Submerged

By: Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Narrated by: Paige McKinney

Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's Summary

From the international best-selling author that brought you Children of the Fog comes a terrifying new psychological thriller that will leave you breathless...

Two strangers submerged in guilt, brought together by fate...

After a tragic car accident claims the lives of his wife, Jane, and son, Ryan, Marcus Taylor is immersed in grief. But his family isn't the only thing he has lost. An addiction to painkillers has taken away his career as a paramedic. Working as a 911 operator is now the closest he gets to redemption - until he gets a call from a woman trapped in a car.

Rebecca Kingston yearns for a quiet weekend getaway, so she can think about her impending divorce from her abusive husband. When a mysterious truck runs her off the road, she is pinned behind the steering wheel, unable to help her two children in the back seat. Her only lifeline is a cell phone with a quickly depleting battery and a stranger's calm voice on the other end telling her everything will be all right.

©2013 Cheryl Kaye Tardiff (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Love it when that happens!

... when you come across a book you've never heard of, by an author you've never heard of, and it just blows you away.... Well, this is one of those. So glad I rolled the dice and took a chance on an "orphan" book...

Cheryl Kaye Tardif is great -- she hooked me from the first page. In fact, I started listening in the early evening, having just finished a less-than-stellar book by a "New York Times Best Selling" author, one which left me feeling used. (Why, oh why, do I keep buying books by these big-name authors? Their early ones were really good, but it's clear they've run out of steam. Silly me, for continuing to buy them anyway.) So I wasn't expecting much from this unknown, but it was next on my iPod list, so.... What happened was that I ended up listening way past midnight, about half the book -- I couldn't find a good place to stop.

It's also good to find an author who does the literary equivalent of Audrey Hepburn's young
"Gypsy", when she just lets that single slip strap fall off her shoulder, not putting it all out in front of the leering men. There's lots of love in this book, but no hot erotic scenes, so if that's what you're looking for, this isn't it. This is a hope filled book, with decent characters, most of them -- except the bad guys and gals -- trying to do the right thing. Oh, it's not smarmy or goody-two-shoes, Tardif's characters struggle with their decisions, just as we all do. And there's plenty of tension, more white-knuckle suspense than you might need, in parts. But it's nice to read about some of the world's good people, too. There aren't enough books like that around.

Now? I'm looking for a few more Cheryl Kaye Tardif books -- I see she's got a lot of different genres out there, so I'll pick and choose. But I'm awfully glad I came across this one. Just an A-1 listen, all around!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Great audio rendition of a strong thriller

I am an avid reader and due to my hectic schedule I consume a healthy percentage of my "reads" as audiobooks, usually in my car. This review is mostly about the audiobook itself, but first I'll echo what many other reviewers have said about the story - wonderfully developed characters and a highly suspenseful tale that pulls you through the story at a quick and enjoyable clip. Cheryl Kaye Tardif is a seasoned storyteller and it shows in this enjoyable thriller. What made it even more enjoyable for me was Paige McKinney's wonderful narration. You could tell she had done her advance preparation well, understanding the characters and their emotions during the different parts of the story. McKinney has a knack for conveying the age, gender and emotional state of each character with subtle voice variations that added tremendously to the listening experience. I found myself recognizing familiar characters as scenes began, so I was immersed in the story rather than being distracted by the narration. If you enjoy thrillers and audiobooks, this one is highly recommended!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Good

Possibly the worst narrator in the history of the world. The story was interesting enough.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Not what I expected!

What made the experience of listening to Submerged the most enjoyable?

Having read some of the author's previous works that were more focused on the paranormal, I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this book. It was definitely suspenseful, and felt very true to life. I could imagine the terror of being trapped and helpless, as well as the confusion created in the "who dunnit" aspects of the story.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Paige McKinney?

The narrator's style was not my favorite. She does have excellent enunciation, but at times this made the dialogue between the character feel stilted and unnatural. As the story progressed, and I became used to her style of speech, it no longer bothered me, and seemed to fit well with the story.

Any additional comments?

Overall: a good "listen" or read - don't pass this one up if you enjoy a bit of paranormal with your suspenseful mystery!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Good grief..

Any additional comments?

I have no idea how this narrator got any more than 1 star, ever. She is just terrible and I can see why she has just 6 books she's read. Marcus's boss, Shipley, is 6 feet-eleven and sounds just like a woman when he's raising hell with Marcus. Can you imagine a man that tall sounding like a girl?? She doesn't even make an effort to sound manly. Anyway, I'm done listening. I'll finish the book by reading it.

I would also like to say that the description tells us what the book is about or we can zip over to Amazon and look at reviews. This is AUDIBLE! What we need to review is the narrator. Does he or she suck? Why? Is he or she too nasal-y, too sweet for the kind of book he or she is reading, to gruff, too bland, too robotic, lacks emotion. Is he or she doing nothing but reading the book? Not changing his or her voice for the male and female voices? Is the narrator sounding the same whether she or he is reading a whisper spoken?
Most of us on AUDIBLE don't really care what the book is about. We want to know about the narrator! This is AUDIBLE, after all..

5 of 8 people found this review helpful

Boring

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

It took way to long to get to the meat of the story and it got really old hearing the location, date and time at the beginning of EVERY chapter. This could have been cut in half and been a good book.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Boredom

Excellent audio story

This is a great story of redemption.
I really like the characters and the narrator of this audiobook is fantastic.

HORRIBLE Narrator

Do yourself a favor. Just buy the book and read it yourself. That's what I plan to do. The story seems really good. However, the narration is atrocious! She is monotone and her performance of the characters falls flat. All the adult women sound the same and like complete airheads. The voices she does for the children, especially the little girl, irk my nerves. They ALL lack emotion. I tried to make it through the entire book, I really did. The story is interesting and keeps you engaged. The narrator was SO BAD that I returned the book a little less than halfway through. I just couldn't stand listening to her narration anymore! I will make sure in the future that I never get another audible book narrated by her. She really does ruin the story.

Great story, but the audiobook left me unmoved.

This was a great suspenseful story however, I was unsatisfied with the audio edition. The narrator had a very pleasant speaking voice but the monotone delivery of tense, frightening and angry dialog made it difficult to finish. When the spirit of the story is left to my ears, please tell me in a way that makes me feel something!

Interesting execution

Ok lets start with the narrator. Although Paige McKinney is very good at grown female voices and even at men she made the two children sound like nasal brats allways with a whine in their voices.

Amazing how the author kept the tension and suspense so alive and hopping from start to finish with the who-dunnit only starting to be an issue well into the story.

I enjoyed this book and if I come across more by this author I will not think twice before investing in a copy.

WaAr