October 3, 2016 - November 1, 2016
Denise from Newberg, OR
Marcia from Hastings, MI
Michael
Echo Burning by Lee Child
Narrator Name: Dick Hill
Rating the Audio Performance
I think this guy has narrated all the Jack Reacher books I have listened to. He is great (usually) with voices and is very creative and brings a lot to the narration through performance. My one gripe on this book is that he made a character that I wanted to like so whiny I couldn't stand her. She wasn't a villain - she was helping the main character but the whininess made me hate her. I think I'll take one star off for this narrator and I still like him! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I love the Jack Reacher books. There are some great moments in this book that made me want to cheer. It is a crazy story (like all of the other books) with some triumphs and frustrations, and I had a great time listening to it. The story is clear and it is a fun listen. I recommend this one!
Karen
The Last Mile by David Baldacci
Narrator Name: Kyf Brewer & Orlagh Cassidy
Rating the Audio Performance
Kyf Brewer has a very pleasant reading voice, and the tempo of his reading draws the listener into the story and keeps them listening. He makes the various male characters sound believable. Orlagh Cassidy has an excellent voice, and speaks the parts of the female characters in voices that reflect the personality and origin of the characters. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Melvin Mars, football star, was convicted of killing his parents 20 years ago. His last appeal has been denied and he is waiting to walk the "last mile" to his execution when he is told that someone else has confessed to killing his parents. Now the members of an FBI special task force, including Amos Decker, a former NFL player, are going to investigate the case. While they are investigating he remains in prison and is forced by guards to fight and kill two other inmates. Then the guards beat him so badly he is hospitalized. The beating gets him released into the custody of the team for his safety. The investigation is very involved with many twists and surprises, but the truth is finally uncovered.
Patricia Miller
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Narrator Name: Tina Fey
Rating the Audio Performance
Tina Fey did an awesome job narrating this book. Of course she did - she's reading the words she herself wrote, so it comes out completely natural! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This book was so good. It's so funny - but it also gives a very interesting "behind the scenes" look at the comedy industry. Really really enjoyed it.
Karen
The Guilty by David Baldacci
Narrator Name: Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy
Rating the Audio Performance
The tempo of Kyf Brewer's delivery makes the novel exciting to listen too. His delivery of the male characters brings them to life. Orlagh Cassidy's performance is very entertaining. She makes the female characters seem real. The accents reinforce the atmosphere of the novel. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Guilty of murder is the charge against Will Robie's father, Dan Robie,attorney and town judge of Cantrell, Mississippi. Will is estranged from his father and hasn't seen or communicated with him for 20 years, but he feels he must help him. To Will's dismay, Dan refuses to defend himself. Will hires an attorney, and begins his own investigation. He works with his father's wife on the case, and bonds with his half-brother. Meanwhile, some of the neighbors and parties with information start to die violently. He asks for his partner, Jessica Reel, to be allowed to help him solve the case. They continue to investigate the case, and with many wrong turns and surprising twists the case is solved.
Phyllis
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
Narrator Name: Helen Macdonald
Rating the Audio Performance
The author renders a passionate reading of her work with wonderful descriptive terms and clarity. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I do not ordinarily read this kind of work, but it is on the list for our local library discussion group. I am traveling in Italy and found it a good read while in the bus moving from place to place. Yes, it really is about training a goshawk, Mabel, for falconry, so you will learn so much about this kind of intense bird watching!,The author is grieving for the death of her father and reviewing the literature by T.H. White who was abused as a child, alcoholic, homophobic, and worked at a private boy's school in Stowe, England. Lovely descriptions of the countryside and the goshawk are presented.
Francisca E B
The Rope Walk by Carrie Brown
Narrator Name: Elaina Erika Davis
Rating the Audio Performance
Elaina Erika Davis does a reasonably good job performing the audio. She makes me believe it is narrated by a 10-year-old. I wasn’t a fan of Kenneth’s voice and didn’t understand why one of Alice’s older brothers had a British accent. But those were minor complaints. I loved Alice and Theo as Davis portrayed them. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
As summer begins, ten-year-old Alice meets two extraordinary people: a bi-racial boy visiting his grandparents for the summer and a middle-aged artist with AIDS who has come to live with his sister. This coming-of-age novel brought back many fond memories of the summers spent doing “nothing” and “everything.” One of the difficulties with choosing a child narrator, however, is that the adult reader will clearly see certain plot elements coming long before the less-experienced child. Still, I thought Brown did a good job of revealing the plot elements, and the changing relationships.
Annette
Most Wanted by Lisa Scottoline
Narrator Name: Julia Whelan
Rating the Audio Performance
Well done! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Compelling story full of emotional and dramatic content.
Suzanne
Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance
Narrator Name: J. D. Vance
Rating the Audio Performance
J. D. Vance did an excellent performance narrating his book HILLBILLY ELEGY. You felt the sincerity in his voice about his life growing up. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A very important book to understand the socio-economic issues of the Kentucky/Ohio mountain community.
Laura
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Narrator Name: Nicholas Guy Smith
Rating the Audio Performance
I wish he had used Russian accents to make it more authentic, but the strong, British, posh accent was good. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The story just draws you in and I loved Count Alexander. Amor Towles is a magical author. The way he writes just makes you feel like you are right in the thick of things. I have three burning questions and I might just have to email Amor and ask.
Nancy
The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
Narrator Name: Kimberly Farr, Rebecca Lowman, Arthur Morey and Daniel Passer
Rating the Audio Performance
I loved that there were four narrators and thought they all did a beautiful job telling the story of their characters. I especially loved the voice of Jordan. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I loved this book. It went back and forth between the history of the Morman Church through the voice of Ann Eliza and others and then to a current story of an outcast previously Mormon group call The Firsts, who are polygamists living in Utah, narrated by the outcast son of a woman accused of murder. It was a very interesting and captivating story.
