Perplexed over other reviews about the narrator

I was surprised at the negative reviews of the narration of this book. I've listened to a number books narrated by Barbara Rosenblat and have always been impressed by her interpretations. Normally, I listen to books in the car, so possibly have not heard some of the "offending sounds" others have pointed out because of background road noise. But I think her performances are terrific. She has a way of creating a mood, a personality for the characters she reads. Subtleties in voice, in accent, denote and differentiate the characters beautifully. I have bought books she's narrated simply because she was the reader.

Now, the book. I have enjoyed most of the Temperance Brennen stories. A forensic anthropologist, Brennen is called in on cases where the mostly unidentifiable remains require extensive analysis and investigation to solve murder cases. There is thoughtful description of how these analyses are done, which I find fascinating. How anthropomorphic details like size,age, sex, etc. can be deciphered from clues in often very deteriorated human remains. The detailed police tactics involved in the case are also intriguing and interesting, because she describes enough detail to reveal the logic and rationale for how cases are handled. The story is convoluted, and engaging. I found I couldn't wait to get back in the car for my commute to listen to the next section of the book.

There are twists and turns in the story, and characters are revealed in such a way to lead you to wondering all the time how they fit together, and which is the perpetrator in this murder mystery.

Scenes are described with exacting detail, and given Rosenblat's interpretation, I feel drawn into each scene. Brennen's own relationships and inner demons are like a continuous undertone - a layer under the surface of the story that kept me intrigued not only with her job, but her life and relationships.

I think this is a good read, and I think Barbara Rosenblat is a great reader.

47 people found this helpful

Not Bones

I enjoy the TV show Bones. Warm,funny murder mystery. This is not that, even though the series is based on K Reichs books This book is not warm or funny at all, ever. The medical terms are sort of interesting and the French well spoken by the narrator. BTW same with the series Rizzoli and Isles. Series warm funny book Not. Elsie J

18 people found this helpful

Excellent story, excellent narrator.

I rarely choose a book because of the reader but in the case of Barbara Rosenblat, I sometimes look her name up and see what she is reading and if it is something I am interested in or in the genre that I have an interest I will order it just because she is reading it. I sometimes think that if she read a phone book aloud, she would make it interesting and hold the attention of the audience. Kathy Reichs is a wonderful author. I have only ordered one other book by her because of limited finances but in the future when I have another job, I will be ordering the Temperance Brennan series. Thank you once again, Audible people for a wonderful several days of entertainment.

11 people found this helpful

Glad I didn't take heed of negative reviews

Having read the negative reviews of this book for some reason I purchased it anyway. Having read one of her books I knew it wasn't 'Bones' the tv series and was based in Quebec.

The narration was good. Ok sometimes 'breathy' but it was just one isrening to someone tell you their version of events. Annoying - definitely not.

Too much French I read a couple of times was there a need? It's set in Quebec where their language is French so yes street names stores etc will be in French. Her writing a very few of the phrases in French and then translating them into English I felt lent flavour to the overall story.

Overall I enjoyed the narration the story and background information and am looking forward to the next book.

My advice on any book. Try them and broaden your horizons. Who knows one persons hate is another's enjoyment.

16 people found this helpful

Decent mystery, terrible narration

Let me preface this review by stating that the Tempe Brennan series from Kathy Reichs is absolutely not what you see on the tv series, Bones. If that is what you are hoping for/ expecting, you may want to walk away from these books. However, considering Deja Dead is a reread for me, I was anticipating this major difference.

First off, while the version of Dr. Brennan in this novel differs significantly than the TV counterpart, I actually found that I preferred the book character on account of the extra dimension; Tempe's flaws, along with the added back story, made her character appear more human to audiences. My only disappointment in the character department is that there is no Booth; however, I have high hopes for Detective Ryan.

As for the actual story, the mystery was pretty decent with an adrenaline-pumping resolution, although I did notice that there were a few points where the story got bogged down with medical jargon and procedures. Also, as other readers have noted, there were a few too many similes throughout the novel. However, personally, I did not find these complaints a complete 'book-ruiner' as, for the most part, I did enjoy Deja Dead.

In terms of the narration, there is not much to say other than it was not good. While I did get used to it (somewhat), there were an awful lot of mouth sounds and other noises coming through in the audio that were unpleasant to listen to.

Overall, despite poor narration, Deja Dead was an intriguing enough serial killer mystery that I would probably recommend to my fellow crime/thriller fans.

I look forward to checking out the rest of the series.

7 people found this helpful

Narrating issues

I am listening to this book as I write this review. I listen on my IPod while I garden or work around the house...using my headphones. I can't do that with this particular book, the narrator's swallowing and sucking throughout is thoroughly distracting and nauseating. So I pulled out my headphones, put the IPod across the room an listen from a distance to diminish the effect. As soon as I started listening, I realized the mistake I had made. I have never paid much attention to the narrator but recognized her swallowing from another book I bought in the past. From now on that will be the number one thing I check. She overacts a bit, as well.

15 people found this helpful

Mixed

The book itself is great, but the narrator sounds like she's on a respirator. Her inspirations are so distracting. I don't know if she's a heavy breather, or the book is just poorly recorded, but I would have skipped this recording if I had known.

21 people found this helpful

More like documentation for a term paper for me

This was a sale book so I was taking a chance before I even started. But it just became tedious. I love a good mystery, some gore, some treachery and so on but there was more bone and blade descriptive narrative with a little story here and there. I got through part 1 but by then decided this was not a new author for me. And I didn't think I could make it through another part of deep inhalation before nearly every sentence or paragraph. I hate to be negative about narration because I know I couldn't do half the job but this was half of my problem with the book.

3 people found this helpful

Disappointed

What disappointed you about Deja Dead?

I didn't enjoy the narrator, nor the constant use of French (poorly in my opinion, being Canadian and accustomed to the mingling of the two languages in every day conversation.

The story didn't grab and hold me. Now i wasn't expecting BONES from TV but I was expecting to at least like the main character. Unfortunately I found the main character annoying and was put off by her.

The narration as I mentioned above was not to my liking. The woman's voice comes across as her being as bored with the story as I was.

What was most disappointing about Kathy Reichs’s story?

The pacing dragged. Too much introspection of the main character with too little insight into the other characters.

How could the performance have been better?

A narrator who didn't attempt voices unnecessarily. Often what someone says in a story is quite enough to characterize them. Using an accent, or *voice* distracts from it. Sure there are times when emphasis is required and desirable but at other times it's nothing more than unnecessary.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Deja Dead?

I would remove the use of French words. While I understand the desire to immerse the reader into the culture of the city (And don't get me wrong Montreal is a wonderful and unique place to live) but for myself it was distracting from the story. Jarring in that everytime it came up I was reminded I was reading (hearing) a story and not able to just immerse myself in the action and dialogue.

Any additional comments?

I'd had the entire series as offered by Audible in my wish list.
They are now removed. I'm glad I didn't purchase a number of them at once.

11 people found this helpful

Terrible performance

The narrator was constantly drawing sharp breaths and sounded like she had something in her mouth. When you listen using headphones, it makes you nauseous. I will never listen to anything narrated by her

2 people found this helpful