L. O. Pardue

I have always wondered why American publishing provided several translated books of Jo Nesbo's great Harry Hole series, but didn't offer the first book, "The Bat". Finally, it has appeared and I couldn't listen to it soon enough. In this audiobook, Harry is in Australia investigating the murder of a young Norwegian woman, Inger Holter. The new Australian characters are unique and at times, very funny.

Regarding Harry's back-story, it was very emotional and heart-breaking. It answered so many questions I had about why Harry acts the way he does in the books that follow. I believe by beginning with this story, you can see how Nesbo continues to have Harry grow -- even if it is two steps forward and one step back most of the time. Harry's new Australian relationship, and its outcome will leave you very moved.

The mystery was very clever and moved forward at a very fast pace. Nesbo's ability to provide the most unique murder settings start with this first book. I think Nesbo's writing is brilliant. I hope he has a very long career writing about Harry Hole's investigations.

I enjoyed Sean Barrett's narration very much, but I still love Robin Sachs. I will not be disappointed with either of these narrators going forward.

Thanks, Audible, for finally offering the first book of this series. I loved it!

The title was what got me to choose this audio book. This time period and setting is one of my favorite reading subjects. I found the day to day description of living in the 1930-40s in England,and working for Mr.Churchill, to be the most interesting part of the story. It has been about a month since I finished the audio book and while I can remember the hardships and fear of the English people, I can hardly recall the mystery at all.

There is a good back-story that includes the Irish conflict during this time period. The main character was bland to me, but likable.

Would I read another book by this author? Maybe.

This is my first Ian Rankin audio book,and it was a fun listen. How have I missed Rankin for this long. I love a good mystery with great characters and setting. This fits the requirement perfectly. The trips through upper Scotland were as interesting as the mystery. I even did some internet searches of the places that were described so well. I also enjoy hearing the correct pronunciation of beautiful Gaelic words and places.

If I was a missing girl, I would want Detective John Rebus looking for me. He kept the momentum going even when other detectives wanted him out of the picture. He is an old-school detective with the Complaints Dept. following his every move. Ian Rankin must have a great sense of humor as I found that Rebus has some funny quips and comebacks throughout the book. The story is a straight mystery and not a thriller. The mystery was very interesting, but in the end, I felt the clues were not there to allow someone to figure it out themselves. With that said, I still loved the story and look forward to many Ian Rankin / John Rebus books in my future.

The narrator, James McPherson, has a beautiful sounding Scottish brogue. However, sometimes I had problems understanding the narration and had to listen to several chapters a second time. It was still enjoyable though.

Overall, listening to this audio book was a great experience.

I have done the pre- and post-apocalyptic story before, and have never found that type of story to be to my liking. However, I am glad I decided to give this book a try. I was hooked from the very beginning of the story. I will definitely read the next two books as soon as they become available.

Detective Hank Palace sees a murder where everyone else sees a suicide. What was most interesting to me was how Detective Palace finds the motivation, and the clues to continue the investigation under such distressing circumstances. The cast of characters and society felt real to me regarding the reactions to the news of the asteroid. Some people keep moving forward, some try to complete their bucket list and others just become useless, and at worse, dangerous to the community.

I found that when I was listening to this book my entire mood would change to mild distress and sadness. I was reading a second book at home that had me laughing and in an entirely different mood, but as soon as I turned on this audio book, I would go immediately to a darker place. The author was very good at getting me emotionally involved in the story.

The narrator, Peter Berkrot, was good, not excellent. Some of the voices he used sounded strange and had a sarcastic sound when I thought the dialog should have been interpreted differently. But that is a small complaint and did not bother me overall.

I notice that "The Last Policeman" just won a 2013 Edgar Award. I congratulate Ben H. Winters and look forward to how this trilogy plays out.

It has been a very long time since my last Agatha Christie, and this was an excellent choice to revisit her. This book was full of suspicious characters, a wonderful exotic setting and intriguing mystery. I love it when Hercule Poirot brings everyone together in a room to review all the motives and reveal the murderer. I was surprised by the ending, but there were plenty of clues for me to figure it out.

I only gave it 4 stars because I sometimes got lost in all the different characters. This is the main problem with audio books that you have to rewind over and over to get a feeling for each character and how they all fit together.

Otherwise, it was a very enjoyable experience.

I wish there were 50 books in this series. I am struggling with something new to say about Jo Nesbo and his incredible talent. If I go back to my other Nesbo reviews, I find I am repetitive with words like brilliant, unique, scary, great characters and a wonderful main character, Harry Hole.

