Samyann's Blog, page 30

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins – Audiobook Review

There are literally thousands of reviews of this book on Amazon and Goodreads. So … if you need synopsis of detail, you’ll have no trouble finding. Reviews are from 1 to 5 stars, opinions are varied.

With regard to the audiobook … The Girl on the Train is narrated by several female readers, which is fine … but, they basically sound alike … they all emote a lot.  All are British (British author).

All of the characters are so into their own self analyzing angst, including the supposed victim of a crime … it’s maddening.  The lead character, Rachael, is a ridiculously self absorbed alcoholic who has memory black-outs, witnesses what she believes is wrong do-ing, and is obsessed with her ex-husband. Convoluted, I know … just like the story. But, that’s the basics. In my opinion, the story should have been several hours (pages) shorter.

Frankly, the fact that this story is a mega-hit and has hogged the best-seller list for months and months is beyond me, but it’s the reason I finally succumbed. Maybe it’s just clever marketing … but The Girl on the Train has created an amazing, albeit completely puzzling, buzz.

Guess I’m not into drunks. Or, adolescent angst from supposedly mature people. Maybe I’m old. Yeah, that’s it. Must be it. Anyway …. not my cup ‘o tea, ’t all. Not recommended.

Brothers and Bones by James Hankins – Audiobook Review

Wonderfully narrated by John Rubinstein, Brothers and Bones is about fifteen hours of listening. Briefly, a Boston lawyer learns that his older brother, who had been missing for thirteen years, may still be alive. That’s is the basic thrust of the story.

Beyond this simple plot, however, are well rounded characters, terrific descriptions, and thrilling life-and-death situations. There are quite a few cliche comparisons that are a bit too frequent for my taste. However, the story is written in first person, ergo, a character trait may be the intent of the author. After all, we all think and speak in cliches.

The story held my attention, never had to re-wind. Minor romance element, and clean. Don’t hesitant to select as a gift. For the most part, a very well thought out mystery, with lots of interesting twists. Narration is excellent, unique voices, just the right amount of emoting.

Enjoy!

The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen – Audiobook Review

The Bone Garden has been in my library since purchased in 2008. Thought I better get to it!!  Lovely story. The Bone Garden is a page turning novel. A recently divorced woman purchases an old house and finds the ancient remains of a woman crudely buried in her yard. The local police aren’t particularly interested; the skeletal remains are over 100 years old. However, it would seem this body was the victim of murder. The house once belonged to a woman who saved a myriad of papers that were hauled away to the residence of a distant relative, an old man living alone. Thus is the thrust of The Bone Garden. 

The author bounces time from the 1830s to modern day with seamless ease. The story unfolds primarily through letters. Who murdered this woman. Who is she? You’ll have fun figuring it out, and be convinced a few times that you know who it is … but …

The romance element is subtle and cute, and fade-to-black. The characters are all well defined. Narration by Susan Denaker is good, male and female voice alike. You’ll have no trouble discerning who-says-what-to-who.

A fun mystery. Enjoy!!

Jericho Quinn Series by Marc Cameron – Audiobooks Review

All in audiobook format, this review references the first 3 books in the Jericho Quinn series. Two, National Security and Act of Terror, are narrated by Tom Weiner, State of Emergency by Luke Daniels. All are between 10-11 hours of listening, so in total, these three represent approximately 30 hours of  the Jericho Quinn adventures.

Jericho Quinn is a Mitch Rapp (Vince Flynn), Jason Bourne (Robert Ludlum), Jack Ryan (Tom Clancy) … well, you get the idea. He’s the self deprecating good-guy-tough-guy, who loves motorcycles, that the world turns to in the event of an apocalyptic threat. Jericho and a few secondary heroes/heroine are the go-to characters for the Director of National Intelligence. Quinn’s code name is the ‘hammer’ … which should give you an idea regarding collective mission objectives.

The bad guys are middle eastern, the weapons that of mass destruction. Think bio weapons, nuclear warheads, dirty bombs, and the feverous attempts to quell what initially seems inevitable.

The Jericho Quinn stories are complex and a myriad of unrelated events are intermingled into a satisfactory conclusion. Each novel can stand-alone, but characters move through each book to the next. Pay attention, moments are sometimes hard to follow without re-wind. Although these stories usually bring together seemingly disparate events, Cameron goes overboard a bit, in my opinion. There are many scenes that seem to add little, if anything, to the plots, and could easily have been removed. But, that’s just me, and you may come to a different conclusion. Basically, in my opinion, the books are good, but could have been shorter and less confusing.

