Stephen W Osborne
- 87
- reviews
- 114
- helpful votes
- 121
- ratings
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Doctor Who: City of Death
- By: Douglas Adams, James Goss
- Narrated by: Lalla Ward
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 195
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 172
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 171
An unabridged reading of the brand-new novelisation of a classic Fourth Doctor TV story by Douglas Adams. The Doctor takes Romana for a holiday in Paris - a city which, like a fine wine, has a bouquet all its own. But the TARDIS arrives in 1979, a table-wine year, whose vintage is soured by cracks in the very fabric of time itself.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Second review.
- By Chris Coyne on 05-27-15
- Doctor Who: City of Death
- By: Douglas Adams, James Goss
- Narrated by: Lalla Ward
Paris, The Doctor, and Guys With Squid Heads
Reviewed: 03-10-18
One expects padding in a book such as this, but I was a little worried at the beginning. There was a lot of padding, and I wondered if Goss would ever get to the story! When he does, though, things start to fly. Goss stays true to the original Douglas Adams script for the most part, and it's entertaining stuff. Added bits I liked: more detail about how Scarlioni communicates with his past selves, and a drunk Romana. Kudos to Lalla Ward for a masterful performance.
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2 people found this helpful
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Right Ho, Jeeves
- By: P. G. Wodehouse
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cecil
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,395
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,206
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,211
All the zany Wodehouse characters are here: Bertie, Gussie Fink-Nottle, Madeline Bassett, and Aunt Dahlia. All the humorous chaos of misunderstandings, puns, and pranks are present: someone must hand out prizes at the Market Snodsbury Grammar School, a lovers' spat finds Bertie engaged to Madeline, and a hunger strike causes the cook to give notice. The inevitable rescue by Jeeves, brilliantly conceived and executed, averts disaster and saves nitwit Bertie Wooster.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Classic Bertie and Jeeves
- By Alexander Fogel on 02-04-13
- Right Ho, Jeeves
- By: P. G. Wodehouse
- Narrated by: Jonathan Cecil
Classic Wodehouse
Reviewed: 03-07-18
I read this book many years ago, and I'm sure I laughed a lot. I'm also sure I laughed even more listening to Jonathan Cecil's performance, as he brings out every snippet of humor. Wodehouse, it seems, was made to be read aloud, and Cecil is the perfect reader of these tales.
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One Fearful Yellow Eye
- A Travis McGee Novel, Book 8
- By: John D. MacDonald
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 639
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 554
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 553
How to you extort $600,000 from a dying man? Someone had done it very quietly and skilfully to the husband of Travis McGee's ex-girlfriend. McGee flies to Chicago to help untangle the mess and discovers that, although Dr. Fortner Geis had led an exemplary life, there were those who'd take advantage of one "indiscretion" and bring down the whole family. McGee also discovers he likes a few members of the family far too much to let that happen....
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3 out of 5 stars
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McGee Does the Second City
- By Darwin8u on 12-04-17
- One Fearful Yellow Eye
- A Travis McGee Novel, Book 8
- By: John D. MacDonald
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
One of the best
Reviewed: 02-22-18
McGee is in Chicago and the area for this one, involving missing money and a very broken family. Some gruesome torture is included (mostly off page) so not for the feint of heart.
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Moving In
- Moving In Series, Book 1
- By: Ron Ripley
- Narrated by: Andrew Tell
- Length: 5 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 224
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 206
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Story4 out of 5 stars 206
To escape the stress of living in the city and the anxiety of his high pressure job, Brian Roy moves his family to the country. His wife loves the easy living, but Brian hates it...especially when weird things start happening in the house. When he discovers a dead body in the woods and a burial ground in his basement, Brian could never imagine the shocking history of the house or its former occupants that comes to light. As his life starts to unravel, Brian isn't so sure living in the country is going to be the oasis of peace he and his wife expected.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A cute little ghost story ....
- By The Dark Side on 10-19-16
- Moving In
- Moving In Series, Book 1
- By: Ron Ripley
- Narrated by: Andrew Tell
Not For Me
Reviewed: 02-16-18
Ron Ripley doesn't know how to be subtle. Rather than try for creepy or scary, he throws in a whole platoon of ghosts, and throws them at you nearly from the start. You never get to know the main characters, nor care for them. I was rooting for the evil little boy ghost after a while. The writing was dodgy, with a lot of He Said, She Said, He said, She said. At one point I laughed out loud, which I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to do in a horror novel. It was just that silly.
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The Case of the Dangerous Dowager
- Perry Mason Series, Book 10
- By: Erle Stanley Gardner
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 98
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Story5 out of 5 stars 90
When Matilda Benson solicits the help of Perry Mason, her request seems simple enough: cruise to a gambling ship moored just beyond the twelve-mile limit and buy back the IOUs signed by Miss Benson's niece. But after Mason reaches the floating casino, he discovers problems aplenty - most notably the ship's owner with a bullet hole through his head. Strangely enough, Matilda and her niece are also on board that night...when someone tosses a gun over the railing. Does Perry Mason's client have something to hide?
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4 out of 5 stars
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No court today for Mason
- By Stephen W Osborne on 02-14-18
- The Case of the Dangerous Dowager
- Perry Mason Series, Book 10
- By: Erle Stanley Gardner
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
No court today for Mason
Reviewed: 02-14-18
An unusual Gardner, as this one doesn't end in a trial. Also, it's not as convoluted as a lot of his are. Cendese is growing on me, but his female voices are still ludicrous.
