!
Gostei imenso da componente misteriosa deste livro e fui completamente apanhada de surpresa na revelação do assassínio…Contudo, não consegui simpatizar com os protagonistas como é costume com os livros de Nora. Não gostei do carácter fraco e passivo com que nos é apresentada inicialmente Caroline e não gostei da forma como Tucker vê a vida. Aliado a isso é a constante (e irritante) r...more
Gostei imenso da componente misteriosa deste livro e fui completamente apanhada de surpresa na revelação do assassínio…Contudo, não consegui simpatizar com os protagonistas como é costume com os livros de Nora. Não gostei do carácter fraco e passivo com que nos é apresentada inicialmente Caroline e não gostei da forma como Tucker vê a vida. Aliado a isso é a constante (e irritante) r...more
Interesting little mystery. Roberts paints the small southern town richly, with loads of southern charm. Characters are quirky and interesting, though there are so many it's hard to keep track at times. At first it seemed like the focus was going to be on Caroline and she was definitely a main character, but really more of the story focused on Tucker than anyone else. He was a great character--a little too perfect sometimes but more complex than he appeared at first. If you're expecting a Nora R...more
Pure pleasure, pure pleasure reading this book, from the start to the middle wow incredible this book is worth reading more than once and I rarely do so.
Ms Roberts has a way with words, we all know that if we are a fan of her work, and her words on each page makes it impossible not to enjoy. Of course not all authors do write like Nora Roberts she had that descriptive element most do not delve into and work with the way she does so cleverly.
There is a different twist to this novel that starts...more
Ms Roberts has a way with words, we all know that if we are a fan of her work, and her words on each page makes it impossible not to enjoy. Of course not all authors do write like Nora Roberts she had that descriptive element most do not delve into and work with the way she does so cleverly.
There is a different twist to this novel that starts...more
This title will always make me laugh for two reasons. One, because my mother-in-law cannot say the word "Carnal" correctly to save her life. (She says car-nail...and that's funny to me). Two, because there is nothing carnal about this book, at least the first two-thirds of the story. The title is misleading...like that time I was reading a biographical account of Queen Elizabeth's life in England and it was called "The Virgin Queen".
So...the town is Innocence, Mississippi, a dusty, boring littl...more
So...the town is Innocence, Mississippi, a dusty, boring littl...more
Don’t get excited---Innocence is a very small town in Mississippi although, yes, it is a very carnal small town. The kind of town where everybody knows your business as well as the business of your family 200 years back and it’s all still current.
A world-famous violinist has escaped to Innocence to find herself and her roots. Roots that are based on a very short visit as a young girl to her grandparents. Unfortunately for Caroline, she has arrived at the tail end of three nasty murders.
We get t...more
A world-famous violinist has escaped to Innocence to find herself and her roots. Roots that are based on a very short visit as a young girl to her grandparents. Unfortunately for Caroline, she has arrived at the tail end of three nasty murders.
We get t...more
2 likes
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like
· see review
Unabridged audiobook version from Speaking of Audiobooks dated 9/30/10:
Narrated by Tom Stechschulte
Attempting to listen to a bad copy of Carnal Innocence, I just knew there was so much to enjoy that I was missing because of all that extra noise. Giving up on my library copy, I was delighted when my friend offered to loan me a copy. I totally fell into the story and in love with Tucker. Tom Stechschulte’s narration is superb and I believe it’s his interpretation of Tucker that made him so, well,...more
Narrated by Tom Stechschulte
Attempting to listen to a bad copy of Carnal Innocence, I just knew there was so much to enjoy that I was missing because of all that extra noise. Giving up on my library copy, I was delighted when my friend offered to loan me a copy. I totally fell into the story and in love with Tucker. Tom Stechschulte’s narration is superb and I believe it’s his interpretation of Tucker that made him so, well,...more
3 likes
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Fantastic book! It is about a concert violinist who has a emotional breakdown and escapes by moving into the old house she just inherited from her recently passed grandmother in rural Mississippi. Her second day there she finds a body in the pond on the property. She soon starts meeting all the town folk and learns that this is the third woman murdered in this rural area in the last 2 months and there was also one similar in Nashville a few hours away.
The FBI gets involved and there are lots of...more
The FBI gets involved and there are lots of...more
I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did Divine Evil. The themes were similar: a young artist just out of a bad relationship moves to a small town to escape and then MURDER happens. I did not enjoy the characters near as much.
I've only been to rural Georgia once, in my 20s and as a native/naive Californian I did worry I was going to be lynched and I am not black or male - I say this because this book played to a lot of those negative stereotypes that we "Yankees" and "Westerners" have about the...more
I've only been to rural Georgia once, in my 20s and as a native/naive Californian I did worry I was going to be lynched and I am not black or male - I say this because this book played to a lot of those negative stereotypes that we "Yankees" and "Westerners" have about the...more
I've said it before and I will say it again (and again...), I really like Roberts approach when it comes to the romantic aspects of her books - one party always makes it known that they are interested. Nora is very consistent with that, and I really appreciate it because it adds interest and takes frustration away from the reader. I get highly annoyed at some romantic - suspense books where the interested parties take so much time dilly dallying instead of making their feelings known. Nora Rober...more
Apesar de tantas páginas que se podem considerar “inúteis” gostei deste Inocência Perdida, talvez porque a autora acrescenta mais uma vez ao romance um toque de suspense e crime que me faz ler o livro até ao fim para desvendar o terrível criminoso. Neste caso, não foi assim tão complicado achar o culpado do crime, mas a explicação para tão horrendas mortes até que convenceu.