All of those descriptions are the same with this book, yet every book in the series is so different. All of them have a very full story, twists that make you gasp and heart-thumping action. I laugh, get mad and get a tear in the eye from very moving and emotional scenes. To me, these books remind me why I love to read so much. As I get closer and closer to reading all of his books, I get worried that few authors will be able to grab me in the same way. So, Mr. Nesbo, please -- write faster!!

Now, nothing is ever perfect. I do agree that Thor Knai was not a good narrator after the incredible performances of Sean Barrett and Robin Sachs in previous books. By the way, I was sick to hear about Robin Sachs' death this year. His work as an actor and narrator was stunning. What a great loss.

Lastly, you will need to pay close attention as the story is very complex and required re-listening to lots of passages. The names and places began to sound alike, but you need to keep it all straight. It is worth the effort.

Enjoy!

My husband and I listened to this book during a trip this past weekend and loved it. Even though we were excited about our trip, we hated to leave the car because it meant we had to pause in our listening to this wonderful audio book. It was our first book by Robert Crais, but he has been added to our list of favorite authors. The dog, Maggie, and the K-9 policeman,Scott, were great characters. I hope Crais chooses to develop more stories around these characters.

I particularly enjoyed learning about the training of Military and Police K-9 dogs. You will admire the effort and sacrifice that is involved. Also, the narrator, MacLeod Andrews, did an excellent job. My only criticism is that it was easy to figure out the mystery,but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story.

I have several friends I can't wait to recommend this great story.

When I first read the summary of this new novel, I was so intrigued that I "pre-ordered" the book before reading the first review. I am so glad that I did because it is a dinner I will never forget. I got very caught up in the story right away despite the fact that during the entire first third of the story you don't even know why two brothers, Serge and Paul, and their wives, Babette and Claire, have come together at a restaurant to discuss some terrible subject that involves their children.

This story starts with the ritzy restaurant and includes all five courses from "Apertif" to "The Tip". Paul, the narrator, has many (even too many) long-winded and disdainful thoughts about everything from the menu, to the outfits of the wait staff, to his brother and his family and politics. As more information about Paul and his family comes out, you begin to realize in horrifying degrees that all is not as it seems. The middle of the story was somewhat tedious, but the ending is so strong and sickening. It is the ultimate story of what parents will do to protect their children, no matter what they have done.

I strongly recommend this book and can't wait until more people read it so that I can discuss it with someone. The narrator did an outstanding job. I am still hearing his voice in my head as I can't stop thinking of this story. Loved it!

There is so much written about JFK that it is hard to find something new. Nothing was new here, but I found it interesting enough to listen to the end.

What I liked: The stories about the "Cuban Missile Crisis" and "his relationship with Jackie and others" was very interesting. I enjoyed it.

What was less than wonderful:
1) Bill O'Reilly is not a good narrator because he cannot get out of his Fox Pundit rhythm of talking. However, this performance was actually an improvement over the awful narration of "Killing Lincoln".
2) If there had been one more paragraph about JFK's sexual appetite, O'Reilly would have had to re-name the book "Sex and Kennedy". It was poor writing to imply that he was "leering" at the Mona Lisa exhibit that Jackie successfully brought to the US for America to view. I get it, O'Reilly was using humor with his comparison of Mona Lisa and any other woman in the world that JFK looked at during his adult life. O'Reilly just couldn't pull it off as humorous.

This would be a good book for anyone who doesn't know much about JFK.

When reading the description for this new detective series, I felt that it would meet all my criteria for a great mystery series: interesting place, intriguing title, police procedural and unique story. It started off so well that I started calling friends to tell them to grab this new book. Well, now I am embarrassed because I will need to follow-up with my friends to let them know that the last half of the book does not hold up to a good beginning.

I was more than half way through the book thinking everything was going well when I noticed that the detectives, Oliver von Bodenstein and Pia Kirchhoff, were not particularly smart for detectives (well, maybe Oliver more than Pia was not so brilliant). I kept thinking anyone would have figured out the main mysteries and filed their reports before it reached a ridiculous crisis point. As I was listening, I kept wishing I had a notebook to write down all characters and extra plot twists that weren't really necessary in the end. I can't say I hated it, but I was so glad when it was finally over. Not sure I will continue this series unless there is some proof the writer can start off strong and finish strong with her story.

The narrator was underwhelming. The female voices were annoying, and I would have enjoyed a German accent to get in the mood. I think some of the dialog was very awkward. I probably should blame the author and not the narrator for some of the ridiculous conversations.