
The Secret Hour
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Narrated by:
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Christina Traister
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By:
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Luanne Rice
About this listen
Beneath his controlled demeanor, attorney John O’Rourke is a man in turmoil. Since the death of his wife, he has been juggling the rigors of a controversial capital murder case and the demands of raising two children. As 11-year-old Maggie and 14-year-old Teddy long for the past, they must also contend with the hostility that swirls around them since their father took on the defense of a despised killer - including a brick through their window one autumn morning.
But a quieter event also takes place that day. A woman arrives on the O’Rourke doorstep to find a household in chaos but brimming with love - and, she hopes, answers. Six months ago Kate Harris’s younger sister fled from home following a devastating confrontation. After mailing a single postcard from the New England shore, Willa Harris vanished. With only a postmark to go on, Kate comes to the seaside - and discovers the one man who may be able to help her....
©2003 Luanne Rice (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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sorry, boring
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The last chapter was my favorite
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Great story about a tragic condition
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The Geometry of Sisters
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Performance
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Story
After years away, Maura Shaw has returned to Newport, Rhode Island, to teach English at the academy. Behind her lies her life as the perfect Midwestern wife and mother, a life that seemed on the surface to be all she had ever wished for. That illusion vanished in a storm off Mackinac Island in the wake of an accident that engulfed Maura’s husband and her older daughter, Carrie. Now, with her son and younger daughter, she hopes to find a new beginning. Newport has never failed to infuse Maura with a sense of mystery and hope.
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Delicate Life Choices
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The Secret Language of Sisters
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When Ruth Ann (Roo) McCabe responds to a text message while she's driving, her life as she knows it ends. The car flips, and Roo winds up in a hospital bed, paralyzed. Silent. Everyone thinks she's in a coma, but Roo has locked-in syndrome - she can see and hear and understand everything around her, but no one knows it. She's trapped inside her own body, screaming to be heard.
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It is the best book EVER
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Summer Light
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Abandoned by the father of her child, May Taylor supports herself by her work as a gifter wedding planner with her best friend and great-aunt, carrying on the timeless traditions established by her grandmother and mother. She is a devoted mother to her daughter, Kylie - a very special child. For Kylie sees and hears things no one else can. Her unique visions will lead May to a love she never expected and a life she never imagined.
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Touching.
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Ever since her mother left, Maia's struggled with depression - which once got so bad, she had to go to an institution for a while. She doesn't want to go back. When Maia sets off on a road trip in search of her mom, Billy unexpectedly comes along. They drive up the East Coast, stopping along the way for lobster rolls and lighthouses. Maia learns that Billy has dark secrets of his own - and wants to outrun his past, too. But what will the future hold if they reach their destination?
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I mean it wasn't bad
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Wonderful story
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Cloud Nine
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Sarah Talbot never thought she'd live to see another birthday. But through indomitable will and expert medical care, she has beaten the cancer and reopened her bedding boutique, Cloud Nine. In celebration, Sarah's friends give her a special present: a ride over her upstate New York town in a chartered plane. It is on this flight that Sarah meets Will Burke, a former Navy pilot, whose outward confidence hides the wounds he has yet to heal.
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on second thought ....
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By: Luanne Rice
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Dream Country
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Daisy had gone to the Wyoming wilderness in search of inspiration for her art. She found rancher James Tucker, a man with the wilderness inside him. Their life together was close to paradise - until their three-year-old son Jake disappeared and was never found. Her marriage in tatters, Daisy returned home to Connecticut, taking with her from Wyoming two things: her daughter, Jake's twin, and her livelihood, the jewelry she etches with symbols of Indian legend.
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Disappointed in Dream Country
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By: Luanne Rice
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Out of Nowhere
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Story
At a Texas county fair, children’s book author Elle Portman is enjoying a rare night out with her favorite cowboy: her two-year-old son, Charlie. But just as they’re about to head home, the unthinkable happens: a shooter opens fire into the crowd, causing widespread panic to erupt all around them. Also caught in the melee is corporate consultant Calder Hudson. When he wakes up in the hospital, he's told he's lucky. Others didn't fare we well, which instills in Calder a furious determination to get justice.
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Hope you like a lot of sex
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By: Sandra Brown
What listeners say about The Secret Hour
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- melissa
- 10-09-21
love it
The story and narration were awesome! It's relaxing and some suspense at the same time. This is a combo that Luanne Rice fulfills for me every time. I'm very picky on narration and I enjoyed this so much!! No complaints and enjoyable! Will read again! Can't waif for her next series. Love her books!
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- Bette
- 03-18-13
It's a Fairy Tale...eventually
I'm a sucker for magical realism and Luanne Rice is one of the best Americans writing in that genre today. Her stories tend to be tightly crafted, her characters masterful and in each book, she creates a world of it's own with new rules for 'the way things work'.
'The Secret Hour' threw me for a loop. The story seemed to uncharacteristically meander. I kept wondering where Rice was going and why certain scenes even existed. I even began to wonder if Rice herself knew where she was going with this dull, uncompelling love story and disappearance mystery. I should have known better: near the end of the book, with one brush stroke in one scene, 'The Secret Hour' pulled itself into a tightly written, enjoyable and very adult fairy tale.
'Oh, duh”, I thought, chiding myself for doubting the author.
Narrator Christina Traister is so very good at narrative passages and so bad at male voices that I thought she was new to her craft and her talent instinctual. With a little vocal training, I thought, she'll be at the top of her game. When I looked her up, I was surprised to find 40 credits to her name and 'The Secret Hour' one of her most recent.
This isn't a book for listeners unfamiliar with Luanne Rice: it's a story that takes patience and trust. You've got to love her work to enjoy 'The Secret Hour'.
I did. In the end.
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5 people found this helpful
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- pati Canevari
- 04-12-24
Suspense and human relationships
Couldn’t put down the characters were all believable and brought you in. A twist at the end
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