Exhume

Dr. Schwartzman, Book 1

By: Danielle Girard

Narrated by: Shannon McManus

Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's Summary

Dr. Annabelle Schwartzman has finally found a place to belong. As the medical examiner for the San Francisco Police Department, working alongside homicide detective Hal Harris, she uncovers the tales the dead can't tell about their final moments. It is a job that gives her purpose - and a safe haven from her former life at the hands of an abusive husband. Although it's been seven years since she escaped that ordeal, she still checks over her shoulder to make sure no one is behind her.

Schwartzman's latest case is deeply troubling: the victim bears an eerie resemblance to herself. What's more, a shocking piece of evidence suggests that the killer's business is far from over - and that Schwartzman may be in danger. In this pulse-pounding thriller from award-winning writer Danielle Girard, a woman must face her worst nightmare to catch a killer.

©2016 Danielle Girard. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Did I actually PAY to hear this train wreck?

What disappointed you about Exhume?

Forensic and police procedural errors too numerous to count. I actually finished the book just to see how bad it could really get. Answer: Very.

What was most disappointing about Danielle Girard’s story?

The main character, who vacillated from cringing, hand-wringing incompetence to foolhardy acts of "bravery." sometimes within the same scene. Also, the overlong internal dialogues. And seriously, Bella, get a grip! Grow a set! A medical examiner can't think of a more effective anatomical spot to drive a pen into on an attacker than his upper arm? Really?

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator did about as well as she could with such material. Given that the main character is such a wimp, I guess we cannot fault the narrator for a whimpering delivery.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Exhume?

I would cut about 90% of the scenes where Bella thinks, "On the one hand I could do this and...no...no...something bad could happen. But on the other hand I could do a different thing and something even worse could happen. However, on the third hand....oh, screw it...I'm just gonna DO something here, even if it's ridiculous and gets me killed."

Any additional comments?

Although I made myself finish the book, it is definitely not a keeper. Takes more than throwing around some jargon to produce a good legal/medical/psychological thriller. And what did the title Exhume have to do with the actual plot?

3 Stars Mixed Feelings

This book had so much promise but in the end failed to deliver!

Concerning the trials and tribulations the main character encountered and how she - not to mention the huge cast of law enforcement- dealt with all of them. It felt like the author really wanted the reader to "be surprised", so she went haywire with plot twists, characters, conflict, etc. If she would've stayed focused like she did in the beginning, the book would've been much better. I mean the whole cancer thing? Completely irrelevant when the story was over. That was just one element of plenty that sent this book on a what felt like the "long way" rather than the more sensible "short cut". It just felt like a fresh author trying to pile on too many ideas.
She had some great ideas like I rather liked the plot line of the hired actresses unknowingly committing crimes in the name of a "reality show", so why not focus on that? Overall, I don't necessarily regret having listened to the novel, but at the end of the week, I will have forgotten what it was about.

Shannon McManus was good with the delivery of the story

So far fetched

Too much exaggeration...no one person would tolerate all this despair ...especially such an educated person

Mediocre

The story was ok, but too much time was spent discussing/describing the past. The information was mostly necessary, but the writing could've been a little tighter.

The performance was pretty bad. The reader's voice was very pleasant, but her reading style reminded me of the high school beauty queens who used to read "tonight's lineup" after the evening news when I was growing up. You could see their heads moving from side to side as they read each line. Many times during this book, I imagined the narrator's head moving back and forth as she read.

I suspect I would have enjoyed this book more if I'd read it instead of listened to it.

Must have been the author's first book

I struggled to finish it. The author threw so much at the main character that didn't even pertain to the plot. The author also had the main character acting contrary to common sense. It was a frustrating read.

Didn't finish it

When you actually start making excuses to pause the book and do something else, it is time to throw in the towel and call it a day. 14 chapters in and it is basically going nowhere, other than to tell me umpteen times how evil her ex is. Enough.

The writing style (and the narration) is very choppy and repetitive. "She made her way through the tables. She glanced at the food on the table." There was a lot of that "She parked a block away from the restaurant. She walked to the restaurant" Really?