Roberts coloca como personagem principal uma conhecida violinista que, sofrendo de um esgotamento nervoso pelo fim de um re...more
Roberts coloca como personagem principal uma conhecida violinista que, sofrendo de um esgotamento nervoso pelo fim de um re...more
I guess this is one of her older books. It was fun read, though the plot holes were HUGE and there was no resolution on Carol's family issues.
Roberts did that whole "poor black family is about to be lynched and needs strong (and sympathetic) white people to rescue them to prove not all white people are bastards" cliche/sterotype.
The hints about who the killer was very heavy handed and the "proof" was almost insane stupid. That had to be the single biggest disappointment in the book: (view spoi...more
Roberts did that whole "poor black family is about to be lynched and needs strong (and sympathetic) white people to rescue them to prove not all white people are bastards" cliche/sterotype.
The hints about who the killer was very heavy handed and the "proof" was almost insane stupid. That had to be the single biggest disappointment in the book: (view spoi...more
If you are looking for a romance book that is more about crime solving and glorifying "down home boy" southern culture, then this book might be for you. It's a mystery about tracking down a serial killer in a small town in "the Delta" in Mississippi. There are a lot of characters and the author does an okay job at juggling all of them, although I often found myself scrambling to remember who everyone was. Even the crime solving is overshadowed by an attempt to paint a community where everything...more
I think I lived in a town similar to Innocence. The small town has the handsome plantation owner, the sheriff and several other important residents who all grew up together. Most of the locals know each other and are friendly for the most part. There is also a family or two who are not quite as popular, and of course, the mystery murderer who has been cutting up some local women.
Caroline inherited a home from her grandmother, and after growing up as a prodigy, decided she'd like to get away fro...more
Caroline inherited a home from her grandmother, and after growing up as a prodigy, decided she'd like to get away fro...more
Mar 26, 2010
Tumbleweed
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
No one, really; maybe to silly ninnies who don't know better.
It is clear that Carnal Innocence is more of a murder mystery than it is a romance novel, and don’t make the mistake of believing it’s a blend of the two – the romance is thrown in haphazardly. It seems like an afterthought, as if Roberts had forgotten that she’d promised her publisher she’d live up to the novel’s name. More to the point, there’s not much “carnal” about the relationship between Tucker and Caroline. It’s hurried and rushed, contradicting Tucker’s continual sermons on how everythi...more
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Caroline Waverly travels to Innocence, MS in an effort to figure out some things before resuming her musical career. She's a famous classical violinist. Within days of arriving at her grandparents house, left to her after they died, she meets Tucker Longstreet, a local boy who's perfected the ability to seem slow and carefree. But is he? It just so happens that Caroline's attempt to put down roots comes at a time when Innocence is plagued by a serial killer, a crazy man who beats his wife and ki...more
I am not going to review every Nora Roberts book that I have read in the past because she is quite prolific and it would get redundant and I honestly cannot remember all the plots. I think someone finds someone else attractive but at least one cannot admit it so there is sexual tension, then lots of sex, and then they live happily ever after? Sometimes there is some magic , a family legacy, or a mystery. Certainly not great works of literature (however still 100% better than “the grapes of wrath...more
I haven't read a bad Nora Roberts book yet! This book had a lot of the elements I love. A old mansion house in this one, and an old family home, two for one! lol And all the characters are great. Lots of them in this book. A whole town called Innocence. A woman called Caroline Waverly inherits her Grandparents home. Caroline has just spent her whole life playing the violin for everyone and worked her self into exhaustion. She came to her Grandparents house when she was a child and she remembered...more
So I read Nora Roberts! Wanna fight?!
Truth: I got this book because I thought the title was hilarious. But it really engages you, mixing sex and murder in ways sex and murder usually mix: Both happen a lot, sometimes close to each other.
The expansive cast of characters ensures you never get bored, although I've only read a few Roberts books with the "bad mommy" backstory and it is already tired. And yes, you have to go ahead and activate your suspension of disbelief.
UNTIL THE END, when the mys...more
Truth: I got this book because I thought the title was hilarious. But it really engages you, mixing sex and murder in ways sex and murder usually mix: Both happen a lot, sometimes close to each other.
The expansive cast of characters ensures you never get bored, although I've only read a few Roberts books with the "bad mommy" backstory and it is already tired. And yes, you have to go ahead and activate your suspension of disbelief.