Narration is fine. I take no issue with either reader. Luke Daniels has a unique take on the bad guy’s voice, however … a bit grating. But, he’s the bad guy, you’re not supposed to like him :-). You’ll have no trouble discerning who-says-what-to-who with either narrator.

Many of the well known authors of this genre, like those previously mentioned, are dead, and with them their wonderful characters. In my humble opinion, with this series Marc Cameron is making a credible effort to fill the void with Jericho Quinn.

If you like the genre, you’ll like these stories … and Jericho Quinn. Enjoy!

  

Night Shield by Nora Roberts – Audiobook Review

Narrated by Kate Rudd, Night Shield is a short one, under six hours of listening. There is a series of about 4-5 Nora Roberts books, Night Tales. This is one. Everybody in the Roberts books is drop-dead-gorgeous, so no change there. This time the lead, Ally Fletcher, is the daughter of the two lead characters of the first book, Night Shift, and some of the plot carries forward. Should tell you to read the books in sequence to get the most pleasure.

Typical of Roberts, mawkish romance interspersed with a great mystery. Not deep, not intended to be. Simply curl-up-on-the-sofa-with-some-hot-chocolate, your cat, and enjoy!

 

Harvest by Tess Gerritsen – Audiobook Review

Narrated by George Guidall, twelve hours of listening.

A beautiful young doctor is the center character of Harvest. Abby is a talented doctor who succumbs to the lure of the ‘transplant team’ of her hospital. It doesn’t take long for Tess Gerritsen to embroil the reader in a terrific plot along the lines of Robin Cook’s Coma. Organs are being harvested in a manner that will chill the reader to the bone!

George Guidall, it goes without saying, is absolutely brilliant.

If you like medical thrillers, you’ll love this story. Enjoy!

Six Years by Harlan Coben – Audiobook Review

Narrated by Scott Brick, just over 10.5 hours of listening. Love Scott Brick … but, he’s a little over-dramatic in some areas of this story. But, it’s a dramatic story … so you be the judge.

Six Years is the tale of vigilante-type witness protection, an interesting premise. A guy misses the boat with his true love as she marries someone else and little does he know she is doing this to protect him. Six Years later, he learns that the man she married is now dead and he starts the ball rolling to re-connect. Thus is the thrust of the story.

A hair-raising thrill ride, and like I indicated above … in my opinion Six Years is a little overly dramatic in places. This may not be the case in the written book, so you may find it’s just right! A good mystery story.

Enjoy!

Still Waters by Tami Hoag – Audiobook Review

Narrated by Joyce Bean, just over fifteen hours of listening. Still Waters is about 35% really good mystery and the remainder is ridiculously mawkish romance. The leads both have previous relationship baggage that takes up pages of poor-me self-analysis. You’ll be tempted to fast-forward a lot, but careful not to miss a relevant issue in the murder mystery. At least a third of the relationship-issues silliness could have been skipped altogether and the book would have been much better if shorter … much shorter.

Narration is fine, no trouble telling who-says-what-to-who.

The lead character is a bit over-the-top with a snarky attitude … but hey … it’s a Tami Hoag mystery/love story. If you like Danielle Steel, Nora Roberts type stuff, you’ll like Still Waters.

Ashes to Ashes by Tami Hoag – Audiobook Review

Ashes to Ashes is a police procedural, approximately nineteen hours of listening, and narrated by David Colacci. There are a ton of reviews on Amazon/Audible that convey plot, you don’t need to hear much from me. It’s typical of Tami Hoag, i.e., good story, well written. Good guys, bad guy, thrills, chills, and a nice twist.

Narration is fine, good audio production.

Enjoy!

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskers – Audiobook Review

The Life We Bury is narrated by Zack Villa and is about 8.5 hours of listening.  A college student with a mentally challenged brother and a self indulgent alcoholic mother is struggling through college. A biography writing assignment brings him to a nursing facility and the mysterious life of a former veteran, paroled from prison because he is dying of cancer. The guy was doing 30 years for murder. You guessed it … the man is innocent. Ergo, the thrust of The Life We Bury.

The story is one of the best I’ve listened to recently, a page-turning adventure. The lead character gets into a few hair-raising situations, often making some naive choices. Very creative thinking on the part of Allen Eskers, characters and story arc are wonderful, and I look forward to reading is other works.

Narration is good and you’ll have no trouble discerning who-says-what-to-who, albeit a little slow for my taste … bumped the speed up a bit to 1.5. You may find it just right.

Enjoy!