Shirley
The Lake House by Kate Morton
Narrator Name: Caroline Lee
Rating the Audio Performance
Caroline Lee brought the characters to life and kept the story moving well. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I think that the detective's unsolved case could have been pared down quite a bit. I loved the way she thought and deduced the perpetrator of the crimes.
Melanie S.
The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison
Narrator Name: Karen White and Donald Corren
Rating the Audio Performance
Both the narrators performed their points of view perfectly, which definitely made the story more engaging. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
3.5 stars. An engaging story told from two points of view of the husband and the wife (yes, again) as their marriage implodes (yes, again). Both of the main characters were flawed but interesting and the story was engaging. The psychology of both characters were slowly revealed throughout the story. The wife was a therapist, but she limited her practice to people without serious issues, which was ironic since the man she was living with definitely had serious issues! The plot kept me reading, and this was a quick read. If you liked GONE GIRL you'll like this one.
Patricia Miller
Ink and Bone by Lisa Unger
Narrator Name: Molly Pope
Rating the Audio Performance
Molly Pope does a fine job of narrating - for everyone except the main character! For Finley, she uses this weird affectation that is so off-putting and bizarre. She uses pauses in the middle of every sentence and then also ends almost every sentence in the form of a question - even when it's not written that way. I can only guess that she's trying to convey that the character doesn't have much confidence in herself. But it doesn't work and it really distracted me from the story. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
For the first half of this book I was on par to give it a five star rating. But, unfortunately, a quarter of the book really fizzled out and was hard to even get through. Really disappointing. Whereas the first half of the book had a good pace and kept you moving along, the last half just prattled on and on with meaningless prose that, I think, was meant to be really deep and thoughtful. But it just wasn't. And the way she ended the book was so trite. All the storylines were wrapped up in neat little bows. Characters suddenly all loved each other and put aside their differences. And there was even a pregnancy! Felt like a soap opera ending. What a waste of a good plot line.
Patrice
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
Narrator Name: Kimberly Farr
Rating the Audio Performance
Anne Tyler’s characters and stories all all a little quirky, yet somehow familiar, and comfortable like a favorite pair of cozy, worn, well-loved slippers. And Kimberly Farr strikes just the right blend of familiarity and quirkiness to make Tyler’s most recent novel tug at the heartstrings at times, and veer off into the unexpected at others. Well done, Ms. Farr! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Reading (or in this case listening) to Anne Tyler’s novels is like coming home. Your family has its characters, but you love them just the same. You’re never sure what turn the story will take, and the characters are familiarly quirky, but you can’t stop listening. Sometimes in the driveway with the car still running...
Denise
The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman
Narrator Name: Judith Light, Grace Gummer and Zach Appelman
Rating the Audio Performance
I like the three voices they choose to do the narration. It helps reflect the various views of the story. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Fascinating. Keeps you going. You want to know how it will end, will various characters meet, will there be a good conclusion, will the bad get their just reward...
Sonnia
Doubleback by Libby Fischer Hellmann
Narrator Name: Eva Kaminsky
Rating the Audio Performance
Well done. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A complicated, exciting, but easy to follow novel by Libby Fischer Hellmann. Lots of action, suspense and wonderful strong female characters made for a very pleasant literary journey.
Rebecca
John Adams by David McCullough
Narrator Name: Edward Herrmann
Rating the Audio Performance
Edward Herrmann is an excellent narrator as we have also listened to him in THE BOYS IN THE BOAT. He will be a great loss as an actor and a narrator. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
McCullough makes history come alive! Because of this excellent book, we attended the Musical "1776" and enjoyed it immensely...lots of John Adams there! The last McCullough book I read was THE JOHNSTOWN Flood and this prompted a day trip to Johnstown, PA, with my previous book club.
Eve Phipps
Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave
Narrator Name: Luke Thompson
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrator gave wonderful voices to the characters, whether adult or child. I really felt the emotions of life during war and the losses people endured. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Well-told story of wartime and the blitz over London and of personal loss as well as national loss. Many stories of love and loss, class distinction and racism. I was surprised at what I did not know about WWII and Great Britain.
Barbara
All the Stars in the Heavens by Adriana Trigiani
Narrator Name: Blair Brown
Rating the Audio Performance
Blair Brown does a superb job with this novel. Her Alda Ducci is so endearing that I actually felt like crying at times. Loretta Young, Spencer Tracy, David Niven and Clark Gable feel like your best friends by the end of the audiobook. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This book was riveting. I remember Loretta Young, Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy slightly, but this book brought them to life for me. Hollywood at its best and worst is portrayed through the thread of their lives. I found myself running errands daily so I could keep up with what was going on in the story.
Tessa B C
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian
Narrator Name: Grace Blewer
Rating the Audio Performance
Grace Blewer does a fine job narrating the audio version. Blewer is Bohjalian’s daughter, and she helped him with the slang and cadence of speech so that he could write in a more believable teen-aged voice. The audio has a bonus interview with author/father and narrator/daughter, which was very informative. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
3.5 stars. Emily Shepard is a troubled teen. Totally understandable, given that she’s been orphaned by a nuclear plant disaster where both her parents worked, she’s homeless, and she’s one of the most reviled people in Vermont, if not all of America. The novel is told as a series of journal entries, and Emily’s recollections are not linear. Often, I was irritated with her, but I grew to like her and root for her. She was intelligent, resilient, tried to be responsible, and was very vulnerable.
