KAM

Same narrator gimmick as first novel

Reviewed: 04-15-25

Perfectly fine mystery. Apparently, I was sort of over the whole “narrator is a writer” and writer of how-to’s for writers thing after the first book. Grating. Didn’t really get very interested his one. Listened to the audible but found myself distracted. It’s fine though

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Good listen

Reviewed: 02-26-25

Intriguing story about a midwife living in a small NE town around the time of the American revolution. Liked the characters and story and subplots. Small irritations: 1. Although the woman’s journaling is relevant to the story, it grated on me to hear the woman describe events and then immediately go home and journal about them — felt like the author was adding to the word count without adding value. There’s no great aha reflection as she writes the entry that she didn’t already have when she experienced the events. 2. Shakespeare references also largely gratuitous and not adding value most of the time. 3. The narrator of this book sounds too much like Meryl Streep. 4. I didn’t listen to the 27- minute! author’s note at the end except her comment that she would totally dissect the book which I wasn’t interested in hearing. Great if you want that though

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Surprisingly good for chick lit

Reviewed: 02-16-25

I mean, this is chick lit. But I enjoyed much of the story, especially the middle and last parts. Surprisingly good. My only objection really is the amount and nature of the dialogue about sex. It’s over the top, even for a bachelorette weekend scene. Makes the read feel cheap in those parts — too vulgar. Didn’t need to be quite that vulgar to make the same points

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Intriguing story that’s not a cheap thriller

Reviewed: 01-03-25

Good story. Kept me interested to know what happened, while not being a “cheap,” edge-of-your-seat thriller. Felt more elevated than that. Liked the format of hearing same parts of the story from different characters’ perspectives. Only negatives were some gratuitous lectures about migrants and sort of ridiculous thing that happens near the end and then also the short, tacked-on pablum at the end and the very odd way everyone handles something of serious moral question without worrying about it one bit or even really questioning it.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Great listen and a unique story

Reviewed: 11-29-24

Enjoyed this book. It seemed to be about to wrap up multiple times, but then it didn't. Each time I couldn't believe there was much more left, but there was, and then I was glad to hear what came next. It is a lengthy saga, but excellent character development makes you interested to hear more about what happens next and what happened before. It keeps you guessing a little bit about what happened before and who did it, but it doesn't read like a cheap thriller or a mystery with an implausible twist. Just good literary fiction. My only quibble is something I can't explain because it would be a spoiler, so I'll just say there is something that comes up that is a social/moral/political/religious issue that seemed to be treated from only one viewpoint as if there is only one correct viewpoint, and that was irritating to me at first. Highly recommend. I had purchased the hard copy before buying the audible but never read it, so I passed it on to a friend rather than return the hard copy because I think my friends would like it, too.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Entertaining mystery thriller

Reviewed: 10-11-24

Good “page turner”. A couple of times you can’t believe someone would do something so dumb when they’re supposed to be smart. Good use of the technique of going back and forth between present day and before because you are really wondering what happened before. Overall enjoyable audible book

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Interesting look back into jewel thefts and detailed dive into histories of many Dallas figures

Reviewed: 08-27-24

Enjoyed the audible version more than the hard copy. Had to switch to Audible midstream because it seemed to go off on tangents, and I would lose interest in reading it. Mostly enjoyed the history of old Dallas families and other individuals and places. Also enjoyed the stories of the jewel thefts, but the author’s investigation is slow and meandering and certainly doesn’t read like fiction. It’s interesting but not gripping. For sure. Extremely annoying that the narrator mispronounced two key family names. Repeatedly. She also mispronounced the name of a social club but it is mentioned less than a handful of times. Surely someone could have told her how to pronounce all of these!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Okay

Reviewed: 05-30-24

decent story. Enjoyable listen but not riveting. Gets a little boring during some of the seemingly unconnected storylines. The end is a little too weird and really I didn’t care who did it and only cared a little why they did it. The real beef I had with this book was the annoying way the reader does Win’s voice and the annoying way that character’s dialogue is written. Smarmy

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Entertaining listen on audible

Reviewed: 05-22-24

Books 4 (this one)and 5 in the Hawthorne series are way better than the others. This one was plenty entertaining without ridiculous eye rolling twists. The only eye roll I had was about unnecessary commentary about sympathy for a social issue or person near the very end. Please!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Cozy. Entertaining

Reviewed: 05-14-24

Liked this much better than moriarty and other recent books by this author. More like the moonflower murders books

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!