Charles

I'd be lying if I said I can read Chesterton with ease. In truth, I listen to this book often, trying to follow the great GK Chesterton. His wit is unsurpassed. His confidence is inspiring.

I give the book 3 stars because it kept me interested to the end. I could not like the main character, finding him with little or no foundation, (which is a key theme of the book), and ultimately disappointing as a man, friend, lover and son.

Ballerini was excellent, however, a true master of characters.

What kept me interested was the hero's inevitable self discovery. The cleverness of the book is how he comes to this discovery.

In the meantime we are treated to an extraordinary cast of characters. The wealthy, genius, arrogant, and suicidal author and best friend. (I can't use names for reasons that will become evident should you read or listen to this book.) The beautiful actress and lover, another clever clue to his self discovery. An unforgettable patriarch holed up in Sudan and ravaged with dementia.

In the end as shallow as I am, I look to fall in love with the main character as well as the story. As a boy, he won my heart, only to break it as he does his own and all who love him.

I bought this because I enjoyed The Sleeping Doll so much. The characters are great and I love how Deaver writes Dance as an investigator. Like most every Deaver novel, there are really surprising twists that either keep you in suspense or eager to understand what has transpired.

Michelle Pawk does a great job with all the characters. She gets a well earned 5 star rating for me.

I give the story 3 stars because I found the subject matter, (blogging and cyber bullying), a bit trite and boring. Deaver more than compensates for this with his talented character development and storytelling.

I have enjoyed stories of criminals and gangsters for years, but the longer I listened to this the more depressed I felt. There is so much hate from remarkably shallow people I just had to quit listening. I am sure this story rings true for many, sadly people like this thrive in the US.

For example I've heard of black soldiers in Vietnam Nam killing white soldiers in some circumstances. But here we have a character killing well over 50 fellow soldiers because of his hatred of whites. Depressing? I think so.

The Redeemer is the 6 th in the series, but you don't have to follow the books in order. It is another riveting suspense/ mystery / thriller from Nesbo. I think it is every bit as good as The Snowman, Devil's Star and The Bat.

Once again Nesbo exposes Harry Hole as the brilliant, vulnerable, articulate detective we know him to be. The mystery itself is complicated and entirely unique.

John Lee does an outstanding job reading. The audio version is dedicated to the memory of Robin Sachs, who died earlier this year.

I realize this review assumes you have some experience or knowledge of this series. If you don't, investigate the series further and start where you like. All I can say is that Jo Nesbo is the best novelist in this genre I've ever read.

I actually purchased this to listen with my wife. What a pleasant surprise! Best of all I'm hooked on a series with plenty of novels to go.

The story is of a clever, beautiful, poor yet still royal woman having to disgrace her position by working. It leads to a myriad of humorous scenes, all of which overshadow the actual mystery.

Katherine Kellgren does a wonderful job reading a variety of characters.

Deaver is known for extraordinary procedural detail, twists and character development. I loved this book, particularly because it surprised me at several points. The suspense is also first rate.

The heroine, Katherine Dance is an investigator for the California Buereau of Investigations specializing inbinterrogation and kinesics (or body language). Deaver does a great job revealing her expertise without becoming tedious. In fact I found it fascinating.

The reader is Anne Twomy who does an excellent job.

Mr. Archer is just a great teller of tales. His heroes and heroines, in this case autobiographical, are so engaging and charismatic I became hopelessly addicted to the series.

The same can be said of the villain. he a tragically bad seed from a family of outstanding good character, nobility and wealth. He reminds me of several of Follet's villains in Pillars of the Earth and Dangerous Fortune.

The intricate British cast system is brilliantly exposed as it provides much of the series' theme.

The performance is, in a word, brilliant.

I'm writing this on my iPhone with one eye dilated, so forgive me if I don't make sense.
This is an Irish story read by an Irishman. Perhaps it's just my ear, but I find the reading bland and morose, rather than engaging. That said, it's a fascinating story of a hunter who begins to find himself.

I still give it 4 star for originality and suspense.

In the forward, DeMille names this his best and favorite work. I heartily agree. He also predicts it will still be relevant long after his death. I don't think there is any question.

John Sutter, a Gold Coast native, tax attorney, clever and cynical socialite and foremost a devoted family man is the hero and narrator of the tale. No one is better suited to describe the culture of living in the country's wealthiest neighborhood. His wife, Susan Stanhope Sutter, is from one of the wealthiest Gold Coast families. Her father's manipulation of her through his wealth play an important role in the tale. DeMille said she's in large part the ultimate male fantasy. Just listen to the story and you'll find out why that is true, if not understated.

But what attracted me to the story some 20 years ago and what has led to several subsequent readings, (and now listening!), is the premise of a mafia don moving into such a community. DeMille uses the obvious contrasts of two old American cultures, both with their own sets of etiquette, manners and unwritten rules to produce what I believe is one of best, (certainly the most fun), 20th century novels.

Christian Rummell far exceeds the great Scott Brick as the voice of John Sutter. That should be enough to impress any DeMille fan.

After listening to this book I did some research and found the threats represented in the story are not only credible but probable. At least now we have been warned!

The narration is excellent, he nails the southern accents of North Carolina and small town NC as well.

The story is riveting, gut wrenching and frightening. It's not a feel good story, but don't let that turn you away. It is an important book to read!

All throughout the adventure I tried to imagine how I would act under the circumstances laid out by Fortschen. Perhaps this is why I am so moved by his work. I'd love to think I'd survive, but I simply can't imagine that would be the case.