River Road

By: Jayne Ann Krentz

Narrated by: Amanda Leigh Cobb

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

It's been thirteen years since Lucy Sheridan was in Summer River. The last time she visited her aunt Sara there, as a teenager, she'd been sent home suddenly after being dragged out of a wild party - by the guy she had a crush on, just to make it more embarrassing.

Obviously Mason Fletcher - only a few years older but somehow a lot more of a grown-up - was the overprotective type who thought he had to come to her rescue. Now, returning after her aunt' s fatal car accident, Lucy is learning there was more to the story than she realized at the time. Mason had saved her from a very nasty crime that night - and soon afterward, Tristan, the cold-blooded rich kid who'd targeted her, disappeared mysteriously, his body never found.

A lot has changed in thirteen years. Lucy now works for a private investigation firm as a forensic genealogist, while Mason has quit the police force to run a successful security firm with his brother - though he still knows his way around a wrench when he fills in at his uncle' s local hardware store. Even Summer River has changed, from a sleepy farm town into a trendy upscale spot in California' s wine country.

But Mason is still a protector at heart, a serious (and seriously attractive) man. And when he and Lucy make a shocking discovery inside Sara' s house, and some of Tristan' s old friends start acting suspicious, Mason' s quietly fierce instincts kick into gear. He saved Lucy once, and he' ll save her again. But this time, she insists on playing a role in her own rescue.

©2014 Jayne Ann Krentz (P)2014 Recorded Books

Bad narrator, cookie cutter story

The story was formulaic, cheesy and tedious; not up to JAK standards, by any means. Throw in a narrator who is so bad, you can't tell which character is talking, male or female. She didn't even try to lower her pitch for the male voices. I will add this narrator to the bad reader list. Don't waste your credit.

17 of 17 people found this review helpful

Horrible Narrator!

I couldn't finish this one the narrator basically just read the book. No.....anything, Shame because I love Jayne Ann Krentz.

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Worth the wait

If you could sum up River Road in three words, what would they be?

Jayne Ann Krentz enough said

Any additional comments?

Amanda Cobb took some getting used to. I had a hard time telling which character she was speaking for at certain times and it got slightly confusing a couple times. That said I did enjoy her narration once I got used to it.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Fine Narrator, Bad DIRECTION

The narrator isn't bad, but her voice didn't change much, it's true. But, listen up, haters: I happen to know for a fact that she was DIRECTED not to change her voice too much. That's right! If you listen to any of her other work - Brass and Bone (with a British male narrator for half of the novel), Never Say Never (with African American male voices), or her books with male vampires, it is OBVIOUS that she has the ability.

In this case, the narrator's DIRECTION was wrong. They have to do what they are told to do in the booth. And I know what she was told.

As for the story, I liked it. Although I was certain that the aunt's story (no spoiler alerts here) was going to be even more involved or gruesome. And I really thought that the evil young guy might come back and wasn't really dead at all at first!

Good story, but give the narrator a break. Put the blame where it belongs - on the engineer/director, in this case.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

Not what I thought it would be

Would you try another book from Jayne Ann Krentz and/or Amanda Leigh Cobb?

I have both read and listened to many of Jayne Ann Krentz's books. But, I will not willingly listen to another book read by Amanda Leigh Cobb if at all possible.

What did you like best about this story?

I'm not sure there was a best part to like in this story. I like Krentz's books, but all seem to be following the same "formula" but with different names of the characters being the only difference.

How could the performance have been better?

Get another reader! She was so horrible. I had to force myself to finish listening to the story.

Do you think River Road needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No follow-up as the story and characters were not very interesting. The whole story, interaction between characters, and outcome were just like so many of Krentz's other books. I rated the story higher than I should have.

Any additional comments?

Better character development, different plots and tone down the sex within the first chapter. Let the connection develop, otherwise it feels like the main characters are not likable people, just trashy people.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Wine Country Casual!!!

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

I have not read the print version, but considering my preference for audio editions of this genre of writing, I'll guess the answer to be a yes.

What about Amanda Leigh Cobb’s performance did you like?

When I read a print copy of any book, I tend to have at the most 3 distinct voices in my head for the main characters - and the rest of the characters tend to have nondescript voices. What Amanda Cobb was able to do with her narration was to give the main characters very distinct voices while, with the subtle use of diction, pause, & even quirkiness, give a lot of the other supporting characters a chance to come alive! This made me pay attention to the "cast" of characters and not just the "stars" of the show! Very nicely done.

Any additional comments?

The combination of the plot style by Krentz and the Amanda Cobb's narration technique, kept me quite engaged in how the whole story would unfold...enough to want to listen to the entire book in one sitting!!!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

River Road

I thoroughly enjoyed this murder mystery and like that it took place in Northern California wine country. Also, the narrator clearly demonstrated skills that made it an enjoyable ride! I've heard other books by her including Brass and Bone, so I know how well she can do characters and accents both male and female. Perhaps she was given a different direction? Anyway… I still thoroughly enjoyed it!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Awesome Ride

If you could sum up River Road in three words, what would they be?

Who Done It

What was one of the most memorable moments of River Road?

Where they found the body the first time was pretty cool, but I don't want to give it away!

Which scene was your favorite?

I liked the gun battle at the winery, and I also really liked the way they did the scene when Mason got poisoned. It was like a movie sequence.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It was more murder mystery than moving, but I like how the characters kept coming together and joking about their relationship until it got serious.

Any additional comments?

I don't know who wrote the review about not liking the narrator, but I thought she was really good. I liked how she did all the voices, and I thought the intimate scenes were especially well done. It wasn't corny.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Rocky Road

I like Jayne's books & this one was a pretty good romantic suspense BUT I would rather had just"READ"the book.The Narrator is o.k.,sounds like she's just starting out with narrating books,she reads the story like you would expect to hear some one reading to children. She seems to get better as the book goes along but then towards the end is right back to narrating like in the beginning.The story was pretty good,unexpected people involved, keeps you guessing.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

There is a BODY in the fireplace~!~ ...BEST Krentz

Lucy Sheridan has a history with Mason Fletcher. 13 years ago he hauled her out of a "great" party and she has not forgiven or forgotten. Lucy comes back to River Bend the place of their youth. She is now a forensic genealogist. Mason has his own security firm but also owns the local hardware.

Mason the "hunk" from Lucy's past now is very attracted to her. She has always had him in her teenage fantasy's but is angry because he wrecked her party plans years ago. Mason actually saved Lucy from a "date rape" set up involving using drugs to take advantage of young innocent girls. When Mason and Lucy find a body behind the bricks of her fireplace a old mystery is started. Lucy inherits some "shares" in a company from the death of her Aunt and everyone in town wants the shares. Several attempts to kill Lucy bring the past to the present and look for motives to both kill Lucy and find a killer who has never been caught.

The READER....Amanda Leigh Cobb is EXCELLENT....few new readers live up to snuff but this lady is great....audible use this reader again...she is wonderful.

what makes this audiobook fun is how it starts out with the Girl taken from the party....to the present and the NOT so found memories the hero and heroine have to over come to get a new start. Krentz truly hit on a great audiobooks and I give it 5 STARS.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful