Spite

The Past Can't Hurt Us, Can It?

By: J.J. Kennard

Narrated by: Sally Roughton

Length: 4 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

A Christmas miracle! Her paralysis, cured by the stranger who only needed to hold her hands. So why was she cruelly robbed of the gift so soon afterwards? Why is she dying? Psychiatrist Ben Sheldon is perplexed. Why the rapid mental decline in his patients? How does the death of the local priest and the arrival of an exorcist from Rome tie the pieces together? Now, with his own family at risk from the mysterious and malign presence, Ben Sheldon must collaborate with unlikely allies to try and save them.

©2014 Jerry Kennard (P)2019 Jerry Kennard

Nice bit of work!

Let’s start with a high level overview...while this book will likely not make my top ten favorite books list, if you like a spooky thriller with a nice plot twist I recommend giving this book a listen/read.

That said let’s get a little deeper, the author, J.J. Kennard, developed their characters well enough. The dialogue was genuine and the plot engaging. I really enjoyed the plot twist, revealed in the last chapter in a conversation between Daniel (the priest) and Benjamin (the doctor), as it definitely gave me pause to think.

The main reason I gave this book a listen was the narrator, ms. Sally Roughton. I really enjoyed her voice and delivery, mixing male and female characters, young and adult, British and Irish dialects all while keeping a nice flow and cadence. My only negative comment would be the ambiance of the room/studio. I was, at times, a little distracted by the sound reflection from, presumably, untreated walls.

Nice work!

Great book

Story was great was able to follow story line with no problems characters well defined narrator's voice was clear and smooth

Confusing

Story was complex and I found it a little hard to follow. But the different voices and accent helped keep the characters apart.

Spite

This was a really good story.People are experienceing miracle cures,only to die horribly a day later.Sally Roughton was a fine narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.'

Interesting but a bit slow in moving forward

I received this book for free. I am voluntarily posting this review and all opinions expressed herein.

What an interesting premise - people with paralysis can suddenly walk and feel fantastic only to quickly suffer from dementia like symptoms and death very soon afterwards. Overall, I found this story to be engaging but, for me, a bit slow in moving the narrative forward.

The narrator, Sally Roughton, has a very pleasant voice. For me, she narrated a bit slowly [I ended up speeding up the book]. I occasionally heard a slight hum or some background noise during the narration.

Interesting plot, but not really horror/suspense

Overall this is a fair read. The story jumped around a bit, between different character stories, but not overwhelmingly so. The narrator did a great job in voicing each character as very distinct. I thought the major plot line was well developed, and loose ends were tidied up quite well at the end. ( no spoilers here)