Judas Child

By: Carol O'Connell

Narrated by: Erika Leigh

It is three days before Christmas, and two young girls have disappeared from the local academy. This hasn't happened for 15 years, since Rouge Kendall's twin sister was murdered. The killer was found, but now Rouge, 25 and a policeman, is forced to wonder: was he really the one? Also wondering is a former classmate named Ali Cray, a forensic psychologist with scars of her own. The pattern is the same, she says: a child called out to meet a friend. The friend is the bait, the Judas child, and is quickly killed. But the primary victim lives longer. . .until Christmas day.

Rouge doesn't want to hear this. He's spent the last 15 years trying to avoid the memories. A little girl has haunted his dreams all these years - and he has three days to finally put her to rest.

Filled with rich prose, resonant characters, and knife-edged suspense that have won so many fans, Judas Child is Carol O'Connell's most powerful novel yet.

©2009 J.T. Ellison (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Horrible narrator

I would really like to have heard this book, but I just had to stop. The narrator sounds like she is reading headlines for the six o'clock news. I kept checking my iPod to see if perhaps I had set it to the fast speed. Nope. So, I tried to correct by putting it on slow speed. That didn't work either. I finally had to give up. The sing-song staccato with no sense of pacing is just too maddening. Too bad. Sounded like a good story.

More than 5!

This is a great story with excellent narration. I honestly can't believe the comments about the narrator - she does not just an excellent job with the female voices, but with the male voices as well - and her voice is very pleasing to listen to. All around this is one of the finest in this genre!

Good book, bad narrator..

I had a hard time getting through this book only because of the narrator, Erika Leigh. She should read children's books. She doesn't have the voice for this kind of book.

I really like Carol O'Connell's books and have listened to many of them and alway gave a four star rating. Not this time. The narrator was terrible in my opinion

Incredible writing and narration

I listen to a lot of crime mysteries, but tend to steer clear of "police" drama. I took a chance on this novel, and I am very glad I did! It might seem to have all the elements of a typical crime mystery- missing children, dedicated youthful police officer, sexy yet damaged female protagonist, a host of small-town suspects from the doctor to the lawyer to the school principal- but truly, this book was totally original. It is candid without being graphic, and it deals with the topic of pedophilia without becoming sentimental or judgmental. The characters are well-developed, and I liked that I didn't always like or dislike them, but rather changed my mind about them over and over as the story unfolded. But best of all, it is a really great mystery- it left me guessing, and guessing, and guessing. The last two hours had me so spellbound, I laid awake with my ipod on, waiting for the big reveal.
The narrator's voice does have a kind of "Mother Goose" quality at first, but the narration is solid and consistent, building tension well and keeping the characters voices distinct and believable.
Overall, I could not fault it. Recommended to anyone who loves the challenge of a good mystery.

Exceptional Story

I was riveted to my seat the entire time listening to this story!!!!

The suspense never wavered. It just got
better and better and better.

I have listened to all of her books and I can say without a doubt, each were as good as the last.