Karen

I waited with huge anticipation for "Bury Your Dead" to be released. The minute it was on audible.com, I downloaded it and listened to it three times. Louise Penny is by far one of the greatest mystery writers of all time. My only regret is that we can't get her books faster; I could read about Chief Inspector Gamache for the rest of my life and never tire of his character and the beautiful village of Three Pines. This book exceeded my expectations. I hope Ms. Penny is hard-at-work on her next book or I will suffer great separation anxiety from my favorite crime solver and the band of characters that have wend their way into this reader's heart. An amazing triumph!

This is the second book by Peter Robinson that I've listened to. His character development is masterful, the plot completely intriguing and surprising. I found myself caring about the characters, as if I knew them personally. I could listen to Mr. Prebble's (the reader) voice for an eternity. The combination of brilliant writing and a fantastic performance by the reader produces a "not-to-be-missed" book. I just downloaded my third Robinson book. I'm hooked!

If you are looking for an alternative to Dan Brown's books, skip this one. Frankly, it was just plain silly. And, the narrator becomes most annoying after a while - his voice comes from his nose. Being used to John Lee and Simon Preeble's performances, I found this narrator's reading more of a distraction than attraction. I think even the Templars would be disappointed in this one!

While there is a plot to Ms. Laurens' book, most is made up of one quite explicit sex scene after another. I would have preferred more substance, less sex. Having noted this, I am not a died-in-the-wool fan of genuine romance novels. To her credit, the author creates great, believable characters that draw the reader in. Mr. Preeble's narration could make any maiden relinquish her virtue; his performance is - as always - masterful. I so wanted to like this book, but one can only read the same terms ("exploding, imploding, exciting, delighting") for lovemaking so many times before they become tedious rather than tantalizing.

I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. While it took a few chapters to get used to what we might refer to as "stiff, perhaps even artificial" language (after all, this book was written before Abraham Lincoln was assassinated), I found it a captivating and spellbinding mystery. As a result of the sheer enjoyment, I just purchased another Collins audiobook. This was a writer who truly knew how to hook readers in and never let them go. A great read if you are looking for some wonderfully British escapism with plenty of twists, turns and invention.