Chablis from Seattle

Not for one moment do I believe.......

Revisado: 05-25-16

Would you try another book from Robert Crais and/or Ron McLarty?

Yes...I have enjoyed other Crais books..and the narrator was terrific. The problem is the lack of good pacing and editing.

Would you be willing to try another book from Robert Crais? Why or why not?

Yes...But I do not believe, for one moment, thatt the wretched LA police officers would speak so rudely to someone as well connected as Crais wants us to believe Pike and Cole were. The direct orders to include "our heroes" in the investigation are disobeyed for almost 8 chapters....boring...boring...boring.

Which character – as performed by Ron McLarty – was your favorite?

Joe PIke

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Possibly...I happen to know that screenplays don't resemble the books...which means that someone intelligent would edit the nonsense at the beginning of the story.

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Impossible to review

Revisado: 03-29-16

What would have made But Enough About Me better?

One has to be able to understand the narrator before recommendations for improvement....Burt Reynolds was one of my favorite actors, but I will avoid any book that lists him as the narrator.. Audible should be ashamed. Reynolds' diction is garbled enough that I wondered at possible substance abuse....I listen to audiobooks with ear buds, but even with increased volume, I could only understand parts of it....unfortunately the long list of high school and college fellow football players. Give me SUCH a break. Awful. I don't know where all the positive reviews came from...two of my friends found Reynolds' book to be mush-mouthed and impossible to understand. Shame on Audible.

Would you be willing to try another one of Burt Reynolds’s performances?

Never.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Love other Coben's books...Hate this one.

Revisado: 03-09-16

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The basic premise of this novel is ridiculous. The author asks us to believe that one of the victims, a gorgeous, active socialite has no one else, besides her son, to notice that she has disappeared for five days. It makes no sense...no servants, no doormen, no friends, no other relatives. Dumb. And to add that the mother is going to get married, has bought a home in Costa Rica..without telling her son..just transferring huge sums of money. What a silly plot device.
The main character, Cat, is still agonizing over the death of her father, ten years later....She is so obsessed that she is rude to her superiors, overriding direct orders, and violating regulations. Also, dumb. This is a second generation cop...I don't believe it.
Also, Cat and her friends are obnoxious, arrogant, and snobbish. They make fun of everyone except themselves. Cat is even rude and judgmental about her mother and the other "aunts" who have loved her all her life....I even disliked the author who made these older women a subject for derision and placed these young women in their arrogant mode.
I don't like Cat...or her friends...from the very beginning....even if she is smart....This is called "tone" in the lexicon...and to ignore it is poor writing.

Would you ever listen to anything by Harlan Coben again?

Sure...but not with this main character.

Which scene was your favorite?

none

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Anger and disappointment .....I generally like this author, so this isn't what I expected.

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The poorest of Robert B Parker;s novels

Revisado: 03-03-16

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I don't know

Has Death in Paradise turned you off from other books in this genre?

No..I love every one of the other Robert B Parker's books.....and I own them all. This one is full of angst about Jesse's ex--wife, a ditz who anyone can see is "using"Jjesse, his drinking, and sexual tension, which Parker generally handles with flair, but, in this book, seems crass and overplayed. The plot is cast in third place so Jesse can maunder about his past, etc...Awful!,,

Have you listened to any of Robert Forster’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Death in Paradise?

How do I count the ways.......his editor took a nap on this one. Dreadful book.

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The poorest of Robert B Parker;s novels

Revisado: 03-03-16

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I don't know

Has Death in Paradise turned you off from other books in this genre?

No..I love every one of the other Robert B Parker's books.....and I own them all. This one is full of angst about Jesse's ex--wife, a ditz who anyone can see is "using"Jjesse, his drinking, and sexual tension, which Parker generally handles with flair, but, in this book, seems crass and overplayed. The plot is cast in third place so Jesse can maunder about his past, etc...Awful!,,

Have you listened to any of Robert Forster’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Death in Paradise?

How do I count the ways.......his editor took a nap on this one. Dreadful book.

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Biggest, Greatest, Largest, Most Important.....

Revisado: 01-24-16

What disappointed you about I Blame Dennis Hopper?

Having just listened to Debbie Reynolds latest book, I was taken aback by the total self-absorption of the author. I was not familiar with the author...but I do remember that in the movie "Alive", she was not the central character, but, in this book, she is the most important member of the entire cast. And so it continued......For someone who isn't on the "A" list, her view is exceedingly limited.

