Skeleton Canyon

De: J. A. Jance

Narrado por: C. J. Critt

Top ten New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance brings us another mesmerizing thriller featuring Arizona Sheriff Joanna Brady as she searches for the brutal killer of a young girl.

Brianna ""Bree"" O'Brien never returned from Skeleton Canyon. Someone brutally murdered the pretty, popular teenager who had stolen away under cover of darkness to rendezvous with her boyfriend. Perhaps youthful rage, jealousy and savage passion cost young Bree her life. Or maybe she stumbled onto something too dangerous to know. Sheriff Joanna Brady of Cochise County knows only too well the pain of losing a loved one to violence. But she is disturbed by the O'Brien's insistence that Bree's boyfriend is responsible for their daughter's slaying. Joanna senses there are words not being spoken, and dark mysteries locked behind doors of the sprawling O'Brien family compound. But it is the strange disappearance of a good friend that is pulling Sheriff Brady ever closer to the lethal nest of lies, greed and secrets hiding in a desolate corner of the Arizona desert - where the next blood that feeds the parched, cracked earth could be her own.

Take back everything I said about the narrator

Book 4 was not enjoyable - CJ Critt's narration just killed it. But book 5 shows that she's a master of voices. She completely changed the cadence and the voice of Joanna and the presentation of the story. It was quite wonderful to listen to and to realize how much control she has in her storytelling to do this! However, I see a review of book 6 that complains about her choice for the daughter's voice and that Joanna's voice changes also. So sometimes she misses the mark.

Meanwhile, the first 3 books had such marvelous plots and although I don't think books 4-5 quite lives up to those mysteries, I enjoy the characters and want to continue following them!

Entertaining

What did you love best about Skeleton Canyon?

Female hero and an interesting story.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Ending caught me by surprise.

Any additional comments?

Love the way the main character interacts with other characters in the book.

Positive feedback

I enjoy this series and look forward to listening to more. I do not understand all the negative feedback on the commentator as she doesn't seem to be so awful to me. In fact, I found her to be good and enjoyed the inflection of her voice. While I may not be as seasoned or educated as some of the reviewers, I do enjoy a good book and I feel this series is well worth the credits.

Entertained.

I read some of the reviews prior to purchasing and was worried about all the negative comments regarding the new narrator. I thought C J Critt did a great job! She did an especially good job with the underlying humor in the story. I look forward to the next book in the series!

Narrator's pace was amateurish.

Would you consider the audio edition of Skeleton Canyon to be better than the print version?

I haven't read this book in print.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Joanna Brady, of course! I love how she is a come from behind type of character who's methods are not always "textbook", but she always succeeds in the end. She is logical and shows her heart throughout the series. I also appreciate how she acknowledges that she is far from perfect, but doesn't let any of that really get in her way.

What three words best describe C. J. Critt’s performance?

Amateurish pacing throughout.

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

I REALLY want to see what happens with Angie and Dennis! I practically had a cow when I didn't know what was going to happen to Dennis. Talk about pulling my heart-strings....

Any additional comments?

During the beginning of the book, the narrator did not pause enough between sections when there was not a chapter break, Several times, she would just run right into a new part and I had to keep rewinding to figure out what was going on. For example: there was a part when they were working on a crime scene or going to it and then all of a sudden, Angie was thinking about her problem and trying to get a ride. THEN... it was like the narrator was told to pause more and all of a sudden she was even pausing in the middle of conversations for far too long. On at least three occasions, I started wondering if my battery went dead or something and then she continued. This was not the right pacing at all and seemed over-exaggerated by the narrator. I kept thinking that someone must have told her to pace it better and she over-exaggerated it in spite. Wasn't too impressed with her different character voices either, but that may be slightly because of her driving me crazy in general.