• City of Masks

  • A Cree Black Thriller
  • By: Daniel Hecht
  • Narrated by: Anna Fields
  • Length: 15 hrs and 48 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (697 ratings)

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City of Masks  By  cover art

City of Masks

By: Daniel Hecht
Narrated by: Anna Fields
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Publisher's summary

Introducing Cree Black, a parapsychologist with a haunted past.

When Lila Beauforte takes up residence in her ancestral home, the 150-year-old Beauforte House in the Garden District of New Orleans, she is terrified by ghostly apparitions. The family reluctantly calls Cree Black for help. Based out of Seattle, Cree, a parapsychologist with a degree from Harvard, is a "ghost buster." But as Cree gets closer to the truth, the proverbial skeletons in the closet of the prestigious Beauforte family come crashing down on her, and she must struggle to keep her own ghosts at bay.

Daniel Hecht has created a plausible, heart-stopping ghost thriller. Relying on the science of parapsychology to spine-tingling effect, he brings to life a remarkably compelling character in Cree Black, as well as the ghosts she confronts.

Listen to more Cree Black thrillers.
©2003 Daniel Hecht (P)2003 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"The authentic, supernatural locale contributes the requisite spooky atmosphere...and the eccentric characters are well drawn and believable." (Booklist)

What listeners say about City of Masks

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Unusual thriller

Tired of the endless thriller parade involving lawyers, wornout cops, or forensic scientists? Look no further than this excellent audiobook. Cree Black is a psychologist turned ghostbuster who solves mystery and helps others by helping release their ghosts. The books discusses some plausible reasons for paranormal experiences while keeping us interested in the twists and turns of the plot line. The narration is great especially since it involves changing accents - I could actually see the characters in my mind as the book progressed. Highly recommended.

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26 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

City of Masks

I got nothing done for two days worth of listenening. Couldn't put it down. I sure hope there are more stories about Cree Black!


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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A lucky find!

I like audible books that are long, interesting, well-performed, and make me think about something new. This is "just" a thriller, but it has an interesting environment (New Orleans), topic (ghosts and paranormal stuff), and characters (ghost buster, psychiatrist, various NO locals). It's very well produced and read, too. It's well written, with constant acknowledgement to the skepticism the reader is certainly developing. Generally, well done. A good read.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Gothic Romance

This is just another modern day gothic romance with all the corn:irritating neurotic heroine whose love life, past and present, takes up more time than investigating malevolent spirits. I would love to find a real thriller instead of the current trend to have female,as well as male protaganists come with all kinds of personal baggage so that you have to listen to their stories and whinnings in the middle of the mystery. I consider this stuff just filler and a real distraction to a good plot.Give me the arrogance, single mindeness and self-assurance of Sherlock Holmes when the games afoot!

This book has a heroine who is very unconvincing as a parapsycologist. She is just too self-absorbed.The other characters are very steryotypical southern elite, with some deep dark secrets which contribute to the mystery of the story, however, they are very annoying figures. I guess I found this book very disappointing as I was looking forward to a good ghost story and not a trite romance.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

A Romance Not a Thriller

I could not listen to more than 2 hours -- the main character is unsatisfying (to my mind) -- an emotional lightweight. Everything is very dramatic but nothing really happens. Lots of atmosphere and heavy breathing, no action. If you love romance novels, you may like this. If, like me, you don;t enjoy that genre, give this one a miss. I wish I had paid attention to the other review that said something similar.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A Big Surprise!

I don't particularly like the horror/ghost story genre. But, I love mystery stories. This is the first time I ever read a ghost story that used science as it basis for the underlying story. It was believable and plausible. Daniel Hecht is a very very descriptive writer, so I think that those people that didn't like it, would do so, for that reason. No matter what other reviews said, this is not a love/romance story (I would have turned it off early if that were the case). It is about a family tragedy that has literally come back to haunt them. I enjoyed this book and am now onto the sequel. BTW, Anna Fields is the best female narrator I have ever heard! The only woman that can do a man's voice and make it believable.

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9 people found this helpful

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

Creepy Ghost Story

In the Garden District of New Orleans the 150 year old Beauforte House is the site of a famous murder. After Lila Beauforte moves back into her ancestral home, she starts experiencing unusual events, and is convinced that the house is haunted. Her relatives are skeptical as they have not experienced the strange events, however, they are so disturbing to Lila that a Paranormal Research Expert, Cree Black, is hired to consult and find out what is going on. Cree Black is a unique character - well developed by the author.

Chilling and so well done- there were parts of this book that reminded me of the infamous Amityville Horror. My favorite Daniel Hecht book, and the narration is just what I expected from Anna Fields-loved it.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Pick this book . . .

What a great find. I was on what was seeming to be a dead end search for a great audio book. Even good would do. Well, determination kept me going and what I found was a great author and a FRESH new character that I have no doubt will find her way to the new and notable category. And, thanks to the reviews from other readers I was able to make my decision without regret. This book truly spooked me. I HIGHLY recommend it to all mystery readers.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly engrossing!

After reading the reviews, I took a chance on this book--I am so happy that I did. It was terrific! A great story--the right balance of character development, background info about New Orleans and "hoo doo," and damn scary to boot! If you like suprnatural thrillers that are intelligent and exciting, this book is a MUST!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Highly Recommend

I'm not usually fond of female narrators, but Anna Fields did a great job with this one. I ended up sitting in the driveway, listening on, long after the commute was done.

A good creepy New Orleans setting, some interesting ghosts, and bad guys with mixed and even understandable motives all work together for a unique mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed. True, the requisite romance was a little annoying, but hopefully we've gotten that out of the way for the rest of the series, which I am really looking forward to.

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5 people found this helpful