Play Dead

Elise Sandburg, Book 1

By: Anne Frasier

Narrated by: Natalie Ross

Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

No one is more familiar with Savannah's dark side than homicide detective and native resident Elise Sandburg. She's been haunted for years by her own mysterious past: She was abandoned as a baby in one of the city's ancient cemeteries, and it’s rumored that she is the illegitimate daughter of an infamous Savannah witch doctor. The local Gullah culture of voodoo and magic is one that few outsiders can understand, least of all Elise’s new partner. Now someone is terrorizing the city, creating real-life zombies by poisoning victims into a conscious paralysis that mimics death. As the chilling case unfolds, Elise is drawn back into the haunted past she's tried so hard to leave behind.

©2013 by Anne Frasier. (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Fun listen

Did not expect to enjoy a story steeped in the occult. Found it to be a lot of fun. Interesting characters. Narrator is excellent. Will try the next in the series

Wow

Great story. Mix of history, Savannah culture and mystery made this book unputdownable. The characters were so well developed and the narrator gave a performance that had me talking to them. I kept saying OMG. My family had to think I was crazy. Great read/ listen.

where do I begin...

Dear narrator: just read the book. The accents doesn't work if you can't do them. it's Georgia and one of the characters has a Louisiana creole accent. as for the book there was a lot of inconsistent details that were irritating. It was a hard finished mainly because I knew who the killer was midway through but mostly because of the inconsistencies. too bad because the idea held a lot of potential just poorly developed.

Liked enough to get book #2

The puffer fish/voodoo/zombie thing is old but this book has some redeeming qualities. I enjoy that the main characters have flaws and emotional baggage. The chemistry between the two main detectives was slow to build but that made their final connection worth the wait. I wish the plot had more twists and that there could have been more humor, but what was absolutely stellar was Natalie Ross' narration. Excellent. Moving on to #2.

Sorry to be so critical but.....

What disappointed you about Play Dead?

I think this could have been a good audible book with a different narrator. The story seemed good but I have listened to so many audible books with good narrators that I won't waste my time bad narration to a good story!

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have changed narrators!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Such breathy, fakey voice and intonations. The male voices were awful.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Play Dead?

I don't know because I am returning all 3 of this author's books whose main character is Elise Sandburg because of the narrator's awful way of narrating what I think would have been a good story!m

Any additional comments?

Why would an author consent to having a poor narrator after all the work it took to write and publish the 3 Elise Sandburg books? I started listening to the first one of this series and had to stop. I then checked to see if book 2 and 3 had the same narrator. It was disappointing to find the same one.

Great story ... TERRIBLE narrator...

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

I'm on the fence ... i had big issues with the narrator.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I couldn't get past the incorrect sentence inflections and the sing song voice... UGH!!!

More of a Soap Opera than a Crime Thriller/Mystery

What would have made Play Dead better?

A different narrator. Less complaining and introspection from Elise.

What could Anne Frasier have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Making the book more of a thriller.

How could the performance have been better?

Natalie Ross needs to stop doing voices for men, its just awful. She makes all men sound dumb.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Anger for wasting my time on this series.

Captivating

This book was easy to follow and couldn't put it down. Perfect mystery. No profanity. Narration was wonderful. Will. buy rest if Elise series.

Must like Voodoo

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

If you like Deliah Devilin voodoo stories, then this is for you. Note is is not a hot sexy romance/mystery . This author is not for me, but maybe for you. I am not looking for a deep emotional listen as I find them too dark. This author had a good outline/mystery, just not enough romance in this book for me. Yes, #2 develops the budding romance, but I do not like long drawn out series. if you like long emotional build up in your stories, then this is a good listen. I think # 1&2 are an auto buy togather if you want to see how our couple hints at coming together. JD Robb #1 &2 are as hot as a series can get, and now over 32 books! This author wants in on that action, but develops the romance in this book just a tiny bit. The cost was so little that I purchased #1&2 at the same time.

What was most disappointing about Anne Frasier’s story?

The mystery was good. I do not like voodoo stories, but I buy as much of Ms Ross recordings as I can. Author may have a winner in this series, but this one did not encourge me to automatically listen to #2. The editor should have been able to suggest changes to increase the speed of the story.

What about Natalie Ross’s performance did you like?

Her male voices are so yummy, hence I buy her reads. She made our hero as sexy and hunky as could be even though author had our hero going through a good amount of deep personal tragedy.

Did Play Dead inspire you to do anything?

Unfortunately, I do not want to take the time for book #2

Captivating book.

I really enjoyed this book. I couldnt wait to read the next two and did over a matter of days after Play Dead. The author pulled together her character histories and transitions very smoothly. The narrator had a pleasant voice; well done on switching from line to line, character to character.

Water water, but take care what you drink

Interesting and in places exciting tale of the mystique of southern American states . A good police whodunnit which in places got very deep in voodoo, zombies and magic but kept it within reason and sensibility. First of three novels so I'm interested to see if the next story lives up to its promise.

Narration let this down.

Like a female version of a satire of William Shatner.
The story was ok but hard to listen to because of the whispery jagged tone of the narrator. I wouldn't listen to it again, once was enough.

excellent

love the book and the narrator was perfect. Will be purchasing more from this author. very like the concept