The Taster

By: V. S. Alexander

Narrated by: Carol Monda

Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

Amid the turbulence of World War II, a young German woman finds a precarious haven closer to the source of danger than she ever imagined - one that will propel her through the extremes of privilege and terror under Hitler's dictatorship.

In early 1943, Magda Ritter's parents send her to relatives in Bavaria, hoping to keep her safe from the Allied bombs strafing Berlin. Young German women are expected to do their duty - working for the Reich or marrying to produce strong, healthy children. After an interview with the civil service, Magda is assigned to the Berghof, Hitler's mountain retreat. Only after weeks of training does she learn her assignment: she will be one of several young women tasting the Führer's food, offering herself in sacrifice to keep him from being poisoned.

Perched high in the Bavarian Alps, the Berghof seems worlds away from the realities of battle. Though terrified at first, Magda gradually becomes used to her dangerous occupation - though she knows better than to voice her misgivings about the war. But her love for a conspirator within the SS and her growing awareness of the Reich's atrocities draw Magda into a plot that will test her wits and loyalty in a quest for safety, freedom, and, ultimately, vengeance.

Vividly written and ambitious in scope, The Taster examines the harrowing moral dilemmas of war in an emotional story filled with acts of extraordinary courage.

©2018 V.S. Alexander (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

A MUST READ!!!!!

OMG!!!! The Taster should be mandatory reading for every person today. This book does a phenomenal job of showing what can happen when people are complacent and desperate. Even good people can be misguided and do horrific things and with the right tools evil can be brought out of almost anybody. V.S. Alexander really brings the reader into the mindset of 1940s Germany and shines light on how something as bad as the Holocaust came to be and could come again. This book changed how I look at the world and I hope I always have the guts to speak up when I see wrong in the world.

16 of 17 people found this review helpful

Good story but I didn't like the narration.

The plot moves at a good pace and has several compelling moments. At times though, there are sudden jumps in the character conflict that made me feel as if I had accidentally fast-forwarded through a chapter. I think I would have liked this book more if I had read instead of listened to it. The narrator's voice is raspy and grated on my ears.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Captivating

Unlike a few other reviewers I found the narration to be very good. I read WWII often. This was a great story of a servant working as a poison taste tester for Hitler and others in leadership positions.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A star above mediocre, but the reader just 2 stars

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Not this book. As far as audiobooks go if the narrator isn’t good it ruins the book.

Would you be willing to try another book from V. S. Alexander? Why or why not?

Perhaps with a different reader.

How could the performance have been better?

Carol Monda just couldn’t get the German accent to sound like a German accent. So many times it sounded like the character was grunting more than speaking. She only had one German accent for all characters

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Didn't enjoy

I was surprised when I did not enjoy this book. The first maybe 1/4 was okay but then I was surprised how bad it got. I could not figure out the point. I actually found myself rolling my eyes while listening. I will be returning.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

A riveting story of human tragedy and survival.

This book truly captures a story of people caught in a deadly time in history.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Odd ending

Love historical fiction, while I know not all details are alway true, usually they have enough mix of historical fact to make it believable. This book however took a weird turn and I felt the last 25% of the book was a bit ridiculous., (Spoiler alert!!) the premise that the taster shot hitler and her was hiding out at her aunt and uncles house was weird. Is as if the end of the book was written to hurry up and finish the story as dramatic as possible.

Never read a book from a person inside hitlers lair

I can’t say enough good things about this audio. My only regret is not getting it much sooner. Heartbreaking and triumphant I really loved the protagonist. Even though I have read many many world war 2 books this one was really informative about the Interworking of hitlers residents. DONT MISS THIS ONE PLEASE

A must read

I rarely write reviews but when a book is as good as this I have to share. This was one of those books you can't stop reading or in this case listening. It was engaging right from the start and the narration was also excellent! Incredible story from this young girls perspective and a rare glance into the inner circle of Hitler. I felt like I was there! I can't imagine not liking this book.

Prior reviewers require English writing lessons

The novel represents historical fiction at it’s best with necessary patches of doubtful historical fact. This said, I have not previously read any accounts focusing on the role of tasters.And credit is due to the narrator.The task is challenging but I thought that the net effect did justice to the author’s intended goal.
When reviewers use terms such as ‘bad’or’lousy’ or even plain ‘Good’ without further descriptors I am inclined to take a pass on the merit of the review. The paucity of adequate language evident in the most of the reviews doesn’t surprise me I look forward to you editors comments.