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The Escape Artist  By  cover art

The Escape Artist

By: Diane Chamberlain
Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
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Publisher's summary

Susanna Miller loses custody of her 11-month-old son, Tyler, but rather than turning the little boy over to her ex-husband and his new wife, she goes on the run. She dyes her hair, changes her name and escapes from Boulder, Colorado, leaving behind everyone she knows, including Linc Sebastian, the man who has been her best friend since childhood and who knows her better than anyone. Susanna lands in Annapolis, Maryland, alone, frightened, and always looking over her shoulder for someone who might recognize her. Just as she's beginning to feel safe in her new surroundings, she stumbles across information that could save the lives of many people...if she's willing to take it to the police. But going to the authorities means revealing her identity, admitting her guilt, and worst of all, losing her son.

Equal parts family drama, love story, and thriller, The Escape Artist is the poignant story of a mother's unbreakable bond with her child and the resiliency of a love that transcends distance and time.

©1998 Diane Chamberlain (P)2013 Tantor

What listeners say about The Escape Artist

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Just mediocre...

I would say this story was just mediocre. I've been working my way through Diane Chamberlain's books, and this is the first one to disappoint. First, the performance for this book was dreadful. It seemed like she was speaking so fast, and her different voices were like nails on a chalkboard. Second, I'm guessing this was written before Ms. Chamberlain had children, because she has zero clue in this story what it's like to have a one year old. The child always slept, was always happy, and never seemed to prevent her from working on her word processing. Kids at fussy, whiney, they don't always sleep, and they don't always cooperate. This was s very unrealistic portrayal of what it's like to be a single parent of a young child. I'll move on to her next book though.

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7 people found this helpful

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

The "Taken Child" from a different perspective

When I read the papers about children being taken by the non-custodial parent I usually find myself on the custodial parents side.

This story gives the opposite side-that of the parent who has had her child taken from her by the courts.

The dad in this story is painted very typically bad guy..one has to wonder why any woman would be attracted to this lying guy.!

OTOH the mom is nothing but a wonderful woman and of course everyone says what a great mom she is.

Not one of Chamberlains best, I felt this novel could have been written much more interestingly than she was.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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Another winner

I haven’t had a disappointing Diane Chamberlain book yet. I buy the audio version due to long commute. Her books are often the same narrator, but this one was different. I found her voice very annoying and if it weren’t for the story, I would have deleted. It’s like she had a permanent sinus infection

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3 people found this helpful

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

Great story -- horrible narrator

What did you like best about The Escape Artist? What did you like least?

The story was interesting and entertaining. I wanted to know what was going to happen, so, I trudged through the horrible narration. Her portrayal of the African American woman had me wondering if she was reading it in white face!

The story was dated and I enjoyed the references to 90's computer phenomena.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Oy. Her voice is like nails on chalkboards. (Plural!)

Did The Escape Artist inspire you to do anything?

It inspires me to not listen to anything narrated by Coleen Marlo.

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not quite vintage Chamberlain

...and terrible narration. A disappointing book. Not quite what I am used to from Chamberain.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not My Favorite of Hers

I have truly enjoyed several of Chamberlain’s other books - both in print and in audio. This one, unfortunately, is far from my favorite of her work. Though Chamberlain’s books all have a certain Lifetime-movie-quality, this one feels more like a re-run... the story feels overly familiar and even the subplots fail to add an unexpected element (despite the bombings, even!). The performer narrates the audio version has a smooth voice, and though she handles the male characters well, the timbre she uses for Lucy in particular is almost painfully brash. It certainly makes me thankful that she is such a relatively minor character!

Originally published in 1997, this book certainly feels a bit dated listening to it now. Particularly in the way that the research is handled, and how many different factors would change in today’s world were the same story to be told. The Internet really has changed daily lives! The early computer technology that is mentioned here will certainly make modern readers reminisce over their own memories.

But, ultimately, these are not Chamberlain’s best characters. Suzanne/Kim is not easily likable and the other characters, like Peggy, just don’t feel as realistic or complex as other characters in Chamberlain’s other novels. The pacing drags in the middle, and unlike other audiobooks that I have listened to by Chamberlain, I never once found myself exploiting every opportunity to listen. I am still a big fan of Chamberlain, but this one just feels more bland by comparison.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Multiple over-the-top dramas all rolled into one

Despite being far fetched, I liked it.

In nutshell, a woman kidnaps her child and ends up meeting the Unabomber. Of all the places she could have fled to, she ended up entwined in a murderous revenge plot.

On the surface this would seem like preposterous premise, and the story has LOADS of things to pick apart … it’s drama on top of drama on top of drama on top of drama … but surprisingly I liked it!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed this story

I read several reviews on her bashing the narrator but I really enjoyed her. She has a soothing voice and did a great job with her characters. The characters were believable and personable. Overall this was a great listen and worth my time and money.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Unrealistic but somehow predictable

Not one of my favorites by Chamberlain. The protagonist wasn't that likable, the plot -- while full of twists and turns -- was pretty easy to guess, and the narrator had an interesting accent. I spent a large part of the book trying to place the accent vs. listening to the story. It was "entertaining" but not as impressive as some of the others.

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

Good try

Not a bad book but was predictable and draggy in spots. I actually skipped a few chapters here and there, yet still knew what was going on - some dribble or filler that I could have written myself. I need a book with more suspense than this one.

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