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Showing posts with label Penguin Random House Audio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Penguin Random House Audio. Show all posts

Thursday, May 31, 2018

#Audiobook #Review: 5 out of 5 stars for A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena @sharilapena @taviagilbert @PRHAudio

AUTHOR: Shari Lapena
NARRATOR: Tavia Gilbert
PUBLISHER: Penguin Random House Audio
PUBLICATION DATE: August 15, 2017
FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook
LENGTH: 8 hrs and 52 mins
GENRE: Mystery
ISBN: 9780525498544
In this neighborhood, danger lies close to home. A domestic thriller packed full of secrets, and a twisty story that never stops--from the bestselling author of The Couple Next Door.

He looks at her, concerned. "How do you feel?" She wants to say, Terrified. Instead, she says, with a faint smile, "Glad to be home."

Karen and Tom Krupp are happy--they've got a lovely home in upstate New York, they're practically newlyweds, and they have no kids to interrupt their comfortable life together. But one day, Tom returns home to find Karen has vanished--her car's gone and it seems she left in a rush. She even left her purse--complete with phone and ID--behind.

There's a knock on the door--the police are there to take Tom to the hospital where his wife has been admitted. She had a car accident, and lost control as she sped through the worst part of town.

The accident has left Karen with a concussion and a few scrapes. Still, she's mostly okay--except that she can't remember what she was doing or where she was when she crashed. The cops think her memory loss is highly convenient, and they suspect she was up to no good.

Karen returns home with Tom, determined to heal and move on with her life. Then she realizes something's been moved. Something's not quite right. Someone's been in her house. And the police won't stop asking questions.

Because in this house, everyone's a stranger. Everyone has something they'd rather keep hidden. Something they might even kill to keep quiet.
MY REVIEW:

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook for voluntary review consideration.

I love a good psychological thriller that keeps me guessing, and this one absolutely fit the bill for me!

The prologue features a frightened woman who runs out of an abandoned restaurant. In her haste to get away, she loses control of her car and runs into a pole.

As the story begins, Tom Krupp is returning home from work and finds that his wife's car is not there. The door is unlocked, and her purse and cell phone are there. It appears that she had been in the middle of making supper when she had to dash out. Tom is befuddled because this is so unlike his wife. 

An officer comes to the Krupp home to tell Tom that his wife was in an accident and that she is in the hospital. She is a bit banged up, but she will recover. The worst of it is that she has amnesia and cannot remember the events surrounding the incident.

A murder in the area where Karen had the accident causes the police to look further into her past to see if there's a connection. Karen starts to become unglued, and she is certain that someone has been in the house and has moved stuff around. 

Wow, I just loved this book! It was a real page turner, and I loved how Lapena developed the story where everyone looked like a suspect. There are secrets, secrets, and more secrets! Everyone is hiding something, and the story is told from multiple points of view.

Lapena is a new-to-me author, and I am always thrilled to find a new Canadian author to love! Now I have to go back and read her debut, The Couple Next Door.

Tavia Gilbert is a favourite narrator of mine. She's always a pure delight to listen to, and she will make it difficult for you to stop listening! Here is a sample of the narration:



MY RATING:

5 stars!! I loved it, and you should definitely put it on your TBR if you enjoy mysteries. Thanks again to Penguin Random House Audio for the opportunity to review this audiobook!

This book qualifies as:

Thursday, May 24, 2018

#Audiobook #Review: 4 out of 5 stars for The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor @cjtudor @PRHAudio

TITLE: The Chalk Man
AUTHOR: C.J. Tudor
NARRATOR: Euan Morton
PUBLISHER: Penguin Random House Audio
PUBLICATION DATE: January 9, 2018
FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook
LENGTH: 8 hrs and 39 mins
GENRE: Mystery
ISBN: 9780525526384
In 1986, Eddie and his friend are just kids on the verge of adolescence. They spend their days biking around their sleepy little English village and looking for any taste of excitement they can get. The chalk men are their secret code; little chalk stick figures they leave for each other as messages only they can understand. But then a mysterious chalk man leads them right to a dismembered body, and nothing will ever be the same.

In 2016, Eddie is fully grown, and thinks he's put his past behind him. But then he gets a letter in the mail, containing a single chalk stick figure. When it turns out his other friends got the same messages, they think it could be a prank... until one of them turns up dead. That's when Eddie realizes that saving himself means finally figuring out what really happened all those years ago.

Expertly alternating between flashbacks and the present day, The Chalk Man is the very best kind of suspense novel, one where every character is wonderfully fleshed out and compelling, where every mystery has a satisfying payoff, and where the twists will shock even the savviest reader.
MY REVIEW:

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook for voluntary review consideration.

This book has been on my radar ever since I saw Stephen King's tweet recommending this book. I really enjoyed this debut, and I would definitely read more from this author.

The prologue starts off very creepy, with an unnamed person finding a girl's head on a pile of leaves and putting it in a bag that already contained pieces of chalk. The police find the dismembered body of the girl, but not the head.

The story is told from the point of view of Eddie, with the timeline moving from the present day (2016) to the past (1986). One of Eddie's childhood friends comes back into his life after 30 years, and he tells Eddie that he wants to write a book about the tragedy that happened back in 1986 when the kids were 12 years old. They get together one evening at Eddie's house, but his friend never makes it back to the hotel. His body is found in the river.

Tudor unravels the past while simultaneously doling out pieces in the present to connect the two time periods. There is much more going on than first meets the eye, and it seems like every person has a dark side!

