L. Beach

Angus Needs Better Material

Revisado: 12-04-24

This book had a 100% predictable ending, with no decent red herrings or misdirections. The main characters are incessantly holding back bile or fighting waves of nausea. It’s like the only way this author can convey dread or disgust. Which is kind of funny to me personally because my mother always used gastric functions to denote her feelings. “I’m so angry, I could spit!” (Lord help you if you made her mad enough to vomit, but I digress.) Also, both central characters are consumed with self loathing. It’s tiresome. I might be more inclined to tolerate all that angsty angst if the story had any depth whatsoever. The singular bright spot is the potential love interest of the lead. She’s an interesting character. Angus King is magnificent and can do no wrong, but he deserves better stories to narrate.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Carson Continues to Disappoint Across the Board

Revisado: 09-05-24

This review is of the series overall. Harry was engaging as an officer and the first couple of books were pretty good. The more Carson writes of this character, the worse the books get. He kills off people who don't need to be killed off, and has, obviously, never heard of the writing concept of the "economy of characters." He has so many DCIs and DIs and DSs and DCs coming together from different areas in Scotland that it's hard to keep up with who is who and why they are even there. The books are also exceedingly short compared to others and the denouement often involves someone you haven't even heard of yet. (I know, let's add yet another character!) Too many characters and not enough decent material. I stuck with it as long as I did because Angus King, but even precious Angus can't rescue this series.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Couldn't Finish It, So Tedious.

Revisado: 05-31-24

I returned it. It was boring. Really, really boring.

The only thing that made it even remotely bearable was the narrator who sounds a lot like Shaun Evans from Endeavor.

***SPOILER AHEAD*** Main character has some sort of disease that makes it difficult or unsafe for him to be around others if he might get injured. I can only imagine this is supposed to be HIV. (Or hepatitis which I am guessing most first responders are vaccinated against). I can only IMAGINE it being HIV b/c the author never says. Just tediously drones on with these intermittents segments of, "What if I get injured on the job?" angst.

This is a MODERN novel, In 2023 the NIH reported 95% of people on treatment reached viral suppression. NINETY-FIVE PERCENT!!! With modern therapies, his viral load could be so low that a workplace mishap wouldn't even matter. I mean, for Pete's sake, Jeanie Boulet on ER had HIV and that was in the 90s and they still let her work.

I am a healthcare professional and this level of ignorance is beyond annoying. Get a grip. Rhys Dylan. Do some reseach.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Too Short

Revisado: 12-10-23

I have listened to this series and the books are always a lot shorter that other audiobooks, but this one was ridiculous. I even had to rewind a couple of times b/c I thought I had missed a chapter or two. The "big twist" is just revealed with no little lead up clues or red herrings like one might find in a NORMAL book. Oh, so it's NOT the creepy neighbor, or I thought for SURE it as going to be the weird Superintendent! No misdirects, nothing. Just BAM! This is what's up. I am on the next book now and it is just as short and just as bad. Do better John Carson. Angus King's amazing narration deserves better quality to perform.

There are also a plot (?) element with which I vehemently disagreed.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Ugh

Revisado: 02-27-23

I enjoyed all of the books in this series prior to this one, but this one is tedious and boring, and not because of the poetry. I might have enjoyed it had the narrator not been absolutely abysmal. Her voice is, for lack of a better word before I’ve had my coffee, “snooty.” And not because she’s British. I am American but listen almost exclusively to British authors and narrators. Her voice is just uppity, like she’s serving you tea, merely because it’s the polite thing to do, but she wants you beheaded because you got a cake crumb on your lap. She also does very little to distinguish the characters. It’s more of a “read by” than “performed by.” I hate when authors of a series switch narrators. It ruins the whole flow of the series.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

And They Would’ve Gotten Away With It, If Not For You Lousy Kids

Revisado: 09-14-22

Honestly, this could’ve been a short story. I swear, the villain’s final speech was lifted straight from a Scooby Do episode. Halfway decent plot, revealed too quickly. The narrator is above reproach, however. I would listen to Angus King read a CVS receipt.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Cerebral and Compelling, Lackluster Ending.

Revisado: 05-25-21

I liked this. Sort of. I mistakenly listened out of sequence b/c I thought I had already listened to Song of the Dead, which is the first in the Westphall series. In both books, the protagonist is VERY MUCH INSIDE HIS OWN HEAD. Like ALL THE TIME. So if that's not your thing, I suggest finding another book. He's also depressed, and somehow this is a super power that allows him to have some kind of special sensory perception about sad people.

*spoilers below*

And dead people. And sad dead people. There are a few actual ghosts that he regularly converses with in a very M. Night Shyamalan kind of way. At times I found myself wondering who was real and who was a ghost.

The "mystery" here is very compelling. Trying to figure out how and why what was done was done kept me listening (or was that Angus King?) But then in the end it was like, "Oh, that." So it was kind of a flat and rather expected resolution in my opinion. I was actually a little pissed off that it had been so interesting and so compelling and then it was like *fzzzzt*.

Since I am hopeliessly in love with narrator Angus King , consider that as you read any review I write on a book he reads. It could be crap and I wouldn't know. I would literally listen to him read the ingredients on every cereal box in the store.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

Love Logan; Not My Favorite Story; Senseless Loss

Revisado: 04-13-21

I love Logan and his crew and these books are hilarious at times. The author usually does a good job in most of this series balancing dark and light. In this particular book, there was way too much dark and not enough light. **SPOILER ALERT** Too many senseless deaths just to illustrate how evil "Mr. Whisper" truly was. It wasn't really necessary to kill Ben's wife or sexually assault Logan's daughter. Too much violence and vendetta and ruined relationships that were already strained. To the point of it almost being ridiculous. Like, "What now?!?!" ridiculous.

And, to be fair, I would listen to Angus King read an HVAC manual, so there's also that to consider.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Pretty good story; Fantastic narrator.

Revisado: 09-26-19

This was very good. The protagonist is immediately likable and interesting, but at the same time a no-nonsense cop. The story developed at a good pace and the ending was not terribly predictable, although I did feel it was a little rushed. Like they went from clueless to A-ha! in 30 seconds and then everything just tumbled together in a hurry.

I didn't find it to be any more gratuitously violent than any normal police drama on TV, (E.G. Bones. There is some SUPER gross stuff on Bones and this book doesn't even come close to that level) Murder generally produces a corpse. So you can pretty much bet on there being at least one dead body in a murder mystery. If that's a problem, maybe this isn't your genre.

There was NO sex, gratuitous or otherwise and this I greatly appreciate. It's rarely important to the plot anyway, So refreshing not to have the male detective trying to get with the female detective or vice versa. Instead, they focused on solving the actual crime. Amazing.

But if I'm being 100% honest, the narrator sealed the deal for me. He could have been reading from the dictionary and I would have listened to it.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 82 personas

WORST. NARRATOR. EVER.

Revisado: 12-13-18

At what point in time did Harry Bosch become McGruff the Crime dog? This narrator is terrible. Just terrible. And the story is so so. Connelly has done better.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 7 personas