Folly

By: Laurie R. King

Narrated by: Frank Muller

Length: 16 hrs

Publisher's summary

Laurie R. King creates unforgettable characters and situations in her mystery series featuring Kate Martinelli and Mary Russell. In Folly, she tells the gripping story of a woman on the edge of the world--and the edge of sanity. Tragedy and mental illness have been dark companions of Rae Newborn for more than 50 years. Her life seems to start rebuilding itself, though, when she moves to a deserted island to restore the house her mysterious great-uncle built in the 1920s. But Rae senses powerful forces stirring on the island. Is the skin-crawling feeling she has of someone watching her only in her mind, or has something disturbingly real taken notice of Rae? Like King's best-selling suspense thriller A Darker Place, Folly brilliantly portrays a woman pushed to her limits and beyond. Frank Muller's powerful narration captures all the terrors that stalk Rae from without and from within.

©2001 Laurie R. King (P)2001 Recorded Books LLC

Enriched

This book is very very good. It's not my usual suspense novel. It's hardly able to call itself one. However, I loved it. I feel like I'm a better person to have read it, experienced it, and in a sense, lived it. The narration is fantastic. The storyline had me hooked within an hour. Sometimes you read a book and you know that, though it was alright, you'll forget about it after a month or two (those airport fictions). I will remember this book for years to come.

Possibly one of the best books I've ever read...

First of all, let me say that Laurie R. King is one of my favorite authors. She has two different mystery series (Mary Russell, Kate Martinelli) which are quite popular and very accessible. But she writes these other books which sometimes deal with harder topics. One of these is the book _A Darker Place_ is based on a professor helping the FBI by going undercover into a religious sect. And then there's Folly.

Folly is the story of a woman recovering from a mental breakdown. While institutionalized for her attempted suicide, she found a book about a man rebuilding himself by building a house. She decides to follow this path and rebuild an old house on a private island in the San Juan Islands. While hospitalized, she plans her project out and is able to convince/fool medical people/family that she's ready to do this. She arrives on the island Folly in the early spring and plans on getting the house done before winter. There's no electricity, no water system, no way off of the island. On the positive side, she makes arrangement for a local man to bring her groceries/supplies once a week and the has the finances to help.

What's important to remember is that when she arrives on the island, she's extremely mentally fragile. She probably makes her life harder by going off of her meds which means that she's coping with panic attacks; guilt about how she raised her first daughter; and extreme grief for the loss of her husband and second daughter.

In the process of rebuilding the house she rebuilds herself.

This makes the book sound depressing -- and it isn't. Because of the inner narration, you're well aware of the intensity of her panic attacks and grief. With time, you see the woman grow in a strong, capable woman.

I don't want to spoil the story by going into further details but I found this one of the best recent works of fiction I've read in years.

Narrator to avoid

What made the experience of listening to Folly the most enjoyable?

The plot was slow to unfold and the book a tad longer than it should have been but I did enjoy the listen.

What aspect of Frank Muller’s performance would you have changed?

The only thing that stopped me from giving this book a full 4 stars was the narrator, Frank Muller. His narration was delivered in such an affected manner it was ridiculous and almost unreadable.

Original and Engaging

I was led to this book because of my love of Frank Muller's readings. It's interesting that this is a Laurie King book and I discovered Frank through Stephen King's books. In any case I enjoyed the concept of this story and the opportunities for suspense and healing that it provided. It was a very entertaining listen and has led me to other books by this author which I also have enjoyed, but this is my favorite so far and it could be because of Frank Muller's reading. It was a sad day when we lost him.

Loved this book

I have enjoyed all of Laurie King's Mary Russell books, but I was apprehensive about this book because of a few negative reviews about the narrator. I, too, found the narrator annoying to begin with but then grew to enjoy his narration immensely. This is now my favorite Laurie King book. Excellent character development and interesting plot.

Folly Never Had so Many Meanings!

Would you listen to Folly again? Why?

Yes and probably will. Lots of suspense, very original story yet easy to relate to. Love when Laurie King goes a little deeper into the human existence.

What other book might you compare Folly to and why?

Her follow up book to Folly, "Keeping Watch" and "Touchstone". Also maybe some Philip Kerr books.

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

Yes, very good.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Dark Folly.

Any additional comments?

Was hard to get into at the beginning but I soon fell right in!

Good story, very well written, great narration

What did you love best about Folly?

This was a well written and believable story about a woman who moves to a remote island in the San Juan islands to get away from her personal past and connect with her family's distant history. What she finds was her future. But it wasn't easy. The story is well written, having obviously been researched to a fine detail...the main character's struggle with depression, the rich detail about her island and the Northwest, and the creative story about her island.

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

The story took some interesting twists and turns and ended up where I thought it might but not for the same reasons.

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

Frank Muller is simply the best narrator I've ever listened to (I've listened to about 300 over the years). He is a key reason I chose FOLLY in the first place, as he generally doesn't narrate uninteresting books.

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

No...I listent to it while commuting. But it sure made my trips to and from work much shorter.

Any additional comments?

I just put Laurie King's sequel on my Wish List, hoping for another great story.

Folly Review

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

no, they are both outstanding.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Folly?

When she let the people help her to put in the beam in her house. She had been so protective and then she had to share the moment. Also when she found the bones. This is a great read for folks who are struggling with their own inner demons.

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

First, it was great.

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

Yes, but it was too long.

Any additional comments?

You should know I love Laurie R. King so I think most of her books are good, this one just struck a cord with me. It was the one that really showed the strength of the human spirit, besides being a great mystery.

Excellence story.

Superb story by Ms King. Unfortunately the narrator read with extremely varied volume. He begins each sentence loudly and ends it very quietly. I found I had to turn the volume up to a painful level in order to catch the very softly spoken words at the end of each sentence.

Hidden Treasure...aGrand Folly

Having stumbled onto Laurie R King by way of Kate Martinelli...I decided to try a stand alone....this book...Folly is probably sober full when read....it is exquisite, painful, honest, real and chilling as it is read by Muller. I had to force myself to stop listening. Being in the medical profession...you can be assured...Laurie has captured the essence of clinical depression. The book also provides realistic hope for persons experiencing depression. Enjoyable is the wrong descriptor ...honest and vibrant are much better!