The Lake of Dead Languages

De: Carol Goodman

Narrado por: Vivienne Benesch

Twenty years ago, Jane Hudson fled the Heart Lake School for Girls in the Adirondacks after a terrible tragedy. The week before graduation, three lives were taken, all victims of suicide. Only Jane was left to carry the burden of a mystery that has stayed hidden for more than two decades.

Now, Jane has returned as a Latin teacher, recently separated and hoping to make a fresh start with her young daughter. But ominous messages from the past dredge up forgotten memories. Once again, young, troubled girls are beginning to die.

©2002 Carol Goodman (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Mysterious

Loved it. Was confused by so many characters. Kept my interest to the end though.

Good book, pretty suspenseful

I liked it, it was some what predictable but still exciting. the ending was good but like I stated earlier, predictable.

Surprises

A little too long, but well done and lots of surprises and twists involving personality changes along the way

Latin should not be a dead language.

At first I was not confident I would enjoy, but the narrator has a lovely voice, so I stayed with her and while there were a couple of times I thought, If I had known that, then perhaps..., but I know now, that is what kept me engaged--the finding out. Overall good book.

clueless main character

i struggled with liking and supporting the main characer Jane. throughout the entire book, until the last few chapters, i just wanted to reach in and smack some sense into her. she was foggy, clueless, and oblivious to what was going on around her. that alone made the story hard to keep listening to and frustrating. idk if that was the authors intent? i get why the story was drawn out (to some extent) but not much of a mystery, it was easy to figure out what happened in the past and what was going on in current time. this is the first book i have listened to by this author and am hesitant to listen to more based on this alone.

Not Your Typical Lighthearted Fiction

I listened to this as part of a book club. When this book was described to me, I assumed it was going to much like other fiction I read, but this was far from true. This story is anything but lighthearted. It is intricate and dark and twisted and creepy. I enjoyed the writing and the performance. The story was riveting at points, making my commutes go by quickly.
#funkyfiction #creepy #violent #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Main character could be smarter

I enjoyed this book, despite wanting to shake the main narrative character for several long chapters. Not because she didn’t figure out who was doing what to whom - I thought that was well plotted. But because of her utter lack of self awareness, or basic understanding of the people around her. Her naivety was so extreme it seemed unreasonable. She’s also far too willing to do what people tell her to do, believe in superstitions, and do things that she knows are dangerous, without waiting to get help. She’s the character in the horror movie that one yells at to stay out of the basement.

However, the other characters were interestingly complex. There were a number of nice touches that utilized the landscape as though it was a stage set, revealing and concealing essential actions to the audience.

Overall, it was worth the credit and the time spent.

slow very slow

I listened to the whole thing but was very same stuff over and over with to may characters. Also I have heard the narrator before and she was good but put me to sleep on this one.

Still a Favorite

I read this book years ago and loved it, then listened to it a few nights ago. I found the narration wooden and snooty at times, which detracted from Goodman's exquisite prose. I think it was her accent and some of her inflections. The characters are believable (sometimes "smart" people are weak, gullible, and don't always see the danger in front of them); and the interplay of past and present was well done. I'd recommend this—really, all of Goodman's books—to friends.

Predictable Plot and Frustrating Protagonist

I try not to be too harsh with books, but this plot really is too predictable and the main protagonist is frustrating. The entire thing, especially people's actions are also just unrealistic most of the time. The narrator is fine. Idk, I finished it but by 2/3 of the way in I was really just powering through it.