Blue Dahlia

By: Nora Roberts

Narrated by: Susie Breck

Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

A Harper has always lived at Harper House, the centuries-old mansion just outside of Memphis. And for as long as anyone alive remembers, the ghostly Harper Bride has walked the halls, singing lullabies at night.

Trying to escape the ghosts of the past, young widow Stella Rothchild, along with her two energetic little boys, has moved back to her roots in southern Tennessee - and into her new life at Harper House and In the Garden nursery. She isn't intimidated by the house - nor its mistress, local legend Roz Harper. Despite a reputation for being difficult, Roz has been nothing but kind to Stella, offering her a comfortable new place to live and a challenging new job as manager of the flourishing nursery.

As Stella settles comfortably into her new life, she finds a nurturing friendship with Roz and with expectant mother Hayley. And she discovers a fierce attraction with ruggedly handsome landscaper Logan Kitridge.

But someone isn't happy about the budding romance...the Harper Bride. As the women dig into the history of Harper House, they discover that grief and rage have kept the Bride's spirit alive long past her death. And now, she will do anything to destroy the passion that Logan and Stella share.

©2004 Nora Roberts (P)2004 Brilliance Audio

Critic Reviews

"Roberts, the queen of romance, launches a new trilogy with a captivating tale in which her considerable talents at creating richly compelling characters and witty, spellbinding stories come into full bloom in a paranormal-tinged romance." ( Booklist)

Wonderful!

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

I've never read the printed version of Blue Dahlia. I did however love the audio version!

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked Luke and the children. Luke is charming and has his own style.

What about Susie Breck’s performance did you like?

She was fabulous! I thought she did a brilliant job with the different characters voices.

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

I listened to this book every chance I got for 2 days. Its Halloween and this book was a wonderful way to get into the spirit!

Any additional comments?

Loved it! I can't wait to listen to the next ones in the series. Usually Nora Roberts can be a little tame in the sex scenes but this book has some detail but not enough to be offensive. Wonderful!

17 of 17 people found this review helpful

mmmm...not a big Susie Breck fan

I love Nora Roberts. she's my all time favorite author! this story was, of course, perfect. I love how Nora writes for women who are yearning to discover themselves. I can't wait to finish this trilogy.

Susie Breck on the other hand.... not a fan. she did a great job, but her voice is so generic and almost fake. I enjoy narrators that have a flow and read the book like they are telling a story about something that happened with them that day. Brecks reads a book, and it is almost annoying. her accents are annoying to listen to sometimes especially when it came to her characterization of male characters and young characters.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Story great, reader has never been south

Would you listen to Blue Dahlia again? Why?

No. The narrator was simply awful, with her totally inaccurate and annoying southern accents. Ugh!

What didn’t you like about Susie Breck’s performance?

As above, her accents are awful and quite distracting.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

predictable but still very good

I really enjoyed Blue Dahlia. The story is about a woman who lost her husband at a young age and had to take care of her two children on her own. She moves to Tennessee where she was born to be closer to her dad and stepmom. The story is about her journey and the people she meets and learns to lean on. It took a little while to get going but it turned out to be really good. I enjoyed the narrator, since I am from Tennessee the accent is not perfect but close enough not to be annoying. This is only the third Nora Roberts series I have read/listened to the first two were the Key Trilogy and the Bride Quartet and I enjoyed both of those as well. I can see from these three series that Nora Roberts likes to write about strong independent women who have other strong independent women in their lives as support and family. The love parts are predictable but still very good and you don't seem to mind that you know what is going to happen because you get invested in the story and the people in the story. I have just downloaded the second book in this series Black Rose and cannot wait for my ride home from work to start it.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Great Story, Excellent Narrator

This series is one of my favorites from Nora Roberts, and Susie Breck makes listening a major treat! Within the range of western Tennessee accents, she gives each character a distinctly different voice, and even the laughs and giggles stay true to the age and voice of the characters.

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

I want to grow a garden

It grips you from the get go and gets you into the lives of the characters.

The Harper bride is a bit scary but you do get to feel for her and want to assist the characters to find her past!

good read, good listen - always the best.

Thank you Nora!

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

entertaining but doesn't captivate

Any additional comments?

The male character is easily seduced with minimal encouragement and the love is found in an astoundingly quick time. I like the ghost in the story. Perhaps the most complicated character in the book. :)

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Excellent!

This is a wonderful series! A great romance with the underlying story of the Harper Bride. One of Nora Roberts best series.......

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Totally enjoyable

It has been so lovely listening to this story. So much so I am downloading the second in this trilogy. Well spoken, lovely characters. Hope you enjoy it too.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Hate the Narrator

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A different narrator, she speaks so fast that you cannot absorb what is being said.

What didn’t you like about Susie Breck’s performance?

Everything!!!!!!!!

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Over and over

If you could sum up Blue Dahlia in three words, what would they be?

Ive read the whole series and now ive listened to them and i will again.

Any additional comments?

The whole series is worth a read. One that you will reach for again