Omens

By: Kelley Armstrong

Narrated by: Carine Montbertrand, Mozhan Marno

Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

Number-one New York Times best-selling author Kelley Armstrong begins her new series with Omens, featuring a compelling new heroine thrust into a decades-old murder case and the dark mysteries surrounding her strange new home.

Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions.

But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens.

Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past.

Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.

©2013 Kelley Armstrong (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

“One of the best new series debuts this year! With its compelling characters and completely original set up, Omens delivers a powerful combination of suspenseful thrills and supernatural chills. I can't wait to read more!” (New York Times best-selling author Lisa Gardner)

“Like the creepy, spooky town of Cainsville, Kelley Armstrong's Omens lured me in. I was too busy, way too busy for this book, which, through a series of surprises and sleights of hand, had me conspiring for ways to get back to the gripping story, the colorfully bizarre cast of characters, and the clever, strong, smart heroine at its center. Don't pick this book up if you have anything else to do. It will grab you by the collar and won't let you up for air until it's good and ready. And once you’re done, you won't soon forget it.” (New York Times best-selling author Lisa Unger) 

“Cainsville might be a nice place to visit, but I'm too creeped out to live there. Luckily, Armstrong isn't, and her dispatches from this village filled with sinister secrets are going to be keeping her readers up well into the night.” (Number-one international best-selling author Linwood Barclay) 

Would be better with one narrator

I don't typically object to two narrators, but in this case, I do. The narrator that spoke in first person had the most annoying voice. I listen to audible books every day, and a narrator with a shrill voice can ruin a book. I found myself listening to how annoying her voice was more than what she was actually saying. The second narrator was preferable. Not sure what the point was of having two people reading this book.

Great start to a new series, but... CRINGE!

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I thought it was well written. I went into this book expecting more of the supernatural aspect that I've come accustomed to with Kelley Armstrong... vampires/werewolves/etc. It was not like her other books, however, for which I was pleasantly surprised. It took me a while to get beyond my expectations, but once I did, I enjoyed the story from beginning to end.

I normally do not like two narrators, unless it is to tell the story from male and female perspective. In this case, the second narrator was reading from more than one person's perspective. It was confusing at first, but I adapted. I grew to enjoy hearing the "other" side of things at the end of almost every chapter. It brought depth to the story, which could not have been seen otherwise. It also helped open up more questions for not only this book, but the rest of the series as well. I'm interested to see where this story goes.

There is one flaw in this story. The main narrator, Carine Montbertrand, made me cringe! At the beginning of each chapter, she was not quite relaxed and therefore had a high nasally tone that sounded like she is plugging her nose for the first 2 minutes of a chapter. CRINGE. That sound is like nails on a chalkboard for me! Yikes!! Other than that, though, she did a great job switching between narrating and alternating between voices, though. There were very few flaws there. I plan to continue with the series.

Give it a try!

An Awesome Start to a New Series

This book is vastly different from Armstrong's "Otherworld" series. It's primarily a murder mystery with just a smattering of the supernatural. Although I have a feeling that the supernatural elements will play a larger part in the rest of the books in the Cainsville series. The could be said for the romance between the two main characters, Olivia and Gabriel. Their relationship is in its infancy. If you're looking for the romance that dominates Armstrong's other novels, then you might be disappointed.

What I liked:
The mystery is completely enthralling
The characters are fascinating and well-developed
The supernatural climate is refreshingly original (at least for me)
Mozhan Marno's narration

What I disliked:
Carine Montbertrand's narration. She didn't do a bad job. I just thought Marno's voice fit the tone of the story better. I found myself wishing Marno had performed the entire book alone.

Most definitely worth a credit.

Good story - weird choice for narrator

The overall book was really good - as is usual for a Kelley Armstrong book. But the narrator for this particular book was a truly strange choice. She is clearly older and smacks her lips and audibly swallows a lot. For a book with a character narrator that is in her early/mid 20s... this is just odd. And annoying. Disappointing. But a good story.

Not terribly impressed with this story

In the past, I have enjoyed Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series. Those books were populated with interesting, strong women of various supernatural species but I’d always read them rather than listened to them. I’m not sure why this story fell so flat for me. I didn’t enjoy the narrator at all and found her male voices to be irritating to the ear and off putting in general, sounding more like exceedingly disinterested old women than men. Also, the story takes a while to get going and the ending sets up future installments instead of resolving anything. I can’t recommend this book and would suggest reading this author’s other series if you want to read Kelley Armstrong. #FemaleProtagonist #Tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Omens- Kelley Armstrong

I have never ever read anything by Kelley Armstrong. I was thrilled to find out that she had written a book called 'Omens,' I really enjoyed it, and I will buy the next in the series as soon as I can get my hands on it.

Kelley's heroine is 24 year old Olivia, who is a very high society girl and engaged to an equally high society rich, dashing young entrepreneur. Olivia, however, was not born into the wealthy lifestyle she lives. She was adopted. When it comes to the public eye that Olivia's real parents were notorious serial killers who brutally murdered several couples- cult style, Olivia is forced to remove herself from her home and friends. Her mother can't handle the stain on the family and Olivia herself is hurt, confused and bewildered. She is also without money.

Olivia decides to take the time after the shocking revelation to go back to her roots and find out more about her serial killer parents. In doing so, she meets several people who help her find what she's looking for. And I have to say, what she finds is shocking. The little town she is from is full of secrets, and Olivia learns that she has some characteristics unlike those of any other people.

Olivia starts to understand that she was meant to come back to the town in which she was born. She belongs there for several reasons. And she goes on a quest to find out what really happened when her parents were taken from her by police at a young age. It's beginning to look like her parents have been in jail for years, with absolutely no evidence pointing to them.

Omens is a very exciting and high paced story. I loved it, and I listened to it in just two days. I found myself listening in the car and on breaks from work. I can't wait to find out what happens next.

4 stars across the board.

WTHeck?

I just ENDED. Nothing was resolved, nothing explained, what are we supposed to do with all the odd stuff which was so painstakingly described but never explained? I looked for a Part 2... nothing. The build-up was so promising. The "ending" wasn't an ending, it just stopped, like an ending to a chapter. This audiobook is a waste of time and money. I still can't believe it.

Off to a good start

I was hesitant to pick up another series by Kelley Armstrong because the last was a series of hits and misses. It's a nice mix of real world mystery with the otherworldly. It has a variety of characters and sub-plots that make it fun, sexy, and hateful, in other words, I'm reading book 2.

Only Part of a Book

...and not a very good one at that. After over 14 hours pf painful narrative voice, this dull, drawn out story has absolutely no resolution: the endless budding of a cliched relationship will continue into the next book, the relatively uninteresting detective story will continue into the next book and what of the town- what is with the creepy town? Well- you may find out in the next book.

Which will likely be narrated by Carine Montbertrand, whose male voices sound like the assortment of 'Lollipop Kids' in the Wizard of Oz.

I try to make it a rule not to trash other people's art: a LOT of work goes in the the creation of both the novel and the audio performance but Audible should NEVER have offered this incomplete selection.

Wonderful

I loved Kelley Armstrong's adult Otherworld but not as much her YA work. This is definitely in line with the Adult Otherworld. Great story, very engaging. easy to follow. My only issue is I see no reason to have the two female readers. I found that distracting. Still, even with that, well worth the credit and I can't wait for the next book. It does leave quite a lot of threads untied.