Reading Teacher

Fabulous Story

Reviewed: 02-14-24

I have the privilege of teaching this book to young adults. I love that I can expose them to it, as it isn't a title that would attract a lot of attention on the shelf. The narrator takes some getting used to, but once you have, the storyline is incredible.

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Truthfully...

Reviewed: 08-27-20

I really enjoyed this story, BUT to fully appreciate it, I believe you have to listen at least twice. The first listen will be a bit confusing, but if you stick it out, the story will hit it's stride and be worth it. After learning the outcome, the second listen will be full of "ah ha!" moments when characters and their actions become much clearer.

I do intend to continue with book 2.

Warning: There are some sensitive issues in this novel. I do not want to give anything away, but if you are sensitive to abuse, you may find parts of the storyline disturbing.

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Wonderful Short Listen!

Reviewed: 11-20-19

I really enjoyed this as a Thanksgiving listen. The story does address grief, so it might not be appropriate for someone with a recent loss. It really caused me to reflect upon myself.

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Great continuation of the story

Reviewed: 12-12-18

I read book one, The Thief Taker, and really pondered whether to read this one because the series is so dark. I did follow up and again, I am glad that I did.

Fire Catcher is not as dark as The Thief Taker in regards to content. In book one, the plague victims were described in great detail and were heartbreaking. This book does use the London Fire to drive the plot and it is just as fascinating in terms of historical events v. historical fiction. As far as the plot, I did think that perhaps the author strayed from Book 1 in a few places. It was noticeable, but were items that I could accept and move on with the story. I intend to read Book 3, but I am slightly concerned whether those plot issues will rise again. These plot variations are the only reason I gave the book less than 5 stars.

Don't miss the extra at the end where you can get a "secret scene" from the author! As always, truth is stranger than fiction.

The book does contain profanity and sexual content. This is not what I could call erotic, but is graphic in terms of factually describing what is happening between participants.

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Excellent!

Reviewed: 12-12-18

I was a little doubtful when I started this book, but I'm really glad that I followed through. The mystery of this book is complex and leaves the reader wondering what/who/how often. I also enjoy history and found myself researching some of the plot ideas to learn more.

If you are squeamish, this is not the book for you. Descriptions of plague victims are vivid and can be appalling.

If you like a clean read, you will probably not enjoy this either. There is profanity and graphic descriptions of sexual situations. These are less in the erotic category and more in the factual category as far as what is happening in the scene. Definitely not a book to play with children around.

Narration is phenomenal with great voices to match the characters.

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couldn't do it

Reviewed: 03-08-17

I am not an overly picky reader/listener. I like to listen to a good, clean mystery. I can't listen to this. First, the story is somewhat ridiculous. Second, although I scour reviews for information about profanity, I got my wires crossed on this one. There is definitely profanity. Not family friendly, which is important to me.

The narrator is tolerable, but again, I'm not picky. I can tolerate a poor narrator for a good story line. It's just not here.

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Not a true mystery

Reviewed: 02-22-17

First, if you are a cozy mystery fan, this isn't really a mystery. This is more a short story where a crime is committed, the characters mull it over, and then the criminal is revealed. The stories lack any real sleuthing.

The author has a lot of opportunity to develop characters and events, but doesn't follow through. For example, the characters plan a party, but the author skips writing the scene and the reader is told the party happened.

Additionally, this starts as a "clean" read, but the language gradually deteriorates as the series progresses. While the language is mild, I like to listen with my family around, so that was a problem for me.

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4 people found this helpful

Good villain

Reviewed: 12-31-15

I have to admit that I figured out who the murderer was long before it was revealed, but the strange, odd depth of the character grew in great proportions by the official reveal.

Clean read. Two different romantic subplots. One young romance and one older couple, that was an enjoyable twist.

I will continue the series.

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1 person found this helpful

Disappointed in Content

Reviewed: 12-28-15

I wish Audible had a content rating of some kind. I bought this book during one of the yearly sales because it sounded fun and it is a fun story. I browsed the reviews quickly and it seemed perfect for my next mystery series.

The narration is southern and well done. I had no clue who the villian was. The problem? I like clean stories that I can play when my kid are around. This is not one of them. There is a LOT of cursing, vulgarity, and a sex scene near the end. It's a shame, as this book and series definitely would stand without such nonsense.

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3 people found this helpful

Excellent <br />

Reviewed: 12-18-15

I really enjoyed this book. it was a little slow at the beginning, but when it picked up, it really picked up!

I didn't see where the plot was going and was very pleasantly surprised and found it to be very clever. This was the first book of this series that I have listened to and I will be going back to listen to the rest in order.

The only thing that bothered me was that there were really long pauses between chapters, so long that I would stop what I was doing to check my Audible player. It was annoying to me, but that is a personal preference, I suppose. It would not stop me from listening again.

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