Buzz-z-z-z-z-z-z

I enjoy (and respect) people's reviews, and appreciate that listeners take the time to share. I read a LOT of your reviews, and I purchase a lot of recommendations (thank you). I'll even go back and follow a book to see how readers experienced it long after I've finished listening. With THEY'RE WATCHING, I have to say, I shared the same experience as the lower-star reviewers (and I don't think a low star review is a mean review!) Over and over in my head while I listened, was this nagging question, "Whaaaat the...?!" on so many levels. This whole ordeal could have been avoided! ...Never have bigger guns been hauled out to hunt a mosquito.

The little mosquito's life is in utter shambles; his wife is cheating, he's been fired, he's out of money, he's losing his dream home, he's a lousy screenwriter, his students don't like him, YET, Omnipotent Global Secret Powers are after this little mosquito. But, like one of Aesop's own mighty little heroes... well, I don't want to ruin it for any future readers.

Suppose I could suspend sanity; enjoy superfluous twists and turns and silly goose chases that go on twice as long as necessary; not question why there are no red flags when people all over the LA socio/economical scale are dropping like flies; believe a little winged mosquito as ballsy as Hurwitz has created here could even buzz off the ground;--the bigger problem with this book is how Hurwitz has no connect with emotion (and you thought I was going to say reality!). He throws in a compulsatory line: I love my wife so much, the poor little boy that will have to grow up without a mother, the abused neighbor aimessly washing dishes over and over, a silent tear rolling down the face of a man patting a dying whale on the back...talk about disconnect! How is it even possible for a writer to fail to elicite compassion for beached whales, slowly dying, with bleeding ears? And narrator Scott Brick (whom I usually enjoy very much) seems to take on the burden of making these characters human, and the plot believable, by delivering an overwrought performance that irritated me almost as much as a mosquito buzzing around my head.

The consensus is that people like Hurwitz as an author, I've read that many of his fans prefer his other books to this one, so I'll try it again. But this one was just one long ridiculous rat maze for poor Patrick (the mosquito) and for the listener.

120 people found this helpful

Annoying....

Any additional comments?

This sort of book is not my usual cup of tea. However, recently I listened to "You're Next" and it had me on the edge of my seat. When I started this one, I could not even believe it was the same reader. I like Scott Brick. But in this book he sounds so whiney.

What's nice is that it all the details get sorted out. It's just too unbelievable for my taste.
For me it was a trial to get through it.

33 people found this helpful

Unbelievable, and Over the Top

The story is totally ridiculous, unbelievable and Scott Brick's performance only makes it worse. The story itself is over-dramatic where it doesn't have to be (or maybe it does, because it is so thin) and Brick, who tends to overdramatize everything anyway, has a field day. All of which made me, the listener, get very annoyed and wonder what I was doing listening to this stuff. I can't even say that it was a waste of time - it goes beyond that. What was the point? And why so long?

19 people found this helpful

Skip This One!

The premise of this story could have been good, not great, but the fluff and the ridiculous twists and turned made it into what Melinda of Utah described as a " long ridiculous rat maze." I wish I had listened to Melinda and passed this one by.

At one point the main character wondered if he was in a real life version of "The Game" starring Michael Douglas. There were way too many far fetched and unbelievable things that happened. Yes, we suspend our disbelief and accept the entertainment value of a story. But here you must not only suspend your disbelief but taken for granted, insulted, and thought of as stupid and gullible. For me the worst was asking me to believe that a company can come into your home (undercover) and plant 10 or 15 spy cameras and other devices in your walls and everywhere else that you won't notice something out of place or that there won't be a trace of the intrusion! Okay, I know it's possible, but then the story turns around and tells you that after the homeowners are given a "map" of where all the devices are located and ordered to remove them, that one wire was so long that it wrapped 15 feet around walls and by the time the homeowners had all of the devices out, their house was in shambles and the walls were ripped back to the studs! At that point, I knew I was not going to like the rest of story.

The first 20 (or so) chapters of the story held my interest really well. After that it was a struggle getting through the rest... at the end I didn't care what happened.

I listened because I wanted to be able to write this review. Before writing this, I took a look at what other reviewers had said. I cringed because it seems that I didn't really pay attention and probably skipped Melinda's review altogether. Well, I tell you now don't skip her review, but most of all, I recommend skipping this book.

I agree with one reviewer who said that Scott Brick did his best with what he had to work with, and Brick is one of my favorites. But throughout this book, Brick sounded a little whinny! He sounded like the whine of a child who keeps repeating themselves and asking for something he/she has already been denied. Maybe that's because the story kept repeating itself.

27 people found this helpful

Umm, no. They're not watching.

I was prepared for a wonderful listen after reading the rave reviews. But it just wasn't there. I know the author has a terrific following, so I'll try another book. But this one wasn't it. It was implausible, improbable and it droned on WAY too long.

30 people found this helpful

Nailbiting suspense

This is another nail biting suspense thriller from best selling author Gregg Hurwitz, flawlessly performed by award-winning narrator Scott Brick.

4 people found this helpful

Could not make it through this sorry book

What disappointed you about They're Watching?

There is no connection to the characters in the book

Would you ever listen to anything by Gregg Hurwitz again?

no

Would you be willing to try another one of Scott Brick’s performances?

oh no

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

It would start to have something happen and then the story line was just not interesting

4 people found this helpful

Sounds so much better than it is

What disappointed you about They're Watching?

The central character wallows in dramatic self-pity, has no sense of humor, and deserves every bad thing that happens to him.

Has They're Watching turned you off from other books in this genre?

I will certainly never pick up another Gregg Hurwitz book.

Would you be willing to try another one of Scott Brick’s performances?

Scott Brick's reading was the only redeeming feature of this audiobook. Even so, in consonance with the story, the reading is frantically paced, a little juiced.

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

This is described as a contemporary thriller, suspense novel. It's actually an endless and tedious complaint by an obnoxious character in a suspense story.

4 people found this helpful

In a league of it's own.

While browsing the Audible site I often came across this book; but for whatever reason, it never jumped out at me as a selection I cared to get. After reading however that this novel was Scott Brick's selection as his favorite book - out of all the novels he's narrated - I grudging downloaded it; Mr. Brick has so many books under his belt that I felt the recommendation was worth noting.

I have always enjoyed thrillers; but this author deserves a category of his own. Mr. Hurwitz has raised the genre to a whole new level, and I couldn't be happier.

Given the enjoyment that can be found in discovering the twists and turns of this excellent story as it unfolds, I would be doing a disservice to reference any of it here in the review. I can only say that I was constantly kept guessing, creating and discarding different theories, until the end.

This is my top pick in the thriller category.

40 people found this helpful

captivating story

Captivating story line with excellent narration by Scott Brick. Became a Hurwitz fan after discovering the Orphan X novels, going thru his ealier works now, still enjoying his writing.

3 people found this helpful