Samyann's Blog, page 29

Innocence by Dean Koontz – Audiobook Review

Narrated by MacLeod Andrews and just over eleven hours of listening. The protagonist of Innocence is a Quasimodo (Victor Hugo’s character in The Hunchback of Notre Dame). Disfigured since birth to the extreme of causing anyone who looks at him to want to beat and kill him and ousted by his mother at the age of eight, his only means of security is to hide. He takes refuge in the bowels of a big city and hides behind a ski mask and hoody when venturing out, usually at night.

The character has a level of intelligence beyond his years, in my opinion. His only means of education is the kindness of a fellow homeless man and books, so ‘innocence’ is a good title. The guy is a babe in the woods. Considering how brutally he has been treated all of his life, there is no bitterness – in fact, quite the opposite. He is incredibly kind and gentle, a deep thinker. This alone is a good premise for a novel. Koontz goes way beyond this scenario, however. The story seemed like a selection of unrelated Koontz-like events bundled together. An apocalyptic plague, spirits that swoop in to rattle the plaster off walls, sexual abusing bad guys, art heists – plus the whole concept of the Quasimodo character. They do all come together eventually, but too many concepts are jumbled together. My opinion. You may find it just right.

Reading by MacLeod Andrews is great. This is a very atmospheric-spooky-type tale (it is Koontz, after all), and Andrews conveys just the right amount of intrigue in his narration.

I prefer Odd Thomas – but, if you like Koontz, you’ll like Innocence. Enjoy!

 

Did You Miss Me? by Karen Rose – Audiobook Review

Did You Miss Me? is a procedural narrated by Marguerite Gavin and quite long, close to 21 hours of listening. The childhood trauma of abduction comes back to haunt a beautiful young state’s attorney. Her son is abducted by the same bad-ass and she is assisted by a handsome FBI agent. There is the requisite love story that blooms between the attorney and the FBI agent. Might have been a better story without this – I wound up fast-forwarding through some eye-rolling mawkishness that distracted from the story. That’s the basic thrust of Did You Miss Me? 

It’s a pretty decent procedural, albeit more convoluted than necessary. Eliminating some characters would make the story much more listenable. The fundamental concept of the story is good – but, at minimum the book is 10 hours too long. Wordy and verbose.

I’m usually pretty easily to please with regard to narrators. So, it’s difficult for me to pan the work of Gavin. The male lead voice is terrible … not just a lower male voice created by a female reader, but – a growl – and he always sounded angry. Very annoying. The female lead voice was ‘damsel in distress’ whiney-shaky most of the time – also annoying.

I’m a fan of Karen Rose, but this isn’t one of her best efforts … too complex. The audiobook is not recommended, maybe you’d enjoy the printed version.

Savage Dawn by Inge Moore – eBook Review

Savage Dawn is a story that starts out innocently enough with a mother-daughter camping excursion. Some backstory of characters, including the paranormal abilities of the daughter follow. Suddenly, we’re in a thrilling story of survival following multiple catastrophic volcano eruptions.

There are some very graphic and chilling scenes not for the faint of heart, but the events are true to life and any reader interested in an apocalyptic adventure will love this story.

During the eruption of Mt. St. Helens back in 1980, I happened to be camping. Although the familial drama of this story is considerably more interesting, mine was also mother-daughter trip. We were in Idaho, making our way west, the mountain itself is in the state of Washington. We had volcanic ash on our tent and the air was thick with the smell of sulfur. Ergo, I found the story completely believable and an exciting read.

Enjoy!

The Sound of Glass by Karen White – Audiobook

The Sound of Glass is close to fifteen hours of listening and narrated by Therese Plummer and Susan Bennett. In my opinion, there was no need for dual narration, the readers pretty much sound alike. Beyond this, narration is fine, unique voices for several characters.

The title is based on  the tinkle of sea glass used to create wind chimes, a lovely image, and a lovely cover design. No secrets there, you’ll learn this early in the story.

The Sound of Glass begins with a mid-fifties plane crash that rains debris on the home of an abused woman, Edith. Part of the debris is a suitcase containing a letter, the contents of which is a mystery to the reader, but life altering for Edith. Years later, Edith bequeaths her sea-side mansion to an abusing grandson. The grandson dies, and his wife, Merit, inherits the house.  And an inconceivable connection involving a passenger on the doomed flight (the suitcase owner), and Merit, is a fundamental link. It’s just too much of a stretch for me. Secrets abound and you’ll be near the end of the story before it all comes together.

A side character is Merit’s step-mother. A southern “bless your heart” belle with tons of ‘my momma told me’ advice you’ll either enjoy or find completely annoying. Women who wear a lot of make-up, high heels, and are physically vain annoy me … she’s one of those.

Women who wear no make-up, flats, and work hard at being a plain-Jane annoy me, too … Merit is one of those.

Part of reading this type of fiction is reader willingness to stretch imagination with regard to coincidence that would not happen in real life … no possible way … so stretch … a lot. If you’re willing to do this, and you like chic-lit, you’ll enjoy the story, one of abused women through several generations.

I’ve trouble recommending a book with such an absurd plot … but … if you can take the ridiculous concurrence of circumstances and events, have at it.

The Silent Girls by Eric Rickstad – Audiobook Review

Narrated by R. C. Bray, The Silent Girls is 9.5 hours of listening. Not sure about narration of this story. It is an emotionally draining tale of kidnapping, torture, and the brutal murders. The narrator, in my opinion, drones. Bray just seemed a bad choice for this type of tale, although, in fairness, I really can’t point to a specific. If the world allowed choice in these situation, I’d choose Scott Brick … he emotes.