Susan
What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman
Narrator Name: Tavia Gilbert
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrator did use different voices for many characters. The narration was fine, not special in any way, but good enough. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Alternating chapters between the two protagonists. I found the story taking place in the present a little YA and predictable, although some portions were exciting. I loved the historical chapters, especially the historical information on mental institutions and women's issues and found them fascinating and sometimes scary.
marcia
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back by Lee Child
Narrator Name: Dick Hill
Rating the Audio Performance
Characters have different 'voices' so it's easy to follow who is speaking. We listened to this when traveling and found ourselves bringing it into the house to continue listening as the story was very captivating. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The twists and turns in the story made it hard to stop listening.
Nicolette
Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
Narrator Name: Prentice Onayemi
Rating the Audio Performance
Prentice Onayemi did such an excellent job with this story. His voice fit the characters even as he changed it up. I enjoyed the little bits of singing included as well! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Books like this really make me feel torn. This was a story of the American dream. The struggle of a family from Africa is explored with issues that a family from anywhere, living anywhere, might face in addition to the struggles of being an immigrant. I enjoyed the realness of the story, of the characters, but something just felt incomplete when I was done. Perhaps this is only because I'm used to the more final endings of mystery-type novels.
Chris
Giddy Up, Eunice by Sophie Hudson
Narrator Name: Sophie Hudson
Rating the Audio Performance
Sophie Hudson is the perfect person to read her own words. She reads like we're having a conversation, and she is so funny that you want to hear more, more, more. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Sophie Hudson writes about how important it is for women to embrace relationships with other women, particularly the women both younger and older than ourselves. She discusses the wisdom we absorb from those above us and the importance of passing that to the layer below us. This is such a great book, and it is our pick for our October book club.
Joanne
The Red Bandanna by Tom Rinaldi
Narrator Name: Tom Rinaldi
Rating the Audio Performance
Books read by the author are always my favorites and this is no exception. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A moving 9/11 story that had me weeping in the parking deck while I awaited work, but I couldn't draw myself away from the details.
Debbie
Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer
Narrator Name: Ari Fliakos
Rating the Audio Performance
I can only imagine how difficult this book was to narrate because it is really a stream of consciousness. Where to put the inflection, where to breathe, how not to dissolve into a monotone must have been difficult problems to solve, but Mr. Fliakos did a great job and brought all the characters to life, especially the sometimes difficult to listen to narrator who cannot seem to get beyond himself. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
In many sections, this book was difficult to listen to. I tired of Jacob's (the narrator's) constant complaining as he watched his family fall apart over a four-week period (due to his own juvenile behavior) and struggled with what it means to be Jewish and what Israel means to Jews who have never lived there. That being said, there were parts of this book where the prose was wonderful. Sam's bar mitzvah speech and the rabbi's eulogy at his great-grandfather's funeral brought me close to tears. Also interesting was the juxtaposition of a family's unraveling and the unraveling of Israel brought to its knees by a devastating earthquake and its aftermath. Is this book worth listening to? Yes, but be ready for some slow parts.
Debbie
Mischling by Affinity Konar
Narrator Name: Vanessa Johansson
Rating the Audio Performance
Ms. Johansson does a wonderful job at voicing the pathos, sorrow and terror that is always present in this book. As you listen, you experience the emotions of the two young girls, those who abuse them, those that keep them safe, and their ever-present hope for the future. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This story is a difficult one to listen to, but it is so well-written that you feel every emotion. The story of Dr. Mengele's experiments on twins and others who he perceives as "oddities" at his "zoo" in Auschwitz is appalling and terrorizing. Yet, Pearl and Stasha, twin sisters who narrate this book, never lose hope. They are survivors. One becomes Mengele's pet and vows to herself to kill him; one vows to forgive Mengele and all who helped him. Their journey through the horrors of Auschwitz and its aftermath as they do everything to survive and recapture their lives and their search for each other and the rest of their family is heart-wrenching but so important to listen to. Ms. Konar has written a wonderful and important book.
Debbie
Leaving Lucy Pear by Anna Solomon
Narrator Name: Rebecca Lowman
Rating the Audio Performance
Ms. Lowman does an excellent job with all the characters, especially the three main female characters - Beatrice Haven, Emma Murphy, and Lucy Pear. Each character has her strengths and weaknesses and Ms. Lowman is able to bring those traits out in each of them. In addition, she is able to describe the beautify of Cape Ann so wonderfully that the listener thinks she is there. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
LEAVING LUCY PEAR is a story of family, of secrets, of connections, of unintended consequences, of regret and of redemption. Told from the perspectives of three female characters, whose lives are connected in so many ways -- some intentional and some not -- the story unfolds like the waves of the ocean, which provides the background for the story and plays a powerful role in the story itself. When you finish this book, you are left to wonder whether we can ever really control our destinies and, if so, how do our decisions affect the destinies of others.
Mary Lou
Damaged by Lisa Scottoline
Narrator Name: Rebecca Lowman
Rating the Audio Performance
This narrator has a very nice style and pleasing voice. It was easy to tell the different characters apart - men, women and children - no easy task in many books. Well done. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This book is a fun legal thriller, with sub-themes of bullying and abuse. Not rocket science overall, but very entertaining nonetheless. Mary Denunzio has made partner at her law firm and she is getting married in two weeks. She gets a new special ed client who is dyslexic and unable to read, and who is not getting the services he needs at his public school. Patrick O'Brien is a skinny, lovable, talented 10-year-old artist living with his 71-year-old granddad he calls Pops. Things start to happen to Patrick, and he is accused of assaulting a teacher's aid at school. Then Pops is found dead of an insulin overdose, and Patrick is the prime suspect. Mary never loses faith in Patrick, and the plot works its way to a satisfying resolution.
