Philomena

There were many times during this story when I froze in place, put my hand over my mouth, and felt my eyes well with tears...but don't mistake it for some sort of a 'sappy sob story.'

This is one of the best credits I've ever spent. I couldn't take my headphones off! I even turned off my phone, so I wouldn't be disturbed. There is not one single boring word. The entire story is alive - pulling you in, triggering emotions you didn't even know you had, forcing you to experience an ugly part of American history, and opening your eyes to the true, dirty reality of racism.

The narrator is fantastic - I cannot praise her enough. She reads it like it's her own personal story. Her voice is smooth and pleasant and displays a brilliant full spectrum of emotions. I could listen to her all day and never get tired.

You will NOT regret this selection.

Cary Hite's voice was an entertainment all on its own! I couldn't get enough of him speaking like a mad black woman. Especially when in the role of scolding a child, or telling a guy to get lost. He got the attitude just right!

In the more serious male roles, he nailed it right on the head. He switched seamlessly from threatening, to pleading, to joking, to murderous...creating an atmosphere you could feel in your gut.

He made it easy to think you're really listening to an entire cast of performers carry you through this story.

This is my second K'wan novel. The first was Section 8, and it was like nothing I've ever heard before. I was so excited to see more of his work available here on audible. K'wan's writing is outstanding. It's almost TOO real, and at times makes your heart skip a beat when you think that, just maybe, the gang members behind all the shootings you hear about in the news (especially here in Chicago) are people eerily similar to the ones in this book.

In a way, it's as though one of those news paper articles reached out and grabbed you by the nose and pulled you inside - behind the scenes - where the killers are lurking in every corner, and god-forbid you do as much as accidentally bump their arm as you're passing by.

This is a credit very well-spent. But fasten your seat-belt, because it's one hell of a ride.

What I loved best was the supremely masterful talent Gillian Flynn has for crafting out such a clever and tantalizing story. This is one author who shouldn't get lost in the mix.

It's CLEVER. Gillian Flynn didn't just create any old psychopath. This one is remarkably intelligent, and I imagine could outwit the devil himself.

They were fantastic! I cannot say enough good things about their performance. Each one contributed equally to the story, and they were so believable, it required no effort on the listener's part at all to accept them as their characters from the very first words out of their mouths.

This is my second Gillian Flynn audiobook, and today I begin my third. This masterful author is not just imaginative, she has the highly strategic intelligence of a four-star Army General. Her writing is multi-layered, like a game of Clue, all stitched together with surgical precision. I've read/listened to thousands of books by hundreds of authors, and I'm telling you, THIS author is superb.

YES. Right away I was hooked. The storyline was taught, dark, and gripping. The characters were frightening believable, and although the book shifted from the present to the past, it was written well enough so that you always knew exactly where you were, and never lost your place in time. This is my first Gillian Flynn novel, and I loved it. There are few authors capable of this type of mastery over the telling of their tale. I kept my headphones on well into the night, unwilling to remove them even as I changed into my pajamas! I stayed awake under the covers in the dark, dying to know what's going to happen next, and didn't pause the story until the middle of the night. First thing in the morning, I threw the headphones right back on and didn't take them off until it was done.

This is such an incredible work, it's difficult to compare it to anything else. But a few stories do come to mind, because of the' poor family living in the country who suffer some extreme and frightening tragedy' theme. Those would be:

Tomato Girl, by Jayne Pupek
Back Roads, by Tawni O'Dell
The Red Tree, by Caitlin R. Kiernan

Now it all makes sense. When you find yourself in one of those incredibly horrible relationships with someone who you can't believe is SO COLD - give this one a listen and you'll immediately begin to understand why.

This is a brilliantly written book by a skilled and insightful women. It offers numerous examples of sociopaths and clear instruction on how to recognize them in your own life. This should be required reading in as early as freshman year high school! We all NEED to know these things - and the information contained within this book can be lifesaving to those of us (like myself) who have had or may one day have the terrible misfortune of falling into a relationship with a charming sociopath who has the ability to sweep you off your feet...only to drop you off a bridge when the 'game' is done.