Alice

Nevada Barr is a favorite, for sure. I race to read each new release! Both Barr and Ranger Pigeon have grown over the dozen or so books in the series, and it has been a pleasure to watch. The descriptions in Hard Truth took me right to the park, where I could almost smell the pine and feel the rain. This is the first audio Barr I've done. There's a profound difference between reading description and hearing it. Barr is transporting! I do miss following along with the maps that are usually in the front of the books, but maps of ROMO are readily available on the 'net.

This is a disturbing book, what with the abuse of children and animals, and the evil of a cult. But it's a good read, and more than once kept me in the car in the driveway to hear "just a few minutes more."

Riordan's story is a terrific read - exciting, engaging, perfect for youth and adult. He alternates chapters, one in the voice of younger sister Sadie, the other in older brother Carter's. That works great for story telling! Unfortunately, in the audiobook the weakness of the male voice is distracting. Katherine Kellgren is magnificent! Her ability to convey the characters' personalities, while maintaining a plethora of accents, is extraordinary! The male narrator does not have the same skills, and is obviously reading his material.

The publisher would have been better served to have Kellgren perform all of the parts. She already does Carter's voice when she's narrating Sadie's chapters. Her vocal styling is such that the character differences would have been obvious, without the distraction that results from the current pairing.

Oh goodness, yes. This is a delightful story, with a magnificent narrator.

The plot is fun, the characters well developed, and the whole thing is lighthearted.

Because of Ms. Kellgren, this is a better listen than it is a read. And I know! I have the book, as well as the audiobook. The characters come alive with her voice acting in a way they do not on the page. Not to say the book is not good. It is! But with the vocal artistry of Ms Kellgren, a good book is transformed to spectacular.

I'm rooting for Our Heroine (and Our Hero) throughout the series! I don't know how they end up, since I've not finished them all yet, but I'm in their corner!

Anna Pigeon is still off duty after the attack at Isle Royale. She is visiting a fellow ranger in New Orleans and meets Jordan, her friend's tenant, a gutterpunk. There's something just not right about Jordan, and Anna decides to investigate. Ms. Barr has returned to the topic of sexual abuse of children, as she wrote about in Hard Truth. It's not the easiest subject to listen to, and I can say I prefer the Anna Pigeon books that deal with other subjects. Nevertheless, there are plenty of plot intersections, as there usually are in Ms. Barr's books. New narrator for this one. She does the variety of voices well, but I do miss Barbara Rosenblat, who performed the previous books.

Anna Pigeon, on leave from her park after a shooting, is on vacation with her husband at Big Bend National Park on the Texas/Mexico border. Illegal border traffic, Texas politics, marital discord, Anna's mental state, and a white water rafting trip converge in this Nevada Barr mystery/thriller. If you though (as I did) that Nevada Barr had drifted off to a too gruesome and creepy direction with Hard Truth, not to worry. This one has all the plot twists and energy that we expect from NB, without being as disturbing as Hard Truth.

Great vocal characterization! Subtle accents, easily distinguishable (and believable) male characters, and an ability to depict the various mental states of the various characters make this narrator perfect for the book. I confess, I sat in my car in the parking lot before work, just to listen to a few more minutes of the story!

This is my "go to" audiobook. When I can't think of what else I'd like to listen to, or they're begging on the radio, I put this one on. Olivia is a writer for the style section, but she wants hard news. Her boss and her friend think she has an overactive imagination. Instead of hard news, she is assigned to cover a face cream launch, and then wannabe actors in LA. But could the hot "French" guy she met in Miami be an international terrorist? What's with the bell hop, anyway? And the hair-flicking Indian supermodel is up to something, for sure. Don't panic! Think. Breathe. That's number one on Olivia's rules for living, after all. Good rule to live by! The author gives the characters the perfect accents. Terrific light thriller, and great narration. I strongly recommend this one.

Love the book and the trilogy (so far). The characters are well developed, and Tim Curry reads each with his or her own personality or voice. The women come across as women, but he doesn't speak them in a falsetto or falsely feminine voice, unlike many male readers of female characters. The powerful characters' voices are obviously powerful, and the more gentle voices are softer. As for the story itself, it's an excellent one for listening! Compelling parts, and "hide under the covers" parts, and "I can't wait to hear what happens next" parts! Absolutely perfect for a long drive to work (even if I did find myself speeding to escape an attack from the Dead, as our protagonists were doing). I confess to having skimmed an online summary of the plot of the trilogy. There are some elegant overlaps and intricate plot developments that aren't going to be revealed until the end (or some point after the end of the second book). It might be one of those stories that needs a second listen to catch it all.

Ms Aidan did a great job on this book! It's not Austen, but a fine romance with a gothic spin. More intrigue and political background than Austen would have included. That said, the narrator destroyed it. Darcy was not masculine, struggling to reform his character. Rather, he became a whining fop. The servants were obsequious, and the ladies were drag queens. Not to mention the pacing, which was far too slow, and the misplaced emphasis. I realize the author is not well known, but couldn't they dredge up any better narrator than that?

The book is written in Jane Austen's style, and the author has a wonderful ear for Austen's voice. Those, like me, who can practically chant from Austen's works, may find the author's periodic "lifting" of Austen's own phrases and words a bit jarring. It's strange to hear the phrases out of context, when they are so familiar in their original novels. However, the plot is engaging, and the main character well developed. That Kate Reading, a frequent narrator of Austen's own works, is the narrator of this work is an extra treat. Her voice gives the work the perfect Austenization!

Excellent 'read.' I laughed, cried, and really felt for the characters. Only Emma's character is at all developed, but she's completely 3-D. And she grows up by the end of the book. It's a love story, so sure it's predictable. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, and (not telling the end). It's a classic formula. But it works! And there are plenty of giggles in the middle.

Kate Reading's narration, back and forth between American, English, and Kiwi accents, male and female voices, was more than credible. I'd listen to Kate Reading read the phone book, but I'll give this author another try.