Samyann's Blog, page 55

All Night Long by Jayne Ann Krentz – Review

 

All Night Long has been in my Audible.com library since September of 2009. Thought I’d better get around to listening. The story is read by Kathy Garver and David Colacci. Neither reader controls the narration of the story, it’s shared and unpredictable. Colacci is okay. Garver sounds like a teenaged girl, high pitched, nail-on-a-blackboard, annoying. Mixing is terrible, virtually non-existent, volume rises and falls, unnecessary pauses.  I’m not certain how early All Night Long is in the writing career of Krentz, Hoping it is very early, because the characters are sophomoric and silly.

The mystery is passable. A young woman returns to her home town in answer to an email summons by a childhood friend and suspects it is related to the death of her parents years ago. But, the behavior of the characters is forced and childish. Unnecessary character reactions and dialogue is truly infantile, eye-rolling material. A fundamental premise in All Night Long is the love story between the two lead characters. Krentz created a transparent and ridiculous character in Luke, a motel owner. Krentz actually tells the reader more than once that Luke is an “alpha” male. Apparently, she hadn’t gotten around to writing lessons about showing rather than telling. That which she does show about Luke is not a man in love, but a creepy stalker. The female lead, Irene, behaves like a moon-eyed valley girl who ‘lifts her lashes’. Luke views ‘feminine disappointment’ in her eyes. What the hell…? Yikes. You probably won’t find this in audiobook easily, since it’s no longer available on the Audible site. No surprise. If you do run across it somewhere, take a pass.

The Target by David Baldacci – Review

The Target, as can be expected from Baldacci and this particular series, is a thrill ride. The story involves North Korea, Will Robie, and Jessica Reel. Given the fact that about 1000 reviews exist on Audible.com alone, I won’t go into more detail. Check the other reviews or the blurb for plot and story detail. I’ve only one observation to make, and this is in regard to the audio production itself.

David Baldacci is one of the few authors who takes the creation of the audiobook to a different level. This is not just the obligatory add-on of an audiobook to round out the listing. Having listened to close to 1000 audiobooks, I can say with a degree of certainty that extraordinary thought and effort goes into these productions. Baldacci audiobooks are not simply recordings of his written word. Rather, a careful mix of audio sound effects and music, and in this instance, dual narration by Ron McLardy and Orlagh Cassidy. An exceptional listen. Not really sure if this methodology is driven by Baldacci himself, or by his publisher. The story is virtually an audiobook-movie, letting the listener create the video in their mind. Not sure that is stating it properly. Regardless, his books are a cut above in the audio format, and the type of book you love to hear. Worth the credits.

If you enjoy the exploits of Robie and Reel, there is no doubt you will enjoy approximately thirteen hours of listening to a new adventure!

Down the Darkest Road by Tami Hoag – Review

This is the last book in the Oak Knoll trilogy. Frankly, I’d hope the entire series would climax with this story and encompass the characters developed in the previous books. Sadly it does not.  If you’re looking for Anne, Vince, Frannie, etc., they are are peripheral characters. Following the abduction of her sixteen year old daughter, and the death of her husband, a subsequent obsession is all consuming for the main character. The alleged abductor has followed her to a new town, Oak Knoll. There is an extraordinary amount of desperation on her part. Albeit she has reason for this angst, it is overkill that is presented via internal dialogue that seems to go on forever. Again and again the main character expresses her frustration, the Oak Knoll cops express theirs, and it gets a little exasperating for the reader.

I wanted to like the main character, but couldn’t … too self absorbed. Surprising that there are any romantic feelings toward her, but a sleazy private investigator and the good-guy Oak Knoll police investigator, Tony Mendez, are somehow charmed by this crazy, selfish woman. At minimum, she should have more empathy with the surviving daughter, who is starving for any affection from her grief stricken mother. About eleven hours of listening, Down the Darkest Road has a good title in that this is a very dark story … little, if any, comic relief. If you’re a big fan of Tami Hoag, I’m sure you’ll like this story, but in my opinion, it doesn’t measure up to the first two stories. A credible performance by Kirsten Potter, the narrator.

 

Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag – Review

Secrets to the Grave is the second in a trilogy about the town of Oak Knoll, not a place to live if you’re squeamish about grizzly murder. The story centers on the particularly gruesome murder of a young single mother. Her four year old little girl witnesses the murder. Sad premise to start. Ann Leone, the main character of this trilogy, is a lover of children, studying child psychology, and comes to the aide of the girl. The ultimate villain came to me much sooner than Tami Hoag would have liked, I’m sure…but, I won’t be a spoiler. I think my favorite character in the series is Fanny. I hope he appears in more books, a fun guy…had me laugh out loud a few times.

