The Cove

FBI Thriller #1

By: Catherine Coulter

Narrated by: Sandra Burr

Length: 11 hrs

Publisher's summary

A picturesque town. A woman on the run. An undercover agent. The first riveting novel in Catherine Coulter’s #1 New York Times bestselling FBI Thriller series.

Sally Brainerd can’t remember what happened the night her father was murdered. Maybe she did it. Or maybe it was her poor, traumatized mother. Either way, the safest place for her is far away from Washington, D.C. But while her aunt’s home in The Cove should be a quiet refuge, Sally can’t shake the feeling that there’s something not quite right about the postcard perfect little town.

Despite his target’s checkered past and convenient memory loss, FBI Special Agent James Quinlan isn’t convinced she’s the killer—but maybe she knows who is. As he uses his cover to get close to Sally and unearth the memories her mind has hidden away, James can’t deny his connection to the troubled woman. But as their lies and passions intertwine, Sally and James soon learn they aren’t the only ones keeping deadly secrets in The Cove….

Listen to another FBI Thriller.

©2006 Catherine Coulter (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A truly suspenseful romance." (Amazon.com)
"Fast-paced, solidly structured." ( Publishers Weekly)

Not for anyone sensitive about sexual violence

I'm one of those people who has a hard time with sexual violence of any kind and also with victims who are utterly betrayed by loved ones and those who say they'll protect them and keep them safe. Psychological abuse is also hard for me, too. So, I don't typically read suspense thrillers and tend to stick to romances or mysteries that mix in a good helping of humor and maybe a little romance. However, a good friend told me that she thought that I'd like the third book in this series, and being a stickler for doing things the "right" way, I decided to start with the first book, namely The Cove.

Oh, this book was so hard for me to get through because of the issues that I laid out in the first two sentences of this review. There is quite a bit of sexual abuse and emotional victimization (or maybe it just seemed like a lot to me) in a main character's past, and she was so powerless at the time to do anything about it and told that it hadn't really happened and was all in her head, it makes me sad just thinking about it. Also, even in the current timeline of the story, it's hard for her to know who she really can trust at any given moment. So, any readers who have trouble reading about this type of thing really shouldn't read this book. Maybe other readers won't feel it was as bad as this, but I was so depressed while getting through most of the book. I knew that the best thing was to see it through because my imagination would probably take it to even worse places in my mind if I didn't just find out how it all played out.

I agree with some of the other reviewers that the writing wasn't great, either. However, I've been known to forgive that before if there are other factors at times that make up for it in my eyes (such as colorful, compelling characters, great dialogue, creative twists and turns, a great love story, etc.). I don't think that I'll ever listen to this book again, even knowing how the plot resolves itself and knowing it may not be so dark and painful for me the next time because I now know the manner in which everything ends for each of the characters.

The only reason that I MIGHT re-read it is that there are characters in this book that show up and cross over with other books in the series. I just finished reading the second book in this series titled The Maze (since I'd bought the first three books in the series and am too cheap to not at least TRY to read what I've paid for), and I recommend that one. The writing still may not be Pulitzer Prize material, but I thought that it was much better and liked all but a few of the characters so much more than I did those of The Cove. Because The Maze's main characters are mostly FBI agents working together on cases, I think that gave the story-line more stability and Coulter was able to get a better handle on her plot, rather than The Cove's ever-shifting "What's going on in this sleepy, innocent little town, or am I just crazy to think that anything bad is going on?" This reminded me a bit more of the Patricia Cornwell novels that I used to read years ago, before I decided that the psychos that she tries to catch in those books were too dark and depressing for escapist reading (for me, at least). I'm hoping that the third book (which is actually the one that my friend said I should read) will be more like The Maze than The Cove.

The narrator did a good job. She can't be blamed for anything wrong with this book.

Bottom line for this review: skip this one and start with The Maze.

Kept waiting for this book to improve

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

Different narrator would help this tremendously.

