critical shopper
- 22
- reviews
- 56
- helpful votes
- 93
- ratings
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Blacktop Wasteland
- A Novel
- By: S. A. Cosby
- Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,284
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,013
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,004
Beauregard "Bug" Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband, and a hardworking dad. Bug knows there's no future in the man he used to be: Known from the hills of North Carolina to the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast. He thought he'd left all that behind him, but as his carefully built new life begins to crumble, he finds himself drawn inexorably back into a world of blood and bullets. When a smooth-talking former associate comes calling with a can't-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice but to get back in the driver's seat.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic All Around
- By stuartjash on 07-16-20
- Blacktop Wasteland
- A Novel
- By: S. A. Cosby
- Narrated by: Adam Lazarre-White
Surprisingly gripping
Reviewed: 12-04-21
The story is basically formulaic but with an aura of authenticity and complexity that made it a great listen.
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Thirteen Storeys
- By: Jonathan Sims
- Narrated by: Ayesha Antoine, Aysha Kala, Ben Elliot, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 707
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 637
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 637
A dinner party is held in the penthouse of a multimillion-pound development. All the guests are strangers - even to their host, the billionaire owner of the building. None of them know why they were selected to receive his invitation. Besides a postcode, they share only one thing in common - they've all experienced an unsettling occurrence within the building's walls. By the end of the night, their host is dead, and none of the guests will say what happened. His death remains one of the biggest unsolved mysteries - until now.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good story, mostly boring writing
- By alex on 05-22-21
Watch out for the building...
Reviewed: 04-25-21
I loved the conceit behind these profiles of interesting and singular people who interact with the building in question. Their individual perspectives wind towards a sort of predictable ending but the trip there was well worth the attention I gave this book. Excellent character representation - I have my favorites from the experience, from a combination of how they were written and how well they were acted out for us.
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Carmilla
- By: Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
- Narrated by: Phoebe Fox, Rose Leslie, David Tennant, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 22 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 23,934
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 21,679
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Story4 out of 5 stars 21,609
Audible Originals bring you a brand new audiobook adaptation of J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s classic gothic novella, Carmilla - starring Rose Leslie ( Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey), David Tennant ( Doctor Who and Broadchurch) and Phoebe Fox ( Life in Squares and The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death)
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1 out of 5 stars
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Too much breathing in my ear
- By Samantha on 10-09-19
- Carmilla
- By: Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
- Narrated by: Phoebe Fox, Rose Leslie, David Tennant, David Horovitch, James Wilby, Susan Wooldridge, Hannah Genesius
Sappy
Reviewed: 12-07-19
Awful book. Started it before a walk and was trapped with it. If it was a book I used a credit for ,, I would return it
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Inland
- A Novel
- By: Téa Obreht
- Narrated by: Anna Chlumsky, Edoardo Ballerini, Euan Morton
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 650
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 558
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Story4 out of 5 stars 562
In the lawless, drought-ridden lands of the Arizona Territory in 1893, two extraordinary lives unfold. Nora is an unflinching frontierswoman awaiting the return of the men in her life - her husband, who has gone in search of water for the parched household, and her elder sons, who have vanished after an explosive argument. Nora is biding her time with her youngest son, who is convinced that a mysterious beast is stalking the land around their home.
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2 out of 5 stars
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I tried,
- By Julianne on 10-09-19
- Inland
- A Novel
- By: Téa Obreht
- Narrated by: Anna Chlumsky, Edoardo Ballerini, Euan Morton
READ, Don’t listen to this book
Reviewed: 11-19-19
First time ever I bought Kindle and Audible and tried to go back and forth with the book. Whispersynk worked perfectly. BUT the narrator is so not up to the task of narration. Speaks too quickly, like she is leaning over a table and rushing to make a point. So little modulation I literally could not stay with it. Returned it with pleasure.
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Miracle Creek
- A Novel
- By: Angie Kim
- Narrated by: Jennifer Lim
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,051
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 913
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Story4 out of 5 stars 913
In rural Virginia, Young and Pak Yoo run an experimental medical treatment device known as the Miracle Submarine - a pressurized oxygen chamber that patients enter for therapeutic "dives" with the hopes of curing issues like autism or infertility. But when the Miracle Submarine mysteriously explodes, killing two people, a dramatic murder trial upends the Yoos’ small community. Who or what caused the explosion? Was it the mother of one of the patients, who claimed to be sick that day but was smoking down by the creek? Or was it Young and Pak themselves?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best Book of the Year (so far)
- By Jeeves on 04-19-19
- Miracle Creek
- A Novel
- By: Angie Kim
- Narrated by: Jennifer Lim
A novel/ mystery and deep dive into special needs
Reviewed: 05-10-19
I was really impressed by the skill with which the author wove courtroom drama, immigrant issues, and the detail level of caring for special needs children. Gripping story line. Excellent reader who did not go over the top trying for accents. Just simple reading. Wish there were more readers who were happy to narrate, read, and share the story without trying for theatrical dramatic effects.
