Abducted

By: T. R. Ragan

Narrated by: Kate Rudd

Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

Escaping from a madman should have been the end of her nightmare. Instead it was only the beginning....

Lizzy Gardner was just 17 when she was kidnapped by the psychopath known as Spiderman, a serial killer terrorizing her California hometown. Imprisoned and tormented for months, Lizzy narrowly escaped with her life and Spiderman vanished without a trace. But if she thought he would forget her, she was dead wrong.

Fourteen years later, Lizzy is a successful private investigator and self-defense instructor. Wracked with guilt over being the only victim to survive, she's devoted her life to helping others protect themselves from the horrors she endured. But a single phone call brings the terror of the past crashing back. Spiderman has returned and this time, he has no intention of letting Lizzy go. So begins a chilling game of cat-and-mouse, a terrifying, heart-pounding hunt for vengeance that only one will survive.

©2012 T. R. Ragan (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Edge of your seat

Any additional comments?

This book is definitely an edge of your seat "what happens next" page turner kind of listen. I thought the characters were well developed and I liked the way the past was tied to the present. I was not prepared for the finale when the antagonist's identity is finally revealed and why he did what he did. I think Kate Rudd's voice although whiney at times suited the part she was reading since the main character does complain about memory loss and nightmares having to do with her abduction. I hesitated purchasing because of the low price but am happy I finally purchased it. I will read the rest of the series.

24 of 24 people found this review helpful

Good story but pretty disturbing torture scenes.

Enjoyable story, easy to listen to. Hold your attention to the end BUT the torture scenes are quite disturbing.

29 of 30 people found this review helpful

Reminds me of the show Criminal Minds

If you like the TV show “Criminal Minds” then I think you’ll enjoy this book.

I got fed up with the show after a few seasons because the stories and the violence were getting too over-the-top for evening TV.

Gratuitous gore isn’t entertaining in my opinion, so needless to say I didn’t love this book. I would have preferred more suspense and fewer gruesome scenes that exist simply to shock the reader.

The basic plot was just ok and if the rest of the series is like this, I won’t bother.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Was hoping for better...

I did like this book BUT, the narrator was almost robotic at times, a couple of times sounding like she was reading a Dick and Jane book, so simplistic were the words/sentences. I got past it but it would creep up again in the next chapter so it never completely went away. Sometimes it did feel like you may have missed something and I didn't really find the reasoning of the killer that enthralling. There wasn't much depth there. And everything seemed a little too convienient with certain things. I felt at a point that it started to loose direction and things got a little more convienient and not told real well. I also didn't care too much for the ending. Anti climatic. Overall tho, I didn't shut it off, the story kept my interest, even with all this other stuff I didn't care for. I gave it a borderline 3.

22 of 23 people found this review helpful

Just ok.

I've listened to much better in this genre...it was on sale so I tried it. I probably will not continue on with the series. I still have a hard time listening to Kate Rudd, I am trying to like her style but just can't get there.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Just doesn't flow, info seems crammed in

I just couldn't get in to this book. The author seems to be cramming info in your brain so fast, as to get all the info out there. Kinda like an outline put on paper with no fillers. All the characters have dysfunctional families and she keeps piling one fact on top of the other about them. I just couldn't get attached to any of her characters. Lizzy is just plainly stupid sometimes and Ragan makes the FBI out to be bumbling idiots.The whole story just doesn't flow well. I kept wanting to give up on the book, then kept giving it another chance. Made it through this one, but wasn't happy that I bought the other 2 in the series. I'll go back to John Sandford, Michael Connelly, and James Lee Burke for a good crime mystery. Now, those guys know how to write a good book.

22 of 25 people found this review helpful

The title does this book justice

What did you love best about Abducted?

The developed characters with a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

What other book might you compare Abducted to and why?

It had the twists and turns of a Patterson or Grisham book.

Any additional comments?

This is a great book that I would recommend to anyone who is looking to get into a good book. It definitely keeps your attention from start to finish.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Great concept; needs better execution.

Once again a promising start of an audible selection fades into an uneven; sometimes excellent piece of literature. But at other times her dialogue is often reminiscent of a predictable network crime show. Ragan's third person writing is the strength of this work and is at times very good. Unfortunately all too often she falls back on cliches; particularly in regards to her dialogue. This is a selection that I recommend with reservations. There are enough positive aspects in this book that i'm willing to purchase her next work. Ms. Ragan is a talented writer and hopefully her future works will reflect the natural growth of most writers.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Good book, but...

