Baggage

By: S. G. Redling

Narrated by: Amy McFadden

Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Over the years, terrible things keep happening to Anna Ray on February 17. First, there was the childhood trauma she's never been able to speak about. Then, to her horror, her husband killed himself on that date.

A year later and a thousand miles away, Anna tries to find solace in the fresh start of a new job in a new place. She takes comfort in her outspoken cousin Jeannie, the confidant and best friend who's there whenever she needs help. On the day of the dreaded anniversary, Anna and Jeannie hit the town, planning to ease the pain with an alcohol-induced stupor and then sleep....

When Anna awakes the next morning, she thinks she can put one more February 17 behind her, but fate is about to intervene in the form of two gruesome murders with eerie similarities to her violent past. This time, however, she won't be an abandoned daughter or a grieving widow. This time, she'll be a suspect.

©2016 S. G. Redling (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Redling Outwitted me

I thought I had this story solved and sorted out in my head for a while, and then as we got closer to the end, I felt like I had to be right, but I was not, and I was impressed. Once I knew who it was, I felt like I should've known all along, but isn't that always the case?

I got this book as part of a daily deal, and it was worth every penny. I didn't want to stop listening, and I was grateful for a fun narrator, I liked her voice and I think it reflected the story well.

Well done suspense novel.

Any additional comments?

Well told, slow burn suspense novel. Even though I knew who would end up being the villain early on, that didn't take away from the enjoyment of the experience. It was still a heck of a ride. This was the first book I read by S.G. Redling but it definitely will not be the last.

...meh

This was the first Redling book that I didn’t really like. It was too slow, and took too long to get to the meat of the story. The protagonist was annoying and depressing. Yes, I understand what she went through, but it was just too much of her wallowing.

Still, I won’t allow this to sour my enjoyment of Redling as an author. Going to find another of hers to read.

Great read!

Perfectly paced, great character development, awesome use of backstory, and a mystery that'll keep you guessing without all the red herrings and obvious distractions that so many authors seem to rely on. How have I never heard of this author before? I loved everything about this book, and I'll definitely be looking for more from S.G. Redling.

Good listen

Lots of holes in this book and a punchline that is on the dumb side, but a fun listen just the same. I really liked the rhythm of the book and had a hunch who the murderer was. Yet there are lots of unanswered questions which *might* have made the ending a little more believable. Maybe not. It would still be a stretch. Anna was a cool cucumber, almost too cool, but she was fun. The author wants you to look at someone else as the real murderer, and the book would have been better if that were the case. But aside from all the problems, I still enjoyed the book. Call me crazy.

Great Narration" Overall Performance was super!

Any additional comments?

Over the years, terrible things keep happening to Anna Ray on February 17. First, there was the childhood trauma she's never been able to speak about. Then, to her horror, her husband killed himself on that date. A year later and a thousand miles away, Anna tries to find solace in the fresh start of a new job in a new place. She takes comfort in her outspoken cousin Jeannie, the confidant and best friend who's there whenever she needs help. On the day of the dreaded anniversary, Anna and Jeannie hit the town, planning to ease the pain with an alcohol-induced stupor and then sleep....When Anna awakes the next morning, she thinks she can put one more February 17 behind her, but fate is about to intervene in the form of two gruesome murders with eerie similarities to her violent past. This time, however, she won't be an abandoned daughter or a grieving widow. This time, she'll be a suspect.

I was expecting a really good read

Based on the other reviews I was expecting this to be a book I didn't want to stop listening to. It wasn't like that for me, I only finished because I wanted to know who was guilty. The book was bland as was the narrator. I don't know that I'll buy any more books from this author.

NOT MY MONKEYS

JUSTICE, CAN TAKE A SPA DAY
Redling is a great word smith and is good at developing characters. I wanted to read another one of her books, after listening to OURSELVES. Ourselves is a sort of vampire, alternate race among us type book and I really loved it. I am sorry to say for my own taste, this book, though well written and with some easy to like characters, is Chick Lit and not my cup of coffee. Redling lives in West Virginia and her description of the area is beautiful, making me want to move there.

BED YES, HEAD NO
As others have mentioned, the main character is a bit depressing. Her husband died and she is now an alcoholic. Still, she is likable and her co-worker is the dream person to work with. Two and a half hours of, I got drunk, don't know where I spend the night, hate my mother, need someone else to take care of me, want to hide in the world of academia, I want to sleep with him, but not have a relationship, death surrounds me, whoa feelings!!, was enough to chase this He-Man, give me sophomoric weirdness away. I am trying to say, it is well written, but I am the wrong audience and you might be the right audience.

FASHION AND I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN STRANGERS
Narrators are almost as personal as writers. I like Dick Hill, Anne Flosnik and Kate Mulgrew, while others so don't. I thought McFadden was great.

I HAVE EATEN SANDWICHES THAT CAN OUT WIT HIM

Great!

A great listen. I really enjoyed this book. I'm looking forward to more from this author.

Great surprise!

I wasn't expecting this book to be so engrossing. I listen to a lot of books and usually listen at 1.25+ speed but about halfway through this book I actually listened at regular speed. Made me laugh throughout plus the story was refreshing and suspenseful.