Great story, annoying characterizations.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No, the voice actor did such a horrible job personifying characters that I couldn't wait for the recording to be over. I contemplated just reading it, but since I had already purchased the audio book, I just kept going with it.

What did you like best about this story?

The story was great and is very necessary to read the follow up "HIDE." Great plot twists.

How could the performance have been better?

The performer made Bobby Dodge sound like 65 year old moron from South Boston. I understand that she was trying to lay on the Boston accent thick, but it came along with making him sound like a big dumb oaf throughout, and having read other Lisa Gardner books, I know that this was not the intention for Bobby Dodge. She also made D.D. sound much too prissy compared to every other audiobook performer I have heard. I am so glad that they changed performers in the other books.

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

Yes

38 people found this helpful

Terrible narrator, unsympathetic characters

I usually enjoy Lisa Gardner's work, but I gave up on this one just over halfway through. First of all, this is some of the worst audiobook narration I've ever heard. I've heard Anna Fields before, and she was competent, but this is cringeworthy. Her attempt at male characters reminded me of adolescent girls pretending to be men while making prank calls. Plus, all the men seemed to have slurred speech. She attempts to do a Boston accent with the character of Bobby (the only character with a Boston accent in a book full of Boston natives), but it comes and goes, and is never effective.

The story seemed intriguing at first -- top-notch sniper saves the lives of a mother and child in a hostage situation, but finds himself accused in a murder plot -- but became so implausible that it got tedious. The femme fatale Catherine is supposed to have such beauty and sex appeal that men abandon their senses, morals and good judgment at a single glance. She's written like a really bad cartoon character. The sniper Bobby, whom I've enjoyed in other Gardner novels, completely lacks common sense in this one. Hard to believe that a supposedly smart suspended cop runs around interrogating witnesses, showing up at crime scenes and doing just about everything that could incriminate him.

And the idea that virtually everyone is prepared to ignore the facts of the case -- armed man is shot after pointing gun at woman's head -- in favor of some bizarre conspiracy theory just gets silly after a while.

I am not usually this negative about an audiobook, but this one made me angry that I had wasted so much time in hopes that it would get better.

22 people found this helpful

Couldn't

Couldn't get deeper than the first half hour. Irritating narrator voice, no emotion. After half an hour I was no more engaged than I was before I downloaded it.

19 people found this helpful

I know I'm not Alone . . .

. . . when I say that this audiobook was a delight. I am a fan of Gardner's and she does not disappoint on this book. I wasn't very impressed with the reader, but definitely like the book. Also, if you haven't read it yet, do read The Killing Hour and The Next Accident, Killing Hour is outstanding five stars!

57 people found this helpful

Good story !

the story was really good ! the narrator trying to do a man voice was very distracting for me. Trying entirely to hard . that is the only thing stopping me from giving it 5 stars. I am really enjoying this author’s work

7 people found this helpful

Beginning of the Detective D.D. Warren series

Alone was released in 2005; since then 7 more DD Warren novels have followed. When I find an author I really like I tend to accumulate all of his or her novels. Lisa Gardner is such an author. Certainly Alone is a police/crime thriller but it is also a psychological thriller. It is NOT the best novel in the series, but it is excellent. The Detective DD Warren series is the most popular of those written by Gardner, but I believe it is the third best. My favorite is the Tessa Leoni series which is set in Boston/New England like the DD Warren series. The second best in the FBI Thriller series (not classified as a series by Audible) which is set first in Oregon and later in Atlanta. The books in the DD Warren series need not be read in order. (Note: Audible lists books written by Gardner using the pen name Alicia Scott under her name. Those are old romance novels she wrote early in her career.)

21 people found this helpful

Narration ruined the story

Having purchased countless books from Audible, I should know by now that when there are more than a couple of reviews stating the narration is awful on a book, I should pay attention! I LOVE Lisa Gardner, was hoping for the best, despite previous reviews stating the narration by Anna Fields is awful. Sadly, I have to agree. Her monotone, deadpan voice ruined any desire to keep listening before the second chapter was half-way through. I really wanted and tried to take in the story, but my mind kept wandering, as her voice nearly put me to sleep. I've purchased other Lisa Gardner audible books, narrated by other people, which are awesome, riveting, fantastic.

41 people found this helpful

Another Triumph for Lisa Gardner! :)

I thought that this was a great read! The characters are complex and well developed, the story line has enough twists to keep the reader guessing! I thought the ending was a bit open but I can understand why it was ended that way. All in all a great book! I too have read The Killing Hour and The Next Accident and loved them both! Anna Fields did a great job reading the book as well!

20 people found this helpful

Excited to read the whole series...

My young adult daughter recommended this series to me. We have the same taste and even though I usually don't read "detective" novels, I really enjoyed this one and plan to listen to them all. I agree with other reviewers that the narrator was not right for this book. She didn't have a lot of range. I couldn't always tell who was "talking" or "thinking" but the thrill of the book helped me overlook that. I'd recommend this book.

10 people found this helpful

NARRATION IS HORRIBLE

I LOVE Lisa Gardner's later books of this same series. I was so excited to know that it was a longer series and I could start from the beginning. I CANNOT with this narrator. She's flat and stilted and very annoying to listen to. I don't even know what happens in the book because I got 1 hour in and my ears just couldn't handle it. I'm so glad they changed the narration later in the series cause the stories are so good!

3 people found this helpful