Moonrise

By: Cassandra King

Narrated by: Jennifer James Bradshaw, Willow Hale, Elle Newlands

Length: 14 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

When Helen Honeycutt falls in love with Emmet Justice, a charismatic television journalist who has recently lost his wife in a tragic accident, their sudden marriage creates a rift between her new husband and his oldest friends, who resent Helen's intrusion into their tightly knit circle. Hoping to mend fences, the newlyweds join the group for a summer at his late wife's family home in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Helen soon falls under the spell not only of the little mountain town and its inhabitants, but also of Moonrise, her predecessor's Victorian mansion, named for its unique but now sadly neglected nocturnal gardens. But the harder Helen tries to fit in, the more obvious it is that she will never measure up to the woman she replaced.

Someone is clearly determined to drive her away, but who wants her gone, and why? As Emmet grows more remote, Helen reaches out to the others in the group, only to find that she can't trust anyone. When she stumbles on the secret behind her predecessor's untimely death, Helen must decide if she can ever trust - or love - again.

©2013 Cassandra King (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

King’s latest novel takes inspiration from Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, keeping the best of the latter’s atmospheric tension without falling into melodramatic cliché...A suspenseful Gothic that gives a nod to its predecessors while still being fresh." (Publishers Weekly)

“Moonrise touches all the night notes to make it a suspenseful story and also a romantic one. Kudos to Ms King for getting it right…this is a story that impacts the reader, and its mixture of emotions will linger long after you have closed the book." (Huffington Post Books)

“Though darker than King’s other novels, Moonrise succeeds at what she does best: masterfully weaving a story with threads that bind some characters together while pulling other strands loose. Moonrise dives into the waters of women’s friendships with the same level of honesty readers admire in Margaret Atwood’s “Cat’s Eye” and “The Robber Bride.” Moonrise further cements King’s high standing as a writer of contemporary women’s fiction.” (Charlotte Observer)

Goes nowhere

I purchased this book based on other reader reviews which compared it to Rebecca. Rebecca it was not!!! The flimsy storyline took forever to get started and it was just too easy to see where it was going. The ending was unsatisfactory. For my Aussie ears, the accents were just downright irritating and the bitchiness of some of the characters almost too hard to take. I persevered to the end due to the reviews given by other readers, hoping for some final twist that would give the book some WOW factor. It didn't come! For me, it was not an enjoyable experience and a waste of money. I wish I had bought my second choice!!

Atmospheric With Enough Spookiness

Would you listen to Moonrise again? Why?

I'd reread Moonrise, but I don't think I'd listen to it again. This is the first time I haven't been bowled over by the talent of the narrators. (I usually gush. See my review of Colin Firth's reading of The End of the Affair and how I raved about the Amelia Peabody mysteries.) I have tremendous admiration for artists who can pull off multiple regional accents and characters of both genders--without sounding like a parody.

What did you like best about this story?

This book tips its hat to the Gothic classic, Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier. While not in the same league as Rebecca, Moonrise didn't disappoint. Setting is all important in a Gothic novel, and the eponymous historic Victorian house nestled in Highlands, North Carolina provided the perfect spooky backdrop for a mystery. The nocturnal gardens in particular added a bit of eeriness to the story.

Would you listen to another book narrated by the narrators?

I enjoyed listening to Letters from Skye, narrated by Elle Newlands, the actor who performed Willa McPhee in Moonrise. She has a very pleasant accent (Scottish, I assume) and a lot of talent. I had a hard time understanding what she was doing in a southern story, though. If the locals of Highlands have a brogue, why didn't Duff, Willa's beau?

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I enjoyed the descriptions of the place. Of course all the people and their tangled webs of deceit and intrigue were interesting, but I hold that setting is what makes Gothic gothic.

Any additional comments?

The other trait of the Gothic genre is a fiery ending. This finale was spectacular, but it wasn't quite in keeping with my idea of the genre.

Worst Narrator Ever

The story was just OK but the narrator for the character "Tanzy" was horrible! I had to double the audio speed to get through those chapters. I would definitely NOT recommend this book.

Enjoyed This Thoroughly!!!

I thought this was a great book and Jennifer, Willow, and Elle did a fantastic job bringing this story to life.

What a great book!

Would you listen to Moonrise again? Why?

Yes. The author was very descriptive and captured a nice, southern feel.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

All three narrators were fully devoted to their characters.

Any additional comments?

I actually thought the accents were regionally accurate.

Not Worth Your Time

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The narrator did a poor job with the voices of the men and women More than once I wondered why I was wasting my time.

What could Cassandra King have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

She brings in many characters but only finished the story (?) for the newly wed . At the end I felt I hit a stone wall! She had spent time developing her story lines but at the end she just left them hanging in the air.

Overall Great Book!

I loved this book! The narrators were all great. The narration pulled me in and made it very enjoyable. You can tell all the narrators put a lot of effort and heart into their characters, making it seem very real like I was there with them! The sound quality was great. Excellent choice making this book a multi-narrator book. I think if one narrator read it, it wouldn't have been as good and engaging. Overall, very good book!

One of the narrators ruined it for me

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

If they had stuck to one narrator, perhaps the narrator who portrayed the Irish character, or the woman reading the part of Helen -- I think that they could have done a good job for the entire book. It was the narrator who portrayed the character Tansy that ruined it for me! It was very difficult listening to her speak any of the male voices and the voice of Kit really irritated me.

How could the performance have been better?

Sticking to one of the better narrators; they really didn't need three women reading this I don't think.

Any additional comments?

I think that the story itself was good, and I think (for me) it would have been better reading from the physical book instead of listening to the audio version.

UGH!

Horrible performance - so horrible I couldn't even finish the book. It was very hard to get past the grating narration. Don't often find a book I don't like, but I happened upon it this time!

Not sure what all the complaints are about...

What was one of the most memorable moments of Moonrise?

Story-wise, it wasn't necessarily the most original thing I've ever come across but it was quite enjoyable nonetheless and the mystery was excellently plotted. Also, despite what some of the other reviewers have said, the accents are very authentic, and this is coming from someone with family in the Carolinas. The accent isn't exactly the most pleasant I've ever come across but, truth be told, it is very accurately portrayed here, to the readers' credits.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Again, as said above, I'm not sure what the complaints over these narrators are about. I have listened to several books by Jennifer Bradshaw and she is AMAZING. I have not listened to Willow Hale or Elle Newlands previously but I thought they both performed admirably and I would happily listen to them again.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listen to my audiobooks in my car on my commute to work. That being said, my commute is quite long (I travel from the city to an off-site base out in the middle of nowhere) and I happily finished this book in about half a work-week.

Any additional comments?

Where's the movie?!?