Her Darkest Nightmare

By: Brenda Novak

Narrated by: Thérèse Plummer

Length: 13 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Her Darkest Nightmare, first in an electrifying new series from New York Times best-selling author Brenda Novak.

The hunt for a serial killer...

Evelyn Talbot knows that a psychopath can look perfectly normal. She was only 16 when her own boyfriend, Jasper, imprisoned and tortured her - and left her for dead. Now an eminent psychiatrist who specializes in the criminal mind, Evelyn is the force behind Hanover House, a maximum-security facility located in a small Alaskan town. Her job puts her at odds with Sergeant Amarok, who is convinced that Hanover is a threat to his community, even as his attraction to beautiful Evelyn threatens to tear his world apart.

Begins with an escape from her past.

Then, just as the bitter Alaskan winter cuts both town and prison off from the outside world, the mutilated body of a local woman turns up. For Amarok this is the final proof he needs: Hanover has to go. Evelyn, though, has reason to fear that the crime is a personal message to her - the first sign that the killer who haunts her dreams has found her again and that the life she has so carefully rebuilt will never be the same.

©2016 Brenda Novak (P)2016 Macmillan Audio

Disappointing!!!!

This is a bad romance novel masquerading as a bad murder mystery. Very little substance to the mystery and an annoyingly tentative, whiney main character.

Shallow and Boring

What disappointed you about Her Darkest Nightmare?

The characters were flat and unbelievable. The plot was silly. Too much crude sex talk.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narrator did a good job of differentiating male and female voices, but her rendition of the female lead was too breathy and helpless.

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

I didn't finish it, which is rare.

It’s ok except for the beginning, middle, and end.

This book could have been one chapter long. She just repeats the same plot and character development over and over and over and over again. The narrator reads every character the same; freaking out about everything, so over dramatic, it was painful. Don’t waste your credit.

I wanted it to be a good story

Found myself saying this is stupid. No one is that dumb too many times. The characters consistently made the worst choice possible. Big disappointment.

Too repetitive

The story line was good just too repetitive. I skipped several chapters and didn't miss a thing!

Great Narrator

Thrilling plot and great narrator. Be warned this is a book about psychotics so it has some very gruesome scenes. Why to read, the relationships between the doctor and the state trooper. Reason it didn't get five stars, I never got a sense of the town and the town's people, as I did in the prequel novella. Hanover House is insular and as a reader I would have liked more interaction with the community.

Can’t finish! Trite and silly.

What disappointed you about Her Darkest Nightmare?

I couldn’t get past the first two hours. It seems like every other sentence has me thinking...”for real??” The premise sounded good, and Therese Plummer is one of my favorite narrators, so I thought I’d give this one a try. O.M.G! The main character is an idiot. She’s made it her life’s work to study psycho killers, but every look or word from one has her feeling spooked and harking back to her own violent experience at age 16. Who moves to the middle of nowhere Alaska and, during an epic snowstorm in subzero temps, stops at the corner store for cold cereal on her way home, decides to stock up on junk food and then is surprised when her BMW won’t re-start?? The local sheriff, with whom she has a rocky relationship, just happens to be at the store, and surprise! She has to go home with him because there’s only one operational snow-plow and there’s no way she can get home. I’m VERY grateful for the ability to return this book.

Would you ever listen to anything by Brenda Novak again?

No....just NO!

Which scene was your favorite?

The one where she goes home with the sheriff she briefly dated and who seems to not be able to stand her, and they drank some wine and ate ALL the junk food she bought at the corner store. She’s wearing his shirt and boxers and wrapped in a blanket to cover her legs. (Because it’s normal to venture out in a blizzard, with NO provisions in your car!) I live in a part of Texas where an inch or two of snow is considered a blizzard, and even I know to be more prepared than that!!

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

Incredible disappointment.

Any additional comments?

Good grief! How did this get ANY good reviews?

Despite my usual enjoyment of this narrator, I gave the performance four stars because it might be argued that the breathy, hesitant voice she gave the main character might’ve contributed to my conclusion that the woman was too stupid to live.

Slow and repetitive

This story was so slow and repetitive I am not sure why I listened to the whole thing. If she has cut the story in half it could have been interesting.

a nightmare for sure

prisoners in alaska makes for a great listen you don't know what could happen loved it all the way til the end and the twists awesome job done by narrator!!!

Suspenseful

The narrator had an intriguing voice, and the story line was riveting. I couldn't wait to finish. I was so drawn in by the characters and it took me until the end to figure out the whole plot and twist which I enjoyed.