The Good House

By: Tananarive Due

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 21 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Tananarive Due, author of The Living Blood won the American Book Award and is praised as Stephen King's equal by Publishers Weekly. In The Good House, Due sets a story of ancient powers and modern retribution in a small Pacific Northwest town. When a young woman returns to her grandmother's empty mansion, she is pitted against demonic forces that have poisoned her family for generations.

©2003 Tananarive Due (P)2004 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"Due handles the potentially unwieldy elements of her novel with confidence, cross-cutting smoothly from past to present, introducing revelatory facts that alter the interpretation of earlier scenes and interjecting powerfully orchestrated moments of supernatural horror that sustain the tale's momentum....[Due is] a writer who grows better with each book." (Publishers Weekly)

Thoughtful and spooky

I loved her writing. I'd read something by this author again.. You feel like you can see the story by her words and the narration is lovely. More spooky than scary.

Interesting but longer than needed to be

What made the experience of listening to The Good House the most enjoyable?

The narrator and the characters. Robin Miles was wonderful in capturing the various accents and voices. Ms. Miles jumped around from a teenage boy voice to an adult woman to a testosterone-driven man and she did it with ease. I never lost track of which character was speaking.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Predictable. Awful things happen in the story but once you know what is capable of being "undone," it's easy to figure out what will be undone at the end.

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

I've listened to a lot of audiobooks. I might have listened to Ms. Miles before. I expect if I had, I would have been just as happy with that performance as I am with this one.

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

No. It's too long, both in time and story. It is an interesting story, but Ms. Due unnecessarily draws it out. Her editor should have helped her to tighten the writing, minimized the telling of the same information over and over. Her characters are vivid and well-developed, but too much of the novel is spent repeating many of the same issues with the characters instead of moving on to the story (plot) itself.

Any additional comments?

I still recommend this book, in spite of its need for editing. It is entertaining, and Ms. Due employs a technique of looking forward and backward that is very effective in having the pieces of the puzzle fall into place.

Good listen.

I wasn't sure about this book when I first started but it kept me interested the whole time and the narrator was great

One of my all-time favorites

I was immediately taken with the characters and story. I would follow the narrator anywhere! I hadn't read much about this book or the author, so everything was a pleasant surprise to me. If you enjoy character-driven thrillers, buy this one, you won't be disappointed.

Great Story! 3 thumbs up! Highly recommended!

I'm a huge Octavia Butler fan! I am actually a huge fan of black female Sci fi authors in general. Since I have read all of Octavia Butler's Books, I decided that the next black female Sci Fi author I would try is Tananarive Due.

Let me tell you this woman can write! There were several nights I couldn't sleep because my overactive imagination combined with this Sci Fi horror had me looking over my shoulder, hearing sounds that weren't there and turning on all of the lights. It honestly got so I couldn't listen at night if I wanted to get some sleep. and then there were the times I binged listened because I just HAD TO KNOW what happened to the characters. Oh and I can't forget the time my sin had to put me on time out from listening to the book because I was hollering and screaming about something that was happening in the story while I was driving and he said it was too much for me. Lol!

Great Story! 3 thumbs up! Highly recommended!

Entrancing!

Entrancing story of redemption and love. I was hooked from the beginning until the very end. Never a dull moment never a dull voice. The narration was superb!! She had every voice down and distinct. I could tell immediately which of the MANY characters was speaking. Wow is she talented. Will definitely read or listen to more by Tananarive Due and more read by the narrator!!

Outstanding

could not stop listening to this book. usually only listen in my car but I found myself hook listening before bed and early in the morning

lost track

I read this book and then listened to this book so many times over the years that I have lost track.

such a great story... such a great narrator. I look forward to letting enough time pass to make it new to me again. Tananarive Due's writing is only 2nd to Octavia Butler in my opinion

Can’t wait to read more from Tananarive Due!

If memory serves me right I have Stephen King to thank for recommending this author. He often talks about writers whose books he enjoyed, and while they are not all winners with me, Due certainly is!

From the beginning you are pulled in to the family’s dilemma and your curiosity continually egged on by the rich world and history of not only the family, but also the Fictional little town of Sacagawea, WA. Being a Northwestener myself I enjoyed the references to familiar places as I’m sure Northeasterners do when reading King.
The Good House is a great supernatural thriller with fleshed our characters and settings. Due is an author I intend to read as often as I can.

Buy and read this book :)

One of the best

This rivals a Stephan King story. Spooky, horror laden, well written, one you won’t be able to stop reading or listening to. You won’t be disappointed.