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M. Saunders

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The worst Strike book.

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

Reviewed: 05-27-25

Yes, the chat room narration really is an obnoxious. Normally I like slow-boil books but this becomes so tedious I actually fast-forwarded through dialogue. I like these books, but Joanne’s politics are terrible and they really show themselves the most in this novel. I regret using a credit on

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Fascinating

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

Reviewed: 05-24-25

Engaging and incisive writing about the history of the Banjo. I find the negative reviews telling. Narrated well.

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Fascinating character study.

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

Reviewed: 04-27-25

I found it very interesting. Ronan Farrow is a great interviewer and the level of depth and compassion he’s able to bring to his work while also giving people the opportunity to show exactly who they are makes his journalism worthwhile. I found the reviews asking what the point is a little strange… if you can’t extrapolate the meaning that he hands you on a platter, I don’t really know what to tell you.

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Trash fire.

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

Reviewed: 04-26-25

Hot garbage. So predictable and irritating. I wish I had stopped sooner than I did, I would have saved myself some annoyance.

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My least favorite of the series.

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

Reviewed: 02-12-25

The writing is so lazy and problematic on this one. The way Colleen Stoker depicts Thailand and Thai people is so one dimensional and completely demeaning, it’s hard to even listen. It’s embarrassing. Then the whole issue of them being forced to marry? The woman at the safe house doesn’t know Marlowe is a woman but she knows they’re running from a breakout at a woman’s prison? The gaping plot holes are impossible to ignore. I liked the Protector a lot and the second book was ok… but I just get the feeling Colleen Stoker has an extremely narrow view of the world and just writes different versions of the same book over and over. I guess it’s working for her, but it doesn’t work for me.

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Good and bad.

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

Reviewed: 11-26-24

Thorsen is garbage and it kind of ruins the story. He blames everything on Jamie and is intensely cowardly and hypocritical. He swears at her, manipulates and lies to her, throws her under the bus at the slightest opportunity… it’s honestly pretty gross and it’s weird that the author sees to be trying to paint him as the “nice guy.” It’s so cringey. Complex characters are good, but it’s hard to be invested in their development when you just don’t like them.
On the other hand, it’s nice that there are more characters driving the investigation and plot along. A definite improvement on the last two stories in that way.

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Each successive story gets sillier.

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

Reviewed: 11-24-24

The narrator carries these novels; I don’t think I could read them rather than listen to them. The decisions the characters make are utterly insane. They drive the plot along but they make no sense and are impossible to believe. Sometimes this can be fun - in this story, it’s just frustrating. Thorsen is supposed to be the good guy, but his decisions re: Elliot/Charie show how deeply dismissive of Jamie he is. It’s weird. I could go on, because I’m annoyed I purchased this audiobook, but there isn’t much point. If you like it and it doesn’t bother you, I’m happy for you. But be aware that it’s just increasingly silly.

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Good times

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

Reviewed: 09-19-24

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this novel as I’ve only read two others from Harlan Coben, but it was a lot of fun. As others have said, it does drag a bit in the middle, but the end really gets you right in the gut. I need more fun listens in my life, so I’m glad there is plenty more form Coben to check out.

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Meh.

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

Reviewed: 08-19-24

It was entertaining, but I found what passed for the author’s philosophy on technology, science and (unfortunately) women garbled and inconsistent. The plot had holes a mile wide, and these things kept taking me out of the story. He could have also used a better editor. Peyote mushrooms? Couldn’t help laughing at that one. Peyote is a cactus.
I wasn’t annoyed by the narration so much as others were. There were weird moments where he ran sentences together and there was a lot of sighing and huffing into the mic, but overall he has a charming voice that actually lent likability to the main character. I’m going to give the second book and shot and hope it gets better.

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Credible and interesting

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

Reviewed: 08-03-24

I found this book fascinating and I listened to it in two days. I found the author’s reporting credible and the very fact that he didn’t reach a specific conclusion only gave me more confidence in the way he told his story. While the ins and outs were extensive to the point of frustration, I feel a second book from O’Neill on this topic would be a very worthwhile listen. I was never someone who spent a lot of time learning about Charles Manson/the family, and I’m not a big conspiracy theory person, but I do think it’s worthwhile to understand the lengths to which government agencies have gone to obscure their involvement with Manson and his followers. What a wild ride.

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