If You Hear Her: Ash Trilogy, Book 1

Suspenseful
Inspiring in a kick ass kind of way
Sexy

I loved the heroine, Lena. She is blind, but she hasn't let that stand in her way ~ she's a college graduate, she's a chef, she lives alone w/ only her dog for a companion ~ she's a succesfull, confident, competent woman who doesn't let her lack of sight slow her down for a second.

I really enjoyed her narration ~ first time I've listened to her, so was really impressed w/ her pacing, the life she brought to the characters ~ it was obvious she'd read the book before hand and knew how each sentence was to come across, whether it was Lena being pissed or spunky, or Ezra being sad or having flashbacks. She did a really good job of keeping the voices seperate, and the SAME tone/inflection for each character.

If You Hear Her ~ it couldn't be MORE fitting!

OK ~~ couple of things. First, this book ends on a MAJOR cliff hanger. So you HAVE to buy the next book ~ which I will, but it's not available in audio yet, lol. Wish I'd known this going in, I'd probably have waited. 2nd...I liked the story, I liked the characters, but I did feel like it wandered some. And AGAIN I mention cliff hangerS ~ yup, there are really several.

All in all, I enjoyed the book, couldn't stop listening because she TOTALLY hooked me into the plot ~ I'd recommend it to anyone who loves suspense. It had a great romance in it, too, but didn't really feel that was the center of the story. She's got me invested in the characters to degree that there is NO way I won't buy the next 2 books when become availalbe.

Firstly, let me say that this is NOT a complete story - you will have to download all 3 books in the trilogy to find out who dunit and, presumably, what finally happens to each of them. It's also much more Mystery/Suspense than Romance but I gave it 4 stars even though it's just not my type of listen because SW managed to weave lots of different plots, twists, sex and characters into this first Ash Trilogy book.

Worth a credit? It was a bit too 'lite' on the romance for me and I will have to listen to the other 2 in the series just to see how it ends, so that's a 3 credit investment in books that's not my preferred type.

I found it a bit dark and depressing and it just didn't leave me with the 'feel good' escapism factor at the end that I like from Romance listens (plot was kidnapping, rape, torture, murder, more murder etc etc etc) and you just can't say "ahhhhh.... nice" when it finishes - so I'd have to say No I wished I'd never started these, but if you're into Mysteries then hit the Add to Cart button, but for me - I wish there was an 'Undo' button.

I've read other books by Walker, but not in the suspense genre. I'm not impressed with her ability to put together a coherent and believable mystery/suspense plot. She chose a plot that is common in suspense and mystery fiction today - the serial killer/rapist - but didn't seem to have anything new or original to bring to it, either in the character of the villain or in the police procedural side of the story. Some of the other characters were also unoriginal, as if she found a list of "stock" characters - the strong but damaged police detective, the misogynistic and self aggrandizing local deputy, etc. - and then placed them into her story line as convenient plot devices. Nevertheless the main characters were engaging and I enjoyed the romance part of the story, as long as you take it for what it is.

As for the narrator, this was my first book read by Cris Dukehart. She has a pleasant and expressive voice but didn't seem to use it well for this particular type of story. I'm afraid I was frequently annoyed by some of her verbal habits and nuances of expression. At times her vocalizations sounded inappropriate to me and didn't seem to express what the character would have been feeling in that situation. Particularly in scenes where the female characters were expressing fear, disgust or anger, I felt her voice didn't convey those emotions believably. I did appreciate the fact that although she seems to have (or fake) a slight Southern accent, she didn't attempt to exaggerate it for the purposes of the characters even though the geographical setting (Kentucky) might have tempted some to do so.

I love this author and will read anything she writes!! Luckly did not have to wait long to read all three books since they were added to Audible few weeks apart otherwise would have had to wait for the frustrating cliff hanger conclusion in the second book.

Maybe - but I'd probably stay away from books in a series as a general rule. It is possible I will pick up book 2 in this series sometime. I hate an unsolved mystery and this book left the mystery unsolved.

This book had a lot of characters and a very slow start. Spoiler alert: It ended with only a happy for now ending...and the mystery still unsolved...and I hear remaining unsolved till book #3.

I bought this book really looking forward to it and hoping to add a new favorite author to my list of favorite authors but this one missed that mark for me.

I recommend a lot of books, but this is not one I could recommend. I liked the characters, particularly the treatment of the blind heroine who likes movies and who works and walks in the woods and does all the other things sighted people do. I liked the hero. I liked the heroine's guide dog and her interaction with the dog.

However, the things I didn't like overpowered the things I did like. I struggled to keep the characters straight, especially early in the book. The scenes without the hero and heroine REALLY slowed the pace of the developing romance in THIS book and though those scenes may have served to plant seeds for the eventual solution of the mystery the mystery still remained unsolved. My major complaint with this book is that the ending wasn't satisfying in any way. The mystery wasn't solved and the romantic relationship just sort of stopped suddenly with the heroine thinking something along the lines of she didn't know what would happen later, but for now life was good. There just wasn't a sufficient pay-off in the ending - in ANY way. If the mystery had resolved or the conflict within the romantic relationship had been stronger and more powerfully resolved I would have been happier.

The mystery was about 5 paragraphs then we had sex not even romance then everything just ended .I will not buy the next book or the one after that as I don't think it will be worth the wait to get an ending.

no

no but liked the reading .

Disappointment and anger.

I'm sorry I just can't say anything better about my reaction to this book.

I loved how it related to both romance and mystery at the sometime! This was my first book in this category and I absolutely loved it!

Lena was my favorite character. The vivid details she tells are amazing.

Lena

I loved how the book grabbed your attention and I couldn't put it down. I listened to all 3 books in this series in a matter of four days!

yes...........have alredy

when her dog was growling......he was stocking her!!!!!

yes

yes laugh and cry

after the first book i know i had to get all three

Man oh man...

I love the fact that it is such a suspenseful who'done'it... and the topic is very conversational, but the way it jumps around from aspect to aspect is a bit challenging.

I have heard Cris' performances before. I really enjoyed Cris' performance in this book! Much like Should We Drowned in Featherd Sleep...She did an excellent job of depecting the characters with this book! A++++

This book was not a good read. It is very disjointed and does not come together. The author throws in some steamy sex just for attention. I find that many books now are either not checked before they are published or they are just plain sloppy. Many sentences read over and over again. This was not the author's fault except that she didn't bother to listen before publication. It is not a good book, but could have been with more experience and more bringing together of characters and body.

Women's murder Club

I don't know.

The woman who was evidently at the crux of the matter and at the home of Hope and Law. However, she was never introduced in the book and I'm not really sure who she is except they said she was dead.