Best Seller

By: Susan May

Narrated by: Steve Marvel

Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

A girl with unique power over luck. A desperate man driven by envy. A mind-bending story of betrayal and fate!

Ten-year-old Nem has just witnessed her mother's brutal murder and her life appears destined for tragedy. Until, that is, she finds her mother‘s old green journal which holds an incredible secret. 

This innocent looking book seems to contain the power over luck. As she uses it, Nem discovers the diary keeps a strange kind of karmic balance, that in gifting someone good fortune she must steal another's first. All it takes is a simple entry. There's dangers though, and not just for others but also for Nem.

Decades later, the literary world hails William Barnes’ debut novel as a masterpiece. For some inexplicable reason though, his best seller success doesn’t survive his next two books. What frustrates and infuriates William even more, is that while he loses everything his undeserving protégé Orelia Mason is enjoying a meteoric rise up the charts. And this triumph of hers coincides suspiciously with his fall from grace.

So, William embarks on a plan, several actually, to take back the life he’s certain she has somehow stolen. If people get hurt along the way, well, tough luck for them. What he'll discover though is that battling fate when luck is not on your side can be a dangerous game. 

This is A Star is Born meets The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the consequences are not pretty. In fact, they’re darn well ugly.  

From Susan May, the international best-selling author fans are calling the new Stephen King, comes a dark and twisted tale of jealousy, revenge, and an extraordinary, unique power. 

You won't know who to hate and who to cheer on, and the ending will surprise, maybe even shock you. 

Narrated by Steve Marvel, four-time Voice Arts Award Finalist

©2018 Susan May (P)2019 Susan May

Loved it!

Fabulous book! Original story line. Perfect narrator. I listen to 4 to 5 books a month. Sometimes it's difficult to find something "different". This book fit the bill perfectly. You know it's a good one when you look forward to being stuck in Austin, TX traffic.

Intense with a great ending

Best Seller is an original thriller with a great ending. Few books have great ends of this caliber. The chapters are well defined and intense,

The narrator adds to the intensity of Best Seller by bringing the ever-changing depth of each character to life. Multiple storylines make Best Seller something will listen to nonstop.

Jealousy at its worst!

I first read this book a year ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, so when I was given the chance by the author to listen to the audiobook, I gladly said, "YES"! I am not usually one to reread a book, but sometimes listening to an audiobook after reading the "real" book makes it even better. In this case, the narrator really made a 4 star read into a 5 star listen.

I truly enjoy Susan May's writing style and each of her books are wildly entertaining. Are they great literature? Maybe not, but who cares? Her descriptions of the evil that lurks in her characters' minds is truly scary and very imaginative. Sometimes throughout the book, I found myself looking around the room to make sure I was only reading, not living the scenes.

This is a story of a young girl, traumatized at an early age by witnessing her mother's brutal murder. After her Mother's death, Nem is given a mysterious green book that comes to rule her life (along with a lot of others' lives). As an adult, Nem becomes a famous author and her mentor, William Barnes, becomes a has-been author. The title "Best Seller" is very descriptive of this book.

What would you do or who would you hurt in order to gain fame and fortune? What if your wishes came true just because you thought them? Would you be willing to destroy another in order to get ahead? I think that all of us have known people who seem to live this way.....that's one thing that makes this such a scary book!

Many reviewers/blurbs have compared this book and Susan May's writing to Stephen King and I definitely agree. Her books have a little horror, a lot of suspense and are a lot of fun to read.

"There is frequently a poison in fortune's gifts." We would all do well to remember this the next time our anger and emotions threaten to overtake us!

WOW!!!

I LOVED this book and also thought the narrator was excellent. The story is gripping and keeps you wondering what will happen next. It also had me trying to decide who to root for. I'm looking forward to many more great reads by this author as well as listening to this narrator!!

WOW!!!!

This story was fantastic! It pulled me in from the beginning to the end. The story line was so unexpected and the ending even more unexpected!!
The reference to Mr. Ed had me laughing.

I haven't heard a good story like this in a long, long time. I'm so looking forward to more of your stories.

The narrator was so good!! Because of him i was pulled even more into the story then i thought possable.
EXCELLENT!!!!

lucky or not?

Fabulous read. loved the book. the nararators did a beautiful job of putting you right into their souls, living through the struggles and success of each one. loved the scene in the cemetary thinking they both were at peace until the very end and then oh my poor William finding another book! I will now go on to read another book of Susan May, I am a new fan! Excellent story!!

intriguing

This was interesting. I really like it. The narrator did a great job. Brought the characters to life. Made me feel like I was there.

Not like a Stephen King/Dean Koontz novel

I thought this story would keep me engaged while I worked. The beginning was good but it tapered off and didn’t go into much detail about the book and keeper of the book/author - it’s rather disjointed. After hearing that Nim was added later I can see why this book didn’t pan out. It’s jus kinda meh...

Careful what you wish for!

What if luck was something we could control, whether good or bad with just an intention? The characters in this story and how they evolve due to the circumstances which befall them, come alive through the excellent narration, I especially enjoyed the ending as I hadn't seen that coming.