Pamela
Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
Narrator Name: Alan Bates
Rating the Audio Performance
Compelling reading. I enjoyed it. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Unusual subject matter with twists. Different types of friendships and betrayal are portrayed.
Debbie
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Narrator Name: Nicholas Guy Smith
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrator was wonderful. The story never got boring even though the main character, Count Alexander Rostov, lives under house arrest in The Metropol Hotel for the entire duration of the story. Mr. Smith does a wonderful job with each character's voice as the story weaves from one adventure to another and from one character to another. This story is definitely character-driven and Mr. Smith brings all the characters to life. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
My favorite book of the year so far and I cannot even tell you why. Alexander Rostov is a wonderful character who finds ways to adjust to his new lifestyle in a very small room in the belfry of The Metropole Hotel, where he is expected to live for the rest of his life. Despite his downgraded circumstances, he encounters wonderful people, has a love affair, learns to sew, "adopts" a child, becomes the headwaiter and is a continuing thorn in the side of "the Bishop," who manages the hotel. All of the characters are wonderful and the stories of Russia from the 1920s until the 1950s are brought to life through the adventures and misadventures of Count Rostov, a beloved and wonderful character!
Christy
News of the World by Paulette Jiles
Narrator Name: Grover Gardner
Rating the Audio Performance
Extraordinary as always. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Really became involved with the characters --- my favorite kind of book.
Jamie
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
Narrator Name: Taylor Meskiman
Rating the Audio Performance
She did a good job with voices, but overall it was slow for me. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I did like the story, although I thought it was a little long.
Lori
The Children by Ann Leary
Narrator Name: Gretchen Mol
Rating the Audio Performance
Gretchen Mol did a great job with the audio performance. It was easy to distinguish characters and had a nice pace to it. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I thoroughly enjoyed the book about a blended family with a complicated history. The characters were complex, and a lot of their issues aren't revealed until the end of the book. Although I found the villain of the book to be somewhat obvious, the outcome was unexpected. As with THE GOOD HOUSE (which I also loved), Leary did a great job creating an interesting story.
Diana
Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly
Narrator Name: Bill O'Reilly
Rating the Audio Performance
Riveting! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I found it both fascinating and informative. My husband and I listened to it while driving cross-country and both of us loved it! There were so many historical facts that neither of us knew, and it gave us a better understanding of a time in history that has haunted our country.
sue
Underground Airlines by Ben Winters
Narrator Name: William DeMeritt
Rating the Audio Performance
Demeritt gives a fine performance with an almost monotone way of being Victor, the main character. At times, his voice became lulling, like putting me to sleep, but then, he'd say or do something exciting. He fit the character well. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The altered history story takes place in present day but the twist lies in that the Civil War never occurred, thus slavery was not abolished nationwide. Victor is telling the story as he hunts down an escaped slave, but he adds his own history which definitely complicates things. I found the book intriguing and although it held my interest, I struggled, at times, with keeping the plot straight. Bad guys become good guys but they're still bad guys? And, I did not like the ending. However, the idea of the Civil War not happening and the fallout from that was imaginative. Sad thing is that people aren't who they say they are is very prevalent today; just look at any news channel. So, the scandals are believable! Good listen.
Francisca E B
The 4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie
Narrator Name: Joan Hickson
Rating the Audio Performance
Joan Hickson - the marvelous actress who played Miss Marple in the television series – is absolutely pitch-perfect narrating the audiobook. 5 stars for her performance – Brava! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
3.5 stars. The story begins when Mrs. McGillicuddy witnessed a murder on a passing train. She reports it to the authorities, but as there has been no body found, and no woman reported missing, they dismiss her story as active imagination. This is a great cozy mystery, featuring a fine cast of suspects and amateur sleuths. Miss Marple employs the assistance of the very capable Lucy Eyelesbarrow, a young woman who is smart and steadfast. Together, they are a force to be reckoned with.
Gail
Hag-Seed (Hogarth Shakespeare) by Margaret Atwood
Narrator Name: R. H. Thomson
Rating the Audio Performance
The book is read so convincingly by R. H. Thomson, an accomplished actor who brings that skill to every word he utters, that the characters leapt from the page into the real world and took on human forms. Listening to this book was truly like watching theater in my mind because of the performance given by the narrator. Every character gave a singular performance! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Felix Phillips, the head of the Makeshiweg Festival, was betrayed by his associates and was unceremoniously removed from his position. His protege had deceived him by working behind the scenes to depose him. Disappointed and humiliated, he rented a shack and moved in with the barest of necessities. He created an imaginary companion, his deceased daughter, Miranda. He became a teacher at the Fletcher Correctional Facility instructing inmates in the art of acting, He became another man, known only as Mr. Duke. There were many interesting parallels in the two plays. They were all prisoners in one way or another; they all wanted freedom.
Thoughtfully, the author included a summary of the original Shakespeare play, "The Tempest".
Patricia Miller
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
Narrator Name: Ralph Cosham
Rating the Audio Performance
Love Ralph Cosham's readings of Louise Penny's books! In my mind, he IS Gamache. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Another great story in the Gamache series. I'm giving it a 4-star rating instead of 5 only because there were a few times throughout the book that she seemed to go off on a tangent that never actually ended up having to do with the main storyline. Other than that, a great read. Can't wait to read the next in line in the series!
Susan
Miles to Go by Richard Paul Evans
Narrator Name: Richard Paul Evans
Rating the Audio Performance
He does a really good job. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I am really enjoying this series on audio. I am from the Northwest so it has been fun to hear about places I know and have visited. Looking forward to listening to the whole series.
