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Becky Bianco

  • 31
  • reviews
  • 19
  • helpful votes
  • 47
  • ratings

Sorry I picked this one

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
1 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 02-03-25

Narrator sounded like she had a bad sore throat. The story was disjointed and predictable.

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More than I wanted to know about Maine

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
1 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-18-24

Abstract better than the book. Flimsy mystery threaded between everything you ever want to know about Maine: cultural, social, political, geographical, topography, the away-froms and the ever-heres, the moral codes, and and and and and…
The narrator read it like it was the evening news from a small regional station. Every sentence and every paragraph began with an “up” inflection with the remaining words rolling down a hill. If I had been smart enuf to listen to the sample I would not have spent even the few dollars audible charged for this one.

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A necessary listen

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-23-24

The complete story, including: the politics, the friendships, the families, the tears, the bombing, recovery, identification, last rites, and everything in between and after.

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Tell the producer “no music”

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-26-24

Love the narrator. Complex story. Both were interrupted by music I assume was meant to emphasize an event or create an atmosphere of noir. Music was also too often competing with narrator. Music and sound effects were an Unnecessary addition for no reason. Re-issue book without the distraction of the music.

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This one will stay with you

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 02-07-24

Narrator is Thuh Bestest. Really. Cosby addresses all the cracks in life whether in a fictional Virginia village or in any community in the US. Eventually, as with all cracks, the light gets in tho not without leaving grief and horror in its path.

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This is a bit weird — Jackman

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-29-24

Always Armitage - always excellent. Love Joy Ellis and have listened to the entire series but this one, even with the usual strong characters and relationships, was beyond convoluted and perhaps even a bit contrived. Read like Ellis had to put out another installment of the series and popped this one out over a holiday break. Sorry Joy. Jackman toward the closing sections: is this just me I or is this getting a bit weird? Yup

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Characters — each and every one

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 01-05-24

Bill Patton is one of my faves. King’s characters are drawn in great detail in both inner and outer appearance. Love the way Det Ret finds his way out of a mind-numbing ret. Holly is like a very slow blooming cactus. Jerome has intelligence to envy. And Brady — not the sharpest knife in the drawer but still a weapon.

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Scott and his bricks

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
1 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 09-15-23

Every other word is sooo important. I’d have preferred having a story teller instead of the hyperbole of pronunciation.
The story became excellent for me when I listened to the author’s note at the end. I wish I better understood the parallels between this book and Homer’s epic. I may go back and just read it so I don’t hear brick’s bricks. Narrator almost made me give up.

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Disappointing

Overall
2 out of 5 stars
Performance
1 out of 5 stars
Story
2 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 08-19-23

Narrator’s whisper tones did not, imo, reflect the inner strength and emerging confidence of the main character.
Story might have worked better in a much shorter format. I almost gave up when I had to listen to interminable minutes of Cash’s chores at the laundromat.
The actual mystery was often lost as a theme, buried deeply beneath pool games and beers and cigarettes and staring out the window — and the laundromat.
I won’t be continuing the series.
I added this book because my experience with Blackstone Publishing had been without disappointment; this one reversed the positive trend.

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January is first among narrators

Overall
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
3 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-27-23

Bought this one because of LaVoy. She’s able to do so many voices without sounding artificial. The story: foolish main character; predictable outcome; a bit sappy. I’ve enjoyed other Freeman books but this one was a contrived story and not a suspenseful as advertised.

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