Anne

It is a shame that a writer can make so much money from a poorly told, somewhat risque story about sex. Repetition was the keyword here - and not even clever. The heroine has a profoundly limited vocabulary. The hero, if that is what he was really doesn't play much of a role except by being wealthy - an entrepreneur with many businesses and a nasty propensity for rough sex. Initially the female thinks this is different and interesting but fairly quickly tires of being tied up and assaulted - her loosely explained goal is to improve his behaviour. She spends her existence in the book being frightened of her man while still being attracted to him and wanting more. Somehow, they muddle through until he becomes a good boy and doesn't perform some of his rough sex any more and with the birth of a child become sort of a typical family, although the female's uber-dramatic behaviour would probably drive most people mad . There is a sad naivety about the books and a sense that perhaps an editor or six might have improved things enough it would have taken an incredible amount of work.

A piece of literature whose subject matter is extremely difficult. The topic of family abuse should not be avoided as it appears some jurisdictions have dictated. (This reminds the reader of when so many politicians said "we don't have gang problems). Society will gain nothing and lose a lot if it chooses to continue shoving the 'dirty secrets' under the carpet. The 'heroine' of this book is an extremely well-drawn character whose victimization is all too familiar to those who have been victimized and those who try to help them. This should be a "MUST READ" for families, physicians, law enforcement, teachers and all those who work with children. Those who consider the subject matter 'unfit' should read the headlines for a week and forget the attitude that it could not happen in their family - like cancer, it can happen anywhere.

The 'author' has a fixation on being abnormal, but her 'diagnosis' is unlikely and rather pathetic. A drama queen, indeed, and self- aggrandizing as befits a very immature personality. If anything she says about herself is true, then she could have done better in terms of authoring a book.

The narrative is actually quite boring and the tale, itself is poorly organized. Glib quotes from various psychologists and psychiatrists. Equally glib injection of legal terms


She probably has a personality disorder but not the one she would like to have.. Efforts to shock do not make a sociopath.

A waste of time and not an iota of value to the study of sociopathy.

A greedy, grasping, superficial and predatory woman who could fool some of the people some of the time, leaving human wreckage behind. Probably a good match for a man who should never have been king. He sounds needy, quite unintelligent, I am at a loss to understand (apart from sex appeal and the ability to make questionable jokes) how as many people put up with her as they did. As a Canadian, I am not anti-royal and I frequently feel badly when I read anti-royal rants but Wallis was, uneducated, un-caring, and vulgar. The Royal Family of England, these days, have put a priority on education and service and and hopefully, there won't be any similar 'episodes' in history.

Well researched and no problem with narration - just an English accent.

This reader felt that the characters were poorly drawn, vocabulary lost through repetition, same for descriptions of emotional reactions. Primary characters lacked real personality (or personality which fit their description). For example, husband and wife were far more unaware than any people with their backgrounds and/or educations could/should be. Too much gratuitous violence throughout. Emotional reactions did not match experiences being undergone - too many exhausting bouts of tears from heroine who was supposedly a person of strong character and profession. Ending was long and almost tedious.


Left me feeling that the only worthwhile person was an FBI agent who was a vital character who could have been a charmer but didn't quite make it as relevant because of his age. as opposed to that of the primary character.

I love Baldacci and most of his books. The narrator did his best with what he had to work with but I left the book wishing I hadn't invested either money or time.

Almost felt that Baldacci was not the primary author.

Reasonably well done - It is hard for this reader to like Hemingway in any part of his life. I kept having the feeling that this story would have been much more interesting if the author had been forthcoming about his day-to-day character - he was a great seeker of fame.

A lot of material from years of 'individual' police work. A difficult topic with all sorts of ramifications handled quite well but with the obvious 'short-comings' of trying to deal with the complexities of criminal vs police vs criminal behaviours. (These can't be avoided, of course, because of the disparate interests of the parties involved.) The facts are enough to make most honest citizens shiver.

The author(s) is attempting to mix several forms of writing and several grammatical approaches. It does not work and does not do any justice to the characters - none of whom really have any 'personality' because the author has already indicated what the reader is supposed to think of them. There seems to be a built-in prejudice and ignorance about almost all the subject matter. I hope that any future writings would give evidence of more research into both subject matter and personation of her characters.

Whether or not one agrees with Richard Dawkins' interpretation of atheism, it is well worth reading/listening to him. You would have to be very narrow-minded if this book did not make you think and contemplate. If one was seeking to validate a religious belief, it should be essential reading. A bonus to Mr. Dawkins' theories is that he discusses them with a great sense of humor.

As with some of the insider descriptions of Scientology, this gives a perspective from a child's and young adult's view. It is quite revealing and, if the routines are still the same, reveals an organization which should be removed from tax relief granted 'religious' exemption and charged with child abuse (good luck with that). I continue to be amazed that people are still 'gulled' into paying many thousands of dollars to be misled and abused - the money going into into the coffers of what has the appearance of being more of a criminal investment and real estate scheme with the inducement of some kind of immortality.

The narration was a bit disappointing. It would have been much more interesting from a 'mature' voice with a less 'cheerful' tone. I can understand the decision to use a young voice in this but think it was the wrong one.

You have to give LBJ credit (and I'm not an American). He could be abrasive but it is obvious that he had the best interest of his country in mind at all times. It is hard to imagine him being graceful but he took on the role at one of the most awkward and divisive times in American History with a grace which is surprising, given his background and history and with as significant dignity (in pubic) that must have made American's proud.

The story was well documented, which is frequently not the case, with biographies.