Janet

I have listened to at least 100 books from Audible. My favorites being mystery/thrillers. My favorite authors are Michael Connelly, Tana French, Laura Lippman, Gregg Hurwitz, and David Rosenfelt. I have never NOT finished a book. At 4.5 hours into this one I am bailing out. I am so bored with all that is NOT happening. There have been a few short exciting scenes but they are followed by speculation, overly descriptive dialog and a list of names and places that become very difficult to keep up with. I love Grover Gardner but I just can't do Littell.

If you are looking for an action-packed thriller, this isn't for you. However, if you are looking for a good story with perfect character descriptions, mystery and a great voice, I recommend this. I am a big fan of Laura Lippman. If you like her books, you will like this one too.

I know I have been spoiled by the likes of Connelly, Deaver, Lippman, French, Child and others. This book is kind of juvenile in its plot and pacing. I think my 12 year old would love it. However, it is NOT Ready Player One (RPO). RPO is a well-polished narrative with clearly thought out characters. It moves neither too fast nor too slow. I adored it. This book has a bit of fantasy in it but it doesn't seem to fit with the non-fantasy parts. Characters are very one dimensional and predictable - almost like cartoons at times, especially Mr. Penumbra himself.
This book comes across like someone just sat down and typed it up with no effort to edit, polish or improve it after the fact. It's not awful, simply unsophisticated.

I have listened to a lot of Gregg Hurwitz's books. I totally adored Crime Writer when I heard it. As the years have passed and Scott Brick has been chosen over and over as narrator, I am getting warn out. The plot is relatively predictable - kind of a Hurwitz formula. The drama.in.every.sentence.....added by Brick. is exhausting to listen to. There is no climax because every third sentence IS a climax.
I had to suspend my disbelief more than I do with other writers such as Connelly, Laura Lippman, Jeffrey Deaver and David Rosenfelt. That got old too. I think I would skip the next Hurwitz book, especially if Brick narrates that one.
This book is not impossible to listen to, just not as good as others or older Hurwitz books.

Okay, this is Nesbo's first Harry Hole book and the story is okay. It definitely gives us a glimpse in to what makes Harry like he is. Sadly, Sean Barrett does NOT do this justice. No, he's not as bad as the guy who does Nemesis, Thor Knai, but he's close. He sounds like he is 95 years old - like Robin Williams playing a very old man. That great, masculine gruff sound that Robin Sachs bring to all the other books is sadly missing. If you can get past that, the book is good.

Nesbo keeps getting better and better. There are a slew of twists and turns in this book and they proved so enjoyable! Impossible to get bored. Robin Sachs is excellent as usual, especially since there are so many characters. Do yourself a favor - try hard to keep up with all the character names. There are a lot and almost all being Norwegian, they don't come easy to pronounce or visualize for a native English speaker. Otherwise, this book is so fantastic!

This is Nesbo's very best Harry Hole novel. It has fascinating twists and turns and scenes that I am itching to see in a movie one day. Rarely does an audiobook make my heart pound while I listen to it, but this one did several times. One again Robin Sachs narrates and does a perfect job. He is fantastic with every character. You must make a point to keep up with the names as they are all Nordic and not naturally easy to remember - at least not for this English speaker.

IMPORTANT NOTE: IT SEEMS "The Leopard" BY NESBO HAS BEEN RE-RECORDED USING ROBIN SACHS. I recommend you listen to a sample of it and if the voice is the same as this book, go for it. Thor Knai's name is still on as narrator, but when I clicked on sample today I heard Robin Sachs! Great news!

Grabenstein has written another ideal whodunit for Ceepak and Danny Boyle. The settings, the characters and the story are captured with the usual Jersey Shore flair Grabenstein brings. And there are very few pairings on Audible as perfect as Jeff Woodman and this series. He is the perfect narrator to capture the drama, humor and oddness that is Sea Haven, NJ. After I listened to this one I just couldn't get enough, and went back to re-listen to the first of these books, Tilt-A-Whirl.

This book is a bit epic as it spans 40+ years. However, now that I have finished it, I realize that I truly enjoyed it. Yes, Mark Hammer speaks very slowly and makes everyone sound 65 years old, but since so many characters age so much in the course of the story, it is appropriate.
The story is well crafted with plenty of dramatic and even comedic points. If you are looking for a who-dunnit, this is not it.
Characters are fascinating and different and well thought out. I recommend this audiobook.

I was disappointed with this book. You can't tell what is a mystery and what isn't. There are no big twists - just some minor turns and for most of the book I kept waiting for something to happen.

This book and its premise about professional headhunters, people who recruit high level professionals for employment, got off to a great start with a great character. Then came a nice, well-placed twist. So far so good. Then, the main character begins an adventure that lasts the majority of the book and requires a HUGE amount of suspension of disbelief. The ending is mildly entertaining but I did not care for Nesbo's methods of exposition through a lot of the book. He's written better ones. I will say the narrator was excellent in all respects.