Category: audio review

Vianne Rocher has long separated herself from the French Village where a Chocolate Shop changed her life as well as others who sampled the chocolates she made within that shop.  Then a letter arrives that Vianne has never expected, one that has her returning to that French Village.

When Vianne returns along with her two daughters Anouk and Rosette she finds that many changes have taken place, among them her old friend Father Francis stands accused of a crime. 

 

 

I adored Chocolat.  I loved the richness that author Joanne Harris puts into the details and the characters and having a chance to revisit these beloved people was a no brainer for me. Vianne once again carries the story along where Father Francis provides a little comic relief.

While I did not find Peaches For Father Francis as smooth or a read as Chocolat, it was still a nice visit with old friends.

Edgar Sawtelle, born mute, lives a fine life at his home in Wisconsin.  He works on the family farm training dogs.  When Claude, Edgar’s uncle and brother to his father shows up, life takes a sharp turn for Edgar.  When Edgar’s father suddenly dies, Edgar thinks something suspicious is going on.  When Edgar sees his Uncle pushing his way into the role of his father, in more ways than one, it is the final straw.

Edgar flees from the only home he has never known with his three dogs.  While away his travels cause him to grow up and prepare himself to return home and face his fathers murderer.

 

 

It’s hard to explain what I thought of this audio.  While the storyline is interesting, it felt long and not overly eventful.  As I type that this sounds harsh.  I can’t quite put my finger on why it wasn’t a great listen for me.  It is well written and an interesting synopsis.  I think there are several loop holes in the book, for instance, there is a lot of questions brought up about the dogs but it never is a completed thought. There is also a section (my favorite) where Edgar meets a man named Henry, this part of the book later to me comes into question as it felt like it was left as an unfinished segment of the story.  Or… maybe in both these cases author David Wroblewski is writing brilliantly and counting on the reader to be able to complete the thought of the unknown and I just didn’t get it :D.

Overall, certainly not a bad read, just not a “Loved it!” from me.

 

Alex has her own demons to face.  Having been dealt a hard hand in life, she decides to take a long hike up into the woods for some time alone to ponder and to take care of some unfinished business with her parents.  Her alone time dreams are brought to a stop when she meets up with an elderly gentleman and his granddaughter Ellie along the way.  Alex finds no harm in being polite and spending some time with them before being on her way.

Suddenly a flash pulses through the sky and before her eyes the elderly gentleman slumps over, dead and Alex finds herself coaxing a very scared young Ellie and her dog to join her as they try to get out of the woods and figure out what is going on. 

Along the way Alex and Ellie find that people have changed and some, not for the better.  Some teens seem to have gone mad, killing one another and Alex is not sure who she can trust.  When she meets up with Tom in a circumstance that causes her to trust him, she learns that the flash was an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that has wiped out the world’s electricity – no computer, televisions, IPODS, MP3’s, cell phones, watches, and most cars are just a sample of what has changed in the flash. 

But what is up with the changes teens, and as Alex moves forward and meets more people how does she know who she can trust in a world she no longer feels familiar with…

 

 

Yowza.  Ashes took me by surprise and pulled me right into the story.  I liked Alex and sympathized with her cause.  And this whole EMP topic, really gets you thinking. (I first read about EMP’s in One Second After). 

I listened to this one on audio and while Katherine Kellgren kept a sweet and engaging pace in her reading, her voice didn’t seem to feel right for the characters she was reading.  She has almost a sophisticated tone to her voice and right from the start it seemed off for the book, although I enjoyed the story so stuck with it and by the end it didn’t bother me so much except for the occasional screeching. (Mmmmmmm hmmmmmm screeching)

That aside, the book is fast paced and interesting.  Warning:  it does end rather suddenly and at a sort of cliff hanger moment too that can be taken as “OOOH exciting” or “What the” annoying.  I fell somewhere in the middle.  I, was surprised that it was over, even checked the audio to be sure, but curious to want to know what is next.  Thankfully, Shadows, the second book in this trilogy is out and I ordered it right away – but this time in book format.

 

June 26, 1897, New York.  A farmer in Long Island is startled when he finds that his duck pond, and his ducks are red with blood.  Meanwhile, two boys playing on a pier on the Lower East Side discover a human floating torso wrapped in oil cloth.  In Harlem, blueberry pickers find neatly severed limbs in a ditch. 

Who was this mystery man?  No witnesses… no suspects, and there was no head.

In the midst of this hideous crime two of the big media moguls Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph’s went after the media side of the case without holding back.  The headlines battled one another, reporters lurked around looking for suspects, awards were posted for the finding of the head and even children took to the streets for a chance at winning the loot.

