The Innocent: A Novel

I stopped at chapter 4. sound effects drowned out the narration. think I will stick with Brad Thor for now.

Another very good novel from DB but perhaps a bit too long (3.5 stars)! And I beg of you please drop the sound effects it drove me crazy, let me use my imagination.

Good story with lots of turns that kept you away from the ending.

I just didn't like all the sound effects, didn't feel they added anything to the story.

No review this time. Just some quick notes.

The novel starts slowly. It takes awhile for the plot to grab your interest. But once it does, the ride is good fun.

The concluding tying up of loose ends is hackish. Build the conclusions into the plot. Don't wait for the last few chapters and then have the characters amaze each other with descriptions of how each plot line was resolved. At best, this is evidence of a lazy writer. At worst, an incompetent one. Baldacci is fully competent. He can do much better.

Narration is uneven. Female voices, in particular, seem miscast. An FBI agent with such a strong, though intermittent, Brooklyn accent?

Audio production is awful. The sound effects and music are distracting, making it impossible to lose yourself in the story. This audiobook would work better with less: fewer narrators (McLarty could handle it better alone), fewer sound effects, less music. It might be good for Baldacci to remember: One reason many of us prefer books to, say, movies, is that books allow our imaginations to "fill in the blanks." The sound of a stereotypical bullet adds little; and has a cost.

Conclusion? Decent escapist fiction. But probably a story better READ. Buy the book. Skip this audio.

Story was pretty good. I like lots of action. I would have been happy to have more action especially of the hand-to-hand combat variety of which there was none.

Only one narrator. I kept thinking the second female narrator was my bluetooth earpiece talking to me. I found the second narrator and sound effects distracting and detracting from the story. The sound effects so nothing but alert you to early to the possibility of a plot twist. Also the main male narrator sounds a little old for the main character.

When I buy an audio book I'm looking for the reading experience without investing the exclusive time that reading requires. I'm not looking for a radio drama. I enjoy this author's books, characters and story lines. The narrator, Ron McLarty is excellent. I didn't stay with the book enough to hear Ms Cassidy, but multiple narrators make me concerned that the narrator(s) will be acting rather than reading. Added sounds like music and sound effects take away from the my imagination. I find ricochets, gunfire, etc distracting to the point that I decided to return this book.

I generally don't leave reviews but I was compelled to review this performance.... The sound effects are very distracting and the added female voice sounds spliced in and computer generated (wrecked the story for me listening to her). The guys voice was only marginally better..... Over all decent story but the performance was so bad I didn't finish this book, only the second book I didn't finish ever.

Drop the sound effects, music, and two voices! I found it very annoying. I regret downloading this book before any reviews were posted. I won't make that mistake again.

Drop the sound effects, music, and two voices. I like Ron McLarty reading (only).

This is dramatized! Sound effects throughout. Annoying. Very shallow story. This is the first audio book in 11 years I couldn't finish. Refund please.

Having read or listened to over 15 other Baldacci novels (and LOVED them all) I was sorry I didn't read the negative reviews on this one.

I DETEST the music and sound effects that are creeping in to many recordings lately. The music and effects included in this one was over the top and didn't enhance the experience for me at all. It is extremely annoying and distracting.

Nevertheless, when the story is phenomenal, I grit my teeth and ignore the sappy music or gun shot noise. The plot here is so far fetched I couldn't decide which was more painful.

It's hard for me to believe that this book is not a first effort by an author who may or may not get published one day. Does Baldacci now have a stable of writers cranking out books for him like James Patterson?