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8 people found this helpful
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Where the Crawdads Sing
- By: Delia Owens
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 296,136
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 261,778
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Story5 out of 5 stars 260,864
For years, rumors of the "Marsh Girl" have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Don't listen to the negative reviews.
- By Kyle on 12-03-19
- Where the Crawdads Sing
- By: Delia Owens
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
Over dramatized book
Reviewed: 05-10-19
The narration killed this for me. The marsh girl was offered in a whispy little girl voicing of her lines. The narrator sounded like she had a cold and I kept hearing that nasality of someone hiding a cold. Basically I wish I had read it, not listened. The biology of the marsh was so interesting it managed to rise above the mediocre presentation.
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13 people found this helpful
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String of Beads
- A Jane Whitefield Novel, Book 8
- By: Thomas Perry
- Narrated by: Joyce Bean
- Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 459
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 410
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 406
After two decades protecting innocent victims on the run, and a year after getting shot on a job that took a dangerous turn for the worse, Jane McKinnon, née Whitefield, has settled into the quiet life of a suburban housewife in Amherst, New York - or so she thinks. One morning as she comes back from a long run, Jane is met by an unusual sight: all eight clan mothers, the female leaders of the Seneca clans, parked in her driveway in two black cars.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Top Notch
- By Ellenaeddy on 03-13-15
- String of Beads
- A Jane Whitefield Novel, Book 8
- By: Thomas Perry
- Narrated by: Joyce Bean
Why can't they just read a book out loud???
Reviewed: 07-22-15
I really have no quarrel with the story. It is a typical Jane Whitefield novel. I am totally distracted by the awkward attempts to change voice timber and accents eg the female reader is trying to sound like a marginally competent male person. I don't understand why this is becoming the norm for Audible. Ten years ago readers just read with emotion, passion, clarity. Now the readers make awkward attempts to sound like different characters. The Jimmy voice was particularly irritating in this book. I wish this would be noted in the description so I can avoid these types of books.
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1 person found this helpful
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Bad Monkey
- By: Carl Hiaasen
- Narrated by: Arte Johnson
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,449
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 2,160
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Story4 out of 5 stars 2,165
Andrew Yancy—late of the Miami Police and soon-to-be-late of the Monroe County sheriff’s office—has a human arm in his freezer. There’s a logical (Hiaasenian) explanation for that, but not for how and why it parted from its shadowy owner. Yancy thinks the boating-accident/shark-luncheon explanation is full of holes, and if he can prove murder, the sheriff might rescue him from his grisly Health Inspector gig (it’s not called the roach patrol for nothing).
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3 out of 5 stars
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Flame-out fail
- By Lars on 06-16-13
- Bad Monkey
- By: Carl Hiaasen
- Narrated by: Arte Johnson
Boring with echoes of Hiaasen's past brilliance
Reviewed: 04-13-15
I'm really not sure I should review a book I didn't finish listening to but it really seemed too tedious for words. The last straw was the narration in a faux Chicago mobster accent.
Do wish I had not ever started it on a two hour drive...
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The Cold Song
- By: Linn Ullmann
- Narrated by: Heather Wilds
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 27
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 19
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Story3 out of 5 stars 20
Siri Brodal, a chef and restaurant owner, is married to Jon Dreyer, a famous novelist plagued by writer's block. Siri and Jon have two daughters, and together they spend their summers on the coast of Norway, in a mansion belonging to Jenny Brodal, Siri's stylish and unforgiving mother. Siri and Jon's marriage is loving but difficult and troubled by painful secrets.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Tiresome and overworked
- By critical shopper on 02-25-15
- The Cold Song
- By: Linn Ullmann
- Narrated by: Heather Wilds
Tiresome and overworked
Reviewed: 02-25-15
The story is just plain boring and the reading is awkward at best. I love being read to but I hate, hate, hate weird false accents to delineate a speaker.
A straightforward dramatic reading is preferable to attempts to "act" out the parts!
This has irritating phony Germanish ?? sounding accents, like "I vant to go there"
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1 person found this helpful
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Elizabeth Is Missing
- By: Emma Healey
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 699
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 620
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Story4 out of 5 stars 626
In this darkly riveting debut novel - a sophisticated psychological mystery that is also an heartbreakingly honest meditation on memory, identity, and aging - an elderly woman descending into dementia embarks on a desperate quest to find the best friend she believes has disappeared, and her search for the truth will go back decades and have shattering consequences.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A contemporary mystery for non-mystery lovers.
- By Amber on 07-09-14
- Elizabeth Is Missing
- By: Emma Healey
- Narrated by: Davina Porter
Surprisingly engaging character
Reviewed: 01-28-15
Elizabeth is missing is the first book I've read that takes a reader into the failing mind of an older character with dementia/Alzheimers. Her confusion and struggles to deal with a problem while constrained by her mental deficit is fascinating. Not for everyone but really well done.
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