Amazing

I loved this book. I couldn’t stop listening to it and the voice actor had the right tone for the story. I couldn’t wait fir the ending. It’s a good read/listen

The power of words

Best seller is the tale of two authors, a very special book and an unconventional way of looking at fate and is told from two alternating first person perspectives over a period of several decades. Nem is a child who loves books and she longs for one in particular, a beautiful leather covered volume of her mothers. One day it will be hers but until then she is forbidden even to touch it. When she is ten, her mother is murdered and she is fostered by a different, loving coupld; she initially forgets the book, then, rediscovering it, finds it not to be at all what she'd expected. William is an acclaimed author whose first book achieved best seller status and his second was anxiously awaited, but this fails to maintain the promise of his first. As his popularity wanes, that of romantic novelist Orelia Mason, a woman he had mentored, rises, and so does William's jealously.

Susan May has a fluid style of writing which is visual, fluid and carries the reader effortlessly forward, making it easy to read. Her use of the first person for both of her main protagonists gives the reader immediate insight into their hopes, fears and internal debates. And their characters are interesting, flawed. However, the internal navel gazing does become a little overworked, repetitious even, given the size of the novel, and the book could have improved by careful editing and slightly cropping the overall length. Although essentially a horror story, there is humour also woven through these pages with the visit of Orelia to William, whilst he is in hospital, a particular delight.

Narration this story is Steve Marvel, who does full justice to both of the main protagonists in his interpretations, as well as reading with a full range of appropriate emotion and adherence to the text. All of the protagonists are voiced individually, enhancing their personalities and giving added pleasure to the book. And there is a lot to still ponder upon after the story is over, including the curiosities of people's behaviours and desires as well as that of fate, or luck, itself. The note from the author which concludes the Audiobook itself includes some surprises.

My thanks to the rights holder of Best Seller, who, at my request, freely gifted me with a complimentary copy. Despite it's slightly longer than usual length, it was very enjoyable, holding my attention throughout. Well written, original and with good narration, it also navigates around an interesting concept of fate and a finite availibility. Well worth a read.

A good listen

A good listen. I did eventually enjoy this book, although I wasn,'t sure at the beginning if I was going to, hence the 4 🌟 rating. So glad I stuck to it.

Fav author

Susan May is fast becoming one of my favorite author's good story Good characters I would highly recommend this book

Real gem

I really enjoyed this book a lot. I like books a lot and this particular work constantly mention them. The main characters quite unique and their rivalry something different. Also the ambiguity of good and evil👍 Narration well done.

Listen very carefully you might miss the clues

An excellent story well told. The plot is engaging with the characters showing a depth and plausibility.

My only downside was the narrator who's voice didn't seem to be with the characters. To gravelly in places.

A great twist in the end well worth the listen.

fantastically written story

I really enjoyed this book,
very cleverly written,
I listened to it very opportunity I had .

Intriguing and Compulsive

I have to admit that before downloading this book to listen to I had never read or listened to anything by this author. I'm a fan of most genres except for horror but the blurb for this book and its striking cover caught my attention and made me want to listen. I was not disappointed.

The story is about two very different people who meet by chance, or do they? If you read the book or listen to the story you will understand my question. One is Nem whom we meet at the very beginning of the story, she finds a kitten on the way home and decides to ask her mother if she can keep it. This simple act sets in motion a string of events which lead to Nem becoming an orphan when her mother is brutally murdered in front of her.

Whist Nem is in foster care she is given a box containing her mother's possessions. Inside the box is a mysterious green book which her mother had said would be hers once she was older. Nem finds the contents of the book surprising, only names with either a plus or a minus by them and a one-line description. She soon comes to understand what these mean and begins to use the book and its power to her advantage. She starts by providing her foster parents with the means to adopt her, a plus. But every plus must be balanced by a minus so someone will have bad luck.

Years later, an as yet unknown author, Orelia Mason is working in a book store she has written her first, as yet rough manuscript, but needs help to polish it and fine turn her talents. She asks author William Barnes (his first book was a best seller) to work with her and give her the benefit of his experience. He agrees and begins to mentor her. Unfortunately for William, his next two books are complete failures whilst Orelia's career skyrockets.

I found myself gripped by this tale of the misuse of power, the storyline is intriguing, well-written and unique. Many questions were posed by the author, not all of them were answered as just when you think you know the ending Susan May put in a twist which still now two days after finishing the book has me thinking - about what the characters in the story did and what might happen next but also about what I would have done if I had been the one to come into possession of that little green book?

The narration of the story by Steve Marvel was excellent, his pacing was spot on and his characterisation perfect.

I was given this audiobook as a gift and am voluntarily writing my review.

Loved it!!

I really enjoyed this book!! I loved the narrator he has a really smooth but clear voice and was understandable.The book was really easy to listen to kept me guessing all the time. I never quite knew what was going to happen next so it definitely kept me entertained. Definitely worth buying!

Kept me guessing

My first time reading a Susan May novel and I must say I was impressed! I am a Stephen King fan and this book had a similar style to it. The tale is intriguing and keeps you hooked until the last page. A good little twist of reality mixed with the supernatural and I loved it!
I liked listening to the added extra at the end directly from the author herself, and felt this was a nice touch. I’m an avid audible listener and always have a book on the go. Therefore, I’ll definitely be having a look at other books this author has written.

My first Susan May book, but not my last

I’ll be honest and say I’d not come across this author before, but I liked the sound of this story so downloaded the audiobook to listen to while walking my dogs. Instead I found myself listening to it every chance I got, as the story captured me, and I finished it within two days.
Ms May has created some very interesting three-dimensional characters and I enjoyed the storyline.
Narration in audiobooks is sometimes a hit or a miss but I enjoyed this book. The narrator made it easy to differentiate between characters, without detracting from the action.
I’ll look forward to reading more from this author.