C. Johnson

The characters are believable. The storyline is palatable, but uninventive. When you finish the book, you'll realize you've heard a good story, but not a great one. There are a couple of threads to tie together, which the author does in the end, but don't expect dramatic plot twists. There really are none.

The narrator is very good. He is very capable, differentiating characters well, and providing emotion when needed.

I try not to be too critical when writing reviews, so I will say that the author was "fully successful" with this effort, but that only warrants a three-star rating.

Absolutely! Glenn Cooper created a multi-level story that mixes Clive Cussler-like historical tie-ins, but at three periods in time, 8th century England, post-World War II England and American, and present day. The result is a somewhat dark view of God's plan for each us that plays out on the streets of New York as a series of random events, and ultimately all threads of the story weave together into a tight fabric of plausibility that leaves the reader wondering "what if this were true?". Definitely in the top two percent for creativity and enjoyability.

Mark did a superb job narrating the many characters in the story, creating separate voices that which were delivered without any distraction from the storyline.

Yes. I found myself looking for opportunities to dive back into the story throughout the day. While I couldn't finish it in one day, I did finish it as quickly as I could.

I figured out the premise of the story at about the middle of the book. One line delivered by Mark, alias Peter, gave it away.

Ms. Goodwin started this marvelous novel, not at the beginning of the civil war, but much earlier in the personal and professional lives of each of the key characters. This allowed the reader to develop a much more complete understanding of the inter-relationships that were forged as Lincoln's cabinet was crafted from the great minds (and egos) of his day.

The thousands of personal correspondence that Ms. Goodwin had to read and research in order to build the elegantly flowing narrative of the lives of several great men and women contained in the novel is truly mind-boggling. She must be applauded for her diligence, passion and commitment, because the result of her work is a truly epic story.

No single moment, but the common theme that almost everyone who initially met Lincoln underestimated him until they actually got to know him. Looks, in this case, were exceedingly misleading as each would come to learn (and sometimes regret).

Ms. Toren's performance was phenomenal, not necessarily for its range of characters, but more for her ability to convey the far-reaching story and its complex characters with such subtlety that the reader can remain immersed in the tale, rather than becoming distracted by the narration.

Of course, when Lincoln was assassinated at almost the same moment that his epic struggle to end the Civil War, while keeping the warring factions of his cabinet knitted together.

I consider myself fortunate for having read this story. I learned and felt much as the lives of the characters unfolded before me.

Details about the illness that caused Dr. Alexander's NDE.

The ability to comprehend a staggering amount of information in an instant while in heaven, and a relative inability to adequately describe the heavenly experinece in the terms felt while there.

Earthy and believable presentation.

Details about bacterial meningitis.

Very near the top. Speaks the Nightbird (book 1) was a great lauchpad for this follow-on novel. Excellent character development, highly creative plot, dovetailed ending (all threads come together). Very highly recommended.

The performance by Eduardo Ballerini made the story truly come alive. He creates unique, believable voice characterizations that create the mood, ambiance, and fabric on which the story is superbly overlayed by Robert McCammon.

Absolutely. I'm a bit disappointed that each novel in the series is shorter than its predecessor, but that's ok, as long as the series continues.

Please keep writing these stories with the same attention to detail that evokes a feeling in the reader of being present with the characters in the story.

Very near the top for period mystery stories.

Only Time Will Tell by Jeffery Archer - read by Roger Alum and Amelia Fox, due to the mastery of the narrators to separate each character into a distinct person with a unique personality.

I believe this is my first Ballerini-narrated story. Edoardo's mastery of dialects and separation of character voices helped me experience the darkness of the opening sequence of the story as though I was with the Magestrate and Mathew Corbett in the Inn facing the danger that they experienced. Truly evocative and wholly enjoyable.

Without giving away any tenets of the story, there were many points throughout the story that moved me emotially - some due to religious ignorance and intolerance, others because of personal loss that each character had to endure.

A very well written story that. while quite lengthy, covers so much ground in a way that doesn't drag along slowly. Keep a notepad handy for tracking the numerous characters and the various threads of the plot, but don't worry, each thread is part of a tightly woven fabric that comes together by the story's end.

I have listened to all of Harlan Coben's books, including the stand-alone novels. Stay Close is one of the best yet written. The storyline is based on a serious topic, and was completely believable. The way the solution unfolds near the end is classic Coben. Nice twists and turns, and all the "bad guys" get their come-uppance. That's how a story should be told.

Scott Brick was truly at the top of his game. Stellar performance from my all-time favorite narrator. I actually got lost in the story, because Scott's transition between characters was fluid and transparent.

Still looking forward to the next Myron Bolitar story, but this was a fantastic book to become immersed in while waiting...

I was truly enjoying this biography of one of America's best Presidents when the story ended as soon as FDR died. No talk about the transition to Harry Truman or the end of WWII.

Story content was in-dept and quite informative and compelling. I learned things about FDR that surprised me, made me proud, and also disappointed me.

His first 100 days in office were, by far, the clearest example of leadership, courage, and optimism of any President in history. While Abe Lincoln was, in my opinion, our most well-rounded President, FDR was an energetic and charismatic leader who actually worked with Congress, and turned the country around during the depression.

If only we had a President with his knowledge, leadership skills, and influencial charm today.

Narrator was also superb! Similar to Edward Hermann.

This is the first story I've listened to by Adrian McKinty. While the story seems historically accurate, and is compelling and creative, it simply went on for for too long. The number of investigative deads ends encountered became aggravating, and seemed to be included for no other reason than to extend the length of the story.

Things didn't really get going until the last hour, when I think the puzzle pieces began to fit together. I say I think, because I'm not sure that everything was tied together as well as it should have been.

Separately, the homosexual encounter mid-story was completely irrelevant, and from what I would have expected, entirely out-of-character for one of the participants. Seems as though it was thrown in for no reason but to add shock value, because it was never developed into the storyline.

Finally, the title has absolutely no relevance to the story. Must have simply sounded catchy to the publisher.

On a positive note, Gerard Doyle did a stellar job of narrating the story. His verbal dexterity added credence to the location and characters in the story. He is a truly talented actor.

I spent two and a half hours listening to this story, expecting it to take off. I realize it's 24 hours long, and that at some point it probably gets better; however, I just couldn't see listening for another two hours, or so, only to be further disappointed.

The author is a master of the English language, but his descriptions border on rambling - "he bought fruit - grapes, apples, oranges, peaches, bananas, pears, tomatoes, plums, limes, lemons, .....". Not an actual sentence from the book, but you get the point, but the author thinks he has to enumerate ad nauseum in order to get the reader to understand his prose. Wow, makes me shudder just thinking about how awful this was.