Hidden

By: Catherine McKenzie

Narrated by: Jeff Cummings, Angela Dawe, Amy McFadden

Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

While walking home from work one evening, Jeff Manning is struck by a car and killed. Two women fall to pieces at the news: His wife, Claire, and his co-worker Tish. Reeling from her loss, Claire must comfort her grieving son as well as contend with funeral arrangements, well-meaning family members, and the arrival of Jeff's estranged brother, who was her ex-boyfriend. Tish volunteers to attend the funeral on her company's behalf, but only she knows the true risk of inserting herself into the wreckage of Jeff's life.

Told through the three voices of Jeff, Tish, and Claire, Hidden explores the complexity of relationships, the repercussions of our personal choices, and the responsibilities we have to the ones we love.

©2013 Catherine McKenzie (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Irritating narration performance

The story was decent, and worth reading...which I wish I had done. The narrators voices were almost cartoonish. When they mimic other characters voices, it's even worse! Do yourself a favor and read the actual book.

Great book love the ending!

It was a great book. It had me pretty hooked and I kept wanting to know what was happening. I love and hate the end. Loved how it ended because we actually found out what happened, but hated that Jeff did that! The voice behind Clair’s voice was super annoying to me. Other then that great book.

Good story, annoying narration

Try the sample before you commit. The narration was challenging for me to listen to. One of the women’s voices had a bizarre affection where she sort of sang the last word of each sentence. Story is good.

Better if sped up

The story kept me wondering until the very end, just as Claire did. The relationships between the characters felt very real. Jeff Cummings and Amy McFadden did well as Jeff and Tish, but as the other reviewers have said Angela Dawe's performance as Claire was flat. Sadly, I've had this problem with some of her performances in the past. On a whim I decided to try speeding up the playback. At 1.25 speed (something that's possible in the apps without making them sound like chipmunks) I discovered that not only was Ms Dawe's performance reasonable but that of Mr Cummings and Ms McFadden were actually improved as well. After that the listen became rather enjoyable. I recommend you try it.

Angela Dawe is terrible

I'm sure she's a nice lady, but I nearly stopped listening to the book because her performance is unbearable. She speaks in ALL CAPS, and bolds the last word of each sentence while drawing out the vowels in the last word as well. The cadence is painful to listen to. "I went to the back DOOOOOR. I didn't like what I SAAAAW. There was a BEEEAAAAAAAR. I chased it AWAAAAAAY."

Overall the story is quite good, and the characters are well developed and likeable. The other two narrators are great., I've listened to many books they've narrated before.

Hidden

This book seemed to be a slow take off but the more the chapters went on the better it became.

Story was enjoyable - audio, not so much!

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I can't say I would recommend the audio version of this book. I enjoyed the story but found one particular voice jarring, one that was like chalk down a blackboard. The voice, not actually of Claire, but the one used when Claire was narrating. Her speaking voice was quite pleasant. I finally gave up and just read read, rather than listened, to the story.

Would you be willing to try another one of the narrators’s performances?

Not one with the particular narrator mentioned above - definitely NOT!

this book dragged on and on had a lot of potential

had a lot of potential; fell flat. I was a bit disappointed.. I feel it could have been a lot better

Prefer to read it...love the story so far

The second performer, first woman spoke in a way that did not allow me to really focus on the book. The way she emphasized the last word of many sentences sounded like whining or a computer. It may not have bothered anyone else but I think it took away from actually enjoying and indulging in the story. When she broke out in dialogue...perfect. Can't wait to read this book!

Ok book but.....

Would you try another book from Catherine McKenzie and/or the narrators?

I would definitely give another one of Catherine's books a chance. Not sure about the narrator that portrayed "Claire."

Would you be willing to try another book from Catherine McKenzie? Why or why not?

I am always willing to give an author another chance if I did not like one of their books. "Hidden" was the only one of her books I have read so far and I was not that fond of it.

What three words best describe the narrators’s performance?

The performance was good but I did not like the way "Claire's" character sounded. Her voice was "whiney" and she dragged out the last word of each sentence. I found it annoying and it made the book that much harder to get into.

Was Hidden worth the listening time?

No. Honestly, no. I did not enjoy it. I felt like I struggled through it and it did not captivate me like a lot of books have.

Any additional comments?

I hate giving reviews when I have not enjoyed a book for fear of hurting someone's feelings but I feel it only fair that the author and other potential readers see what I thought of it. The beginning had a good start and the male narrator that portrayed "Jeff" was refreshing after having listened to other books all narrated by women. Once the second character started telling her version of the story I was immediately turned off. Not by the character herself but by the narrator. I hated her voice. It was whiny and she dragged out the last word of every sentence. It was really irritating and I almost gave up on the book on that reason alone but I decided to stick with it. I am glad I did, because I hate leaving things unfinished.