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Speaks the Nightbird  By  cover art

Speaks the Nightbird

By: Robert R. McCammon
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
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Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Fiction, 2013

Judgment of the Witch

The Carolinas, 1699: The citizens of Fount Royal believe a witch has cursed their town with inexplicable tragedies - and they demand that beautiful widow Rachel Howarth be tried and executed for witchcraft. Presiding over the trial is traveling magistrate Issac Woodward, aided by his astute young clerk, Matthew Corbett. Believing in Rachel's innocence, Matthew will soon confront the true evil at work in Fount Royal....

Evil Unveiled

After hearing damning testimony, magistrate Woodward sentences the accused witch to death by burning. Desperate to exonerate the woman he has come to love, Matthew begins his own investigation among the townspeople. Piecing together the truth, he has no choice but to vanquish a force more malevolent than witchcraft in order to save his beloved Rachel - and free Fount Royal from the menace claiming innocent lives.

©2002 Robert McCammon (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Edoardo Ballerini performs this story of accusation and fear flawlessly. He effortlessly switches his pitch, accents, and timbre to suit the unfortunate Rachel Howarth, the endless curious Corbett, and the various determined characters, good and evil.” (AudioFile)
"a compelling story that should find a wide readership. Highly recommended for popular fiction collections." (Library Journal)
"An excellent story, full of tension and suspense.” (Stephen King)

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What listeners say about Speaks the Nightbird

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Excellent book and great narration!

Loved the book. It pulled me in and I couldn't help but take every extra moment I had to listen.

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Loved this!

The narrator was fantastic. Each character had depth which kept this interesting until the end. Very highly recommended!

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Enjoyable “Who Done It?”

I had expectations that this would be a long 30+ hr novel revolving primarily around the witch on trial as the main character. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find many well developed characters who became part of a much larger plot about 1699 colony life, superstitions about witches, new settlement challenges, Native Americans as neighbors, buried treasure and ultimately a good murder mystery. The narrators performance was excellent and enjoyable. It was a long listen but I found it well worth the time.

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A great listen

This was a very long entertaining historical novel about witches and evil old medical practices orphans and persistence. Very well read by E Ballerini. I strongly recommended it.

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Loved it!

I’m not usually into stories from the 17th century but was captivated from start to finish. I highly recommend this book. Story was great and narration superb!!

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Best Historical Fiction

The plot was unanticipated. Character development flawless. Reading with the change of characters was so constant and truly amazing. Thank you

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Loved this book

This is a great story and a fantastic narration. The story was good and each character very well defined.

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beautifully written, beautifully narrated,

the descriptive language in this Buck is more beautiful than I have read in ages. The narrator is also excellent and the story itself it's compelling. One of the best books I've read in a very long

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Skeptical Then Blown Away

Typically I like contemporary murder/mystery, but I decided to try "Speaks the Nightbird" on a whim. Awesome!! The story is entertaining and enticing, kicking my "I can't stop listening" gene into high gear. I have now listened to Matthew Corbett Books One, Two and just now finishing Book Three. Plus I just downloaded Book Four. What well defined and clever characters, if I were reading instead of listening, the characters would literally be jumping off the pages. The story lines, the intricate descriptions of personalities, scenes, landscapes, everything, oh my. I am totally thrilled with this series so far and have recommended it to several of my friends.

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Give it a chance!

This was a lengthy one. Beautifully written. Gorgeous prose. Fantastic narration!! I was wary based on some reviews about the book being to “wordy” or “overdone” but man, it was great. Well done.

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