Spencerville

By: Nelson DeMille

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 21 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Back from the Cold War, intelligence officer Keith Landry returns to his hometown of Spencerville, Ohio. Twenty-five years after their last encounter, Keith runs into his first love, Annie, now unhappily married to the town's chief of police - an abusive alcoholic. In his efforts to reclaim Annie, Keith will have to draw on all the skills of a violent lifetime.

©1995 Nelson DeMille (P)2010 Hachette Audio

Don’t waste your credit

Long, boring, vile. The author dragged out in hours what could’ve been a good short story . I usually lone Nelson DeMille books, but give this one a pass

Good book but…

This book had an interesting storyline for me so that’s why I bought it. The narrator, Scott Brick, was really good but I’m sure the author could’ve told his story in half the time and the book not have suffered at all. He seemed to spend so much time in one place for long periods of time and so much dialogue it was overkill. I would recommend but turn the speed up a notch or two.

Is there an abridged version?

Not a bad story and I did want to know the ending badly enough to listen through all of the completely unnecessary extra 10 hours worth of nonsense. It was a decent story that could’ve been told in literally half the time without the meandering. There were so many conversations and thought processes that I kept thinking were over but then they kept going on and on and on. Not a bad listen but I wouldn’t recommend it if you are hoping for something more interesting in your life. Thank God for Scott Brick. I almost returned the book 4 times but was able to pull through because at least he’s interesting to listen to.

A little too heavy on domestic abuse

Main character fine. Plot was heavy on graphic domestic abuse. Would not recommend it for this reason.

Great book if you like tautness and suspense

I have noticed that a few people have said that there are a lot of stereotypes in the book. That is probably because they don't know people like these .... but I do. Maybe it's age related. I'm one of the Vietnam generation. I have intimately known people like the police chief, much to my regret and many aging hippies who just can't seem to get past how great the old days were and how much the present sucks. If you can related to the characters, for good or ill, this is a very tight, tense, taut and rather scary story. On a personal level, it's almost painful to listen to because it is too close to reality for my taste.

And it IS a matter of taste. I tend to find books this intense actually stressful. I appreciate the art, but not the rise in my blood pressure.

Scott Brick is, as always, a great reader. Nelson DeMille is, as usual, a terrific writer. If cat-and-mouse suspense novels -- where you really don't know what it going to ultimately happen -- are your thing, you will love it. Especially if you were there for the 60s and early 70s as a young adult, you will know these people. You may even be these people. Whether or not you like them is neither here nor there: you WILL recognize them.

It's an excellent book for those who like this genre.

Them Old Feelings

Would you consider the audio edition of Spencerville to be better than the print version?

Yes, almost always for this genre.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The sheriff. He was a cartoon, but somehow became real, even though he was totally predictable.

Have you listened to any of Scott Brick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes...OK.

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

No.

Any additional comments?

Yes. It awakened in me those long ago feelings for a woman whom I have loved my whole life. She has been happily married for decades, but, somehow, that doesn't matter. She has never lost contact with me, even to this day; 55 years and counting. So, pieces of this story were very moving for me. Thanks for the memories.

Definitely an earlier work…

I generally love Nelson DeMille books. This one had me thinking over and over again “Get on with the story!” The main character (Keith) was awfully immature for such an experienced military guy (think high school) and Annie’s character must have been an ideal of that high school mentality. Scott Brick is an enormously talented voice actor, but Annie’s husband sounded more like Arkansas than Ohio. It’s hard to imagine that beautiful, brilliant Annie would have married him at all. All said, I enjoyed witnessing Mr. DeMille’s growth as a writer. Everything he has written since shows more mature and eloquent ability. It was interesting to observe the evolution!

Feeling Conflicted

Ok....well I love Scott Brick no matter what he reads. Frankly he and DeMille are a good team.

However, this story left me feeling conflicted. Keith Landry and Annie Baxter are in love, growing up in small town Ohio. They fell in love as kids, continued through highschool and into the beginning of college. Then came Vietnam, the draft, free love, hippies, drugs...in other words, the 1960s in USA.

Keith becomes a good soldier who leaves the love of his life behind, unmarried, because he's going to war. Leaving the physical battlefield, Keith becomes a soldier of the Cold War, a spy, a political mover and shaker. Annie becomes a college educated woman who hates the war, who's anger at Keith becomes anger at all soldiers. So she marries Cliff Barnes, a wealthy, adulterous, sadistic bully who becomes Chief of Police and was Keith's highschool rival! But, they are still writing each other.

As the story opens, Keith, now in his 40s is fired and chooses to return home. His ego has taken a direct hit and he's more used to paperwork than physical intelligence work. Working on his family farm helps, but truthfully he just wants Annie back. Annie wants him back too. Cliff abuses his power and Keith's return sparks a fire in the comeuppance Cliff needs.

The cast of characters is well-fleshed out and a great commentary on how age, experience and perspective changes as people live. So why am I conflicted? Well...Annie is so passive aggressive that everything she does by word or deed needs an interpreter. Keith willingly lets himself be humiliated constantly and lets Annie literally ride roughshod over him. He's clearly got a backbone, but it turns into spaghetti if Annie won't be happy with him. Their lack of true honesty about the entire situation allows Cliff not only to be cuckholded, but to truly display his sadistic tendencies uncontrolled! Cliff isn't meant to be likable, and he isn't, but neither is Annie or Keith. The only truly honest character is Charlie. He's unapologetically manipulative, but he makes no attempt to hide it. In a romance you want to like or cheer for the main protagonists, but you can't really do it here. DeMille's other books have always left me a little stunned, thinking a lot about them afterwards. They are just genuinely good reads. This, ehhh, not so much!

Sad and exciting

Definitely a difference from the Nelson demile I’m used to reading however it’s beautifully written. It will make you laugh and cry

Nelson DeVille

There's plenty of action, as in all DeVille novels. Not quite as gripping as others I've read.