Laura
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
Narrator Name: Cassandra Campbell
Rating the Audio Performance
Cassandra is a great narrator. Distinct character voices. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Fun retelling of PRIDE AND PREJUICE. Set in present day, Liz Bennett is from Cincinnati. Her mom and sisters are out there. Her dad is quietly hilarious. Darcy is everything a Darcy should be.
Deb
The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnette Friis
Narrator Name: KATHERINE KELLGREN
Rating the Audio Performance
Ms. Kellgren has a most annoying tone and at times sounds too 'matter-of-fact' in her narration.
I have listened to other performances by her with the same reaction. Not a favorite of mine. To her credit, though, she pronounces Scandinavian words impressively! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A tight mystery surrounding a kidnapped young boy left in a locker for a 'buyer' to pick up. The transfer, however, goes differently than planned and a cat-and-mouse game ensues to get the boy away from pursuers and back to his mum. Keeps you guessing all the way...who, where, when, why...
Kate
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Narrator Name: Imogen Church
Rating the Audio Performance
The performance was fine, but I was so annoyed by the track differences that I often had to skip sections. A 10 minute track for one chapter and a 45 minute track for another? When you have to move CDs from one venue to another this is not acceptable. It took away from the performance for me. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I didn't relate to the main character until near the end of the book.
Annette Callan
Downfall by J. A. Jance
Narrator Name: Hillary Huber
Rating the Audio Performance
Wonderfully narrated with diverse voices imbued with depth of feeling making different characters believable and separate. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Another very fine story about a female sheriff, Joanna Brady, making a memorable impact in a traditionally man's world.
Gerry
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Narrator Name: Nicholas Guy Smith
Rating the Audio Performance
Read with a British accent that seemed somehow perfectly suited to the aristocratic main character (though of course, the Count is Russian, not British), this narration was completely delightful from start to finish. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is a very enjoyable story of a suave, erudite Russian aristocrat sentenced in 1922 to lifelong house arrest within the central Moscow hotel that was his residence. His admirable determination to create a meaningful life despite his confinement, and the relationships he develops with other residents and hotel employees form a fascinating thread of a storyline that also covers a half-century of Soviet Russian history.
Ricki
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Narrator Name: Kevin T. Collins and Eve Bianco
Rating the Audio Performance
Collins's narration was spot-on and really captured both the feel of the character and the South (although at one point it mentions that Ethan doesn't have an accent, but Collins read him with one). The part where it switched to Bianco, though, just felt a little off. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A perfect blend of paranormal and Southern Gothic. Possibly my new favorite YA paranormal.
Gerry
The Edge of Lost by Kristina McMorris
Narrator Name: Charlie Thurston
Rating the Audio Performance
Very engaging narration. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Well-structured and engaging story about an Irish immigrant in Depression-era America.
Gerry
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts by Joshua Hammer
Narrator Name: Paul Boehmer
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Like most Americans, I tend to associate radical Islamists with the Middle East, but was unaware of the extent to which African nations have also suffered at the hands of Al Qaeda and similar groups. Hammer's story of the struggle of the people of Mali to free themselves from the oppression of radical Islamists, and to protect the rich cultural heritage collected in their ancient manuscripts shed new light on the issue of terrorism, highlighting once again the extent to which Muslims themselves have been victimized by the radicals, and their efforts, along with those of France and other nations, to defeat the radicals and restore stability to their nation.
Gerry
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Narrator Name: Bahni Turpin
Rating the Audio Performance
Pitch-perfect narration! This reader made every character come to life. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Very engaging account of a young woman seeking freedom via the underground railroad. With a combination of historical fact and fantasy, Whitehead portrays the brutality and almost unsurmountable obstacles Cora faced on her quest for freedom, as well as the efforts of freedmen, other runaways, and a small handful of whites to assist her along the way.
Gerry
Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink
Narrator Name: Kirsten Potter
Rating the Audio Performance
It's challenging to separate my response to the audio performance from my reaction to the book's content. I have no complaints about this narrator, but found the book got bogged down in too much detail, and in general, I didn't enjoy it enough to give either author or narrator a five-star rating. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Parts of this book -- especially the Epilogue, with its detailed discussion of ethical issues and methods of building consensus -- were worthy of five stars. The early chapters describing conditions and events within the hospital were fascinating as well. But the book dragged badly in the middle chapters focusing on legal strategies and testimony before the grand jury. Overall, it was a worthwhile and informative book about the crisis conditions during Hurricane Katrina.
Gerry
Seventh Heaven by Alice Hoffman
Narrator Name: Hillary Huber
Rating the Audio Performance
Excellent! Kept me engaged throughout. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The best Hoffman novel I've read so far! Alice Hoffman does a wonderful job re-creating the world that was American suburbia in the fifties and early sixties.
Mary
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
Narrator Name: David McCullough
Rating the Audio Performance
He reads in a straight-forward manner, which is perfect for the nonfiction material. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
He gives you many details about the entire Wright family that I believe have been little known. I have a much greater appreciation of the sacrifices and ability to imagine and create whatever was needed to get their machine flying.
Wendy
The White Lioness by Henning Mankell
Narrator Name: Dick Hill
Rating the Audio Performance
There are lots of accents (Swedish, Russian, South African) to be rendered in reading this book, and Hill does a great job of all of them, even managing to differentiate between the speakers of the same language from different areas. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I am a fan of Scandinavian noir mysteries so I would have enjoyed this book regardless of the subject. But I found the combination of a police hunt for a missing woman and an assassination plot against Nelson Mandela to be quite gripping even though we learn the identity of the assassin quite early in the book. Also Kurt Wallander is such a conflicted man that he endears himself.