Euan Morton is a great narrator, and he made me feel the intensity of Eddie's emotions. He had me caught up in all the drama, and it was a pleasure to listen to him. Here is a sample of the narration:



MY RATING:

4 stars!! It was really good, and you should put it on your TBR if you enjoy mysteries. Thanks again to Penguin Random House Audio for the opportunity to review this audiobook!

This book qualifies as:

Friday, March 23, 2018

#Audiobook #Review: 3 out of 5 stars for Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs @Mercys_Garage @PRHAudio

TITLE: Burn Bright
SERIES: Alpha & Omega, Book #5
AUTHOR: Patricia Briggs
NARRATOR: Holter Graham
PUBLISHER: Penguin Random House Audio
PUBLICATION DATE: March 6, 2018
FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook
LENGTH: 9 hrs and 47 mins
GENRE: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
ISBN: 9781524756727
The latest thrilling and emotional Alpha and Omega novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Mercy Thompson series.

Charles Cornick is the son of the leader of the North American werewolves--and his father's enforcer. Anna Latham, a rare Omega wolf with a calming presence, is his mate. They go where they are needed, handling problems in werewolf packs throughout the country. But this time, the danger is closer to home, as an enemy armed with witchcraft threatens Charles and Anna's own pack.
MY REVIEW:

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook for voluntary review consideration.

The Alpha & Omega series has been one of my favourite. While I did enjoy the fifth installment of this series, it was my least favourite of the bunch.

Bran is away on business, so Charles is in charge. He receives a call from Jonesy, one of the Wildlings in the mountains, asking him to come because something has happened. A group of men tried to kidnap his mate, Hester, and it appears that someone from within the Aspen Creek pack is working with them. Charles and Anna work together to help Jonesy and also to uncover what is happening.

I love Charles and Anna, but this story was less about them and more about the Wildlings and their history. Jonesy is a fae, and I loved learning about his dark magic. Charles and Anna show how beautifully they work together, with her power as an Omega and his Witchborn/Shaman abilities and power as the Enforcer. In the earlier books, Briggs often focused on the relationship between the couple but that was not present here so that was something that I missed. And Bran...his behaviour was so unlike him! After he finished up his business, he took another week off for personal reasons and we find out later that he knew all along that there was trouble within the pack and he intentionally stayed away so that Charles would be forced to deal with it instead of him. What?! This is not the Marrok that I know and love, and I thought this was completely out of character for him.

Can I just say that the artwork on this cover is just gorgeous! Whoever is designing the covers for this series has mad talent, and I love each and every one so far.

Holter Graham is a fabulous narrator! Sometimes, when a narrator is a great fit to a series, I don't wish to read the books any other way except on audio. Graham does that for this series. It's been a while since I listened to other books in this series, but I do believe that Graham's vocalization for Asil was a bit off. I preferred how Graham portrayed Asil in earlier books, and my only complaint with Graham is the lack of consistency with the characters. In looking back to my reviews for the previous books in this series, I mentioned that Graham changed up the vocalizations for other characters as well (see my review for the second book in the series, Hunting Ground). Here is a sample of the narration:



MY RATING:

3 stars!! It was good, and I enjoyed it. Thanks again to PRH Audio for the opportunity to review this audiobook.

This book qualifies as:

Friday, December 15, 2017

#Audiobook #Review: 2 out of 5 stars for Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty @PRHAudio

AUTHOR: Liane Moriarty
NARRATOR: Caroline Lee
PUBLISHER: Penguin Random House
PUBLICATION DATE: July 29, 2014
FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook
LENGTH: 15 hrs and 56 mins
GENRE: Mystery, Contemporary Fiction
Coming July 29, 2014, the new novel from Liane Moriarty, number-one New York Times best-selling author of The Husband's Secret.

"What a wonderful writer - smart, wise, funny." (Anne Lamott)

Pirriwee Public's annual school Trivia Night has ended in a shocking riot. One parent is dead. The school principal is horrified. As police investigate what appears to have been a tragic accident, signs begin to indicate that this devastating death might have been cold-blooded murder.

In this thought-provoking novel, number-one New York Times best-selling author Liane Moriarty deftly explores the reality of parenting and playground politics, ex-husbands and ex-wives, and fractured families. And in her pitch-perfect way, she shows us the truth about what really goes on behind closed suburban doors.

MY REVIEW: 

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook for voluntary review consideration.


This story starts off with a tragic death at a children’s school that occurs during a parents’ fundraising event. Then the storyline moves back six months and is told through multiple perspectives until the unfortunate night in question until all is finally revealed.

I did so want to like this book. I love murder mysteries, and I also enjoy when stories are told in this manner. However, this just wasn’t my cup of tea. I found the characters to be too whiny and self-absorbed, and how the parents behaved towards each other was reminiscent of high school cliquish behavior. When the timeline finally came back to the evening of the murder, I actually enjoyed finding out how everything transpired but it wasn’t enough for me to bump it up to another star. I wish the entire book was as good as the ending, but it just wasn’t for me. It was too light on the actual mystery part and had too much gossip and drama for my liking.

Caroline Lee is a new-to-me narrator, and I think she portrayed the characters well because most of them were whiney and grating which is true to how their personalities were described! I will assume that this was the narrator’s intent. Unfortunately, for me, it made it tough to listen to. Here is a sample of the narration:



MY RATING:


2 stars!! Meh, it was just "okay." Thanks to Penguin Random House Audio for the opportunity to review this audiobook!

This book qualifies as:
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