The Cruelty

By: Scott Bergstrom

Narrated by: Thérèse Plummer

Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

When Gwendolyn Bloom's father vanishes, she sets off on a journey she never bargained for. Traveling under a new identity in a world of assassins, spies, and criminal masterminds, she uncovers a disturbing truth. To bring her father back alive, she must become every bit as cruel as the men holding him captive.

Taken meets The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Bourne Identity in this action-packed debut thriller (optioned for film by Jerry Bruckheimer) from Scott Bergstrom.

©2017 Scott Bergstrom (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

Extremely hard to stop listening

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, It has a very fast moving story line and is hard to put down. This is the first audio book that I've listened to that I thought would make for a good movie.

What did you like best about this story?

The story line. It was very engaging and extremely difficult to put down.

Have you listened to any of Therese Plummer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, not that I'm aware of.

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

No, the whole book was like riding a roller coaster.

Any additional comments?

The only negative comment I have for this book is the name of Jesus being used in vain. This book had very little bad language in it, for which I appreciated, I'm always amazed by the authors that seem to think that adding foul language adds to their work. It doesn't, it only serves to take away from the story and alienate future customers. There are several authors, such as Baldachi, CJ Box, etc., that write exciting thrillers without using foul language.

Wonderful Adventure

I really enjoyed this book. I wondered if I would struggle with believing the protagonist Gwendolyn could do what she was doing, but the author made it believable. The narrator did a fine job of performing the voices and really delivering the emotions the characters were feeling without beingnannoying. This was a fun escape.

Not Young Adult Material

I could not finish this book because the language was so horrible. I’m shocked that it is even considered a young adult novel because I would not want my young adult reading this trash at all. It would have been so great had the author kept out at least half the language that was in the book. I’ll never know how it ended because my conscience did not feel right reading the garbage. Call me old-fashioned, but I think a book could be written without saying the F word over and over again.

Don’t get me wrong. I have read books where the F word is used quite a bit but most of that is when it is a war related book. I sort of expect that to happen with soldiers, but when something is geared toward young people, I have a problem with that.

The narrator, however; did an amazing job with all her accents. That is the only reason why I lasted as long as I did with this book.

So you want to be a spy?

Any additional comments?

For unusual reasons, this is one of the BEST spy novels I have ever encountered. It's firmly in my top 10.

The story is eerily believable, and the characters are fantastic! Narration is top notch, and I appreciated the female narrator given the female protagonist.

This tale, very unusually, gives you some idea of what it would be like to go from your normal life to full-on spy, whether you wanted to or not. "The Cruelty" refers to the cruel nature of espionage, and you feel every bit of it through the main character. I have never encountered a spy book that looks at things from this perspective. It's very well done, and the sequel is great, too. Highly recommended.

Fast paced and very entertaining

Although there were some moments that felt unbelievable, overall I really liked this book. The heroine is easy to root for and I enjoyed unraveling the mystery with her. Fast paced, intriguing and suspenseful. Looking forward to book 2!

hash tag pretentious snob

Couldn't finish: getting my credit refunded. Therese Plummer is a great narrator, but even a great narrator can't save a bad book. The plot itself was interesting, but (in my opinion) the main character was not convincing. Few teenagers, no matter how worldly or multi-lingual they are, would behave the way Gwen does. I wanted to feel outrage when the school bully called her a pretentious snob... but when I got to the part in the book where Gwen drinks some wine and realizes that it goes perfectly with her meat, I was starting to think that *maybe* the bully had a point.
By making Gwen so difficult to relate to, the author completely turned me off the story. I hope Gwen succeeds in all of her espionage endeavors, but I just don't want to hear about them.

Loved it!

Great action book! Some violence & language, but didn't bother me, I finished in just a couple days it was soo good! Def recommend to others. Can't wait for the next book!!!