The Silent Girls is a police procedural surrounding the disappearance of several girls over several months. The girls are completely disparate in personality, life style, appearance, etc., and finding a common thread is the key to stopping a serial murderer. The story has a somewhat stereotypical lead. A burned out cop, bitter and disappointed with the judicial system in this country. Cops are up against the wall, constantly frustrated trying to keep the bad guys behind bars. The lead character of The Silent Girls is now a private detective, helping the police solve the unsolvable.

This is a good mystery, twists abundant, ending a surprise, nice character development.

Enjoy!

The Atlantis Gene by A.G.Riddle – Audiobook Review

The Atlantis Gene is close to sixteen hours of listening, narrated by Stephen Bel Davies.

Narration is fine, no issues.

First, let me say I really enjoy apocalyptic stories and I’m always looking for a good one. Sadly, there aren’t very many.

This book, in my opinion, is a good five hours longer than needed. Very convoluted and difficult to follow; an editor should have pared this story down considerably and made it simpler and more pleasurable to read. I found myself jumping back several chapters several times. A rewind nightmare. The story jumps around in time from a gazillion years ago, to WWI, WWII Nazis, modern day. There are many scenes/situations that add nothing to the story/plot other than making it more complex.

The story is overwritten considerably, or my simple mind simply couldn’t keep it straight :-).

The Atlantas Gene is book one in a series, and this reader will not be proceeding. The books in the series all have an average four star rating. Beats me. A few reviewers do agree with my ‘meh’ opinion, however.

Proceed at your peril. Not my cup ‘o tea.

Last to Die by Tess Gerritsen – Audiobook Review

Last to Die is narrated by Tanya Eby and approximately 10.5 hours of listening. Three tweens are victims, their parents, siblings, and foster parents all die in fires or automobile accidents or are mysteriously assassinated. Why? What do they have in common? Your initial impression is absolutely nothing! Why were these children saved? Thus is the mystery Rizzoli & Isles must solve.

Good story, albeit for my taste, a little longer than necessary. But, that’s just me. Tess Gerritsen has become one of my favorite authors. Every story has merit and I’ve enjoyed them all. Nice plot, interesting premise, well defined characters.

Tess Eby does a good job, you’ll enjoy the narration.

Looking forward to the next! Enjoy.

The Wild Inside by Christine Carbo – Audiobook Review

Narrated by R. C. Bray and thirteen hours of listening. A victim of childhood trauma, a Department of the Interior investigator, is summoned to Glacier National Park to investigate a grizzly murder. Take grizzly both ways … a morbidly grizzly attack by… you guessed it …  a grizzly bear. The investigator’s father was killed by a grizzly bear attack twenty years ago when father and son were on a camping trip. But, this time it’s no accident. The victim has been tied to a tree. What a way to go! Ugh!

I’ve only one complaint, and that is the paranoia of the lead character is a bit overdone. After twenty years he should be over it … especially since his career choice brings him back to woods and the flora and fauna within. He’s even spooked by campfires and breaks into sweats, near passes out, etc., in the park settings.  Too much.

The descriptions of the park and the beauty of Glacier National Park is well done, poetic at times. I’ve been there and the awesome beauty is astounding and pretty much beyond description in the written word. Ya simply gotta see it :-).

The story is a good one, well narrated. A pleasant listen.

Enjoy!

Under the Lake by Stuart Woods – Audiobook Review

Under the Lake is just under ten hours of listening narrated by Tom Stechschulte.

This is a good read/listen, a mystery. The lead character is a single man who experiences a bizarre disappearance of the lake outside his house, revealing an old farm. Part paranormal, mystical, part who-done-it mystery. Everyone in his small town, except him, knows the dark history he unfolds. Thwarted by everyone, including the local librarian and sheriff, he peels away the layers of an Agatha Christie-type story. The ending is a surprising twist. Thus is the foundation.

Narration by Tom Stechschulte is great, you’ll enjoy. No trouble discerning who-says-what-to-who.

Enjoy!

Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham – Audiobook Review

Rogue Lawyer is narrated by Mark Deakins and is 11.5 hours of listening. I was anxious to download this audiobook as I’m a big fan of John Grisham. Well … it’s a disappointment and I recommend you not waste your money.

This is the first Grisham I’ve read/listened to that was completely devoid of a character to like. The lead is a self-absorbed, snarky, irreverent ass. It’s no wonder his life is such a mess. A defense attorney that prides working for the indigent or underdog is a good thing, but this jerk seems to care not a bit as to how absolutely degenerate his client is … the scum of the earth. Frankly, these are people who, in my opinion, aren’t worthy of any defense … let ‘m burn … and I’m not kidding. These people are murderers, abusers, absolutely worthless human beings. However, our narcissistic Rogue Lawyer will happily take them on as clients – the lower the better. Maybe he’ll get his name in the newspaper or his face on the television; he likes that sort of thing. Then boom, he’s taking on the (always) bad guy police to defend an innocent man who’s wife and dogs are murdered in a jack-booted-thug police swat invasion. This was the only redeeming element in the Rogue Lawyer story. A disjointed compilation of weakly related shorts, not the typical beginning-middle-end novel. The stories loosely tie together, but badly executed and predictable.

Personally annoying … Rogue Lawyer is a platform for left wing sniping. I actually agree with some of the general opinons … but gimme a break! Wrong forum and completely unfair to the audience of Grisham fans. Certainly not what I expected.

As for narration … Deakins does okay. No issues.

Proceed if you’re a die-hard Grisham fan, but don’t expect something as terrific as A Time To Kill, King of Torts, The Firm, etc, and many other Grisham stories.  Sorry, John. This one is an oops.