Linda

HIghly recommended

The book is a tapestry of human lives and how it is interconnected, directly or indirectly.
The author had successfully woven a connection between families centering to the death of one of its members and how this death affected everyones opinions of themselves and others around them. It exposes hidden agendas, quest for power, misconceptions, and hidden fears. The author is quite adept in using dark humor to show a point about its characters.

When one of the character's son posted in the internet to prevent his father from running for the city council position. The author's construction of the event leading up to the posting of the abusive father's dirty laundry was well laid out. You really feel sorry for Andrew's family situation, and how the whole event mushroomed to the consternation of the affected people.

The author excellently put everything together to its sad conclusion: the death of Krystal and her baby brother. There you see the conflicts, anger, loyalty, forgiveness, remorse, and other human emotions at play, and the lessons learned from the events that had just unfolded.

I listened and read the story simultaneously, and yes it was hard to put down.

To all who commented that this book is boring, perhaps not enough attention is put in order to really grasp the essence of the book. I did not find it boring, as a matter of fact I loved it! This book has social issues, ie. healthcare, drug addictions, and political issues, i.e. budget cuts in education, jobs, healthcare, that are at play in our government and cities today. Though the author concentrated on the small town of Pagford, the financial woes it faces is as true today in our current economic situations. I would say that it is relevant in what is happening today in our government and how it deals with our economic and social problems. Thank you, J.K. Rowling for writing about social and political issues in the form of a novel.

I prefer the audio version because if the reader is good the story comes alive. Len Cariou narrated this book perfectly. He gave life to the characters. The printed edition cannot do that.

I like the juxtoposition of the two crimes -- they were different yet the author was able to blend the stories together well.

It was Len's ability to enliven the characters in the book. As you listen along, it seems that you are watching a play.

Everyone count or none at all -- Harry Bosch

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. Len Cariou's narration was perfect (and he does not have a lisp either), and the story is full of twist and turns typical of Connolly, that you really need to focus so as not to miss anything. Harry's relationship with his daughter is further developed in this story and it was done very well. Maddie is already displaying a sharp sense of observations and maturity, inherited from Eleanor Wish, her mother and Harry, her father. I can't wait until Maddie follows in Harry's footstep. She'll make a great detective!