L. O. Pardue

The emotions I felt while listening to this audio book are exactly what I look for in a mystery / thriller. As soon as you start to think you know what will happen next, a new twist has the story going in another direction. Jo Nesbo is absolutely the master of of unique villians, violent situations and heart-stopping pace. I was not disappointed with the story at all.

OK, here is where my review goes in a different direction. You will be hard-pressed to find a character in this story that you like or care anything about. Many of the characters are, at the least, sociopaths. This is strange since I find Nesbo's Harry Hole series full of characters I care about very deeply.

Slow - plodding - mediocre

The last twist and the epilogue. My jaw dropped -- literally.

If you love fast paced, heart-stopping thrillers, this is your next pick.

If you enjoy thrillers and detective stories, but require realism -- DO NOT read any of the Jack Reacher series. If you want a fun experience that may require accepting lots of coincidence and unlikely, over-the-top scenes, Lee Child will be your new favorite author.

Whenever my husband and I go on a long road trip, our first choice is always a Jack Reacher audio-book. We have never been disappointed. Most times, including with this book, we can't wait to get back into the car for more listening of the great stories that Jack Reacher finds himself.

Reacher is an ex-soldier / military police, giant hulk of a man, traveling around the country with only a toothbrush in his pocket as possessions. After he travels several days, he buys cheap clothing and discards the old stuff. No luggage required.

You would think Reacher could easily stay out of trouble, but every new place he visits requires his special skills to save the day. This is not normally my favorite type of story, but I have loved every one of these books. I have listened to every book and this was my second time with "Killing Floor". I have loved every minute of them and hope Reacher is around whenever trouble comes.

Give it a try. You won't be disappointed.

When an author can take a few loose threads of a plot and bring them all together in a very full story, I find myself in book heaven. I honestly wasn't expecting that much when I started this book. What could be riveting about one day in the life of a deputy ambassador's wife in Paris preparing a dinner party that evening? Yet, the story builds and builds until you are hooked and can't stop listening.

For a story of this type, characters matter. Anne Korkeakivi delivered with very believable but interesting people.

If you are a fan of the classic novels "Mrs. Dalloway" or "The Hours", you will find this book very comparable. The main difference, and NO spoilers here, but the ending is fantastic. I loved it and felt great when I finished the book.

I enjoy Camilla Lackberg's writing a great deal. She reminds me of a Swedish Kate Atkinson ("Case Histories") with the well developed characters, witty dialog, domestic back-stories that combine with an intriguing mystery. It is so hard to believe that this is only Lackberg's second book. At her young age, she is so accomplished with good story telling and pacing for a mystery. I was hooked from the first listen.

The story starts out with a young boy finding a young woman's cadaver -- with 2 older skeletons underneath the body. All are connected with more to come. I will be honest that the mystery, while intriguing, was not as riveting as the first book. But can you blame anyone on expecting the same when the first book in a mystery series is excellent. Everything she writes will now be compared to "The Ice Princess". I am so pleased that Erica and Patrick continue in the series. I loved every scene with both of them.

The narrator seems a strange choice for these books. I am learning to like him, but it seems like a very English proper voice with strange interpretations of how many of the other characters sound.

Looking forward to listening to book # 3 sometime in the near future.

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!