S.

The writing and the narrator were both big misses for me.

Maybe I could have tolerated the writing, but the narrator's reading of the story on top of the writing made the whole experience unbearable.

I will always give a narrator a second chance, but I will listen to the preview very carefully as well as read listener reviews.

The location of the book was what drew me in as I've visited some of the islands of the Hebrides. I loved reading about the island of Lewis and the culture there. The mystery was a great story on top of all that.

Not the plot per se, but what I couldn't wait to get in the car and listen to was the weaving of murder and mystery with family, traditions, culture, and a coming of age tale.

By providing the voices of the characters, not just their accents but the cadence of their speech, I could "see" the characters much better. I was amazed at the number of accents in which Mr. Forbes read.

The description of the islanders' taking of the guga was completely fascinating and horrifying in and of itself. It was made even more so when told through the eyes of the main character looking back on his first trip.

I don't know that I would call this book "enjoyable". The story was compelling and kept me drawn in. It took me awhile to listen to it because some days I needed to hear a story that was less intense, happier, if you will. This story was all in blacks, grays, and slate greens in my mind.

The writing was very good. Timothy Dalton's performance was at times a little too dramatic.

I can't describe it in 3 words. Great accent, nice characterizations, at times over-the-top dramatic.

I will read Benjamin Black again. But only when I'm in a certain mood.

In this genre, it's one of the better books I've listened to.

I thought the narrator did a fine job vocalizing all of the characters. I enjoyed the storyline very much. I would definitely recommend it for it's intended age group and adults who enjoy a good, no stress, no violence tale.