Wow - Can't believe how bad this was!

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

A total re-write and a new narrator who at least knows when to pause for effect!

What was most disappointing about Catherine Coulter’s story?

Very amateurish - I had hoped it would get better as the story went along - but no - IT GOT WORSE!

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Did not pause for effect and had little inflection.

14 people found this helpful

Kept waiting for this book to improve

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

Different narrator would help this tremendously.

Has The Cove turned you off from other books in this genre?

Yes

How could the performance have been better?

I felt the narrator did not connect with the characters.

What character would you cut from The Cove?

None

Any additional comments?

Although the story was interesting, the story never really flowed. I never felt connected to the characters in any way.

23 people found this helpful

I'm sorry... but his is bad

What disappointed you about The Cove?

I know that C Coulter has a loyal following. I've even enjoyed a book or two, but... NO.. just no. This was so poorly written and so lame. Written in the voice of "Oh John... Oh, Martha" sappy romance dime novels, but pretending to be a mystery. Characters are totally unbelievable. NO one would behave that way. Dialog was so inane and the whole plot was ridiculous, a few times I wanted to bang my head on my ipod. I know you ask, then WHY did I continue to listen? I kept hoping (call me the optimist) that at some point it would take a turn and make sense or get better, or come to a conclusion that would have justified the time already invested in listening... but NO. I'm not a literature snob. In fact, I'm rather easy to entertain. I enjoy so many genres and appreciate many different writing styes. I rarely give negative reviews, fully realizing that what we enjoy is highly subjective. But, please save your money. This book is so, so very bad. I got it on sale and if not for that, I would be calling to get my money back.

Has The Cove turned you off from other books in this genre?

The genre? What genre was this exactly? It wasn't a romance novel, and sure as heck wasn't a mystery. It had no genre... maybe a comic strip

What three words best describe Sandra Burr’s performance?

Sandra was fine. She isn't responsible for bad material. Her voicing and inflections were appropriate and she did her job.

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

all of the above.

Any additional comments?

Run... save your money. Don't waste your time.Not to Coulter. Please show more respect for your readers. We deserve better from you.

18 people found this helpful

Stop Already

What would have made The Cove better?

Catherine constantly repeated events by having another character say / relive it. It was like she had to write a certain number of pages. BORING to the extreme .. this said, the mystery portion of the book was great. A good story.

Would you be willing to try another book from Catherine Coulter? Why or why not?

No more Coulter for me. Having never read her before, I assume she also writes romance novels.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was good, but the pace of the story was painfully slow.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Cove?

I would cut each and every time she repeated the telling of an event already explained in detail earlier.

18 people found this helpful

I Love Catherine Coulter!!

If you could sum up The Cove in three words, what would they be?

Quirky, entertaining, funny

What other book might you compare The Cove to and why?

This is the first of the author's FBI series and it's a great opener. This is sort of "Psycho" without the mummified mother at the end.

What about Sandra Burr’s performance did you like?

The reader kept my interest and dramatized the story without making her reading a play.

Any additional comments?

When I first read this story, I didn't like it and didn't thibk it lived up to the second book in the FBI Series, but this second reading brought the story more to life and I appreciated it much much more.

3 people found this helpful

So Awful It Was Painful!!!!

Dear Audible... can I give this book a negative rating? This book was so bad, I could barely finish it. Lame, cheesy, an insult to anyone with a few brain cells in their head, are only a few of the many ways I would describe this terrible story. Save your credits!!!!!

10 people found this helpful

Not for anyone sensitive about sexual violence

I'm one of those people who has a hard time with sexual violence of any kind and also with victims who are utterly betrayed by loved ones and those who say they'll protect them and keep them safe. Psychological abuse is also hard for me, too. So, I don't typically read suspense thrillers and tend to stick to romances or mysteries that mix in a good helping of humor and maybe a little romance. However, a good friend told me that she thought that I'd like the third book in this series, and being a stickler for doing things the "right" way, I decided to start with the first book, namely The Cove.

Oh, this book was so hard for me to get through because of the issues that I laid out in the first two sentences of this review. There is quite a bit of sexual abuse and emotional victimization (or maybe it just seemed like a lot to me) in a main character's past, and she was so powerless at the time to do anything about it and told that it hadn't really happened and was all in her head, it makes me sad just thinking about it. Also, even in the current timeline of the story, it's hard for her to know who she really can trust at any given moment. So, any readers who have trouble reading about this type of thing really shouldn't read this book. Maybe other readers won't feel it was as bad as this, but I was so depressed while getting through most of the book. I knew that the best thing was to see it through because my imagination would probably take it to even worse places in my mind if I didn't just find out how it all played out.

I agree with some of the other reviewers that the writing wasn't great, either. However, I've been known to forgive that before if there are other factors at times that make up for it in my eyes (such as colorful, compelling characters, great dialogue, creative twists and turns, a great love story, etc.). I don't think that I'll ever listen to this book again, even knowing how the plot resolves itself and knowing it may not be so dark and painful for me the next time because I now know the manner in which everything ends for each of the characters.

The only reason that I MIGHT re-read it is that there are characters in this book that show up and cross over with other books in the series. I just finished reading the second book in this series titled The Maze (since I'd bought the first three books in the series and am too cheap to not at least TRY to read what I've paid for), and I recommend that one. The writing still may not be Pulitzer Prize material, but I thought that it was much better and liked all but a few of the characters so much more than I did those of The Cove. Because The Maze's main characters are mostly FBI agents working together on cases, I think that gave the story-line more stability and Coulter was able to get a better handle on her plot, rather than The Cove's ever-shifting "What's going on in this sleepy, innocent little town, or am I just crazy to think that anything bad is going on?" This reminded me a bit more of the Patricia Cornwell novels that I used to read years ago, before I decided that the psychos that she tries to catch in those books were too dark and depressing for escapist reading (for me, at least). I'm hoping that the third book (which is actually the one that my friend said I should read) will be more like The Maze than The Cove.

The narrator did a good job. She can't be blamed for anything wrong with this book.

Bottom line for this review: skip this one and start with The Maze.

23 people found this helpful

Another hit by by Coulter.

A kidnapped daughter and a family that both ignored and conspired against her absence. A small town along the coast was the center of the action when the daughter showed up after escaping from the asylum she had been in for six months. No one would help her until a PI showed up. An exciting and well written novel. Recommended for anyone likes quirky mysteries with multiple twists and turns that keep the listener glued to the audible version. Five stars for a incredible read and listen.

2 people found this helpful

Double plots

Couldn't put it down. Stayed up till 2am then couldn't wait to listen to it in am. I felt for poor Salley. After she met James she got stronger. Just when I thought she was fine somebody would betray her. Not much of a family. So exciting loved it. Going to listen to another one. My favorite author for FBI thriller.

2 people found this helpful

MORE TWISTS THAN A SNAKE WITH A BELLY ACHE!

ANother fine example of how CAtherine Coulter can grab you on page one and not let you up for air till the last chapter. Suspence., humor, disgust, anger and. thrilling are just a few words to describe this storey. Its a fun ride from start to finish and the narration was an excellent asset.

5 people found this helpful