It's almost impossible to listen to. I got just over five hours in -- about two of which were spent backtracking -- before finally giving up. But because this is a local author for me, and because the series is getting great reviews, I bought the book again for my iPad. Reading from my iPad, it's an excellent book, really good -- it's just not suitable for audio format, at least by this narrator.

Two issues: first, there are about a dozen young women who enter into the story, with roles of varying importance. And that's in addition to protagonist Lizzy, her sister Cathy and her assistant Jessica. Maybe because there are so very many young female players, the narrator makes no distinction whatever in their voices -- how could she, after all? It would range on impossible to create differing voices for each and keep them all straight. So she just reads straight through.

But second, that plays into another issue: Each chapter is divided into a great many sub-parts. In the print version, some are set off by bold day/time headers, some are divided by three little dots, some only by extra spacing between one and the next. These separations are critical -- usually they mean we're switching from one person's story to another's. But again, the narrator reads straight through, with no significant pause between them.

The result is an incomprehensible mess. Whose story is being told at any given time is up for grabs -- Who's talking, now, anyway? How do you know it's not just a continuation of whatever story came just before?

This doesn't work for me at all -- almost always, I listen to audio books when I'm doing something else. Maybe if I had the time to just sit and listen, concentrate, and maybe take a few notes, I could keep up with it, but as an audio book? This book just isn't suited to the genre.

Having said all that, this really is a good book -- I'm looking forward to all the other Lizzie Gardner book, but only for my iPad.

I wonder if the time will ever come when authors will structure their stories with audio book performances in mind? I look forward to that day!

13 of 15 people found this review helpful

Worst. Narration. Ever.

The story itself haspotential, but the writing was weak in places. The narration was beyond horrible. The narrator, whoever chose her, and whoever let the audiobook go live should be ashamed of themselves.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Thriller / Mystery

An engaging thriller mystery. The tale is (almost) believable in the serial killer genre with some similarities to Scandinavian novels of this kind. The characters are well developed, and the performance is very good if a little breathless at times. This is the first model I've read by this author and I'll certainly go for more. Recommended.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Fantastic story was held to the end.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I have never read any of this author's books before, but, thought I would try Abducted as it seemed to be popular on Amazon. The story held me to the end and I found that I could not stop listening to discover what had become and Lizzy and what would become of the latest victim. Well worth a listen.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Clichéd story cardboard characters, bored narrator

Didn't finish this as I couldn't cope any more. I can't blame the narrator for obviously not being into this book. It doesn't make any sense. Set in the real world but not even a little realistic. The title of this review says it all.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Want a page turner?

If you could sum up Abducted in three words, what would they be?

A page turner!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hayley was like many if the children/young people that I taught.

What three words best describe Kate Rudd’s performance?

Fast!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wanted to know more!

Any additional comments?

This book was one to keep interest and moved at a fairly fast pace. How realistic didn't come into it. It isn't a deep read but I should imagine a painful one if you have been involved in any of these types of abuse.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

quite enjoyable

Interestingly written. Time to time expectable story line but still enjoyed it. Audio is perfect!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Im hooked !

this author has me hooked! could not stop listioning.Now for the next in the series

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Predictable and dull

I really wanted this to be good. I'd had to give up on the book I was listening to before this and needed my faith restored. It sounded a safe bet. In fact, it really should have been good, the concept is good but it's just not gripping. There's little or no tension and I found myself really not caring about any of the characters.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

good but could be great

I don’t usually listen to this kind of book and only got it because it was on offer. Saying that I don’t feel that I wasted my money and enjoyed it very much.

I felt that most of the women appeared strong and very self-reliant which is a nice change to the usual kidnapping and assault stories. The plot kept me engaged and needing to know what’s next. So much so that I read it with-in 3 days, a bit of a recorded.

The only complaint I might have is that the ending left me feeling rather flat. This my be because the rest of the book is so fast moving or it might be that everything seemed to be so neatly rounded and finished so fast. A bit like having a steak meal followed by an after eight chocolate instead of a big sticky steamed pud.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

A pity

A good idea for a story, but I have to confess to feeling disappointed. The story is based around the main character building her life back up after being abducted whilst the abductor begins stalking her after a gap of a few years. I expected a bit more suspense and drama, and felt the sentimental side of the book was the main focus and not to my taste. I found I couldn't connect to the main character at all, and although well read felt the style of the narration played up to the sentimentality.
A reasonable book but won't be rushing to listen to it again. Pity.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Didn't like the narrator

The narrator didn't even attempt to make it seem like she's not reading from a book