Celeste Albers

Wonderful production

Revisado: 02-16-25

I’m a long time Christie fan and I thoroughly enjoyed this audio play. It didn’t matter that I knew the story; I was carried along as Hercule Poirot engaged his little gray cells.

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Masterful

Revisado: 02-09-25

This is a work that deserves the highest possible rating. It will remain with me for a long time and I will most certainly listen again.
The writing and narration were superb. The listener is drawn in completely and travels along with the compelling cast of characters. There are scenes of terror, greed, violence and hatred; but there is also, bravery, strength, compassion, friendship, love and sacrifice.
This is a story that needed to be told and it was masterfully executed

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Fabulous

Revisado: 01-23-25

This story did not at first grab me-if you are a few hours in and on the fence, keep listening!
This is a complex story about love, hate, family, revenge and redemption with surprising twists and turns. It is well written and excellently narrated.
I will not forget The Outlaw Duchess Day Radley

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Decent legal drama

Revisado: 09-29-24

I enjoyed it, but certainly won’t listen/read again. It kept my attention but, as others have pointed out, the ending was weak. I too figured out “who done it”, but the author did a poor job by not revealing the motive
Small side note-another reviewer pointed out inaccuracies in court proceedings and stated that the jury never selects the foreperson. That is not true; I have served on the jury for more than one criminal case and we the jury selected the foreperson on the first day as instructed by the judge.

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An incredible portrayal

Revisado: 09-13-24

of an amazing woman’s life. I was engaged and, well, entranced from start to finish. I felt saddened when it ended, not because of the way that it ended but because I will miss its company. Superbly written and narrated.

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Slow to hook me

Revisado: 04-22-24

So many love this narrator and I did come to enjoy her portrayal of the different character voices, but boy she bugged me at first!
This story is very slow to unfold; I left it for something else more than once.
I kept coming back, though, and I’m glad that I did.
The ending was satisfying (I sort of figured it out but the puzzle and its resolution was way more complicated than I expected!)
I came to care for the characters and the places which they inhabited. Overall, a good experience

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Sad

Revisado: 12-17-23

Don’t push play if you’d rather not listen to graphic sex and the exploitation of one woman by another
That’s an hour plus of my life that I’ll not get back

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Beautiful and real

Revisado: 10-25-23

I’m so happy that I listened to this novel; I may not have finished the written book. I took a break not quite halfway through and am so glad I picked it back up.
Meryl Streep’s reading/performance was excellent. I didn’t hear “her”-she embodied the characters perfectly.
I may be the only late middle aged woman in America who has never seen the play, “Our Town”, and now don’t need to ;) Perhaps that is why I needed the break.
Ann Patchett portrays the relationships between mother and daughter, woman and man with loving care and honesty. She also displays an understanding of farm life that surprised me. There are passages in this book that are quite profound.
I’m glad to have experienced this story.

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If only…

Revisado: 01-13-23

If only this story was as good as it could be.
If only it had been read by a better narrator.
It has so much potential and I wanted so much to enjoy it.
So many times I found myself thinking, “could this book really have been written by the person who wrote “The Nightingale” & “The Great Alone” (two of my favorite books)?”
The answer to that question is, “yes, but”
Magic Hour was written 9 years before The Nightingale, 11 years before The Great Alone, which explains a lot. Kristen Hannah was growing into the skilled novelist that she has become. I can’t help but wish that she had re-written this story before it was published again under the title “Wild”.

There are many reviews posted that are critical of the narrator, Suzanne Toren. I gave her two stars because she read it well enough that I didn’t turn it off (although there were times when I put it aside in exasperation!).

The little girl voice given to big sister POLICE CHIEF Ellen/Ellie was particularly hard to take. But it’s not just the voice given her-this character was very poorly drawn-entirely too shallow and really just a caricature. By the time she “changed” I hardly cared.

Truly horrible was the voicing of George. He is described as a devastatingly handsome man with a Louisiana bayou drawl but he sounds like Boris Carloff!! Just no no no!

All in all this book was just okay. I finished it and that’s about it, won’t read the hard copy and most certainly will never listen again.

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Bravo

Revisado: 01-06-23

Hilary and Ben together breathe new life into an old story that you may think you know.
This trilogy is so well written and performed; I truly felt that I was dropped into the middle of it.
I enjoyed immensely the bonus conversation between Hilary Mantel & Ben Miles-be sure to continue listening, it’s not to be missed.
I’m almost ready to begin the journey again…

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