False Mermaid

By: Erin Hart

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

American pathologist Nora Gavin fled to Ireland three years ago, hoping that distance from home would bring her peace. Though she threw herself into the study of bog bodies and the mysteries of their circumstances, she was ultimately led back to the one mystery she was unable to solve: the murder of her sister, Trona. Nora can't move forward until she goes back to her home, to the scene of the crime, to the source of her nightmares and her deepest regrets.

Determined to put her sister's case to rest and anxious about her 11-year-old niece, Elizabeth, Nora returns to Saint Paul, Minnesota, to find that her brother-in-law, Peter Hallett, is about to remarry and has plans to leave the country with his new bride. Nora has long suspected Hallett in Trona's murder, though there has never been any proof of his involvement, and now she believes that his new wife and Elizabeth may both be in danger. Time is short, and as Nora begins reinvestigating her sister's death, missed clues and ever-more disturbing details come to light. What is the significance of the "false mermaid" seeds found on Trona's body? Why was her behavior so erratic in the days before her murder?

Is there a link between Trona's death and that of another young woman? Nora's search for answers takes her from the banks of the Mississippi to the cliffs of Ireland, where the eerie story of a fisherman's wife who vanished more than a century ago offers up uncanny parallels. As painful secrets come to light, Nora is drawn deeper into a past that still threatens to engulf her and must determine how much she is prepared to sacrifice to put one tragedy to rest...and to make sure that history doesn't repeat itself.

©2009 Erin Hart (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Rich with atmosphere and Irish legend, this exceptionally crafted story of murder, family secrets, and redemption is a welcome addition to Hart’s suspenseful series.” (Library Journal)

“Few writers combine as seamlessly as Hart does the subtlety, lyrical language, and melancholy of literary fiction with the pulse-pounding suspense of the best thrillers.” (Booklist)

“Many readers will find this passionate, complex novel almost impossible to put down.” (Publisher's Weekly)

Fantastic Book

I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end. It took me several chapters to get used to the strong irish accent of the narrator but after I got used to it, I loved it! Her accent added more depth to the book. It's interesting when you find out why the book is titled "False Mermaid". There are twists and turns in the book that will keep you turning the page or in the audible version - it will make you keep your earphones in !!!
Cheers!

Wonderful Irish yarn

Great story, with twists that added an enjoyable depth to the narrative. The writing captured the feeling of the Irish countryside and the romance of the Irish fairy tales. I love the character developments.

The narrator was great - loved her style and ability to breath life in to the story.

Would thoroughly recommend this to anyone who likes mysteries - of the folk story kind as well as murder/police investigation kind.

I thoroughly enjoyed the production.

Excellent story

Very much enjoyed this book. The performance was excellent, and the mystery well plotted and masterfully executed.

Good combination of romance and mystery

Each of the characters in this novel was well developed and believable. The story held my interest from start to finish and the secondary characters really fit. This narrator is one of my favorites and she did the story justice. Excellent read!

Good book

This is the 3rd book in Erin Hart's series I have read and I had really looked forward to it. Lake of Sorrows and Haunted Ground were great. I liked this one the least. Somehow the book just fell short of its promise. It hinted at supernatural, weird justifications for the "bad" guys, Irish folk lore, lots of subplot potentials but somehow it seemed like we never totally got to the point. As one reviewer indicated, the title is intriguing and does sort of play a part and this was neat. While I am glad I read her book and will certainly give another one a go, I'd recommend getting it in one of the discount opportunities Audible offers. Personally, I found the narrator's accent added to the Irish flavor of the book but it did take a few chapters to get accustomed to it.

Chick thriller, as rocky as the Irish coast

The story jumps, its development is complex with lots of technical and cultural research obviously infused. The character development is thought out but it does not flow into the story line making this a less than easy listening book. There is nothing light weight about this myth laced into the story. The fantasy and reality are not as well transition as they could be with more technical writing skill than art - I think this is where it loses some readers/listeners.

Rosalyn Landor is one of my favorite narrators but she does not nail the American accents very well. Elizabeth the little girl is just not on mark. Neither are the other purely American character voices on point. I did like the book well enough I thought it more like one of those Modern Lit books on a reading list for college. I could see it was a good novel but generally did not consider it a fun read either as a thriller or a romance. I did not love it and it is not one of those I will listen to or read twice. This maybe for some worth a credit and for others maybe not. It depends what you are looking for in a book. It is not a feel good romance story and it is not a simple escapist type listen. It may be too cerebral for some taste. It very nearly is for mine.