Julie Bockstiegel
Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick
Narrator Name: Scott Brick
Rating the Audio Performance
The always reliably, expert narrator Scott Brick does not let his listeners down in this audiobook. He always seems to be the right choice to read a book, but I felt he was particularly appropriate here. He brought the history to life. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I really did not know much about Benedict Arnold or what brought him to his betrayal, so I was interested to get his background and see how it led him to where he ended up. Philbrick did a good job portraying the fragility of the American Revolution and how so many times it could have fallen apart. I have read a couple of his other books and he always does a good job.
Linda
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
Narrator Name: Rebecca Lowman
Rating the Audio Performance
Ms. Lowman did an excellent job of reading the book. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Basically this was a coming into adulthood book of Katie and her circle of friends that she makes in NYC during the 1930s. All seemed real and right with the world - even when the characters weren't among themselves.
Lisa
The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende
Narrator Name: Joanna Gleason
Rating the Audio Performance
Very good audiobook! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Very easy to understand and follow.
Gail
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Narrator Name: Nicholas Guy Smith
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrator was outstanding, portraying each character so impressively that the identity of each character was perfectly obvious whenever they appeared on the scene. Even though Smith played the role of male and female, adult and child, aristocrat and commoner, he was absolutely perfect in his presentation, so that even without changing his male voice in an attempt to make it female or childish, he imparted an image, to the reader, of the character in the flesh with his tone and timbre. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This author’s use of the English language surpasses what is used in most novels today. His vocabulary, his sentence structure, his descriptions and his juxtaposition of words to create images make them so vivid and so beautifully drawn that the reader will be in the very time, after the Bolshevik Revolution, and the very place, living in Moscow, in the Metropol Hotel with the Count and his friends. The reader will be experiencing what he experiences and feeling all of the same emotions. The characters were magnificent. I wish I could give this book ten stars.
Linda
Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley
Narrator Name: Jayne Entwistle
Rating the Audio Performance
Perfect voice for a book written in the voice of a young British girl. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Once again Flavia de Luce stumbles onto a body and works to learn about the man, why he has a book that belongs to an acquaintance of Flavia's. Flavia's pretty much on her own with this one since her father is in the hospital where the rest of her family is in attendance.
Linda
I'm Just a Person by Tig Notaro
Narrator Name: Tig Notaro
Rating the Audio Performance
Tig Notaro was a good narrator for her own story. I would be surprised if I would think the same if she narrated something else. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
One very rough year in the life of this stand-up comic has her re-evaluating her life and the relationships in her life.
Cathy
The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony and Graham Spence
Narrator Name: Simon Vance
Rating the Audio Performance
A wonderful true story about the author's life running an animal preserve in South Africa. He had a special relationship with a herd of rogue elephants. The narration was very good throughout the book. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
A moving story about the author's life running an animal preserve in South Africa, and about his relationship with a herd of rogue elephants.
Francisca E B
The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier
Narrator Name: Kate Reading
Rating the Audio Performance
Kate Reading does a fine job performing the audio version, although she never succeeded in giving Honor (or any of the other new arrivals from England) a British accent ,something which is commented upon several times. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
2.5 stars. In 1850, Honor Bright accompanies her sister to America, hoping for a new start. But the “frontier” of Ohio is very different from the long-established English community Honor left, and she feels adrift and unwelcome. I’ve been a fan of Chevalier’s for a long time. I like the way she puts the reader into the time and place of her historical novels, and this is no exception. But I didn’t really believe in Honor. It seemed to me that Chevalier got herself into a corner and didn’t know how to get out, so she used the most convenient way to end things. It was so dissatisfying, to me, that I dropped half a star.
Phyllis
Salt to the Sea by Rita Sepetys
Narrator Name: Jorjana Marie, Will Damron, Cassandra Morris, and Michael Crouch
Rating the Audio Performance
The four narrators do an excellent job of enacting this novel about four young people during WWII. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Always interested in writings by Michigan authors, so really enjoyed this historical fiction. I was uncertain why my library shelved this in teen fiction. It was a great story for any age about the terrific maritime accident of the Wilhelm Gustloff filled with people escaping the Nazis. I particularly liked the reference to the Amber Room and other art that had been stolen by the Nazis. Highly recommended!
Margo
You by Caroline Kepnes
Narrator Name: Santino Fontana
Rating the Audio Performance
Santino is absolutely perfection! He conveys the perfect snarky wit that I imagine Joe, the main character, sounds like! I love a story in which the narrator brings the full picture into view! I cannot wait to listen to HIDDEN BODIES! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The story is creepy and terrifying but at the same time I truly fell in love with Joe! I am Team serial killer Joe! What a fantastic book! I am now listening to HIDDEN BODIES and I don't want it to end. More please!
Shirley
Elizabeth Street by Lauria Fabiano
Narrator Name: Angela Dawe
Rating the Audio Performance
The author does a good job of integrating Italian words/phrases with the English text. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This engaging story of an Italian family. Their immigration and integration into American society is pretty universal for Italian immigrants as I know it. The author brings up the many political and economic reasons for the Italian immigration in the late 1900s and early 20th century. She also demonstrates that most émigrés experience prejudice and need to work hard at becoming American.
Kristen
Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley
Narrator Name: Jayne Entwistle
Rating the Audio Performance
Ms. Entwhistle is one of my all-time favorite narrators. She does equally well in this audio. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Very good story, but somewhat sad.
Shari Bottego
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
Narrator Name: Robert Petkoff
Rating the Audio Performance
Mr. Petkoff's performance was very good. I listened to this book while driving seven hours each way. The time flew as I listened. His inflections were spot-on and kept me entertained through the long, boring drive. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I truly enjoyed the book! I liked how Scott Burroughs developed through the story. As I listened to the book I tried to figure out who was behind the plane's demise. The ending was a huge surprise.