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1 person found this helpful
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Unquiet Spirits: Whisky, Ghosts, Murder
- A Sherlock Holmes Adventure, Book 2
- By: Bonnie MacBird
- Narrated by: Simon Darwen
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 404
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 363
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 359
December 1889. Fresh from debunking a 'ghostly' hound in Dartmoor, Sherlock Holmes has returned to London, only to find himself the target of a deadly vendetta. A beautiful client arrives with a tale of ghosts, kidnapping and dynamite on a whisky estate in Scotland, but brother Mycroft trumps all with an urgent assignment in the South of France. On the fabled Riviera, Holmes and Watson encounter treachery, explosions, rival French detective Jean Vidocq...and a terrible discovery.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Good story, but.......
- By D. R. H. on 10-18-17
- Unquiet Spirits: Whisky, Ghosts, Murder
- A Sherlock Holmes Adventure, Book 2
- By: Bonnie MacBird
- Narrated by: Simon Darwen
A Very Un-Holmsian Holmes
Reviewed: 02-08-18
This was closer to the TV show SHERLOCK rather than anything from the pen of Doyle. The case itself was interesting, and exciting in places, but Holmes acted so unlike the Great Detective that I was immensely disappointed. There was a huge argument between Holmes and Watson which didn't sit well with me, and there seemed no resolution to it...no mention of it again, as if it never happened!
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4 people found this helpful
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Plot It Yourself
- By: Rex Stout
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 423
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 349
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 346
When a group of publishers and writers hires Wolfe to solve a case of false plagiarism, it's time for the great detective to hit the books. Four unrelated accusers - including a down-and-out hack writer and a lady poet with a penchant for nude sunbathing - have been fleecing best-selling authors, claiming the authors have stolen their work and ingeniously planting evidence to back up their claims.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Still one of the elite private detectives
- By Irwin on 03-29-08
- Plot It Yourself
- By: Rex Stout
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
Good, not great Stout
Reviewed: 02-07-18
You can't go wrong with Michael Pritchard narrating the Wolfe tales. I recommend listening to this in one sitting, or several close together, as there are a lot of characters to keep track of, and you don't want to think "Now, who is this person again?" The plot is nothing special, although Wolfe does forgo both beer and meat until he solves the puzzle, which makes for some fun scenes.
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Whispering Corridors
- A Ghost Story
- By: Ambrose Ibsen
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 420
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 384
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Story4 out of 5 stars 382
College students Eric and Lydia are looking for a novel way to spend Halloween. They decide to put together a documentary about the supernatural and take a camcorder into the long-abandoned house on Kenwood Drive. It's said that a vengeful spirit lives there, and Lydia thinks it the perfect location. Eric, though, has his reservations. Having grown up in the area, he's familiar with the stories of the spirit they call the "Upside-Down Man", and as their trip to the house draws near, his fear begins to mount.
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5 out of 5 stars
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a high dose of psychological tension
- By Midwestbonsai on 05-26-17
- Whispering Corridors
- A Ghost Story
- By: Ambrose Ibsen
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
It was good...not great
Reviewed: 01-31-18
SPOILER ALERT:I've been having a hard time finding a good ghost story. Many of them are, frankly, ridiculous. This one at least was pretty well written and read. At least I wasn't screaming at the characters not to be so stupid. They did go from "Oh my goodness, we're cursed!" to "Oh we just scared ourselves into thinking something supernatural happened" pretty fast. My main trouble with the book is that you know how it's going to end from the very beginning. There was no suspense, because I knew as it unfolded where Eric was going to end up.
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Diamonds Are Forever
- James Bond, Book 4
- By: Ian Fleming
- Narrated by: Damian Lewis
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,089
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,000
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 996
Diamonds are being smuggled on a formidable scale from Africa to America via Britain. 007's assignment is to break the smuggling ring. It's a dangerous mission that takes him to the racecourse and mud-baths of Saratoga Springs, the gaming tables of Las Vegas, the ghost town of Spectreville, and beyond. The Spangled Mob threatens to be too much even for Bond, but help is at hand in the shape of co-conspirator Tiffany Case.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Bond. But not very good Bond.
- By Carol on 11-04-14
- Diamonds Are Forever
- James Bond, Book 4
- By: Ian Fleming
- Narrated by: Damian Lewis
Now I can't get Shirley Bassey out of my head!
Reviewed: 01-20-18
The movies and the books are two totally different, separate things. Usually, only the title and the character names transfer, and sometimes the locale. This one wasn't as good as Moonraker (lousy movie, great book) but still had a lot going for it. Every now and then, though, you read a line of Fleming's and you think, "Oh my God! He actually WROTE that???" In this one, it was a sentence about homosexuals making particularly nasty killers.
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Berkley Street
- Berkley Street Series, Book 1
- By: Ron Ripley
- Narrated by: Thom Bowers
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 559
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 497
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Story4 out of 5 stars 498
Shane Ryan returns to Nashua and the childhood memories that drove him to join the Marines. After a prolonged legal battle with his aunt and uncle, Shane has possession of the family home where his parents disappeared over 20 years ago. The house, a monstrous castle filled with ghosts and secrets, is more alive than its inhabitants.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE DIED AT 125 BERKLEY STREET
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 08-25-17
- Berkley Street
- Berkley Street Series, Book 1
- By: Ron Ripley
- Narrated by: Thom Bowers
Oh, dear.
Reviewed: 01-16-18
This one gives you a lot of ghosts. There are more ghosts than living characters in the book. They're not very scary, though, or interesting. Nor are the main characters. We have a huge house that adds rooms, moves rooms, and even has whole floors that can't be seen from the outside. And why does the family stay in the house, despite several murderous attempts on their lives? Even worse, why do the parents leave a teenage boy alone in the house at night? The ending, the big "let's get rid of the big bad ghost" moment, happens quickly and very easily. I love a good ghost story. This just wasn't one.
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