Dorothy

Could not put it down

Reviewed: 09-05-21

Over 16 hours long and I finished it in 4 days. The story just pulled me in. Both heart-warming and heart-breaking. And as always, Caroline Lee's narration is superb!

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Creepy

Reviewed: 06-28-20

I listen to a lot of who-dun-its and psychological thrillers, and I rarely bother to write a review, but this one stands out. Creepy and twisted, right til the end. Even if you think you have it figured out, you won't have ALL of it figured out. Even the ending creeped me out.
The narration was exquisite - all those different accents, and the mesmerizing drawl of the villain. I picked this book up on a Daily Deal, I think. Sometimes you get a winner on those deals. This was one of them.

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Must-read book for Canadians

Reviewed: 06-14-20

Painful and heartbreaking... I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't listening to Roots. As a Canadian, I naively believed that these sorts of horror-stories only happened in other countries. It's unbelievable that this happened here, and even more unbelievable that most Canadians have never heard of it.
Of course, this is historical fiction, but as the author explains at the end of the novel, all of the characters and incidents are based on true stories collected from the descendants of home-school children.
A national tragedy... and a riveting story. I couldn't stop listening.

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28 people found this helpful

Chick lit with a twist

Reviewed: 05-10-20

Honestly, if I hadn't read all of Joy Fielding's other books, I probably wouldn't have stuck with this one. I expected suspense, but most of the story isn't about the stalker at all - it's about the dysfunctional lives of 4 quirky women, their domestic squabbles and their love lives (or lack thereof). About an hour into the book I wondered if I had made a mistake... but as I said, I have read all of Joy's previous books, so I kept on. After a while, I got into the story, even although it seemed like light-hearted chick-lit.
But keep listening, right to the end... boy, I sure didn't see that coming. Well actually, I DID see it coming - but only in an OMG moment right before it happened.

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4 people found this helpful

Unpleasant and sad

Reviewed: 03-24-20

I finished this book, but only because I was rooting for Lexie. What a disappointment after Winter Garden! There is so much I disliked that I had to organize my dislikes.
First, aside from actual villains like Cruella de Ville or Lord Voldemort, Judith Faraday has to be one of the most unpleasant and unlikeable characters in all fiction. I disliked her right from the beginning. Parenthood is not about cossetting, smothering, and over-protecting your children; it’s about helping them to grow up and become functioning and independent adults. Jude was nothing but self-focused and controlling for the entire book. I kept wanting to shout at her through my speakers – ‘wake up and grow up!’.
Second, I just couldn’t figure out what was the matter with Zach and Miles. Zach took until the very end of the book to finally ‘grow a pair’ and stand up to his mother. (I wanted to see if he would, and that’s another reason I finished the book.) And Miles – why did he put up with her? Why didn’t he leave? I was so fed up with that entire family!
Third, I simply cannot understand American attitudes about drinking. Kids drink at parties. All over the world. Trying to stop them doesn’t work. Keeping them safe does. Jude blew it. So the whole premise of the book just made me angry.
Fourth, what a terrible exposé of the travesty that is the US justice system. How cruel and heartless and adversarial and vengeful it is.
Listening to this story just made me sad. It could have been so much better. The basic plot has potential… but the details ruined it, and the schmaltzy ending wasn’t enough to redeem all the hurt and heartbreak that came before.
Lastly, don’t EVER release balloons into the sky. What goes up, must come down. And when balloons come down, they cause the deaths of the birds and sea creatures who ingest them. What an irresponsible act for the author to include in the book! (Plant flowers instead.)

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1 person found this helpful

Disturbing

Reviewed: 03-04-20

There's a lot I liked about this book. But some things I didn't.
Things I liked -
It's a disturbing but insightful glimpse into the failure that is the prison system, and a damning indictment into the injustice of the death penalty. If you don't already know that, this book will convince you.
It's a compelling story, with lots of twists and turn. I couldn't put it down.
Things I didn't -
Too many loose ends in the plot. Thomas's family? Matthew'? Ronnie? Eva? (Can't say more about the loose ends without introducing spoilers.)
Too much religion. Over and over, Grace prayed to the same god that let this happen and didn't see the irony. Well I did, and I could hardly stomach listening to it.
The narrator who rread Grace's part had a very raspy voice, which was distracting. (And I'm usually not picky about narrators.)
Overall, I'm not sorry I read it, but I was disappointed when i finished.

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1 person found this helpful

Not what I expected

Reviewed: 04-09-19

I picked up this book on a Daily Deal because I had read another by the same author and liked it. Based on that, I expected this book to fit into the 'mystery and thriller' category. Well I suppose it does - in a way. But in a very different way.
The in this book play poker. I don't play poker, I don't know how to play poker, and I couldn't care less about poker. It didn't matter. The story is about poker - and yet not really.
It made me think of those old 'spy vs spy' cartoons in Mad Magazine. Who's bluffing whom? You never know - and I'm not gonna tell you.
It starts out slow. The back story (not particularly exciting at first), then the set up, then the action. But pay attention to some of the minor characters and events, especially in the 'not particularly exciting' parts - they may (but not all of them) become important later in the book. You won't see what's coming.

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depressing

Reviewed: 09-13-18

I picked this up on a sale because I had heard of it (although I have never seen the movie), and I listened to the whole thing because it's short, but I didn't enjoy any of it.
I've heard it said that we shouldn't judge the past by today's standards, but that's easier said than done. This book is a tribute to colonialism and a celebration of trophy hunting (poor animals); a tale of rich Europeans oppressing the 'uncivilized' African people. It was almost more than I could stomach. So the author lost her farm and had to sell it and move back to Europe. Boo hoo... I couldn't garner one iota of sympathy for her. So glad to be done with this book.

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I don't get the hype

Reviewed: 08-20-18

I picked up this book on a sale because of the rave reviews. Maybe some of the reviewers know the author as an actor and are enamored with him; that's the only way i can explain their enthusiasm. Not being a movie fan, I judged the book alone, and I could barely force myself to finish it.
In spite of his being an actor, I found the narrator's voice annoying - it was kind of raspy throughout. His characterizations and accents, though, were good.
The premise is an old standard - a coming-of-age novel; an adolescent boy writing about his first crush, his football games, his school, his mean older sister, etc etc. For those of us who also grew up in the period in which it takes place (70's), there is the bonus of nostalgia for the memories of our youth - like banana seats and our favorite songs.
There are a few profound observations about life and human nature in this book; the story wasn't all bad. What ruined it for me was the way it uncritically treats attitudes and and actions that correctly belong in a bygone era. Most of the epithets (and there are many) uttered by the characters are offensive and, and include n*gger, pussy, wimp, and the like. Worse, there is approval of settling disagreements with fists and outright assault - not just between the kids, but also by adults in the novel. This was disturbing enough to me that i just cannot recommend it.

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3 people found this helpful

'Gaslight' meets 'Spy vs. Spy'

Reviewed: 08-06-18

I've read all of Barclay's previous books so I thought he must be 'slipping' when he wrote this...I was so sure that i had the case solved early on that I almost gave up listening. The plot was way too obvious. I should have known better.

Not gonna give away any spoilers. Just keep listening. It ain't over til it's over.

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2 people found this helpful