Very interesting story.

Would you consider the audio edition of False Mermaid to be better than the print version?

I enjoyed the audio book because of the accents of the Narrator. She brought the "Irish" feeling to the book!

Have you listened to any of Rosalyn Landor’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes. She does a wonderful job in all her works yet this is my favorite.

Reading to children

If you could sum up False Mermaid in three words, what would they be?

Terrible amateurish narration.

What did you like best about this story?

Actual story is pretty good but the narrator is distracting when she portrays men.

Would you be willing to try another one of Rosalyn Landor’s performances?

Only if she improves her narration of males. She lowers her voice excessively to portray the male characters which is completely unnecessary. It comes off sounding like she's reading a childrens book to a class of 5 year olds.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No crying, some laughing due to narrators style of depicting men.

Any additional comments?

Change in character gender should be subtle, it isn't necessary for female narrators to portray men by doing a ridiculous bass voice, at least not for adults.

This really effects the flow of the story and is extremely distracting. A male character described as "too handsome" just became snuffalupagus.

Horrendous narration

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

A different narrator. If done in an Irish accent, chose an Irish narrator.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The narration was so distracting I sometimes lost the plot.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

hated the narration. The main character is an American who works in Ireland. Two-thirds of the story takes place in the US but the narrator who is British (Rosalyn Landor) chose to read the book in an over-the-top stage Irish accent. So, so annoying. She mispronounces Irish names and place names, and her pronunciation of Irish (Gaelic) is atrocious, the name Triona should be pronounced tree-nuh not tree-own-a (like Fiona) and Glencomlumkille is not pronounced glen-cawl-um-killy. Her male characters all sound like grumpy old men even when they are teenagers. Her children's voices are even worse, if that's possible. She over dramatizes every scene. Her inability to convincingly differentiate voices of different ages and genders ruins the listening experience.If i could give the audiobook less than 1 star, I would. I will avoid anything by this narrator in the future.

Any additional comments?

The story is good, but read it rather than listen to the audiobook. Unfortunately these bad experiences with narrators make me want to cancel my subscription to Audible.

Clearly not 1st in series - hope not best

Would you try another book from Erin Hart and/or Rosalyn Landor?

I don't think so. I really didn't like the reader. I wasn't thrilled with the story either.

If you’ve listened to books by Erin Hart before, how does this one compare?

Never read a book by her before. Unlikely to again.

What didn’t you like about Rosalyn Landor’s performance?

The narrator used the same puffed-cheek pretending to be a man voice for multiple male characters.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

At first, I really liked the child, Elizabeth. My heart warmed to her when she stole the library book because something in it called to her. But (similar to Aunt Nora) she exhibited very contradictory behavior: She ran away from her father & his fiancee to find her Aunt and after she was with Nora all she wanted was to go back with her father. When Elizabeth and Nora were confronted by the obviously homicidal fiancee and Nora risked injury to give Elizabeth the chance to run and she disobeyed & returned, I wanted to throw her off a cliff myself. I started out liking the changeling seal's appearances and this fantasy aspect of the book but it ended up leaving me rather cold - this sure wasn't Anne McCaffrey's Petaybee.

Any additional comments?

The audio began with what seemed like a song or poem in what I presumed was Gaelic. Since I don't speak any words in whatever language it was, it seemed to last forever (I suspect it was 2 minutes but might have been longer) and I was bored. I didn't always like the main character, Nora, who came back to USA after several yrs absence to solve (horrific) murder of her sister Triona (who left infuriatingly mysterious clues). I found it exasperating that Nora didn't always share information with the U.S. detective. I thought spying on her brother-in-law when he had an order of protection keeping her away and, worse, confronting his fiancee near his home was idiotic. I like smart logical main characters. In Ireland, when she enlisted the help of people including the local police in keeping Elizabeth when the child likely was reported missing, all I could think was: accessory after the fact. In the U.S., the police would not go along with this for fear of losing job & ending up jailed for a crime!! I thought situations in the book were nonessential - for example, the death of the detective's brother. I wasn't thrilled with the story of the woman and child who disappeared from the abandoned sod house either but guess that possible peat bog disappearance was included for continuity with earlier books in the series? Finally, the whole unraveling of the mystery of Triona's murder seemed way more complicated than it needed to be, particularly the drugging and the way the clothing got muddy. A lot of practical objections occur to me regarding both of these issues.