Sin Doll

By: Orrie Hitt

Narrated by: Jeffrey Brown

Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Orrie Hitt was a prolific writer of “gritty” romances in the 1950s and '60s. He wrote over 150 novels and, unlike many hack writers of the time, he was very good at what he did, and still has a large following today. The website Criminal Element called him “The Shakespeare of Shabby Street". Here’s a bit more of what they had to say about him:

“With Hitt, the artistry has to do with his uncanny ability to capture a certain corner of the human experience, and to write novels that flowed seamlessly, while being effective on different levels simultaneously. Outside of all the hanky panky, Hitt’s books are simply ultra-realistic, gritty, often moving human dramas. His characters are so believable that you hate some of them, care about others, and pity many. His portrayals of these peoples’ life experiences are engaging. His tales reel you in on page one and keep you interested throughout.”

Literary critic Dr. Raymond J. O'Brien said this: Orrie Hitt “beautifully portrayed the lives of the working class here. People who lived in the low-rent districts. The poverty of the hill shacks scattered among the hunting and drinking camps. The trailer parks out among the abandoned junkyards and used car lots, and the mom and pop motels with the flashing neon signs and vibrating beds that took quarters to keep vibrating."

Hitt’s books take place in a time that was a lot simpler than today…. No Internet, no craziness in politics, no global warming, no cell phones and, of course, no Covid-19. Today, his down to earth novels serve as a great escape from all of that…at least for a few hours.

Here’s the somewhat “over the top” description from the back cover of this novel:

“How are cute young girls induced to pose for off-color photographs? Why does a pretty miss allow herself to be used for illicit pictures? To give you the answers, this outspoken novel probes the shocking excess of attractive Cherry Gordon, who started as a good kid, but was taught to be bad."

©1959 Universal Publishing and Distributing Corp. (P)2022 Jimcin Recordings

Good story and narrator but...not for everone.

When listening to this, you have to take into account that this was a very different time, with different attitudes toward many things. That being said, it was a good story and "drew me in." As far as the narrator, I liked him but I know a lot of people won't.
There seem to be two types of narrators. Those who treat the book like a stage play and become almost as important at the author by "acting out" the book with many different voices and emotions. That's fine, as long as the narrator is very good at doing this, and many are not, so the "strained" voices just become annoying.
The second type is one who simply reads the book out loud..intelligently but without trying to "perform" the book. I actually prefer this type because it allows me to imagine what the characters sound like, without the narrator doing it for me. Jeffrey Brown is definiitely the second type. So for those who like the "performance narrator" will not like him. What I would suggest is....listen to the sample first. What you hear is what you will get.