kathleen Johnson

Great start to a new series!

Reviewed: 12-05-24

I really loved this book! Great characters and plot, cheeky and smart, and perfect narration!

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Not my favorite Cork book

Reviewed: 01-19-24

I love this series and the characters, and I liked this book, but it was far from my favorite. It seemed like some of the main characters were acting against type and out of character to fit the story line. Other characters were conveniently out of the way and Rose was just conveniently there for the summer? It wasn’t bad, but it all just struck me as odd. I thought it was sort of clunky compared to the other books in the series.

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1 person found this helpful

So good!

Reviewed: 07-06-23

I’m so glad I happened upon S.A. Cosby. Great story, great writing, great book, and great narration. Very suspenseful with characters are so real. Now I have to go listen to the back catalog!

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2 people found this helpful

Narration was rather disconcerting.

Reviewed: 07-05-18

The story was interesting and I liked the characters quite a bit. The narration was rather odd though. The main character's speaking voice was British, but her internal voice, as well as all other non-speaking narration, was in an American accent. I found it to be so jarring that it took me out of the story.

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So frustrating!

Reviewed: 02-13-18

Would you try another book from Rosemary Simpson and/or Sarah Zimmerman?

I don't think so. This could have been a great book. The story was good with an intriguing plot, some interesting characters, and setting in the Gilded Age, but the writing was tedious and repetitive, and the performance was monotonous and delivered in a sing-song voice.

What other book might you compare What the Dead Leave Behind to and why?

I liken it to Cinderella, with poor put-upon Miss Prudence having to live with her evil step-mother after her father's death, her evil step-uncle in place of the evil step-sisters, and Mr. Hunter as Prince Charming.

How could the performance have been better?

Get rid of the horrible sing-song delivery! It would also have been nice to have some emotional inflections and better distinction between character voices. It often felt like the narrator, as well as the characters, were sleep walking through the book.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Frustration and disappointment. So much of the book was just tedious and lengthy descriptions of things that added nothing to the story. And the repetitiousness was maddening! How many times do we need to hear that Easter was early that year on April 1st, especially when it did not advance the story and had nothing to do with the plot? Or that Miss Prudence is the most intelligent and bravest girl ever? And those are just a few examples. Whatever happened to "Show, Don't Tell"? After awhile it felt like the story was squandered and I just wanted it to be over. But I must remember to be careful what I wish for, because the neat and tidy ending of this book was truly unbelievable.

Any additional comments?

If Miss Prudence was so smart and brave and wonderful, why didn't she have any friends? Why did no one other than the doctor ever come to check on her or to visit? Not even her fiance's family bothered to call on her. You think they would have showed some concern, especially if they worried about her health. I think the lack of friends and visitors shows more about that character's personality than anything the author repeatedly told us about her.

I think a good editor could have made this book great. Tightening of language and tweaking the characters would have made a huge difference.

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16 people found this helpful