
The First Emma
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Narrated by:
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Nancy Peterson
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By:
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Camille Di Maio
About this listen
Camille Di Maio's novel The First Emma is the true story of Emma Koehler, whose tycoon husband, Otto, was killed in a crime-of-the-century murder by one of his two mistresses - both also named Emma - and her unlikely rise as CEO of a brewing empire during Prohibition. When a chance to tell her story to a young teetotaler arises, a tale unfolds of love, war, beer, and the power of women.
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By: Camille Di Maio
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The Forgotten Room
- By: Karen White, Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig
- Narrated by: Morgan Hallett, Susan Bennett
- Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It's 1945: When the critically wounded Captain Cooper Ravenal is brought to a private hospital on Manhattan's Upper East Side, young Dr. Kate Schuyler is drawn into a complex mystery that connects three generations of women in her family to a single extraordinary room in a Gilded Age mansion. Who is the woman in Captain Ravenel's portrait miniature who looks so much like Kate? And why is she wearing the ruby pendant handed down to Kate by her mother?
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The same story 3 times over...
- By Amazon Customer on 03-30-16
By: Karen White, and others
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The Boomerang
- A Thriller
- By: Robert Bailey
- Narrated by: Eric Conger
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The president of the United States has terminal cancer. Chief of Staff Eli James, his faithful consigliere and best friend, is one of the few who know. But just as the president’s condition mysteriously improves, Eli’s hit with another blow: his daughter has cancer too. Hell-bent on helping her, Eli turns to Big Pharma’s top lobbyist for advice, but their encounter yields more questions than answers. As he races along a twisted trail to the truth, he stumbles upon a devastating cover-up worth billions of dollars—and millions of lives.
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Worth reading (or listening)
- By Shelli on 05-16-25
By: Robert Bailey
Summary
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Excellent
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A very enjoyable book
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Wonderful historical fiction
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In a time when the roles of women and even their feelings were of little consequence to society an amazing woman rose above the status quo to endure a painful, unfaithful marriage and become a matriarch for her community.
This was a wonderful retelling of a pieced together life of a truly amazing woman, Emma Koehler. I loved the way that Camille Di Maio wove the little that is known about such a monumental person into a story that is compelling both in its tragedy and its triumph. The use of a young girl to come and be a means of this story unfolding was beautiful and brilliant. It allowed her to create the fairy tale that we all want to have while also sharing what is known, a beautiful symphony of literary music.
I have also read The Beautiful Strangers by Do Maio and although I liked that one I loved this one. I love how she takes subject matter and individuals that are not well known or well written about and bring those things to life once more. After reading The Beautiful Strangers I had to see The Coronado Hotel and now I am anxious to some day see the Pearl District in San Antonio. I believe the mark of a great historical fiction is to lead your reader to want to know more and I was definitely led on this path.
A Remarkable Story with a Sweet Twist
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Quaint story
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what A remarkable storyline
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A beautiful story
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I loved that Emma’s strength was so concentrated on
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The writing is under-graduate level at best. Trite phrases that would have been red-inked out of a freshman’s essays appear regularly. There is no sophistication of grammar. The past imperfect seems to be unknown.
The history of the Pearl Brewery and San Antonio is interesting, but Di Maio’s story-telling lacks an elevated skill. She inserts contemporary comments and points of view into a past of more than 100 years.
Her main focus seems to be soft sex which is sometimes embarrassing and often awkward.
Her lack of grammatical expertise makes one doubt her editor’s knowledge as well.
The reader mispronounces many usual words - Genoa comes to mind immediately - and it is almost agony to continue to listen to her errors.
On the whole, I would recommend finding another source of information about the Koehler couple, San Antonio in the early 20th century, and the Pearl Brewing Company. Don’t bother with “The First Emma.”
B- maybe even C-+
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