Yennta

No. He never has. Precious Ramotse (sp) is just as wonderful as ever and the people are as peculiar and somehow everything all works out in the end. I love the Scottish books and these books. And Lisette Lecat is one of my favorite narrators. She can do any accent in the world. A delight.

Yes, Sir Arthur, No Griffin

fine book

This reader gasps LOUDLY at the beginnings of sentences. It sounds as if he's about to dive into deep water. This is NOT an exaggeration. When he doesn't gasp (sometimes he doesn't) you're afraid he's going to strangle because he hasn't taken that deep noisy breath. Seriously. Unlistenable.

Major anger at Audible for featuring such a badly read book.

avoid this reader at all costs until he learns how to breath.

a madcap adventure?

the wild ride. I love every single Westlake book. But there were times I wanted to put it down and walk away. See Comments, below*

He's a great reader for tongue-in-cheek Westlake. He doesn't overdo. Except as below, in Comments*

Uh, not exactly a "moving" story. A lot made me laugh.

*Well, it's racist. The Mexicans are more or less portrayed as individuals, but the black people are cartoons, and some of this may be the fault of the reader. Seriously Amos N Andy stuff.

The intricacies of character development. Is this guy a boob? Is this woman an innocent? wha?

What I liked best was the way it developed. Some might find it slow. I didn't. I found it more and more involving.

No, I haven't, but he was excellent.

You won't get no High Concept from me!

Denise Mina is a great story teller with a real flavor to her stories. Like I said, involving.

It was truly funny. An ironic humor is an aspect of all of Rendell, but usually there's less of it than here. It's grisly, too, I guess, a little, but the characters are ALL adorably misguided, and there are mysteries, but they seem secondary to the story

Won't give anything away. No, no.

The old lady alcoholic, I can't remember her name.

It made me chuckle and grin.

At first I thought, "Oh, no! There are too many characters to keep track of in an audio book." There are 9 or ten. But the reader managed to convey who was being focussed on, and Rendell always, somehow, made each one distinct. I'm afraid if you leave long gaps between your listening intervals you might have trouble remembering who's who. That's why I didn't give the story five stars. It may not be easy for some listeners. But it is really absorbing, really fun.

After a long long time maybe. I only listen to non-fiction and classics more than once.

Not fair, Denise Mina is unique. Her locations, her characters can't be met anywhere else I know of.

Her beautiful (appropriate) Scottish accent and a subtle way of reading I really appreciate. I hate the drama kings and queens. I want to hear a story. I don't want to hear someone emote.

Don't want to spoil the experience for anyone. There were a lot of great moments and lot of moving ones, not sentimental, just really deep.

I've said it, I'm a fan. If you don't like naturalistic characters and a little squalor with your stories, you won't like most of Denise Mina. I also highly recommend "Deception." I don't think it's available here. Don't bother with abridgments. The FLAVOR of her work IS her work.

(I've given fewer stars for performance, because some performances here are better than others).
Based on what I've been hearing on this recording, Eudora Welty may be the best American writer of the 20th Century. (For me, for my taste) Hard to tell. So I've got to read her on the page. I've bought this book, now, from Amazon. I can't listen to it anymore because I want to constantly stop, go back, and read stuff over, asking, "WHAT did she just say?!." I can't believe an American writer I haven't read before (I'm old and I've been reading all my life) can be so impossibly good.
Usually I LISTEN to books to escape. Audio is fine for that. But this is escape of a different kind entirely. It's a glimpse into the real world made magical by descriptions that make you catch your breath. I may change my mind after pursuing her onto the page. I don't think so, though.

Never read Linda Howard before. Love mysteries and women who solve them, so I thought I'd like this. But it reads like a formulaic romance: feisty heroine, irritating but truly good and great looking hero, etc. etc. I was waiting for the murder, but I just I can't take it anymore. I like a little more subtlety. If you're a fan of Ruth Rendell or Laura Lippman, this may not appeal to you. I'm dissing it. The writing seems good. Just not for me.

Ruth Rendell is a great modern novelest, especially when she writes as Barbara Vine. This one is less weird but much more complex than most, and the main character is fascinating.

Got it because it's Barbara Rosenblat, and she's my favorite reader. And I like female detectives like Kinsey Millhone, Tess Monaghan, Stephanie Plum, Anna Pigeon, Precious Ramotswe. But this, while obviously popular with lots of people, was just too... primitive for me. It sounds like a children's book - e.g.:
"We have to go," he said.
"We have to go?" she asked
"Right now!"
"Right now?"
"The car is waiting out in front. Five minutes."
"The car? Five minutes?"

If you prefer a little subtlety and wit with your dialogue, avoid this. (And Barbara Rosenblat, here, sounds as if she's READING to a child.)