Robin Nyzio
Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
Narrator Name: Glennon Doyle Melton
Rating the Audio Performance
Hearing an author read her own words always enhances my enjoyment of a book. In this case, it also adds to my comprehension of how she felt during different times of her life. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The story of a outwardly typical woman growing up in a nuclear family who develops bulimia at a young age, continues down a dark path to become an alcoholic and drug addict. She cleans up when she is pregnant with her first child and stays sober. But, like everything else in life, it's not that simple. Her life is still fraught with complications and misunderstandings that nearly lead to the dissolution of her marriage.
Eileen
The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman
Narrator Name: Noah Taylor
Rating the Audio Performance
He read the characters' voices perfectly. The problem was that he finished many sentences in almost a whisper, which made it very difficult unless I was using sound-canceling earphones. I do most of my listening in the car, though. I found that the narration was better understood when I slowed the replay down slightly. His Aussie accent was perfect, though. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Beautiful story. Lovely, conflicted people.
Karen
The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Allice Hoffman
Narrator Name: Judith Light, Grace Gummer, and Zach Appelman
Rating the Audio Performance
The readers really made the book come alive. Clear and easy to follow even when perspectives shifted. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Interesting look at NYC and Coney Island in 1911. The characters were well developed and interesting.
John
Archivist Wasp by Nicole Korner-Stace
Narrator Name: Abby Craden
Rating the Audio Performance
Abby Craden does a fine job of pacing, inflection and character differentiation. Verdict: a great story for teen fantasy and dystopian lovers, especially those liking a truly unique travel through two crafted worlds. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Imagine a dreary world where you have a job revered and envied by most, or so you’re led to believe. Somehow your reality keeps whispering otherwise. This is the lot Wasp finds herself in. She’s the Archivist, charged with hunting and extinguishing ghosts, but there are times she’s been reluctant to do so. Then, she must face those upstarts eager to unseat her. Success means killing them, eight in just three years. When the ghost of a former warrior she trapped but didn’t kill, confronts her and persuades her to help find a companion in the underworld, it’s the start of an epic mental and physical journey. Wasp finds herself questioning everything she’s ever believed. What happens takes you through vividly described terrain.
Betsy
Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
Narrator Name: Kathleen Wilhoite
Rating the Audio Performance
Great variation in voices for the several major characters. Only the Australian/New Zealand accents sound a little forced, but there are really only a few lines for them overall! Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The plot (former architect dealing with husband's Microsoft success and brilliant daughter, who goes missing), and the characters are sometimes over-the-top and things get a bit silly, but it's a really enjoyable read, laugh-out-loud entertaining at many times. Lots of fun insights into Seattle life, which a local or transplant will probably enjoy more than those of us who don't know Seattle at all -- but now wish we did.
Mary
A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1 by George R. R. Martin
Narrator Name: Roy Dotrice
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrator is skilled at creating a different voice for each character -- and there are many -- as well as at making rather smooth transitions from one to another. However, as the storyteller he often falls into a monotone when there is more descriptive narrative as opposed to dialogue. I read the printed book and loved it, but with this audiobook I could barely make it halfway through the 28 discs before I had to return it to the library. I simply could not muscle through it with this narrator. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I have read the print book and it is one of the better books that I have read. In a fictional kingdom, local lords vie for power and land. Supernatural power is at work, however, and the goals of fickle men may not dictate the future of the seven kingdoms after all. Mysteries, heroes, villains, secrets, adventure -- this book has everything you could want and is a quick-paced story that has you flying through the pages. It is a shame that the audiobook was very disappointing in comparison with the printed edition.
Mary Pat
On Folly Beach by Karen White
Narrator Name: Lyssa Browne
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrator is good, using different voices to indicate character changes. She was not the best I've heard, but good enough. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the book. The tale drew me in and made it seem like I was a part of the town.
Ellen
No Shred of Evidence by Charles Todd
Narrator Name: Simon Prebble
Rating the Audio Performance
The narrator's pacing sets the tone for the story. He is very adept at altering voices so characters are clear-cut. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Mysteries are my palette cleansers. I could listen in half-hour bites and easily follow the story and want to come back for more. Rutledge's battle with shellshock/PTSD is quite heartbreaking but critical to the story.
Paula
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
Narrator Name: Orlagh Cassidy and Bahni Turpin
Rating the Audio Performance
Change of voice made listening easy and inflections added the human element. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I liked how the author told the story through more than one character.
Elizabeth
Come Sunday by Isla Morley
Narrator Name: Jennifer Wiltsie
Rating the Audio Performance
Brilliant. Excellent pleasing voice. She was able to do many accents. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I was entertained throughout the whole story. This is a very sad story and yet I felt good at the end. You will shed tears but you will feel as though you see where there is life there is hope.
Annette Callan
Damaged by Lisa Scottoline
Narrator Name: Rebecca Lowman
Rating the Audio Performance
Compelling narration. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Wonderful twists and turns.
Bobbie
Red Notice by Bill Browder
Narrator Name: Adam Grupper
Rating the Audio Performance
OMG! This book is a roller-coaster and Adam Grupper does a fantastic job making you believe each and every character, especially the author. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is a true story that reads like a thriller. There are moments where while listening you think, "this can't be true", but it is. What a great, great story! I would love for everyone to be able to read or listen to this book. It is powerful!