Has The Cove turned you off from other books in this genre?

Yes

How could the performance have been better?

I felt the narrator did not connect with the characters.

What character would you cut from The Cove?

None

Any additional comments?

Although the story was interesting, the story never really flowed. I never felt connected to the characters in any way.

I'm sorry... but his is bad

What disappointed you about The Cove?

I know that C Coulter has a loyal following. I've even enjoyed a book or two, but... NO.. just no. This was so poorly written and so lame. Written in the voice of "Oh John... Oh, Martha" sappy romance dime novels, but pretending to be a mystery. Characters are totally unbelievable. NO one would behave that way. Dialog was so inane and the whole plot was ridiculous, a few times I wanted to bang my head on my ipod. I know you ask, then WHY did I continue to listen? I kept hoping (call me the optimist) that at some point it would take a turn and make sense or get better, or come to a conclusion that would have justified the time already invested in listening... but NO. I'm not a literature snob. In fact, I'm rather easy to entertain. I enjoy so many genres and appreciate many different writing styes. I rarely give negative reviews, fully realizing that what we enjoy is highly subjective. But, please save your money. This book is so, so very bad. I got it on sale and if not for that, I would be calling to get my money back.

Has The Cove turned you off from other books in this genre?

The genre? What genre was this exactly? It wasn't a romance novel, and sure as heck wasn't a mystery. It had no genre... maybe a comic strip

What three words best describe Sandra Burr’s performance?

Sandra was fine. She isn't responsible for bad material. Her voicing and inflections were appropriate and she did her job.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

all of the above.

Any additional comments?

Run... save your money. Don't waste your time.Not to Coulter. Please show more respect for your readers. We deserve better from you.

Stop Already

What would have made The Cove better?

Catherine constantly repeated events by having another character say / relive it. It was like she had to write a certain number of pages. BORING to the extreme .. this said, the mystery portion of the book was great. A good story.

Would you be willing to try another book from Catherine Coulter? Why or why not?

No more Coulter for me. Having never read her before, I assume she also writes romance novels.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was good, but the pace of the story was painfully slow.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Cove?

I would cut each and every time she repeated the telling of an event already explained in detail earlier.

Wow - Can't believe how bad this was!

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

A total re-write and a new narrator who at least knows when to pause for effect!

What was most disappointing about Catherine Coulter’s story?

Very amateurish - I had hoped it would get better as the story went along - but no - IT GOT WORSE!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Did not pause for effect and had little inflection.

Don't bother...

I know Catherine Coulter has a faithful following, but after forcing myself to the halfway point in this book, I don't understand why.

The characters are flat and uninteresting. The plot is utterly predictable. The writing is uninspired. I guess I could say something nice about Sandra Burr who did a reasonable job of narrating an insipid story.

Skip it.

So Awful It Was Painful!!!!

Dear Audible... can I give this book a negative rating? This book was so bad, I could barely finish it. Lame, cheesy, an insult to anyone with a few brain cells in their head, are only a few of the many ways I would describe this terrible story. Save your credits!!!!!

Pretty Awful

Cheesy romance novel vaguely disguised as a mystery. I'm really surprised this lady has sold so many books. This was my first listen/read of Coulter and will be my last.

MORE TWISTS THAN A SNAKE WITH A BELLY ACHE!

ANother fine example of how CAtherine Coulter can grab you on page one and not let you up for air till the last chapter. Suspence., humor, disgust, anger and. thrilling are just a few words to describe this storey. Its a fun ride from start to finish and the narration was an excellent asset.

HORRIBLE!

What would have made The Cove better?

Another author would have made this book better!

Any additional comments?

I have never written an audible review but had to for this book. This was the most horrible

Over the top plot and inane repetition

This was awful, the plots were laughably over the top the character motivations mind bendingly over the top and badly written. The sheer number of inane repetition of useless character facts that added nothing to the character or plot. First and last book by this author I will be reading.