Eclipse Quartet: 4 Psychological Thrillers

Thriller Foursome of Kidnap, Paranoia, Obsession, and Emotional Blackmail

By: Charles Jay Harwood

Narrated by: Violet North

Length: 32 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Here are four psychological thrillers where love and shame collide, creating a warped kind of sexual chemistry. Abduction, paranoia, addiction, and obsession thicken the mix.

The Shuttered Room

Jessica Fraser would appear to have everything: money, a devoted husband, a lively son, and a fulfilling career. But her life takes a nasty turn when she's taken hostage and incarcerated in an upstairs room by three thugs demanding a huge ransom from her rich father. In a bid to escape, she cuts a hole in the bedroom floor with a cutlery knife. From there, Jess observes the three of them going about their everyday business. That's when she starts playing games with them. That's when her spying pulls her into a treacherous psychological game with her abductors.

Falling Awake

Gemma's husband vanishes under mysterious circumstances, leaving only a black contorted doodle and mysterious debts. But saving her home proves the least of her worries after Gemma earns urgent cash by performing routines for a mysterious chronic insomniac.

Nora

Nancy is hurled into the world of celebrity when she finds herself performing a shoot for handsome but odious millionaire, Vince, as they walk from one of his nightclubs. But the seduction of this other world sours after Nancy learns the truth behind her 15 minutes of fame.

A Hard Lesson

Sarah thought she was teaching a schoolchild a little English.

How wrong she was.

Not only is her subject a full-grown thug, he's dyslexic and part of a gang headed by a psychopath. And this psychopath doesn't like people interfering with his business.

Soon, she'll learn the meaning of treachery.

And fear.

©2015 Charles J. Harwood (P)2015 CJH Publications

Hard to follow

It is hard to understand the reader. Part of this may be due to her accent, but along with it and the lack of expression, I finally gave up listening into the second book. I am disappointed because I really enjoy a good thriller.

Not Enjoying It

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

A better experience? I hate to say that a different narrator might make it work. I can't give an opinion about the story because it was so hard to listen to her voice. I had to rewind repeatedly to get what she was saying, which is important because the story kept jumping around a lot. I finally hit Fast Forward several times to see if it got better but it didn't. I forwarded to the next book but it was the same thing.

Has Eclipse Quartet: 4 Psychological Thrillers turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, I love this genre and have read many books that were excellent and hard to put down. But this one just didn't do it. Many times I felt like I should take notes to keep track.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I've listened to many books that have narrators with accents and almost all of them lend to the feel of the story. But for some reason I couldn't connect with her speaking voice and character roles. Many times it was hard to understand even when rewinding a couple of times. When it reaches that point you lose the story.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I didn't get far enough to give it a fair rating.

Any additional comments?

I gave up.