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Broken Promise  By  cover art

Broken Promise

By: Linwood Barclay
Narrated by: Quincy Dunn Baker,Brian O'Neil
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Publisher's summary

From the New York Times best-selling author of No Safe House comes an explosive novel about the disturbing secrets of a quiet, small town....

After his wife's death and the collapse of his newspaper, David Harwood has no choice but to uproot his nine-year-old son and move back into his childhood home in Promise Falls, New York. David believes his life is in free fall, and he can't find a way to stop his descent. Then he comes across a family secret of epic proportions.

A year after a devastating miscarriage, David's cousin, Marla, has continued to struggle. But when David's mother asks him to check on her, he's horrified to discover that she's been secretly raising a child who is not her own - a baby she claims was a gift from an "angel" who left it on her porch. When the baby's real mother is found murdered, David can't help wanting to piece together what happened - even if it means proving his own cousin's guilt. But as he uncovers each piece of evidence, David realizes that Marla's mysterious child is just the tip of the iceberg. Other strange things are happening. Animals are found ritually slaughtered. An ominous abandoned Ferris wheel seems to stand as a warning that something dark has infected Promise Falls. And someone has decided that the entire town must pay for the sins of its past...in blood.

©2015 NJSB Entertainment, Inc. (P)2015 Recorded Books

What listeners say about Broken Promise

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

This book cries out for a sequel!

What about Quincy Dunn Baker and Brian O'Neil ’s performance did you like?

I thought they did an excellent job narrating this book. I like to hear narrators read in a natural sounding voice, as if they were "there" and are relaying events, not simply reading a story.

Any additional comments?

This was a very good book with a few subplots surrounding the main plot. I found the central story line to be a bit predictable and had that part of the book figured out about 1/2 way through. There are clues sprinkled around through out the entire story that led no where and when the book concluded there was no resolution to the background story going on concurrently. Now that story has me totally baffled. That story is the one that ends this book with a cliff hanger that made me want another 12 hours of listening. Anyway, getting back to the core of this book, there are some very mentally unbalanced people in here! Controlling mothers, a daughter who has to be handled just the right way or it could send here over, a still born baby, a cheating father (that whole side of the family is messed up!). The other side APPEARS to be put together but I don't think they are. I think they have their screwey secrets that will come out in a sequel. Anyway, I highly Recommend this book. If you found this review helpful please indicate so. Thank You.

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22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Broken Promise

I liked the book all the way to the end and felt a big disappointment when it ended so abruptly with no resolution of who the killer was.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Couldn't stop listening!

Great story and the narrator was spot on! No fake dialect or squeaky fake sounding character. Don't want to spoil the story....worth the purchase!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Very disappointing ending!

The story starts pretty good and flows well until the end... Well there is no ending it just stops!! Mystery is not solved loose ends not wrapped up. I am beyond disappointed.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

What a waste of time

Linwood Barclay was one of my favorite authors until now. This book has a eally weak storyline with implausible, stupid actions by main characters. There was no suspense since you know from the first chapter what happened and who did everything. The worst part was all the extraneous information and characters that had nothing to do with this story. I thought these were his unsuccessful attempt to create red herrings and weave a secondary plot in. He just threw them all in to create a "cliffhanger" and ends the book abruptly- hoping to make you want to read the next book. It had the reverse affect. Was he in such hurry to get a book out he skipped the editing process?? He really disappointed me.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Great story until the end

The story was gripping and entertaining. Kept my attention BUT what a disappointing ending. Is there going to be a sequel? This just can't end with so many loose ends.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Waste of 13 hours and 4 minutes

What disappointed you about Broken Promise?

There were too many story lines that were left unfinished at the end of the book. Too many...

What was most disappointing about Linwood Barclay’s story?

He failed to wrap up all the story lines he had going...not even a sequel could finish them.

What about Quincy Dunn Baker and Brian O'Neil ’s performance did you like?

The narrators were great.

What character would you cut from Broken Promise?

Most of them.....

Any additional comments?

This is the first review I have ever felt the need to write so that others will not waste their credit, money and time. So very disappointed. I have read many books by this author and expected and deserved a much better ending. If I had not finished the book anticipating an ending, I would definitely returned the book for a return of my credit.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Complex plot, First in Mystery Series

This is the first in a series, apparently however there is a previous book "Never Look Back" which though not part of this series, did provide some back story on the town of Promise Falls and its inhabitants.

David, having lost his wife some 5 years ago, found the life of a single parent too hard, he had little time to spend with his son Ethan. This was the reason for his return to his home town, he and Ethan moved in with David's parents as a temporary arrangement. Unfortunately on the day he started his new job at the local newspaper, it closed down. Now, with time on his hands, he became involved with attempting to prove his cousin Marla innocent of the terrible crime described in the publishers summary.

Marlas story, albeit the main one, was just one of so many, poor Detective Duckworth couldn't as much as eat another doughnut before some other crime came to his attention. Too many crimes for me, I often lost my way when yet something else took away from the main story line. These side stories did eventually link to the whole, much seemed extraneous and I kept losing track of just where all these characters meshed.

However, it is, as mentioned, the first in a series, so I suppose much of the content is setting the back stories for future books. The ending is a cliffhanger, so for those many, many readers who loved this book, the next in series is a certain purchase.

Narrators
Narrated by Quincy Dunn-Baker (David) and Brian O'Neill, two narrators that I've not previously had the pleasure of listening to prior to this book. Quincy Dunn-Baker has the smoother more polished voice, he read David just perfectly. The role of David called for many emotions, but no overacting here, just great story telling. Brian O'Neill has a slightly rougher voice, which I enjoyed, he lacks none of the talents of a good narrator, and again, no over dramatising, simply good story telling.

I did find the narration slow and had to listen at 1.25 to obtain normal speed. This, I believe is a production issue and is not related to the narration itself.

This audiobook is my own copy

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not worth it

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, it has holes in the plot, and the abrupt ending makes you feel like he needed more time to finish it. This feels like he thinks we'll all be waiting for the ending. I won't waste a credit.

What was most disappointing about Linwood Barclay’s story?

I don't know if it was a narration error or if it's in the book, but at one point it says that someone is saying something when it is clearly another character. But mostly, the book ends. Just ends. There is no reason for this and it is not one I would recommend. I won't waste my time on the sequel when he writes it.

What does Quincy Dunn Baker and Brian O'Neil bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Their narration was good.

Do you think Broken Promise needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Duh. He didn't finish it! Frankly he needed to just contain it in one book. Write another about that town or characters if you want, but don't do this to your readers. We bought a book, not a serial.

Any additional comments?

Very, very disappointed. I've always enjoyed his writing, but he's let us down with this one.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome

So compelling! Couldn't put it down! Great narration! Can't wait to listen to the next one in this series.

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2 people found this helpful