Condemned: A Thriller

By: Michael McBride

Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann

Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

When investigative reporter Peter Webber discovers the remains of a young woman in the old Eastown Theatre, he finds himself pitted against a serial killer who uses the bodies of his victims to recreate medieval visions of hell inside Detroit's landmark ruins. As the body count continues to rise, he and Detective Aundray Rogers must embark upon their own descent into the underworld, one that mirrors the decline of the Motor City, if they're to have any chance of stopping the murderer before it's too late.

With the city deteriorating around them, they learn that the abandoned buildings aren't the only things that have been condemned.

©2015 Michael McBride (P)2015 Michael McBride

It died with a whimper.

I was disappointed with this book because so many of the reviews said it was outstanding. The action and story were good until the author selected a perpetrator totally out of left field. You have a little more action after that point. I go lost trying to figure out what I missed for that person to be the perpetrator.

McBride played to the theory, "the perpetrator could be in the crowd" Yep, this perpetrator in was in the crowd and cleanup. It is the relationship between the last two individuals and their hopes for the city is where I feel McBride just threw in the towel.

I read Snow Blind by McBride, which had me glued to the seat. McBride knows how to write suspense but here, he fell short toward the end.

I am a Detroiter and he did an excellent job on the description of the city. The streets and buildings were right on the money. Heck, I looked up some the history to a few places he mentioned. That is why the overall got 3 stars and the story only 2. Buy this when it is on sale. Do not wait for a sale to get Snow Blind.

I am going to try another McBride. Many readers on his web site rate him higher than Stephen King. Heck, Stephen certainly had a back day when he wrote about a dog, so may be this is McBride's dog equivalent.

gruesome!

the narrator's portrayal of the gruesome details was great. chilling story because its message isn't fiction.

Overall enjoyable

What did you love best about Condemned: A Thriller?

The brightest part of the entire experience was discovering the voice of Gary Tiedemann! He kept me engaged from start to finish.

What about Gary Tiedemann’s performance did you like?

I have listened to a number of other narrators throughout the years and, in my opinion, the most distracting part of any audiobook is a narrator's "other voices." They tend to pull me out of the plot and make me wish I had opted to read the book instead. David Aaron Baker comes to mind. Which reminds me, is there a word for overacting when it comes to narration? Anyways, Tiedmann's multi-character dialogue was subtle, yet distinctive. His cadence was wonderful. In a word, it was perfect!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

As with most thrillers of the like, there are plots twists to be certain. I found them to be fairly predictable. The overall story was not bad. But, to be perfectly honest, it wasn't great either.

Any additional comments?

I will be giving McBride one more chance to win me over with his writing. As for Tiedemann, I simply need to decide which of his other narrations I want to listen to next!

Good Thriller

While the concept of "Condemned" was unique, the story was overly preachy, (due to the lack of a better word). I know the story was told through the eyes of a character who grew up in Detroit after its financial hey day, and he longs for the glorious past.

This main character doesn't stop there; instead, he continually goes on about trying restore Detroit and every perceived societal ill that has destroyed the city. The killer in the story behaves in ways that seem to reinforce this belief. The lamenting for days and buildings gone by goes on so long and so often that it squashes what plot is there.

I also struggled with vivid detail of all the dead bodies found and yet to investigate. Pretty gruesome for weaker stomachs or sensitive minds.