The book is read by Kirsten Potter, and she does a credible job with all character voices except the former Chicago cop. He sounds more east coast/Bostonian than midwestern (speaking as a born and bred Chicagoan). Great job with the other characters, including the child. Unabridged audiobook, about thirteen hours of listening.

If you enjoy a Hoag murder mystery, you’ll enjoy the story. I did, and I’m ready for the third book in the Oak Knoll trilogy.

 

Simple Genius by David Baldacci – Review

Opinions about this book are all over the board, everything from ‘stellar’ to ‘awful’. I’m in the middle. There is a great deal of time spent on the psyche of Michelle Maxwell, who in previous Sean-Michelle mysteries has been considerably more stable. Stable as a rock. In Simple Genius, Michelle is a self destructive liability, vulnerable to the extreme, suicidal and basically her character behavior requires a stretch of the imagination. Credibility is lost. There is no way Sean would allow someone in this fragile state to be a trusted sidekick.

Desperate for any work, Sean takes on a job to investigate a murder, leaving Michelle in the hands of a trusted analyst who, with her acquiescence, checks her into a rehab clinic. While Sean is embroiled in the murder mystery, Michelle bags the bad guys in a drug bust at the clinic and then joins him. Slipping in and out of suicidal behavior, Michelle watches Sean’s back. Credibility? Not so much. Eventually, the two solve the issue, a satisfying conclusion. As far as narration, Scott Brick is the best. A good narrator can make a mediocre book better, which is the case, in my opinion, with Simple Genius.

 

Zero Day by David Baldacci – Review

Been a fan of Baldacci ever since his break out novel in the mid nineties, Absolute Power. Every new author’s dream, a best selling break out novel made into a movie produced by, directed by, and starring Clint Eastwood. Yikes. I should only dream. Anyway …. back to Zero Day. This is the first of the series of books created by Baldacci surrounding the exploits of John Puller. Puller, a U S Army Secret Agent, is dispatched to a small town in the south to investigate the mysterious death of a military man and his entire family. Predictably, Puller winds up partnering with a sexy deputy sheriff with a chip on her shoulder that quickly dissolves as she softens toward Puller and they begin working together to solve what is ultimately a serious threat involving national security. There is considerable commonality to Lee Child’s character, Jack Reacher. A loner, get things done tough guy. There are a few interesting twists and a surprise ending. Well narrated by Ron McLarty and Oraigh Cassidy, male reading male voices, female reading female characters – nice first for me. There is very smooth dialogue transition throughout the book between the two leads, and the narrators do a terrific job.

Acts of Faith by Philip Caputo – Review

This story is an in-depth study of two basic areas. One, a deeply felt evangelical obsession to bring salvation to an African culture that has more pressing needs, like food. The locals are starving, war weary, and easy victims of the religious beliefs. Second, the relief workers are, in some ways, philanthropic in their righteous  efforts to fulfill the medical and nutritional needs. However, they’re in it for the money. The cast of characters which includes bush pilots, missionaries, aid workers, etc, is prolific; you’ll have a hard time keeping track of them. Some are relevant to the plot, some are not.

Ticks, mosquitos, spiders … oh my.

The story is a documentary-fictional-drama, if there is such a thing. None the less, no happy ending. Educational, the persistent famine and constant struggle for life itself is startling, depressing, and unimaginable. A thirty hour audiobook, this is a long story, and I was compelled to fast forward through some sections. Took me a few chapters to get into the cadence of Stefan Rudnicki, the narrator. However, he ultimately does a passable job. If you have interest in the Sudan or Africaa culture in general, I’m sure you will find the story gripping.

 

Worth Dying For by Lee Child – Review

Narrated by Dick Hill, this audiobook is the unabridged version, and almost fourteen hours of listening. The most interesting aspect of the story is the mystery of the ‘cargo’, as you won’t discover exactly what it is until the end of the novel. No spoilers, but it is as horrible as it gets. The adventures of Jack Reacher are typical, tough guy stuff, this lonely, high moral character hasn’t changed. Frankly, Reacher kills with a little too much abandon for my taste, but if you’re familiar with the Jack Reacher series, you probably think he never kills anybody that doesn’t need it.  I’ve never read a Reacher novel I couldn’t finish, but I think the character has run his course. Not much new in character development … predictable behavior for him.

 

US Population during the American Civil War….

9 million lived in the South in the American Civil War. 3.4 million were slaves?

Don’t swear!

During the American Civil War Iowa soldiers had a rule. Any man uttering an oath had to read a Bible chapter. Some got through the Old Testament.