No Conscience

By: Phil M. Williams

Narrated by: GraceWright Productions, Tristan Wright, Sarah Grace Wright

Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's Summary

There’s something wrong with this family.

Mary Shaw’s the doting mother, showering her children with gifts from the heart and the pocketbook. Wes Shaw’s different than his siblings - darker, awkward, the perpetual ne’er-do-well.

The Shaws have survived divorce and death, but something sinister is in their midst. The truth threatens to tear them apart. The lies threaten to tear them apart.

There’s no neutral ground, no place to hide. Ultimately, each family member must make a choice with irreversible consequences.

Adult language and sexual content.

©2017 Phil M. Williams (P)2017 Phil M. Williams

Didn't finish the first chapter

I devour psychological thrillers but this was vile! Not to give too much away but practically the opening scene was him graphically masturbating in a sock while watching rape porn, imagining he was doing the teacher at school. And I don't mind foul language but that too was WAY over the top. Narration was horrible too. Just terrible.

Throughly enjoyed this book!

Great job again Mr. Williams!
It's a peek inside the life a sociopath. This book took me on an emotional roller coaster ride! I really like books that pull you into the characters. I felt real sympathy for Wes, one of the main characters of the book. His journey for truth was exciting, heartbreaking, and enlightening.
The author writes true to real life situations and isn't afraid to offend. I appreciate that in a writer, because life is sometimes offensive. I like it to be told how it is.
The narrators are top notch as well!
Another great book Phil!

Good basis but very disappointing

The story had a good start and the characters were solid (although the narrator did horrendous with different character voices) but even though there was quite a few dramatic instances in the characters' lives nothing ever really 'happened'. There was absolutely no climax. There could have been at several points. Just felt like a dramatic daily life. And there was no closure for one of the main characters. Not everything needs to be spelled out but come on Wesley just kind of disappeared without any finality.

Another great book by an amazing author!

Great book as always. I know when I start a Phil Williams book, I'm not going to be able to put it down.

The narration was the worst - story pretty good

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was ok - I had a long ride and it was ok to listen to (although Mary's voice was sooooo awful). I just kept waiting for the payoff and it never happened. Aside from Wes's transformation, Joe and Allison - all the characters were horrible. They had no empathy, pity or redeemable qualities.

Would you recommend No Conscience to your friends? Why or why not?

I don't recommend this book. It had so much potential, but it fell short in so many places. The narration (the voice of the mother was the worst I've ever heard) made me want to return the book several times.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Glad you asked - this was the WORST narration I've ever heard. I can't even describe how irritating Mary's voice was listening to - awful!

Was No Conscience worth the listening time?

No.

Great Audio Production

The audible production of this book is amazing! Excellent array of male and female voices done seamlessly.
This book was an interesting view of complicated family dynamics including a sociopathic mother.

Definitely Thought Provoking!

What a twist. I never figured out where this book was going but enjoyed every minute of it!

Worst narration ever!!!

The narration was so horrendous I can’t even comment on the story!! Do not waste your time or your money or even a free credit.

Interesting

I found this book interesting and I listened to it quickly. I thought the male narrator was great but not the female. When she spoke the parts of Mary they sounded annoyingly contrived. It distracted from the book so that I wished I had read vs listened.

WOW

If you are looking for a great book with a jaw dropping reaction, then this is it. Mary is a charmer that's all I'm saying. Don't hesitate you won't regret it. 😀

Good drama

When I first started listening to this book I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it. It started quite slowly but gathered pace and soon had my full attention.

Don’t be fooled by the slow start. It’s worth continuing as it turns out to be a delightful, intriguing drama.

One of the authors best

Sociopaths in a family setting. Family tensions and secrets all written into an intriguing storyline.
An easy listen that keeps you turning pages.
I received a free copy of this audio book at my own request and voluntarily leave this review.

Who Needs Enemies When You Have This Family?

Phil M Williams does a great job creating a story that shows how a family can be manipulated and have their lives twisted. There were times when reading this that I wanted to scream, ‘It’s lies! You're being told lies! Why can’t you see it?’ The truth is though most of us wouldn’t even think that someone so dear to us could be so underhanded and two-faced as certain characters do in this book. In fact the whole book is spilling over with emotions from each and every character. Wes in particular struggles as he’s very introverted and won’t really stand up for himself. He’s really put through the ringer by the end of the book making some shocking revelations along the way. This is really good writing, well paced throughout, and strangely addictive considering there are so many truly unlikable people in it. That for me shows how well the author does writing his characters as it made me loathe them but not want to stop reading about at the same time. Once or twice I found myself shouting out loud! Overall a really interesting read about lies, manipulation and family.
I’ve been lucky enough to listen to many of Phil M Williams books narrated by Tristan and Grace Wright and they’ve become the ‘voices’ of his books for me now. Each and every time they do a first rate job bringing all the characters to life. I like that they share the male and female characters between them so we actually get a man reading a man and a woman reading a woman. All this adds to the listening experience and adds something to the novel that a single narrator couldn’t do alone. This is a very interesting story brought to life by two very very good narrators. I recommend both the book and narrator team.

The dark side of a family.

This book was something of a slow burner, but it built to an interesting narrative and had some great lurking secrets. Poor Wes Shaw is such a victim, always on the receiving end. I really felt for him, while at the same time wanting to give him a push in the right direction (kick up the backside!). His mad-cap family were hard work, not at all a comfortable crowd to be around.

I don't want to give too much away and spoil the story, so it's a bit hard to review this book. I would say that it would be advisable not to read any more reviews as many of them do give away too much.

There are a couple of sexually descriptive chapters, which would normally put me off, but in fact they were lighthearted, even comedic, and that seemed to make it OK.

The narration of the audio version was excellent, with Sarah Grace Wright playing the female parts and Tristan Wright playing the men, which meant I never had to listen to squeaky females or deep-voiced women. I wish more books would be narrated in this way.
My only problem was was that although I was listening to an excellently narrated audio copy, the chapter where we meet everyone at a family party was just too full-on to assimilate. It's not possible to rewind an audiobook while driving, but even after I'd listened to that chapter again, I was still a bit confused as to who was who and where the grudges lay.

The ending did leave a few things unresolved, maybe a bit frustrating, maybe true to life. You can draw your own conclusions.
I shouldn't have had this on the tbr for so long, I'm glad I finally brought it to the top.