Kelli N. Perkins

I've been on a Scandi lit bender and each book gets better. I am in love with Department Q and it's two and only sleuths. It's possible that I might have a hissy-fit waiting for the next book to be turned into an audio. Keeper of Lost Causes kept me riveted until the very last five minutes. It was a roller-coaster thrill ride, with no sense that you knew the outcome. A truly unique and twisted plot by an outstanding author. The performance was pitch-perfect. The characters are etched in my mind and my heart, each as sure individuals. This is one of the best audiobooks I've listened to. Highly recommended! Fast paced, fascinating and with characters as flawed and wonderful as exist in literature.

Great characters who reacted realistically to events. A deeply mysterious circumstance which kept me guessing. I wanted to step inside the story and live it with the city dwellers. Engendered a sense of wonder and awe. Masterfully crafted mystery with a sci-fi core.

I was resistant to trying this title because I always pick up on outdated technologies in a book and they don't ring true. I needn't have worried. This book is stunning and never for one second did I even realize that this wasn't present day America. Frank sticks to human nature as he explores a post-apocalyptic future, and human nature is the same generation to generation.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is another view of a civilization gone awry, but with a different conclusion. Frank's account relies on the strength of human goodness to build a brighter outcome. We don't known which vision will ultimately be more realistic until the time comes.

I loved the narration of this book. Will Patton's everyman style of delivery was a perfect fit for the setting--small town USA. The characters came alive.

I felt deeply for the characters and looked forward to a conclusion which would bring them some relief from the unknown.

I'm still impressed that I read this fifty years after it was written and it was as fresh and insightful as if it had been written yesterday. That's the best compliment I can give an author. A timeless work of fiction that will leave you thinking about the past and the future and what your reaction would be to a similar emergency. A hopeful read.

I've just finished everything I can find by Chevy Stevens and this was among the best. If you like James Patterson or Gillian Flynn, you'll probably like this. A woman goes missing, stalked and hunted by a sadistic serial killer. She fights back. We all feel that justice was served and we were entertained in the process. I'd listen to anything Stevens dishes up.

I would have listened in one sitting if possible--couldn't wait to get back to it each day.

This is not fine literature but it's a fast-paced and pretty believable thriller with lots going for it. A great summer read for those, like me, who like a bit of adrenaline with their lemonade.

I've listened to all of Gillian Flynn's book and this was enjoyable and exciting. "Dark Places" is still my favorite of her books though and I'd rate that a full five stars.

Gone Girl was unique in the way the characters were revealed little by little in alternating chapters. On the surface we were introduced to a married couple who seem to be sharing the intimacies of their marries. As the book progresses it's apparent that something is wrong because the stories diverge in a way that makes it clear someone is not telling the truth. During the course of the book I could not tell who to believe, which built the drama and excitement as I tried to figure out the puzzle.

I enjoyed having separate voices, which allowed for very distinct characters to emerge.

I could not wait to get back to this as the story raced to an impending drama. Flynn kept me constantly surprised as she dosed out the real story a little at a time. One of the most exciting listens I've had for awhile.

Any Gillian Flynn is worth a listen because of her innovative plots and interesting characters. Definitely one of my favorite writers and I'm glad she's finally broken out of the pack with a bestseller!

Defending Jacob is in some ways a morality tale like "To Kill a Mockingbird." There is a trial and unlike those famous media trials played out in today's news, this one makes it clear that when there is a crime, there is no winner and no loser. There are more shades of gray than black and white. Family relationships complicate all things and our very humanity should make it clear that we all walk a tightrope of right and wrong, good and bad. There is so much to think about that I'm still pondering the insights many weeks after my listen. The author did an outstanding job of creating an engaging, adrenalin packed murder drama that's so much more than the sum of its parts. It's also a tale about how we protect ourselves from the things we are unwilling to accept.

Jacob's father and mother come to their understanding of Jacob's situation each in their own way. They stop to question themselves constantly--which is something parents are prone to do. It's natural. The many layers of their thoughts and emotions were revealed slowly with dawning realizations and stunning realism.

This is a beautifully wrought tale of our relationships with our own children and what responsibility we hold for their frailties, wrapped up in a courtroom thriller. Excellent read!

This was my first Harry Bosch novel. I'm never sure about beginning a series so late (#17), but now I'm hooked and will go back and pick up some of the earlier ones. Bosch is a believable and sympathetic cop who holds up to a lot of adversity. He's not perfect--but very likeable.

The many uses of the symbolism of "a drop" were extremely interesting. The author was able to keep several stories balanced simultaneously, which made it a fast read. When one mystery concluded, there were a couple others which kept me racing to the finish. Beautifully woven together.

There were enough plot twists to keep me anxious to get to the next chapter and they all had a common thread of "the drop" which created a harmonious set of subplots.

It was difficult at first because he has a very rough voice, but after awhile I came to associate it with the main character and then it added to the story.

An intelligent thriller with flawed and believable characters. Everything you could ask from this genre. Loved it and will be back for more Harry Bosch.

The writing was depressingly shallow and none of the characters reacted as they should. Although the main character is a Colonel in the military, he is constantly shocked and surprised by the way people are reacting to what appears to be an apocalyptic emergency. Then, during a mad rush for supplies, he takes time out to explain everything from the history of EMP's to which countries have been working on strategic weapons, to a bunch of townspeople who have apparently been hiding under a rock. If the town were populated by ten year olds, I expect they'd be more educated. It is unfortunate when a novelist has to cram his entire back story into a pedantic monologue at the feet of fools.

Surprisingly (or not surprisingly if this were a TV movie of the week which had to wrap up in 2 hours), despite heavy looting our hero is able to find just the thing he needs, untrampled and hidden all the way in the back where no other person has managed to find it.. The last bags of ice, the last candy bars, the last cans of Ensure. This guy's incredibly lucky! The rest of the town is not very persistent in their quest for survival, so they keep leaving the last of everything for him!

For a great post-apocalyptic book which is as fresh as the day it was written, try "Alas Babylon" by Pat Frank, and don't waste your money on this badly put together junk. I don't bother writing bad reviews, but I'm so disappointed that I spent money on this and I'm done assaulting my ears, so into the trash bin it goes.

The reader did a great job with a terrible script.