The first couple of chapters had me hopeful that this would be a decent mystery. It might have been with some serious editing to tighten up the prose and some work to make the characters stronger, more believable, and more engaging.

I got this free through Amazon Kindle Unlimited, so at least I am not out a credit.

The narrator was just average. The choppiness of the sentences made the narration choppy. I didn't particularly notice her character voices, to be honest.

Book of Job Redux

Evidently the book I downloaded entitled “Exhume” was not the same book others read. The book I read could have been a dependable mystery/suspense novel. Not great, but good. It had a tried and true plot line going - wife being stalked by her crazy husband that she ran away from years ago. The main character had an interesting profession - pathologist - and it took place in two cities that fiction loves - San Francisco and Charleston.

Instead this became almost a retelling of the story of Job. I kept waiting for a plague of locusts, a killer earthquake or a giant meteor. Isn’t it bad enough to be fleeing from an abusive husband? Do all these other bad things have to happen to her as well? I had no idea what to feel badly about, there was so much to choose from.

What also hurt the book was the whiney introspection that made up about 50-60% of the story. That time could have been spent developing characters or moving the plot along. Instead we got stuck in the main character’s head for pages and pages at a time as she obsessed over every single decision made, repeated herself continuously and accomplished very little. Because so much time was wasted rehashing the same internal thoughts, none of the characters were fully developed and it was hard to feel any emotion for what should have been a very sympathetic character.

I also think the book suffered in the editing. The same words were often used repeatedly in the same paragraph. That might not be so obvious if I was reading it. But it was obvious listening to it. I got that it was her “door” that the roses were beside, the first time it was said. And an editor should have discouraged using the name Schwartzman to refer to the main character. Perhaps it would not have been so annoying if I was reading. But it sounded affected every time the narrator said it. The character actually says she likes to be called Anna, so why not call her that? I gather that the use of her last name when everyone else was called by their first name was supposed to be meaningful. But I never got the meaning.

I had never heard of this author and was surprised to see this was not her first book. It read more like some of the self-published books I’ve read lately, that no editor ever laid a hand on.

And while I hate to pile it on, I don’t think the narrator was a good fit for the book. She wasn’t overly dramatic, but maybe a little too excited or perky. And frankly there was nothing in this book to be excited or perky about.

Enjoyed

Listened to the story on my way to work, hence anticipation built to continue the story. I liked the narrator's voice for Schwartzman and the different characters perspective. Recommend to people who like mystery/thrillers. The abusive, manipulative, & deceitful husband had the patience to lure his wife home by hurting those around her.

"Exhume" is an excellent book

I found the characters in the book to be very interesting
It is a book you don't want to put down until the end. I want the 2 be in the series now I don't want to wait until 2017!

Entertaining.

I didn't get the shock and awe from this story that I was expecting and hoping for... characters were a bit flat and I didn't love any of them. Story felt really predictable and I am still confused about the Ex husband being so terrible that he seems to have gotten away with anything rotten he did. I was entertained enough to finish the story.

Great book.

Loved listening to this book, it was well read and a really interesting story. As well as the medical terms used it seemed like the author had really researched and understood the topics she wrote a out and described them really well. You won't be disappointed.

What A Strong Woman

This was my first read with Danielle Girard. It was slow paced, strong and mysterious building on the intensity and drama for the conclusion of this episode with Dr. Schwartzman.
I struggled to put this book down and look forward to Book 2.

A rubber band not a wedding ring

Good fast moving story with plenty of excitement and some clever dialogue. Believable main characters were brought to life by clear and precise narration . A plausible ending with a chilling build up. Looking forward to book two of this series of itd as good as this one

repetitive to the point of boring,

without being disrespectful, the book I found to be too repetitive, and the narrator was too clinical,and did not come across as being interested in the book. I have deleted the other 3 in this series.

Great Story, not Great Narrator

The storyline in this book was hugely enjoyable. There was a good amount of drama, and you could really feel for the characters. Unfortunately though, the narrator was very... flat. Her voice didn't match moments in the story, there was no real definition between "thinking moments" and "action moments" I made it to the end, and I am glad I did, but I would love to hear the narrator get a little more....animated in her work.