Would you ever listen to anything by Illeana Douglas again?

No

Would you be willing to try another one of Illeana Douglas’s performances?

No...It seems like someone told Douglas to make her performance lively and full of personality. Half the time, her voice was shrill or cutesy; the rest of the time she was almost shouting. It was very annoying.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

The way the episodes were ordered was impossible to understand. For example, after describing the abject poverty that she endured as a child, she then glowingly describes her grandfather, Melvyn Douglas, living in luxury, surrounded by opulance and servants. Her visits with him are described as blissful, exciting, and informative. Did she never wonder why she then went home to poverty. I don't believe much of what is written. Everyone she meets from the movie world is the most...the greatest...the best....the .......and I don't for one moment believe that they all immediately took her in, gave her advice, etc......Most of the stories include people who are deceased, so who can know?

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Crudely adolescent and misogynistic

Revisado: 01-12-16

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Spade could have used adult language, lessened the incidents of 'toilet talk," I thought I might be a prude, but three adult males listened to part of the first section and just said, "Ick!"Also Spade could have included at least one positive experience with a woman. I feel sorry for his mother to have read this. Finally, I would have liked to hear more about the professional activities in his life. I enjoyed the detail about SNL...but, even during this obviously positive experience, he complains about people, whines about his treatment, and even slams Chris Farley, who led to his breakthrough,

What was most disappointing about David Spade’s story?

The crudity.....This book was a junior high version of Fast Times At...........Negativity, including his relationship with his mother, all "girls"...(He apparently doesn't meet any "women"...), all of his friends. What a huge drag.

How could the performance have been better?

Any of the above...

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The detail about his tenure at SNL was moderately interesting.

Any additional comments?

I wrote this review because all the reviews that I read downplayed the profanity, crudity, extended information about his bodily "equipment" and its specific functions. Awful.

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Great characters, good plot, but unbelievable

Revisado: 11-19-15

What did you like best about The Promise? What did you like least?

The characters are engaging...who can not enjoy the Elvis-Joe Pike relationship. But not in a million years did I believe the plot device of not informing the authorities of the collection of bomb making equipment...not on Elvis' part and certainly not on the part of the canine officer who, for the sake of some bargain made, gives up his dog...no way. Very dumb. I had a hard time listening to the end because I thought the whole plot became very contrived and not in the least believable.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The relationship between the various law enforcement authorities was interesting and the information about the way that the dogs function.

Any additional comments?

Unbelievable.

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esto le resultó útil a 8 personas

As good as Parker

Revisado: 08-10-15

If you could sum up Robert B. Parker's Wonderland in three words, what would they be?

Funny, complicated, reassuring. I love Ace Atkins' creation of Mattie, the interaction between Mattie and Spener, and the complicated plot in this book. I have read all 43 books by Robert Parker, mourned his loss, but Atkins imitated Parker's voice in an uncanny fashion. This is one of my very favorites of the Parker books.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Robert B. Parker's Wonderland?

Any of the interactions between Mattie and Spenser are delightful. The trip to the grocery store tickled me...because it skillfully moved Mattie's characterization ahead in a delightful fashion. And the ending scene at the ball game was the capstone of a terrific novel.

What does Joe Mantegna bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Only Joe Mantegna should ever read the Spenser books...Whenever another narrator attempts to take over that job, I just cringe. Mantegna is so superior that he makes anyone else sound like a bumpkin.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed out loud at the way Mattie spoke to Spenser...and I shared Susan and Spenser's anxiety about her needing to grow up so fast.

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Where is the editor?

Revisado: 08-10-15

Would you try another book from Peter Lovesey and/or Simon Prebble?

Simon Prebble is a superb narrator...and, whenever I see that he is reading a book, I am immensely cheered. I enjoy Lovesey's writing, but this book, with its changing narrators and points of view, is not his best. I was dumbfounded to read about Diamond's hospitalization with not a single mention of his wife being present....An average editor should have caught that error, given the relationship that Diamond and Stephanie apparently have;;;with her complete understanding of her husband. This was my second Lovesey book....I might try another..but not soon.

Would you recommend The Last Detective to your friends? Why or why not?

Perhaps...but I would have to add the facts that the narration skips from person to person...the absence of his wife while he is barely alive in the hospital..and the fact that, when he interrogates the suspects, I simply didn't like Diamond at all...which didn't fit with the relationship he had at the end with the suspect's son.

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