UNTIL THE END, when the mys...more
narrated by Tom Stechschulte, finally finally downloaded fr Audible
5 stars are for Tom Stechschulte's Tucker Longstreet. his voice for Tucker shows the character of a man comfortable in his own skin. it's something about the lazy drawn-out Southern tones, so even if all he's saying is "Caroline," you hear who Tucker is.
i guess it's the equivalent of the mantra, show-don't-tell, except we-hear-not-told.
the 5-star narration is brought down by a 3-star suspense plot. i just don't get the psychology...more
5 stars are for Tom Stechschulte's Tucker Longstreet. his voice for Tucker shows the character of a man comfortable in his own skin. it's something about the lazy drawn-out Southern tones, so even if all he's saying is "Caroline," you hear who Tucker is.
i guess it's the equivalent of the mantra, show-don't-tell, except we-hear-not-told.
the 5-star narration is brought down by a 3-star suspense plot. i just don't get the psychology...more
This is a 16 disc audio book. I thought it a bit daunting at first and wasn't sure I'd be able to get it done before my trip; however, once I got into it, I loved it. The narrator, Tom Stechschulte is an incredible narrator. His Southern drawl was perfect. It's the story of the Longstreets, a dysfunctional family, Caroline, a Yankee, a virtuoso violinist, who moves into her grandmothers home, and the various Southern characters who lend tension, humor and mystery to the story. Women are being mu...more
3.5
Enjoyed the lively folk culture. Caroline`s vocation a great contrast to Tucker careless ways.
It did much better at the mystery subplot than others she`s written. Unfortunately the pattern seems to repeat.. over-and-over!
come back to hometown:check
murder lurking :check
hometown where everyone makes anyone's business their own: check
H/h known each other since childhood: check
Now, dont get me wrong, Nora does know how to craft a story to make it widely popular.. Perpahs that seems to be my p...more
Enjoyed the lively folk culture. Caroline`s vocation a great contrast to Tucker careless ways.
It did much better at the mystery subplot than others she`s written. Unfortunately the pattern seems to repeat.. over-and-over!
come back to hometown:check
murder lurking :check
hometown where everyone makes anyone's business their own: check
H/h known each other since childhood: check
Now, dont get me wrong, Nora does know how to craft a story to make it widely popular.. Perpahs that seems to be my p...more
Gruesome murders in the deep American south. A likable heroine that wants to find calm, herself and her roots. An adorable lazy but intelligent hero. All set in a fantastic small town setting.
Nora Roberts language is flowing. You can´t go wrong with that!
I really liked the way Nora Roberts tell the story of how it is to live in a small town, the gossip and the friendship, since I too come from a small town I can relate to it all, not the murders though (thank god) but the feeling of closeness th...more
Nora Roberts language is flowing. You can´t go wrong with that!
I really liked the way Nora Roberts tell the story of how it is to live in a small town, the gossip and the friendship, since I too come from a small town I can relate to it all, not the murders though (thank god) but the feeling of closeness th...more
May 27, 2012
Elisabete
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2012,
nora-roberts
Gostei bastante deste livro, apesar de não me ter cativado tanto como outros que já li da Nora. Tem bastante suspense e mistério e um pouco menos de romance do que é habitual, mas o pouco que tem é muito giro e divertido, dei umas boas gargalhadas com as personagens deste livro, principalmente com o Tucker (uma personagem masculina um pouco diferente das que a Nora costuma criar, mas não menos cativante) e com a prima Lulu. Mas o que ma cativou mesmo foi a parte policial, nunca imaginaria que er...more
4 likes
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like
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I'm not the biggest Nora Robert fan, not because the books are bad, but because I could never get into her books. I've read a few here and there, and the few I've read have been ok, but I have not enjoyed them enough for me to read her other books. Carnal Innocence, however, was thoroughly enjoyable. It was much better than I expected.
The biggest reason for deciding to read this book was because I saw they made a TV movie based on the book and the movie looked interesting. I decided to read the...more
The biggest reason for deciding to read this book was because I saw they made a TV movie based on the book and the movie looked interesting. I decided to read the...more
This book is set in rural Mississippi in the town of Innocence, which should have been my first clue to beware. Too often, rural southern characters in books are depicted as bigoted, racist, misogynistic, inbred and ignorant. (For the record, my roots are southern, but I'm a lifelong northerner.) I found some of that in this book, along with a tepid romance, gory murders, rape, psychological trauma, child and spousal abuse. This was a long, arduous read and the tale it told, while interesting, w...more
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J.D. Robb
Sarah Hardesty
Eleanor Marie Robertson was born on October 10, 1950 in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. She was the youngest of the five children, also the only girl, of a marriage with Irish ancestors. Her family were avid readers, so books were always important in her life. She attended a Catholic school and credits the nuns with instilling in her a sense of discipline. During her sopho...more
More about Nora Roberts...
J.D. Robb
Sarah Hardesty
Eleanor Marie Robertson was born on October 10, 1950 in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. She was the youngest of the five children, also the only girl, of a marriage with Irish ancestors. Her family were avid readers, so books were always important in her life. She attended a Catholic school and credits the nuns with instilling in her a sense of discipline. During her sopho...more
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“Caroline Waverly: Sometimes we hurt more for what might have been than for what is.”
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26 people liked it
“Happy Fuller: Somehow you always love in a special way the one who gives you the most grief.”
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10 people liked it
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Sep 30, 2012 11:30am
Sep 30, 2012 12:17pm