Tessa B C
Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
Narrator Name: Heather Henderson
Rating the Audio Performance
Heather Henderson does a fabulous job reading the audiobook. Her performance really brought to life the deterioration Cahalan experienced, as well as how anxious and confused she felt. Henderson’s skill as a voice artist also allowed her to give the other people in the book unique voices, making it easy to distinguish who was speaking. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
3.5 stars. This was a fascinating memoir – drawn partly from interviews with friends, relations, colleagues and medical personnel, her journal writings during the period, and her medical records – of a time period when Cahalan was nearly completely lost. Her training as a journalist is evident here. She includes much background information on the research into the disorder – anti-NDMA-receptor encephalitis. I was engaged and interested from beginning to end, though I did feel it was a bit repetitive.
Debbie
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
Narrator Name: Hope Davis
Rating the Audio Performance
Ms. Davis did a great job at capturing the female characters and a good job at the male characters. Overall, I thought the narration was very good, and Ms. Davis kept the story moving and kept the listener's attention. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
As always, Patchett has written a wonderful book that is filled with interesting characters. In my opinion, her characters always trump the plot of the story. She uses a chance encounter between two adults and then tells the story from the perspective of their six children. Although told mostly from the perspective of one of the children, each of the children has a voice and each of them comes to terms with their parents and each other.
Debbie
Still Life by Louise Penny
Narrator Name: Ralph Cosham
Rating the Audio Performance
Mr. Cosham did a very good job capturing all the voices of the people who reside in Three Pines, as well as Chief Inspector Gamache's voice. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is a great series. I started with the most recent book in this series and now have moved back to the beginning of the series. In STILL LIFE Ms. Penny does a great job at providing the back stories for each of the inhabitants in Three Pines, who are continuing characters in this series. Ms. Penny's stories are smart and her characters are complex. There is no one character who is all good or all bad; like us, they are all flawed and this is what makes her work so interesting and timeless.
Jeane Campbell
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Narrator Name: Susan Lyons, Anna Bentinck, Steven Crossley, Alex Tregear, Andrew Wincott, and Owen Lindsay
Rating the Audio Performance
Different characters were read by different actors. Nice touch since parts of the story are narrated by different characters. Makes quite a difference in the telling of the book. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Enjoyed the book. Ending was not what I thought it was going to be. Not interested in reading the sequel. I'm okay with how it ended.
Mary Lou
Angels Flight by Michael Connelly
Narrator Name: Peter Giles
Rating the Audio Performance
ANGELS FLIGHT is a quaint two car train that used to operate up and down Bunker Hill in LA. It's a wonderful setting for a murder mystery, because of its uniqueness and history. The book is filled with atmosphere, and Peter Giles, the narrator, does a very fine job. He has a distinctive, low, growl-y voice that works perfectly for Harry. And he is able to switch it up so that it is very easy to follow which characters are speaking and interacting, even the female characters. I have to say that since seeing Titus Welliver play Harry on Amazon, and hearing him read Connelly’s recent Harry Bosch books, I feel torn about listening to Giles' Harry, because Titus is so perfect in my mind. However, Mr. Giles gave an outstanding performance. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
This is one of the older Harry Bosch books, written in the 1990s. It was my first introduction to this series back then and to Michael Connelly, and I have been a fan of the series and the author ever since. Harry is a wonderfully flawed, dedicated LAPD detective. His purpose and goal is to solve the case, and his focus and drive, corporate LAPD politics be damned, is what often gets him in trouble. And that is the basis for this story, when a prominent, black, plaintiff’s attorney is found shot dead on Angels Flight in downtown LA. The deceased is in the middle of suing the LAPD for wrongful conviction, and the murder suspects abound. I loved this story; it stood up well given that cell phones and pc’s were in their infancy when written.
Richard N B
A Cold-Blooded Business by Dana Stabenow
Narrator Name: Marguerite Gavin
Rating the Audio Performance
Marguerite Gavin does a fine job narrating the audiobook. She has good pacing and sufficient skill as a voice artist to differentiate the many characters. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
3.5 stars. I had read the first book in this series a couple of years ago and I was not impressed, but I’m glad I gave the series another chance. Shugak is a strong woman - smart, resourceful, dedicated and independent. I liked the subplot regarding the Native archeological treasures.
Linda Johnson
Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley
Narrator Name: Michael Urie
Rating the Audio Performance
Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) made this book live. His narration was perfection. He probably pushed this book in to the 5-star range. What a performance. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
Lily is Ted's dachshund. The octopus is...well, you need to read this delight. It's not long into the book that the true identity is revealed, but the love with the characters and the quirky writing will have already taken place. The book bounces between reality and dreams, but the reader dreams, along with Ted, for a happy ending. Is that the result? Read it and decide for yourself.
Patricia Miller
Under the Harrow by Flynn Berry
Narrator Name: Fiona Hardingham
Rating the Audio Performance
The audio performance was okay. She has a very strong accent, so that might be difficult for some people. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
I really thought I would like this book more than I did, but I had such a hard time getting into it. I think mainly because there were too many times where the pages were going by but the storyline wasn't progressing forward whatsoever. There was far too much time spent ruminating on what her sister ate one day or what she wore or what she would be thinking right now. And on and on. When the book actually got to the story (who killed her sister), it was good. But the rest of it got to be somewhat tedious.
Nuna Alberts
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Narrator Name: Nicholas Guy Smith
Rating the Audio Performance
Smith does a remarkable job of seamlessly differentiating between the characters without this listener even noticing. His pacing is marvelous, and he truly conveys the dignity and intelligence of all of the characters. One of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to. Rating the Book's Content/Storyline
The story is elegantly told without any pretensions. It gives moving insight into the changes that occurred in Russia after the revolution and their effect on individuals. Almost all of the novel takes place in one hotel over several decades. And while it has an historical arc that seems perfectly rendered, it also feels quite contemporary and relevant. 
