Flashpoint

By: Richard Aellen

Narrated by: Bill Weideman

Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Katherine Cahill's life is shattered forever when her three young children are killed on an airplane that is blown to pieces by a terrorist bomb in the skies over Italy. Determined to make the terrorists pay for this savagery, Katherine circumvents the frustrating bureaucracy of the State Department and heads for Syria in search of their leader, Tayib.

She joins forces with Donna Winn, whose husband has been taken hostage, and with Sam Gaddis, a photo-journalist familiar with the country and its people. This unlikely group infiltrates the terrorist's mountain fortress and becomes entangled in power struggles within the Islamic Jihad and a secret U.S. plan to capture Tayib alive and bring him to justice.

©1991 Richard Aellen (P)2008 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

TWO Narrators - Disturbing

I'd like to start by saying I love Suzanne Brockmann's Troubleshooter Series. I know this book is a sort of beginning to the next phase of the "Troubleshooters". Ok - I understand stories need to evolve to keep them fresh and interesting.
My comments today are only about the narrator - make that TWO NARRATORS - not the story. I find them distracting, disturbing and not representing the characters in a manner in which they deserve.
I'd like to add - I'm only 2.5 hrs into this story and I felt compelled to make this review as I'm struggling to follow the story with the flipping back and forth of the narrators and the inconsistency of the portrayal of the characters.
They are reading the book verbatim, and barely pausing between points of view. I've had to rewind and listen again to follow.
I've checked out the next books in this series and see TWO NARRATORS again - SIGH!!!
This is NOT the desired way to listen to a story.

One narrator who can handle all the characters is most desired for me.

Odd use of two narrators

It seems rather pointless to have two narrators if you're not going to have the man read all of the male characters and the woman read all of the female ones. Simply alternating chapters only created confusion by giving each character two 'voices'. I like both narrators, and have enjoyed Patrick Lawlor's narration of other books, but I never really got comfortable with him as Nash.

This is definitely more romance than espionage thriller, but the story kept me entertained throughout. This was my first Suzanne Brockmann book, and while I enjoyed it, I'm not sure that I'll use my credits for any more.

Least Favorite of the Series So Far

7th Book in the Troubleshooters Series, and my least favorite. I found myself zoning out throught the story. Kinda boring. And what's with the narrators?! Why would you have male and female readers, only to have them alternating chapters? That's just plain goofy and it's SO distracting. The male should read the male voices and the female read the female voices.

listen up!

Great characters!! I laughed out loud so many times. I appreciated the depth of the characters and thier lives mixed in with the story line.

More of a romance novel than an espinage thriller

Too much hugging and kissing, I have read many espianage thrillers and were captivated by the thrilling story lines, the excitment and danger but this book was more of ladies romance novel with a touch, a very small touch of thrills and espianage. It should be placed in the Romance Novel section

Clunky dialog; story didn't hang together

I really struggled to finish this audio book. The dialog seemed stilted and often didn't flow. The motivations of the different characters wasn't always clear.

Not the best in the series

Alternating narrators is annyoing, and while both are ok, neither is great. I have been reading the troubleshooter series in order, and so far, this is her weakest story. I could not really like the 'hero', Nash in this one. I much prefered Decker, his partner. For the first time ever, at the end, when the lead characters end up together, I found myself thinking, "Tess, don't be an IDIOT - run the other way!".

Flashpoint

More of a love story than s spy novel.

How do I delete this book

What would have made Flashpoint better?

It is so bad . I wish I could delete from my library

Would you ever listen to anything by Richard Aellen again?

No

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Bill Weideman?

Would not help but part of problem

What character would you cut from Flashpoint?

Not sure

Any additional comments?

No

not my "thing"

I was disappointed in this book! I was expecting more espionage, subterfuge...whatever. It was mostly about a romance between the main characters. Ugh. Just wanted them to get together or forget it. Didn't really care either way.