The Lake of Dead Languages

By: Carol Goodman

Narrated by: Vivienne Benesch

Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Twenty years ago, Jane Hudson fled the Heart Lake School for Girls in the Adirondacks after a terrible tragedy. The week before graduation, three lives were taken, all victims of suicide. Only Jane was left to carry the burden of a mystery that has stayed hidden for more than two decades. 

Now, Jane has returned as a Latin teacher, recently separated and hoping to make a fresh start with her young daughter. But ominous messages from the past dredge up forgotten memories. Once again, young, troubled girls are beginning to die.

©2002 Carol Goodman (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Love Goodman’s books...minor complaints

This book and Goodman’s others are worth a credit for sure. I can’t wait for more to be released. The writing is beautiful and the characters real.

My only complaints, and I leave these more for the author than other readers, are regarding plot aspects that reveal a lack of the authors’ knowledge OR her desire to create suspense using the following (which I find unnecessary as the storylines are brilliant without these added/undeveloped qualities):

1. The heroine is sometimes weak and unable to see obvious dangers such as characters with malicious intent. A character always demonstrating crappy judgment makes question whether I want her to survive her ordeal. Survival of the fittest, after all.

2. Some of the plots and powers of antagonists are antiquated and don’t match modern day legalities which detracts from the believability. Just speaking generally about the books of Goodman’s I have read, patient confidentiality is not considered. Police protocol is not researched and demonstrated. The heroine is often left helpless when in reality, antagonists’ behaviors cross lines into obvious professional misconduct that no one would turn a blind eye to. Husbands are able to lock up their wives in mental institutions—a true horror and threat to women 50 years ago but not actually plausible now. I am annoyed by the helplessness and sycophantic behaviors of these characters—it gives me stress to read about people so helpless and reliant upon others for their survival.

Again, the writing is brilliant and the narrator excellent.

When will it end?

It just went on and on, but never seemed to get anywhere. Too much detail of things that were unimportant to the story. The flow between the past and present wasn’t always clear. The use of given names and Greek Goddess names for the same characters made it difficult, at times, to know who was who. The narrator was “okay.” Her voice/inflections, I felt, were sometimes not accurate to the situations. I tried not to mind, but she does sound a bit nasally and sounds as if she’s clenching her back teeth when she pronounces her “sh/ch” consonant blends; it was more pronounced when listening through earbuds. Every time she says “Crevecoeur,” it sounds as if she has a mouthful of phlegm, which isn’t pleasant when that’s heard in the middle of a softly-read sentence. (Not her fault, though.) I kept wanting to quit it, but I hate not reading or listening to books until the end. It finally became genuinely entertaining around the 28th chapter, though by then, the ending wasn’t a surprise. So many books out there that are much better and more worth my time.

Yasss!

Amazing! I loved this book! I couldn't stop listening. Carol Goodman is my favorite author!!!

Absolutely LOVED this book!

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes psychological thrillers! It’s a fabulous story-one that you don’t want to end!

Disappointing..

I'm sorry, I thought it was boring. I tried for several hours and just didn't find it interesting at all. I couldn't finish it. I will be returning it.

For "Latin" lovers!

Beautifully written, but longer than it needed to be. Excellent evocation of teen angst and boarding school drama.
The narrator held steady, but... her cadences are peculiar, some pronunciations are wrong, and worst: she telegraphs who the villain is with a vocal choice, making it easy to know whodunnit much too early in the story.

if you are patient you may like this?

I skipped multiple chapters from the floral text and long winded story. so at about chapter 12 to 20 I skipped and the next 15 chapters still made perfect sense. if you have a good imagination, like me, try and not think deeply. its exactly what you think it is and no big surprises. Just glad it was free for me!

The Lake ofbDead Languages.

The book started out pretty good. I felt like the ending started about the middle of the book and kept revealing one secret after another to the point it was just ddddrrrraaaagggggiiiinnnngggg on...and onnn
I did like the Narrator.

Not Your Typical Lighthearted Fiction

I listened to this as part of a book club. When this book was described to me, I assumed it was going to much like other fiction I read, but this was far from true. This story is anything but lighthearted. It is intricate and dark and twisted and creepy. I enjoyed the writing and the performance. The story was riveting at points, making my commutes go by quickly.
#funkyfiction #creepy #violent #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

A School Mystery

A twisted tale of the past returning to impact the present
This was an enjoyable read