Considering this is based on a true crime… truth really can be staggering than fiction.

In the end, what is discovered is beyond imagination for the time….

 

 

Why did I read this?  Honestly… I do not know.  I found I had downloaded it from audible.com in September and I can not recall if it was on a recommendation, a sale audio…. or what drew me too it.  But too it… I was. 

Murder of The Century was interesting.  I had not considered before what newspapers went through to get the big scoop and in this read you discover that not too much is off-limits, including one part where the one newspaper company sends all of its reporters out to cut the lines on the phone booths so when the other newspaper got there to call in their notes, they would not be able to.

As the murder unfolds and people come forward a trial starts that is also quiet interesting and eventually a solution to the crime that is both surprising and through provoking. 

My only complaint is that somewhere int he middle it bogged down…. suddenly the audio felt long and I was waiting to get interested again, which I did… but not a big fan of books or audio that drag out. 

Fans of true crime I think will enjoy this for the amazing story and a gruesome crime that is unthinkable and when you hear the motive behind it….

WOW.

During a poorly planned robbery, a store clerk is left dead.  Now the three Minnesota teens, Jimmy Sharp, Becky Welsh, and Tom McCall try again and their second victim dies in a car heist during the getaway.  With two murders under their belt, the teens sense of fear of the unknown has reached such a  level it is like an adrenaline rush.  They decide as long as they have gone this far, they might as well settle some old personal hurts. 

And the crime spree begins.

When Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Virgil Flowers comes on the scene, he walks into a case that is already a hot mess.  The teens have so far avoided getting caught leaving a wake of destruction.  While they seem to have no morals, they are not dumb.  Virgil is put in charge of the case but it is like herding cats when you try to get all the different areas of the law to play nice together.  While Virgil works to bringing in the kids alive, that is not a shared feeling throughout the investigation. 

Virgil eventually is able to make contact with one of the teens who is having second thoughts about the plans.  Now Flowers is trying to get to the teens to get them out of this mess alive, before the other arms of the law get to them first.

Hot mess is a great way to describe this one.  I think this is my first John Sanford and I was surprised at the raw bluntness of the book…. harsh words, insane and graphic acts of crime, fast paced action…  you open this read and you are thrust head long into the middle of the action and be careful not to get hit by the blood splatter. 

*whew*

I enjoyed John Sanford’s writing, and his characters even if he wrote some without a soul or a conscience.  Creepy characters are not a deal breaker for me, kids with no sense of right and wrong hit a gray area for me.  I did however like Virgil Flowers, described as an aging hippy type, log hair, flowered shirts…  he somehow alone leveled this read out bu his sense of humor and his battle against his upbringing by his Pastor Father who has given Virgil an underlying faith that even against his will, curbs his decisions.

I personally don’t think I will seek out any more of the Virgil Flowers novels, I would however like to take another look at John Sanford and see what else this great author writes.

Arlene left Alabama a long time ago and with it, a deeply buried secret.  She had made a deal with God that she had held true to these past ten years….

Then Alabama came knocking on her door in Chicago in the form of a once classmate, Rose May Lolley.  And Rose May is asking questions… questions that Arlene never wanted to have to answer and questions that have her making her way back to all she left in Alabama along with her boyfriend Burr, who has been wanting to meet Arlene’s family for a long time.

Be careful for what you wish for…

Arlene already knows her strong Southern Baptist family is going to have trouble with her African-American boyfriend, but really, Burr is the least of her worries.  Arlene’s long kept secret is starting to come to the surface and she must do everything she can to keep the past in the past, because what happened in Alabama… really needs to stay in Alabama.  Buried deep. 

Last year I listened to Joshilyn Jackson’s book Back Seat Saints on audio and really enjoyed it.  At the time I did not know that this book was actually written and published before Back Seat Saints and involves many of the same characters. 

What was fun about this book was that it took a small character (Arlene) from Back Seat Saints and made her the main protagonist.  It did not seem to make a difference that I listened to them in reverse order.  Some of the story line overlaps within the two books, as Rose May Lolley and Arlene encounter one another in the earlier book, but this is fun and interesting as while Back Seat Saints is told from Rose May’s perspective, Gods In Alabama is told from Arlene’s.  It’s hard to explain but I for one thought it was brilliant and lapped up both reads.

I listened to both on audio and audio book lovers, you are going to LOVE this narration by the author.  The fun Alabama accent with have you feeling like you are right there enjoying the down home craziness right along with them.

Seriously, a joy to read.  I had so much fun with this one and look forward to reading Joshilyn Jackson again.