Preview
  • Ransom

  • By: Lois Duncan
  • Narrated by: Kim McKean
  • Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
  • 3.7 out of 5 stars (146 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Ransom

By: Lois Duncan
Narrated by: Kim McKean
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.95

Buy for $19.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

The lives of five captives hang in the balance while their families gather the ransom. Two brothers, their family frantic to find their sons. A loner whose uncle doesn’t even know he’s missing. An Army brat whose family will never be able to raise enough money. And a cheerleader who can’t count on her stepdad, but knows her father will come through.

©1966 Lois Duncan Cardoza (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Editorial reviews

A tale of interwoven lives and interdependent fates, Ransom is an adventurous and fast-paced piece of young-adult fiction. In this novel by Lois Duncan, five high schoolers find themselves in the captivity of a mysterious criminal. How will these students, each from different walks of life, learn to get along? And more importantly, how will they survive if their families can't meet the ransom demands? Kim McKean's performance is thrilling. Her voice turns the excitement of Duncan's novel into a visceral feeling.

What listeners say about Ransom

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    48
  • 4 Stars
    38
  • 3 Stars
    37
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    43
  • 4 Stars
    18
  • 3 Stars
    26
  • 2 Stars
    23
  • 1 Stars
    23
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    48
  • 4 Stars
    31
  • 3 Stars
    33
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    7

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good story, bad accent

The story was okay, overall. The narrator had a horrible Spanish accent. The characters were pretty simple.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Not much.

Characters seemed sporadic and hard to care about, story just seemed all over the place and the accents of the narrator had me finding it hard to listen to some parts seriously.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Great Story, Questionable Reading

The story was riveting with lots of twists and Turns with lots of action, hoiwever; The reader really messed up the Mexican accent.Sounded more like a European.She needs to work on her accents if she's going to continue reading for audible.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Read years ago, really enjoyed listening to it now

Good character devs, the good actors seemed to grow and be better, the selfish of the bad actors did not show growth. That was sad, but unfortunately true to life so many times.

Narration well done.

Have actually met author and found her delights.

Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Terrible narrator

The book shouldn’t be listened to just read. I’ve listened to a couple books read by this lady and I cringe as soon as I hear her voice. I just keep forgetting her name but I won’t forget now. She speaks as if you’re an idiot, slow AF. Her voice makes any good book into a bad book. Authors take notice, she sucks. If you look up other books read by this lady the reviews always mention her god awful reading. I hate to leave bad reviews about this book, because the story was ok, but SHE just ruined it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Might be a better read

A good narrator can make a good book great, and a bad narrator can ruin a good book. In this case I think the book would have been better as a read than a listen. Wow, the narrator was really hard to endure.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great

First off, the narrator did a terrible job with the Hispanic accent. It sounded more like Russian or something. This was a story about a handful of kids getting kidnapped. There wasn't anything memorable or really even likable about the characters. Turns out one kid was really a piece of work in some of the choices he's already made in his life. Bumbling kidnappers and a few scenarios that were just not terribly believable. I'd hoped for a better read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Interesting, Spectactular, Detailed Imagery

Very good but the narration was kind of off. Still a 5 out of 5.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

It was okay

Really needs to be updated. I read this in middle school before I became a serious reader and I liked it. Now though its a little bit school playish with how the narrator reads it. Not that it's all on her, but the book was written in the 60's. The way the children speak is definitely not grammar of today's youth. It's as if every character was in that old show The Waltons.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Not as Good as I Remember

It's been quite a while since I first read this as a teenager, and I loved it then. This version may have been improved by a better reader. Her accents were quite bad, and she spoke as if reading the story aloud, rather than voice acting. The "updates" to the story did not improve it all, but merely mixed modern concepts (such as cell phone, email) in with what was clearly a story set in an earlier time period. With a different reader and the original content, I may have liked it better.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!