The Profiler's Daughter

Sky Stone, Book 1

By: P. M. Steffen

Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir

Length: 19 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

A grisly murder. A six-year-old eyewitness. A gun from the grave.

The Profiler's Daughter is a psychologically haunting thriller that combines murder mystery, love triangle, and family intrigue in one satisfying page burner.

Sky Stone was born into the wealth and privilege of Boston's oldest Brahmin family but chooses instead to follow in the footsteps of her deceased father, legendary FBI profiler Monk Stone. In the chilly morning hours before the Boston Marathon, when a beautiful university student is found strangled and mutilated, her body left at the base of Heartbreak Hill, Sky returns from self-imposed exile to investigate. Thirty-six hours into the investigation, Sky's world turns upside down when she is fired from the Homicide team. They pin the murder on an innocent man, forcing Sky into a life-threatening game of cat and mouse with the real killer. From the stately mansions of Beacon Hill to the flat scrubland of central Texas, Sky keeps the reader on a razor's edge, culminating in a no-holds-barred shoot-out.

The Profiler's Daughter, the first in the Sky Stone Thriller series, introduces a moody, enigmatic, and brilliant female sleuth with the fierce bite of Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander. As adeptly written as Martin Cruz Smith's complex Arkady Renko novels, this thriller offers an intriguing plot, richly detailed characters, and an astonishing conclusion guaranteed to leave the listener begging for more.

©2012 Paula Moser Steffen (P)2014 Paula Moser Steffen

1st audible book I couldn't finish

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Gabrielle de Cuir?

Anyone! I'm so sorry, but I've listened to over 100 audible books from this site and this is the 1st narrator that I just can't stand to listen to. Her main character voice is fine but every other character voice is terrible! I really tried to look past it. I thought she just might need to warm up a little, so I gave it until Chapter 20...but I just cant do it. In her defense, the dialogue between characters is incredibly cheesy and unrealistic, so she didn't have a lot to work with...

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I'm so disappointed! I was looking forward to a nice long 20 hour murder mystery that I could just sink into. Poor writing and narration never allowed me to form any attachment to the characters because they were all so generic. O well... You win some, you lose some. I definitely lost on this one. :/

Bad Performance

Any additional comments?

The narrator really made this a hard listen. She made all characters other than Sky real hard to like and it was very distracting. I might have liked the book with someone else reading it.

Too Formulaic

I bought this book because it was an Audible.com recommendation based on my previous purchases of mysteries and thrillers. I will be more careful about this in the future.

The narrator's skill is spotty; some of her accents were perfect, but the way she distinguished between the Boston cops was confusing (unclear) in some cases and embarrassing in others (caricature, cartoonish).

The main character, Sky Stone, is petite, rich, spectacularly beautiful, brilliant, intuitive, brave and a great chef ... blech! Again, unreal to the point of cartoonish. Although a brilliant and experienced police consultant, she agrees to meet a psychopath for dinner alone, never returns a phone call from someone who has urgent information about her case, and never tells her police partners about a dangerous man following her. I can handle a character who acts like a maverick periodically, but her extreme attitude is ridiculous.

Sky and her ex-fiance only scream at each other, but they have sex and live happily ever after. There is not one shred of likability in Jake's (the fiance's) character, and yet he is the guy she wants, and everyone else loves. Why?

The story was convoluted. I love a good mystery with twists and turns, but I object to an author adding information in the last chapter or two. In spite of the last minute add-ons, I still knew who was guilty and how it would all turn out because the story was so obvious and predictable.

Overall, I would say this is a formulaic book. Tiny, beautiful girl is tougher and smarter than the big rough policemen, and she saves the day.

One more comment - look at the cover. It looks like a bad James Bond illustration, and it should have warned me away from this book.

Could have been better

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

At the beginning, the author infers that the profiler "hears the dead". That is pretty much the last time that theme comes up. The line is never explored. What follows is chapter after chapter of angst, stupidity and self pity on the part of the main character. Honestly, I was hoping that her stalkers would soon catch and kill her so the book would end.

What was most disappointing about P. M. Steffen’s story?

That the main character was so immensely wrapped up in herself.

What three words best describe Gabrielle de Cuir’s performance?

The best part.

What character would you cut from The Profiler's Daughter?

Almost everyone. Axlerod might stay.

I wanted to like it

Would you try another book from P. M. Steffen and/or Gabrielle de Cuir?

yes, i might. but i wouldn't go searching for him/her.

Would you ever listen to anything by P. M. Steffen again?

Unlikely but possible. I would not do a search for him. If the proposed other book was a sequel to this one, I would not select it. That is, if I could remember...I liked hearing about Old NYC Money, but it did not add anything to the plot. Frankly I became bored when twists in the plot were just to implausible. I am a big mystery fan, and this book was not challenging or exciting for me.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

It was fine.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment, boredom. "Oh, you've got to be kidding" with some of plot. I didn't listen to the end. I wasn't vaguely interested in the final chapter(s). Beautiful strong female cop has life trauma. Beautiful cop comes back earlier from personal leave than she had wanted, to help solve the Big Murder case. Beautiful cop has Hx of love with handsome other Investigator who has picked up new girl friend in absence of Beautiful cop. Oh, will they get back together??? Plot twists around tale of a big Drug Co working to push a drug through, even manipulating research in the lab. Fortunately Dead girl has left some truthful notes hidden for Beautiful cop to find.

Any additional comments?

Other people may well enjoy this book. Unfortunately I did not.

Terribled

What would have made The Profiler's Daughter better?

I don't need forever details on the profiler's love life and feeling on everything. I do want to know about the murder and the murder

What do you think your next listen will be?

A real crime story

Would you listen to another book narrated by Gabrielle de Cuir?

If she doesn't talk about stuff unrelated to the crime

What character would you cut from The Profiler's Daughter?

The profiler and her daughter

Any additional comments?

Can I get my credit back that I wasted on this book?

disappointing

I'm not sure if it was the story or the narration, but it fell short for me. I think a combination of both. Don't think I'll look for any more from this author or narrator.

Performance is terrible

I wish I would have taken the negative comments about the performance more seriously. Don't let the sample sound clip fool you. Terrible, terrible narrator. I'm almost tempted to ask for a refund as I can barely get through the book with the horrible attempts at character voices.

Worst experience ever

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I've listened to hundreds of books, but never have I been unable to enjoy a book due to the readers performance. I still have 13 hours left but finally tore off my headphones and gave up! I am pretty sure I'd have liked to book, had I read it rather than downloaded.

Would you be willing to try another one of Gabrielle de Cuir’s performances?

No.

Any additional comments?

Please consider a written version thrown in when downloading for people who just cringe on a performance such as this? I hate that I wasted a credit on this audio.

Tedious and predictable

Would you try another book from P. M. Steffen and/or Gabrielle de Cuir?

No

Would you ever listen to anything by P. M. Steffen again?

No

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Irritation

Any additional comments?

I should have switched off and deleted this book the moment the "battle-hardened heroine" vomits on her jilted lover on the sight of a corpse. It never got any better. A weak love story with a predictable murder thrown in.