The Hunter

Wyatt Hunt, Book 3

By: John Lescroart

Narrated by: Eric Dawe

Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best seller John Lescroart delivers a dark, intimate thriller about the price we put on family and the terrible costs of seeking the truth.

Raised by loving adoptive parents, San Francisco private investigator Wyatt Hunt never had an interest in finding his birth family - until he gets a chilling text message from an unknown number: "How did ur mother die?"

The answer is murder, and urged on by curiosity and the mysterious texter, Hunt takes on a case he never knew existed, one that has lain unsolved for decades. His family’s dark past unfurls in dead ends. Child Protective Services, who suspected but never could prove that Hunt was being neglected, is uninformed; his birth father, twice tried but never convicted of the murder, is in hiding; Evie, his mother’s drug-addicted religious fanatic of a friend, is untraceable. And who is the texter, and how is this person connected to Hunt?

Yet in the present, time is running out. The texter, who insists the killer is out there, refuses to be identified. The cat-and-mouse game leads Hunt across the country and eventually to places far more exotic - and far more dangerous. As the chase escalates, so does the threat, for the killer has a secret that can only be trusted to the grave. Thriller master John Lescroart weaves a shocking, suspenseful tale about the skeletons inside family closets... and the mortal danger outside the front door.

©2012 John Lescroart (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Ugh..Why?

Dear John,
I really missed the familiar voice of David Colacci whom I've come to know and love as the personification of your books. If you're attempting to go in a different direction with your reader, please turn around NOW. This was painful.

Great story, bad narration

The story is up to Lescroat's standard, but the narration is very distracting. As long as Dawe is just narrating the story, he is fine, but when he does voices, awful. The women sound like chattering crows and the men just sound false. I'll read the next John Lescroat book.

Bring Back the Old Narrator

I love Lescroart's Hardy series, but this one suffers from the lack of his regular narrator. The voice for the characters, other than Hunt, are annoying and Lt Glitski sound awlful.

Reader wrecks story

I think I'm pretty darn excepting of different styles of narration. But this is the worst-read book I downloaded from Audible I've ever listened to. I'll finish it, but I am constantly cringing.

The voices the reader uses are just awful. They might work for a kids cartoon, but they are over-the-top silly. His women's voices are almost frightening. They all sound like cartoon hags.

What's even weirder is the protagonist's voice sounds almost like it's being read by a computer. The words are over pronounced and oddly flat most of the time.

The only time the reader isn't annoying is when he's just reading and not doing characters
I am having trouble telling how much I think the story itself is good. The reader is such a painful distraction it's hard to give it a fair evaluation.

The narrator was horrible

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I totally enjoy John Lescroart books and was very disappointed by the narrator for this book. especially since most of Lescroart's previous books were narrated by the very excellent David Colacci. It was very difficult for me to continue listening to the end of the book, I became very annoyed with the performance

Would you be willing to try another one of Eric Dawe’s performances?

NO

Do you think The Hunter needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

yes, I enjoy the characters

Story good, BUT NARRATOR NOT

Enjoyed the book, story was ok, but had a hard time following it because of the narrator. Was not smooth, sounded jerky and horrible women's voices.

Great book....LOUSY narrator. TRULY LOUSY!

If the narration is as an important to you as it is to me do not bother downloading this book to listen to. Buy it for a Kindle or whatever you may use for reading. My Grandchildren could have done a better job then the narrator is doing on this book. I am very disappointed.

Narration is annoying

The different pronunciation of Juhle as “Julie” (instead of “Jule,”the way it has been pronounced in every other story in which the detective appears) causes a disconnect from the Lescroart universe. Beyond that, unusual pronunciation of other words and odd reading of sentences indicate that the reader did no prep or research before launching into the reading. I hope I remember this reader’s name so that I can avoid his performances in the future.

An okay read

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not really.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No.

Any additional comments?

I've not been one for romance in suspense/thriller novels and my position still has not changed. The relationship between the protagonist and his secretary adds no context or dimension to the story. Even more confusing when his so-called girlfriend (which happens way too quickly and not logically) spends her entire time trying to get him to abandon his mission: to find his mother’s killer and his long lost father. I say, “He could’ve done without her”.

There was nothing suspenseful or interesting about this story. I purchased it on the recommendations and glowing comments by other readers. Also, the summary made it seem quite alluring. A secret people would stop at nothing to conceal. I found the dialogue less thought-provoking and somewhat lacking. There was too much tension between characters, especially when it came to Wyatt’s so-called friends. I understand that the relationship between private investigators and the police is usually strained, but not your best or very close friends. The connection between his mother and a cult does nothing to arouse my desire for inquiry.

Finally, the narration sounded somewhat automated. Oftentimes I wasn’t sure if a person was narrating or if a machine was doing it.

Narration almost ruined this book.

I love John Lescroart. His stories are well put together, his characters are interesting, and he writes lively dialogue. This book is no different. Eric Dawe, however, is a boring narrator. He lacks inflection, his character voices are unimaginative, and he even mispronounces the name of one of the lead characters. If this weren't a Lescroart book, I would have stopped listening before I was halfway through the first chapter.